WebP Codec for Windows

1. What is the WebP Codec for Windows
2. Installation steps for the WebP codec
3. Viewing WebP images on Windows

What is the WebP Codec for Windows

The WebP Codec for Windows is a codec built with the libwebp library. It implements the interface defined by the Windows Imaging Component (WIC) to provide WebP support for Microsoft® Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

The Windows Imaging Component provides a consistent API for image processing so applications that support the WIC get support for image formats such as WebP when the codec is installed.

This codec allows applications using WIC to access WebP files. On Windows Vista and Windows 7, this includes the possibility of viewing WebP files in Windows Photo Viewer and their thumbnails in Windows Explorer.

Currently, the WebP codec only includes the decoder. It will support both encoding and decoding in a future release. It will also add metadata support.

Installation steps for the WebP codec

1. Please download the signed binary WebPCodecSetup.exe.
2. Double-Click the binary. You will see the following dialog box:

   

3. Please read and accept the terms of the License Agreement by checking the appropriate box:

   

4. Choose the setup type by pressing on button "Typical":

   

5. When you are ready to install the WebP codec, please press on button "Install":

   

6. Please allow a few moments for the installation to complete. You will see the following dialog box when it is, with "View example files" unchecked:

   

7. Check the checkbox to "View example files". On Windows Vista and Windows 7, file explorer will open the folder with thumbnails of a WebP image and its JPEG equivalent:

   

Et voilà! You're ready to enjoy viewing and using WebP images on Windows operating systems!

Viewing WebP on Windows

Several applications support the WIC and will be able to open and manipulate WebP image. For example, on Windows Vista and Windows 7, double-click on the WebP image. This will open the Windows Photo Viewer:

Other applications such as Microsoft® Office 2010 allow you to add WebP images to your documents, slides and spreadsheets. You can share these files with colleagues and friends without requiring the person you share the files with to install the WebP codec since Office 2010 stores the images internally in a lossless portable format.