is there a limit to size of -csv output file

[henrySz]

Hello, I was trying to make a database of the metadata of my photos using the line command:
exiftool -csv -r Z:\MYPICT~1 > outZ.csv
However, exiftool (version 9.8.8 ) stopped working and asked to be closed. This seems to occur when the size of the file reached 2,016,052 Kb as shown in Windows Task Manager. This occurred twice. Is there a 2 Gb size limit that exiftool can handle? I run it from a DOS window in Win 7. With many thanks,
henry

[Phil Harvey]

Hi Henry,

From the -csv option documentation:

            Note that this option is fundamentally different than all other
            output format options because it requires information from all
            input files to be buffered in memory before the output is written.
            This may result in excessive memory usage when processing a very
            large number of files with a single command.  [...]

This may be your problem.  I suggest using -json or -xmlOutput formatting instead if you are dealing with a large number of files.

- Phil

[henrySz]

Many thanks for your quick response, Phil! Much appreciated and best wishes for a Happy New Year!
henry