I got this from AI it might help you out - good luck!
"It sounds like you’ve run into the classic "Windows Update Shuffle." Microsoft has redesigned the
Photos app several times recently, which is why the instructions you’re finding online don't match what you see on your screen.
If the "Play" button you found isn't working, it’s often because the app hasn't correctly indexed the folder or it’s stuck on a single file view. Here are the most reliable ways to get your negatives moving in a slideshow on Windows 10 or 11.
1. The "F5" Quick Fix
The simplest way to start a slideshow in the standard Windows Photos app is often a keyboard shortcut rather than a button.
- Open your first scanned image.
- Press the F5 key on your keyboard.
- In many versions of the app, this instantly triggers the slideshow mode, bypassing the menu buttons entirely.
2. Using the "Three Dots" Menu
If the F5 key doesn’t work, the "official" slideshow button is often hidden in a sub-menu:
- Open an image in the Photos app.
- Look at the top of the window for three horizontal dots (...).
- Click those dots and look for Slideshow in the dropdown list.
- Why it might fail: If you opened the photo directly from a search result or a "Recent Files" list, Windows sometimes treats it as a single isolated file and won't "see" the other photos in the folder to move to the next one.
3. The File Explorer Method (Most Reliable)
If the Photos app is being stubborn, you can bypass it using the File Explorer. This is often more successful because it forces Windows to recognize the entire folder.
- Open the folder where your scans are stored.
- Click once on the first image to highlight it.
- Look at the top toolbar.
- On Windows 11: Click the three dots (...) in the top menu bar and select Slideshow.
- On Windows 10: You should see a tab at the top labeled Picture Tools. Click that, then click Slideshow.
4. A Better Alternative: FastStone Image Viewer
If you are scanning a large volume of negatives, the built-in Windows apps can be clunky. I highly recommend a free program called
FastStone Image Viewer.
- It is designed specifically for photographers.
- It handles slideshows beautifully with simple transitions.
- It allows you to press the Spacebar to move forward or just let it run automatically.
- It feels much more like the "classic" Windows programs that actually worked logically.
5. Check your File Extensions
Since you're scanning negatives, ensure your files are saved as
.jpg or
.png. If your scanner software saved them as a more obscure format (like
.tiff or a raw format), the basic Windows slideshow tool sometimes struggles to cycle through them quickly."
