Very slow thumbnail creation by ExifToolGUI?

[polarbeer]

Hi,

I have installed latest ExifTool (8.78) and ExifToolGUI 5.4.0.0 on my Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) computer with 6 GB of RAM, 1 TB of harddrive, Intel i7 4-core CPU etc. This isn't the latest and fastest computer on the planet, but shouldn't be a total looser either yet. 

I have installed FastPictureViewer Codec Pack 3.1 Trial on my computer and that shows nicely RW2 (Panasonic) and CR2 (Canon) raw-files' thumbnails in Windows Explorer.

However when I run ExifToolGUI, thumbnails get created very, very slowly. (I have started to run ExifToolGUI as administrator, because otherwise ExifToolGUI tells me "Cannot save GUI settings", when I close the program.)

Any thoughts what's causing this slowness in thumbnail creation inside ExifToolGUI? (I have just 68 images in a folder, that has taken ExifToolGUI several minutes to create thumbnails...) 

(I have deleted all thumbnails from C-drive after FastPictureViewer Codec Pack installation using Windows' Disk Cleanup utility like is told on FastPictureViewer's homepage.)

I would like to start using ExifToolGUI to change orientation tags of some of my Panasonic RW2-images.

Thanks for your help and time! 

-pb

[BogdanH]

Hi,

You PC specs are fine and similar to what I have (or even better).
But here, thumbnails in GUI are created quite fast. I just tried (and cleaned thumbnails cache before): if GUI is maximized and I switch to directory containing about 100 CR2 files, Filelist is populated with thumbnails (42 of them) in about a second. That is, on your PC, there must be something else that slows down this process.
That is, GUI doesn't create thumbnails; GUI just makes request to OS that thumbnails are needed and then it waits until thumbnails are available to be shown.
Make sure you only have one imaging codec installed! -if you use FastPictureViewer codec pack, then no other (Canon, whatever) codec is allowed.
About GUI refuses to save settings... Only "installed" software should be inside "Program files" directory. Create new folder outside "Program files" (i.e. WinTools, or whatever), put GUI there and everything in this regard will be fine.

Bogdan

[polarbeer]

Thanks for your help and quick reply BogdanH!

Anyone willing to share their wisdom on how to check, if I have another codecs installed, that would interfere with FastPictureViewer Codec Pack 3.1?

-pb

[BogdanH]

Hi,

Because I never used Canon (or Microsoft) raw codec, I can't tell after what you should look. Anyway, I would look in Windows Control Panel (Programs and Features) after everything with "codec", "WIC" (Windows Imaging Codec) or similar in title.
There was similar case here:
https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php/topic,3842.msg17810.html#msg17810

Bogdan

[polarbeer]

Hi,

Because I never used Canon (or Microsoft) raw codec, I can't tell after what you should look. Anyway, I would look in Windows Control Panel (Programs and Features) after everything with "codec", "WIC" (Windows Imaging Codec) or similar in title.
There was similar case here:
https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php/topic,3842.msg17810.html#msg17810

Bogdan

Well I didn't find any items in my Unintall Programs -list of Control Panel, that would suggest they are codec related. I asked on FastPictureViewer user forum, if someone knows, how to check, if I have some interfering codecs installed. Lets see what they answer. First answer was, that I should contact ExifToolGUI author. 

I don't wan't to uninstall my Digital Photo Professional (Canon RAW-development software) or SilkyPix developer Studio (Panasonic RAW-dev. software) just to get FPV codec pack running smoothly with ExifToolGUI.

I just overcome this problem so far by making subfolders under my photo folders, where I drag the pictures, that needed rotation tag editing. I made dragging under FastStone Image Viewer, that shows all image formats very fast. Then I used ExifToolGUI in file list -mode to edit these tags and dragged the edited photos back to their original parent folders.

By getting RAW-thumbnails work smoothly in ExifToolGUI I wouldn't have to make this extra step, although it is quite fast.

-pb

[BogdanH]

Hi,

..First answer was, that I should contact ExifToolGUI author...

-yes, one could expect such advice  But I simply need to emphasize this: GUI doesn't create any thumbnails nor does it care who (Windows, FastPictureViewer, Canon,..) creates them.
I use FastPictureViever codec v3.0 (and nothing else) and have no problems with thumbnails.
FastPictureViewer codec actually isn't "real" codec: it creates thumbnails from embedded jpg images inside raw files -and that is what makes it so fast.
You, however, said that thumbnails creation can take very long; this implies, that there's a "real" codec involved (like Canon codec), which creates thumbnails from actual raw data... all that parallel to FastPictureViever codec -such "multiple" thumbnail creation would be very slow.
You didn't mention, but I assume, that once thumbnails are created, next time GUI shows them fast -am I right?

Bogdan

[BogdanH]

I've found your post in FPV forum. FPV author posted a small utility there, which should help you to isolate the problem. Any findings? Just curious.

Bogdan