How to uninstall the 3D Builder app in Windows 10

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Microsoft preinstalls some basic utilities (like the Calculator or Weather programs) and specialized or task-focused apps (like the Mail and Photos applications) on the latest version of its operating system. Understandably, some consumers find the preinstalled utilities essential, while others consider them bloatware.

The 3D Builder app – which can be used to create, edit and print 3D models on a 3D printer on Windows 10 – has its fair share of fans. However, if 3D tasks are not your cup of tea, then you probably have no use for the application. 3D printers are more affordable than before, but operations involving 3D capabilities have not caught up enough.

Can one uninstall the 3D viewer app from Windows 10?

Yes, you can. If you do not use the app, you can do away with it. Fortunately, we do not know of any complication or fallout associated with the removal of the 3D Builder application on Windows 10.

Anyway, in this guide, we intend to show you how to delete the 3D viewer app on Windows 10. You can go about the uninstallation operation for this application through several means, but one problem seems to be a common factor after the program’s removal (regardless of the method that gets used).

Most procedures do enough to get rid of the 3D Builder installation package, but they all leave behind the 3D Print with 3D Builder option in the context menu for files in these formats: BMP, JPEG OR JPG, and PNG. If you then click on that 3D Print with 3D Builder option – inadvertently or not – your system will act to reinstall the 3D Builder application automatically.

In other words, even after you remove the 3D Builder app, if you right-click on any .bmp, .jpg, or .png file to see some options and then choose 3D Print with 3D Builder, the removed program will find its way back into your computer. Well, we had to mention this event because it seems to play out on many users’ devices and they end up wondering how the 3D Builder program came back or if it got removed at all in the first place.

Well, after we show you how to uninstall the 3D Builder app, we will walk you through a workaround to remove the 3D Builder option from the context menu. This way, you learn how to get rid of the unwanted program for good and ensure that it does not come back on its own.

How to uninstall the 3D Builder app in Windows 10?

You can go through any of these procedures to uninstall the 3D Builder application on your computer.

1. Work from the Start menu screen and remove the program:

The operations that make up this procedure probably constitute the fastest method of removing the 3D Builder app on Windows 10. Here are the steps you have to go through:

• To bring up the Start menu screen, you have to press the Windows logo button on your PC’s keyboard. A click on the Windows icon on your desktop screen does the same thing.
• Input 3D into the text field (that shows up once you begin to type).

3D Viewer (App) or 3D Builder (Trusted Microsoft Store App) is supposed to emerge as the main entry on the returned results list.

• Right-click on the unwanted app to see some options and then choose Uninstall.

Your system will now act to get rid of the application installation files and similar components.

If the 3D Builder app failed to come up as an entry when you executed the search operation for it on your Start menu, you have to check for it in the Settings app and get rid of it there – you have to check the second procedure below.

If the Uninstall button was missing from the list of options displayed, then you can only remove the 3D Builder app from your computer by executing a command on an elevated PowerShell window. In that case, you will do well to skip the second procedure and move to the third one directly.

2. Uninstall the 3D Builder app through the Settings program on your PC:

Most uninstallation operations for applications in Windows are generally executed through the Settings app or the Control Panel program. However, since the 3D Builder app is a utility provided by Microsoft, it is unlikely to show up in the list of installed software on the Uninstall a program screen in Control Panel. Hence, the path involving the Settings app is the only feasible option here.

Follow these instructions to access the Settings application and remove the 3D Builder there:

• First, you have to open the Settings application. You will find this keyboard shortcut useful here: Windows logo button + letter I key.
• Assuming the Settings application window has now appeared on your screen, you must check the menu items displayed and click on Apps.
• Under the Apps and Features screen, you have to go through the list displayed and check for the 3D Builder or 3D Viewer app.

You can perform a search operation for the program you seek to remove in the text field available using 3D as the key term.

• Once you see the 3D Builder or 3D Viewer app, you must click on it to get it highlighted and then click on the Uninstall button (that recently showed up).

If your system fires up a dialog box or window to get some form of confirmation for the operation, you must click on the Uninstall button there to continue.

Windows will now act to get rid of the unwanted program as you requested.

3. Execute a command on an elevated PowerShell window to get rid of the 3D Builder app:

If the previous methods of removing the 3D Builder app fail to do the job or if you could not even use them due to one reason or the other, then you can rest a bit knowing that the procedure here involving PowerShell is the most effective of the lot. We saved the best for last.

Go through these steps to launch an elevated PowerShell window and execute the needed code to get rid of the 3D Builder program on your computer:

• You have to fire up the Windows Start menu. You can use the Windows logo button on your device’s keyboard or the Windows icon on your screen to do it again.
• Input PowerShell into the text field (that comes up once you begin to type) to perform a search operation using that keyword. Windows PowerShell (App) is likely to show up as the main item on the results list.
• Right-click on the PowerShell entry to see some options and then choose Run as administrator.

Windows will fire up the Administrator: PowerShell application window now.

• Now, you must fill the field there with this code and then tap the Enter button on your PC’s keyboard to get Windows to execute it: Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.3DBuilder | Remove-AppxPackage

If nothing happens, you must try these other commands or even run all of them:

• Get-AppxPackage ‘Microsoft.3dBuilder’ | Remove-AppxPackage
• $Package = Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -eq ‘Microsoft.3dBuilder’}; Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName $Package.PackageName
• Get-AppxPackage *3dbuilder* | Remove-AppxPackage

Once Windows executes the required command (the one that applies to your system configuration), the 3D Builder app on your computer will be removed almost instantly.

