Hi. Some help needed!

[Papa39]

Hello.  I haven't used exiftool before.  I've read what I'm supposed to do but am a bit confused still.

So.  I've downloaded and unzipped exiftool (Windows 11)

I have folders full of files (jpeg thumbnails downloaded from a server) and I want to scan all the files in each folder, to see what, if any, exif data left in them.  I believe exif data has already been removed (or GPS data at least), but manually checking all of them would take forever!

I think it sounds easier to use the command line.  So - I change the applicationname to exiftool.exe.  The unzipped folder is currently in downloads - is it ok to stay in there?

Then what do I type in the command line (my image folders are also in the downloads section).

Edit:  I can't get the application with the k on it to do anything.  I've tried adding it as an exception to antivirus.  If double clicking, it just does nothing.  If I try and drop a file in it, it just does nothing.  So thought it might be simpler just to change it to .exe and use the command line :-)

I'm fairly familiar with using the commandline, but usually need help with putting the correct syntax/instruction!  Thank you.

[StarGeek]

So - I change the applicationname to exiftool.exe.  The unzipped folder is currently in downloads - is it ok to stay in there?

It's ok for it to stay there, but that has to be your current directory to run it. Or you can provide the full path to the command to run it. The example you give, all the files in the same directory as exiftool, would work fine.

I would suggest removing the copy you downloaded and installing it with Oliver Betz's exiftool installer. It will install exiftool to a security safe location and add it to the PATH env variable so that exiftool will be available to run everywhere. You would have to close and re-open any command lines after installing.

Then what do I type in the command line (my image folders are also in the downloads section).

The best command is the one in FAQ #3. It shows you all known data, including tags that have duplicated names, and the groups they belong to.

If you want to look at a specific group, such as only EXIF data (note that there might be a lot of data in the other groups), you would use
exiftool -G1 -a -s -EXIF:All /path/to/files/

You can also use an asterisk as a wildcard.  For example, to look at the GPS data, you can use this command, which shows all tags that start with "gps"
exiftool -G1 -a -s -gps* /path/to/files/

If you wanted to look at all the date/time tags (a common request), you would use
exiftool -time:all -G1 -a -s /path/to/files/

[Papa39]

So - I change the applicationname to exiftool.exe.  The unzipped folder is currently in downloads - is it ok to stay in there?

It's ok for it to stay there, but that has to be your current directory to run it. Or you can provide the full path to the command to run it. The example you give, all the files in the same directory as exiftool, would work fine.

I would suggest removing the copy you downloaded and installing it with Oliver Betz's exiftool installer. It will install exiftool to a security safe location and add it to the PATH env variable so that exiftool will be available to run everywhere. You would have to close and re-open any command lines after installing.

Then what do I type in the command line (my image folders are also in the downloads section).

The best command is the one in FAQ #3. It shows you all known data, including tags that have duplicated names, and the groups they belong to.

If you want to look at a specific group, such as only EXIF data (note that there might be a lot of data in the other groups), you would use
exiftool -G1 -a -s -EXIF:All /path/to/files/

You can also use an asterisk as a wildcard.  For example, to look at the GPS data, you can use this command, which shows all tags that start with "gps"
exiftool -G1 -a -s -gps* /path/to/files/

If you wanted to look at all the date/time tags (a common request), you would use
exiftool -time:all -G1 -a -s /path/to/files/

Thank you very much.  The files are .data files (as downloaded from server).  Will it read those as well or do I have to convert them to something else first?

[Papa39]

I got "exiftool" is not recognised as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. Maybe because it's Windows 11?

[StarGeek]

Thank you very much.  The files are .data files (as downloaded from server).  Will it read those as well or do I have to convert them to something else first?

If they are something like JPEGs with an incorrect .data extension, then exiftool will read them, but you will need to add the -ext (-extension) option to your command.
-ext+ data

If they are not image files, then in all likelihood exiftool won't be able to read them. See the Supported File Types table.

I got "exiftool" is not recognised as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. Maybe because it's Windows 11?

No, it's because the directory that exiftool is in isn't part of the PATH env variable. You need to do one of the following:
* Place exiftool in the current directory. This includes the exiftool_files subdirectory.
* Reinstall exiftool with the installer I linked above. This should (I think) add the exiftool directory to the PATH. This is the best way to do it.
* Provide the complete path to exiftool every time you run it.
* Add the directory that exiftool is in to the PATH. This would be the second-best solution. A quick search pulls up this tutorial on how to do it.

[Papa39]

It sounds very complicated!  I've now established that a proportion of the files do contain full location data. However the files I'm wanting to strip are in the server, not on computer. So presumably the command line wouldn't work for that.  Is there a way to run it via the server?

