Win32 Advanced Properties

[Mike]

Is there any way I can manipulate the extended file properties in Windows
XP with Perl? I have about 300 image files from a wedding that I want to
modify the 'Author' and 'Copyright' fields, and I don't want to have to do
the select-right-click-etc-etc-etc dance on 300 files.

Any suggestions, pointers, doc refs, etc will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Shakotah]

Is there any way I can manipulate the extended file properties in Windows
XP with Perl? I have about 300 image files from a wedding that I want to
modify the 'Author' and 'Copyright' fields, and I don't want to have to do
the select-right-click-etc-etc-etc dance on 300 files.

Any suggestions, pointers, doc refs, etc will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

Hi,

You should look for a module that can modify the image file properties
(not filesystem). For a jpg this information (I believe its called EXIF)
is in the jpeg header, you need a module that will update this information.


Hope to have helped ;-)

 

[Jürgen Exner]

Is there any way I can manipulate the extended file properties in
Windows XP with Perl? I have about 300 image files from a wedding
that I want to modify the 'Author' and 'Copyright' fields, and I
don't want to have to do the select-right-click-etc-etc-etc dance on
300 files.

Any suggestions, pointers, doc refs, etc will be appreciated.

I may be mistaken, but I think those "file properites" have nothing to do
with the file system per se but are attributes of (probably) the JPEG
format. I would check some JPEG modules.

jue

 

[A. Sinan Unur]

I may be mistaken, but I think those "file properites" have nothing to
do with the file system per se but are attributes of (probably) the
JPEG format. I would check some JPEG modules.

Fundamentally, you are correct. EXIF information should be preferred
rather than OS specific methods.

NTFS does have these alternative streams that can be associated with
files. The OP might want to look at:

http://tinyurl.com/5ub5n

However, as another poster has also mentioned, I would urge the OP to
manipulate EXIF information than NTFS alternative streams

 

[Mike]

Fundamentally, you are correct. EXIF information should be preferred
rather than OS specific methods.

NTFS does have these alternative streams that can be associated with
files. The OP might want to look at:

http://tinyurl.com/5ub5n

However, as another poster has also mentioned, I would urge the OP to
manipulate EXIF information than NTFS alternative streams

Hmmm...
<DisplayOfIgnorance>
when I right-click on an image file, and select 'Properties', am I looking
at the EXIF information or NTFS information?
The properties sheet (under the summary tab) shows elements like 'Width',
'Height', 'Horizontal Resolution', 'Frame Count', 'Camera Model', 'Focal
Length', 'ISO Speed' and more. WHose properties are these?
</DisplayOfIgnorance>

Thanks for the pointers...
Mike

 

[A. Sinan Unur]

Hmmm...
<DisplayOfIgnorance>
when I right-click on an image file, and select 'Properties', am I
looking at the EXIF information or NTFS information?
The properties sheet (under the summary tab) shows elements like
'Width', 'Height', 'Horizontal Resolution', 'Frame Count', 'Camera
Model', 'Focal Length', 'ISO Speed' and more. WHose properties are
these? </DisplayOfIgnorance>

Those properties are set based on the EXIF information in the file as well
as simple image header info so on and so forth. So, I do not know if
Windows then copies that information to the alternative stream of the file.
But that is irrelevant.

Incidentally, you only asked about 'Author' and 'Copyright' fields
initially. Looking at the MS documentation (a link to which available in
the post I referred you, it turns out 'Author' is a default field in the
summary information property set). But that is irrelevant also.

What is relevant for your issue is to use modules made for dealing with
EXIF or IPTC information to have something that is not tied to the specific
file system you are using.

Sinan.

 

[ChrisO]

Hmmm...
<DisplayOfIgnorance>
when I right-click on an image file, and select 'Properties', am I looking
at the EXIF information or NTFS information?
The properties sheet (under the summary tab) shows elements like 'Width',
'Height', 'Horizontal Resolution', 'Frame Count', 'Camera Model', 'Focal
Length', 'ISO Speed' and more. WHose properties are these?
</DisplayOfIgnorance>

What makes you think that Microsoft didn't write the same logic you are
looking for and they just present the information in a Windows-style
Property sheet for the image file you've clicked on (which is what they
are probably doing...)?

-ceo

 

[Mike]

My thanks to all who have responded. I now see that it is a more involved
task than a (relatively?) simple Perl script. In the interest of speed, I
have started looking at commercially available alternatives.

Thanks Again,
Mike