Alternative: If you have a third-party program that can remove unwanted applications, you can try to use it to remove the 3D Builder app.

How to remove the 3D Builder context menu parameter (to ensure the removed program does not return)?

Here, assuming you have successfully uninstalled the 3D Builder application on your computer, we will walk you through the operation that forces the removal of the 3D Print with 3D Builder parameter from the context menu for certain files. You are about to do a job on the registry, so we have to warn you of the risks associated with tasks performed on that sensitive Windows component or the complications that could arise if you make mistakes.

If you make wrong edits to entries, you might find yourself having to deal with serious problems. For one, certain errors can do damage to your Windows installation. In any case, we advise that you make a comprehensive backup of your computer registry entries before you proceed. Alternatively, you can create a restore point (manually) now. This way, if things go wrong – which they very much could – you will be able to restore normality easily using the restore point you made.

Anyway, here are the instructions you have to follow to perform the proposed tasks:

• First, you have to fire up the Run app. This particular keyboard shortcut should prove useful here: Windows logo button + letter R key.

Fill the text field on the Run application window with this code: regedit

Tap the Enter button on your device’s keyboard to get your system to run the code. If any User Account Control (UAC) prompt or dialog box comes up, you have to click on the Yes button there to proceed.

• Assuming the Registry Editor program window is now on your screen, you have to begin your navigation by clicking on Computer (situated at the top-right corner of the window) and then browsing through this path: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ SystemFileAssociations \ .bmp\ Shell\
• Right-click on the T3D Print subkey (visible in your current directory) to see some options and then choose Export.

We advise that you save the file with a descriptive name (a name you can remember or recall easily and associate with things).

• Once you are done with the export operation for the T3D Print subkey, you must return to the original registry window where the key is visible, right-click on it and then select Delete this time. If a window comes up, you have to click on the Yes option there to proceed with the removal operation.
• Now, you must return to Computer (where you began your navigation earlier) and then browse through this path: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ SystemFileAssociations \ .jpg \ Shell
• Now, you must right-click on the visible T3D Print subkey again to see some options and then choose Export.

You also have to save this second file with a descriptive name.

• Once you are done with the export operation for the T3D Print subkey, you must go back to the directory where the key was stored originally in your registry, right-click on it and then select Delete. If your computer brings up a window, you have to click on the Yes button there to proceed with the removal operation.
• Again, you must return to Computer (where you began your work earlier) and then browse through this path: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ SystemFileAssociations \ .png \ Shell
• Here again, you have to check for the T3D Print subkey, right-click on it to see the available options, and then select Export.

We recommend that you save the exported file with a descriptive name.

• Once you complete the export operation for the T3D Print subkey, you must right-click on it again and then select Delete. If your computer brings up a window, you have to click on the Yes option to confirm the removal operation for the key.
• Once you are done with the export and removal operations for the 3 T3D Print subkeys (for the .bmp, .jpg, and .png image files or extensions), you must close the Registry Editor application window.
• Close all other applications and terminate all ongoing operations (if you have to). Restart your computer.

After the recommended reboot, when you right-click on any BMP, JPEG OR JPG, or PNG file to see the available options (under their context menu), you will no longer see the 3D Print with 3D Builder – at least, if you followed our steps carefully and did everything correctly. The success of your work here goes a long way in preventing the reinstallation of the unwanted 3D app by mistake in the future.

How to bring back the 3D Builder app and restore its parameter on the context menu for certain files?

If there is any chance you might change your mind on the 3D Builder app you just got rid of (in the future), then we owe it to you to show you how to bring it back. Getting the app to run on your computer again is quite simple actually. All you have to do is head to Microsoft Store, search for the app there, and then download and install it.

However, you must understand that the simple reinstallation operation for the 3D Builder app cannot reverse the changes you made to your computer to prevent the unwanted app parameter from showing up on the context menu for certain files. You deleted some keys from your system registry, after all, to get the result you wanted.

Now, you must know that we did not have to include the export operation for those keys earlier – the removal operation was the key task – but we did it to ensure you have a lifeline that allows you to recover the removed items – if the need ever arises. Well, since you have a backup, things should be easy.

To restore the 3D Print with 3D Builder parameter back to the context menu for certain files, you have to go to the directory or folder to which you exported the keys earlier, double-click the .reg file there, and then click on the Yes button (when the confirmation prompt comes up). You have to execute this exact operation on all the .reg files to restore the keys for all the extensions involved (BMP, JPEG OR JPG, and PNG). Windows will then act to merge their keys into your system registry. Of course, the last step comes in here – you still have to restart your PC – if you want the changes to take effect.

TIP:

While you have your reasons for wanting to get rid of the 3D Builder app on your computer, we are inclined to believe they have something with you wanting to free up space or getting your system to function well. If our assumptions hold any water, then you are likely to be interested in a utility like Auslogics BoostSpeed.

To be frank, the changes resulting from the removal of the 3D Builder app are unlikely to force through the performance improvements you desire. With the recommended application, however, you can execute far more effective optimizations and other operations, which should go a long way in getting your computer to function better than before.