[StarGeek]

It sounds very complicated!

You should probably read some tutorials about command lines first. The various AI sites like ChatGPT are also pretty good at explaining command line basics.

I've now established that a proportion of the files do contain full location data. However the files I'm wanting to strip are in the server, not on computer. So presumably the command line wouldn't work for that.

You can mount a server directory as a drive share or access it via the Windows  \\<servername>\ type path.  How are you reading the files off of the server? Running exiftool would probably be the same way.

Is there a way to run it via the server?

Exiftool is a Perl script, so you can run it on any computer that has Perl installed.

[Papa39]

Thank you.  I decided to download the files from the server onto computer instead.  And do it on computer.  The files all end in .data.  Will exiftool work on that, or do I need to convert them to .jpeg first?

AI said drag and drop exiftool.exe into the folder with all the files in - is that right?

[StarGeek]

The files all end in .data.  Will exiftool work on that, or do I need to convert them to .jpeg first?

Answered in my second post.

AI said drag and drop exiftool.exe into the folder with all the files in - is that right?

Because exiftool can be so complex, you shouldn't trust anything AI says.

I still suggest you re-install using the installer I linked above. That will make exiftool available no matter what directory you are in

But if you do move exiftool to the directory you want to work in, you must also move the exiftool_files directory as well.

[Papa39]

Ok I should have read that before asking AI ha ha.  Anyway, I did this on a spare laptop just in case anything went wrong, and used copies of the files.

So I

1) renamed it exiftool.exe
2) copied exiftool.exe and the files folder into the folder with the images in
3) shift and right clicked within the images folder and opened the terminal (apparently so it only worked within that folder).
4) Ran a command to remove gps exif.


For that I had .\exiftool.exe -r -ext data -gps:all .\foldername

Which apparently removed all the gps info. 

I could do to check whether that was successful or not.  What would I run to check if all files have gps exif removed?  The commands you mentioned above don't seem to be recognised doing it this way



 

[StarGeek]

For that I had
.\exiftool.exe -r -ext data -gps:all .\foldername

Which apparently removed all the gps info.

That command didn't remove anything. It only listed any GPS data that might have existed in EXIF block. It does not list GPS data that might be in other locations such as XMP.

What would I run to check if all files have gps exif removed?

Answered in my first post.

The commands you mentioned above don't seem to be recognised doing it this way

I can't comment on this without knowing exactly what command you used and the exact output.



 
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[Papa39]

Apologies.  You're right, I pasted the wrong one. That was the command to check GPS had been removed after running this command

.\exiftool.exe -r -ext data -gps:all= -xmp:geotag= -overwrite_original .

After that it said

129 directories scanned 245 images updated 7534 image files unchanged

It also had some minor warnings for some files with things like "Duplicate XMP property and entries in IFD0 were out of sequence. Fixed."

Does that sound ok?

[StarGeek]

-xmp:geotag=

This is nonsense. You use -xmp:geotag when you want to set XMP GPS tags. Setting it equal to nothing doesn't do anything.

I would suggest
exiftool.exe -r -ext data -gps*= -overwrite_original .

129 directories scanned 245 images updated 7534 image files unchanged

Sounds like most of the files didn't have any EXIF GPS tags. Though it doesn't rule out XMP GPS tags, but those aren't very common, as most programs use the GPS tags in the EXIF group.

It also had some minor warnings for some files with things like "Duplicate XMP property and entries in IFD0 were out of sequence. Fixed."

Unless there was an "Error", you probably don't have to worry about it. Exiftool would have fixed some of these things.

[Papa39]

Thank you. Yes it was silly of me to rely on AI.  I just got a bit desperate! I've been trying to deal with this for days - ie removing GPS location from all the photos within a server (for a website).

I initially ran code to remove it within server.  Which worked but corrupted all the files so had to then replace them with the backups and downloaded them to computer and start again with exiftool.  (Which I will admit gets my brain very confused).

So you think that command I pasted won't have removed the gps location completely in any files that had it?  Yes the vast majority of the files didn't have GPS location exif to start with - I'd already established that.  It was only the ones from a particular camera that had the full GPS data on them.

There was one error in the output.  "Writing of this type of file is not supported"  I think it was just one file.

[Papa39]

"I would suggest
exiftool.exe -r -ext data -gps*= -overwrite_original ."

Ok - so maybe I should start again, making new copies from the originals and using the proper code you've suggested above 

Curious though as to why I needed to put .\exiftool.exe - because it just didn't recognise it if I just put exiftool on its own (it was AI told me to do .\ and it worked then).