Problem with PhotoMatix

[WINDDANCER]

CAN ANYONE ASSIST ME IN SOLVING MY PROBLEM. I HAVE BEEN USING PHOTOMATIX SOFTWARE TO PRODUCE HDR PHOTOS FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AND I RECENTLY UPDATED THE SOFTWARE TO VERSION PRO 5.0.5a. NOW WHEN I CLICK ON SAVE AS A JPG FILE IT SHOWS UP AS A THUMBNAIL WITH A EXTENSION OF .JPG_EXIFTOOL_TMP WHICH I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO OPEN AND AT THIS POINT IN MY AMATURE PHOTOGRAPHY PROBABLY HAVE NO NEED. IF I CLICK TO SAVE THE FILE AGAIN I GET A TRUMBNAIL OF THE PHOTO WITH SIMPLY A .JPG EXTENSION. I RIGHT CLICKED ON THE .JPG_EXIFTOOL_TMP THUMBNAIL AND SELECTED OPEN WITH ONE APPLICATION AFTER ANOTHER AND THEN ONE OF THE APPLICATION CHOICES WAS READ AND WRITE META INFORMATION BY PHIL HARVEY SO I THINK I MAY HAVE DOWNLOADED YOUR SOFTWARE BY MISTAKE SOMETIME IN THE PAST. WHEN I CLICK ON WRITE META INFO THE BLACK DOS BOX COMES ON THE SCREEN FOR JUST A SECOND THEN DISAPPEARS BEFORE I HAVE A CHANCE TO READ IT BUT THE FILE DOES NOT OPEN. DO YOU THINK THE READ AND WRITE META INFO PROGRAM CAUSES THE PHOTOMATIX SOFTWARE TO SAVE AS AN .JPG_EXIFTOOL_TMP FILE. I HAVE ZERO KNOLEDGE ABOUT THE EXIFTOOL PROGRAM AND NEED TO KNOW IF THERE IS A SAFE WAY TO REMOVE IT FROM MY COMPUTER FOR NOW. THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP.
WINDDANCER

[Hayo Baan]

Hello Winddancer,

First of all please don't shout. Your use of all caps for your message not only comes across as impolite, but makes it hard to read as well...

Anyway, ".JPG_EXIFTOOL_TMP" could indeed have been created by exiftool. They are used as temporary files. The fact that they are still around means exiftool found a problem processing your file. But why is it run in the first place? As far as I'm aware, PhotoMatix doesn't use exiftool, so it shouldn't run when all you have done is use PhotoMatix.

Deleting exiftool is done by simply removing its executable from where you installed it.

[Phil Harvey]

I think the caps lock on your keyboard is stuck.

I doubt that you installed ExifTool by mistake.  It is more likely that the other software uses ExifTool to write the metadata.  The fact that a "_exiftool_tmp" file remains could be an indication of interference by some other software like a virus scanner, because this should not happen.

If ExifTool is packaged with your other software, then uninstalling the other software should remove ExifTool too.  If you installed ExifTool yourself, the uninstall instructions are here.

- Phil

[WINDDANCER]

Hi Phil
I am new to this forum and to forums in general. I didn't know caps actually meant you were shouting. Sorry. With my eyesight it is easier for me to read caps.
Thanks Phil and everyone else for the quick replies. I will use them to try to solve my problem. I will also contact with Photomatix to check for known problems of this nature.

Thanks
Winddancer