AppCompatibilityView

Upgrading to a newer version of Windows might result in incompatibility issues of some applications that have not yet been optimized for the latest operating system iteration. The first thing you can do in such cases is to try and run those software programs in compatibility mode. Changing the compatibility mode can be easily done via the Properties window of any executable, but AppCompatibilityView offers a new approach, as shown below.

The list of programs that runs in compatibility mode and their configuration is stored, as expected, in the system's registry, namely in the "\AppCompatFlags\Layers" section. These registry keys are modified whenever the compatibility settings of an application are altered. Evidently, you can tamper with these settings but make sure to create a registry backup beforehand, just to be on the safe side.

What AppCompatibilityView does is extract information from the registry, displaying all the programs that are running in compatibility mode, alongside their current configuration.

AppCompatibilityView displays all the retrieved data in a structured manner, inside an organized table, which comprises the name of the application, its user, and the Windows version it is assigned to. Also, it shows additional details regarding the administrative rights, the status of the desktop composition and the visual themes, the user's callback exceptions, the file version and, more importantly, the compatibility string.

It's not just the amount of information, but also the way it allows you to change the compatibility settings of an application that makes AppCompatibilityView a handy software tool. Right-clicking on one or more entries enables you to change the compatibility settings in batch, with just a few clicks.

There is no doubt that AppCompatibilityView can be of help to an experienced Windows user. However, aside from changing the compatibility settings in batch for several programs, you can do all the rest without AppCompatibilityView, just with a little more effort.