Bad NikonScanIFD directory

[JL]

What does "Bad NikonScanIFD directory" mean. I have several photos that I can't update with GeoSetter because this warning won't allow the photos to be saved after changes. Is it fixable?

If it can be fixed I can gather them altogether and fix it.

[Phil Harvey]

You can use the -m option to ignore minor errors, allowing these images to be written.

ExifTool will delete the invalid NikonScanIFD from these images when you write them with this option.

This is FAQ number 15

- Phil

[JL]

Sorry, I still haven't learned to use ExifTool but I found, after I'd left this question, that if I stripped the version # (the only maker note there is on these scanned slides) out of the maker notes with ExifToolGUI, I could make other changes with GeoSetter and save the files. I'm guessing this is the same thing.

[JL]

I realize that -m is not the same as stripping the maker notes obviously, except for having the effect of getting rid of my problem.

Do you have a user-friendly how-to manual anywhere because ExifTool remains a total mystery to me. I've gotten as far as being able to drag a photo onto the exiftool(-k).exe icon and have a black screen show me the metadata. Not hugely useful since I can see it any number of other places. Where does the writing/making changes part come into it? Perhaps, starting with what is the 'command line'?

I 'think' I'm being told to drag and drop a photo onto exiftool(-k).exe. Then the black screen opens, it tells me to Press Any Key, so obviously I can't type anything there, like -m for instance, because as soon as I hit Any Key, the screen goes away.

[Phil Harvey]

Running exiftool with no options just displays the metadata as you have found.  Options may be added in side the brackets of the "exiftool(-k)" name to for simple drag and drop use.  The -k option does nothing except keep the black window open so you can read the output (otherwise it will close immediately).

If what you want to do is simple, then simply adding options like this (or creating Windows shortcuts with different options in the "Target" property) may be sufficient.

For more involved metadata manipulations, running from the command line is recommended:

1) Follow the installation instructions for Windows command-line use.

2) Launch the "cmd" application in Windows (from the Windows 7 "Start" menu, type "cmd" in the search box then double click on the "cmd" application to run).

3) In the black "cmd" window, type an exiftool command, then press RETURN.  See the examples in the application documentation for a wide range of example commands you can type.  Note that in Windows you must use double quotes (") instead of single quotes (') as in the documentation when quoting command-line arguments.

I'm currently working on writing a quick-start document which will hopefully will help in situations like this.  Feel free to post in this thread if you have any suggestions.

- Phil

[JL]

I already followed the installation instructions for everything included cmd. I have cmd as a shortcut on my desktop.

But I still don't understand where I'm supposed to enter the various code that you tell me when I ask a question. For instance, where do I put -m? I've tried adding it to exiftool(-k).exe as exiftool(-k -m).exe. That doesn't work. I can't add it to any of the black windows regardless of how I generate one. Either because the window disappears because it just does or because there's some default code in there that won't go away, like:

C:\Users\JL> where the > doesn't belong in the file path

or

C:Windows\System32 where 32 doesn't belong in the file-path

Somewhere between the installations instructions and the various tags there's something missing for me. Where do I put the commands to make a change happen?

[Phil Harvey]

A picture (or two) may be worth a thousand words.  Here are some pictures I was preparing for the how-to document.  The first shows a command I typed to add some information to an image, and the 2nd shows a command to extract some information.  In both examples, the image was called "pic1.jpg" and was on my desktop.





- Phil

[JL]

Of course, I still don't get it.

I put into my box C:\Users\JL>exiftool Desktop\1975-0002.jpg -m

Now, theoretically, I should be able to open this image in GeoSetter, make some changes and save the file. But it still won't save. Here's the list of why:

Warning: Truncated NikonScanIFD directory. IFD dropped. - C:/Users/JL/Desktop/1975-0002.JPG
Error: [minor] Bad NikonScanIFD directory - C:/Users/JL/Desktop/1975-0002.JPG
Warning: Truncated NikonScanIFD directory. IFD dropped. - C:/Users/JL/Desktop/1975-0002.JPG
Error: [minor] Bad NikonScanIFD directory - C:/Users/JL/Desktop/1975-0002.JPG

[Phil Harvey]

I put into my box C:\Users\JL>exiftool Desktop\1975-0002.jpg -m

I hope that your "box" was the cmd window, and that you typeed only "exiftool Desktop\1975-0002.jpg -m" then pressed return.

If so, you are close.  All you have to do is actually write some EXIF information to fix this problem in the maker notes.  Try typing this instead:

exiftool Desktop\1975-0002.jpg -m -exif:resolutionunit=inches

Here I am writing an innocuous tag which should already be set to "inches" anyway.  If it doesn't work, cut and paste the contents of the cmd window so I can see the messages.

- Phil

[JL]

Yes, the cmd box and just as you said. How would I ever know I missed -exif:resolutionunit=inches, which has absolutely nothing to do with the maker notes which consist of nothing except a version number. Boy, you gotta stay awake.

Damn! it actually worked.

Thanks, Phil. I've made huge progress today.

[Phil Harvey]

How would I ever know I missed -exif:resolutionunit=inches, which has absolutely nothing to do with the maker notes which consist of nothing except a version number.

You didn't miss it.  All you need to do is write any EXIF information with the -m option to fix the makernote problem.  If you don't write anything, exiftool will not modify the file.  My choice of Exif:ResolutionUnit is not special.

Damn! it actually worked.

Hooray!

- Phil