Transition from Windows Live Photo Gallery (WLPG) to ACDSee 2021

[StarGeek]

The convert_regions.config doesn't do ACDSee regions.  The ACDSee definitions are only in the ACDSee.config.  The convert_regions.config converts between Microsoft, IPTC, and MWG regions.  I just used it to create a MWG region from the Microsoft region in your file to compare it to the ACDSee region, as the ACDSee region are basically the same as MWG regions, just with different tag names.

I'll see about testing the free trial for ACDSee and see what I can figure out.

[StarGeek]

I found time to install a trial run of ACDSee Home edition and here's what I found.

Looked at the Y:/!temp/mmm/20190904_093253511_iOS.jpg_original file (renaming to Y:/!temp/mmm/20190904_093253511_iOS_original.jpg), as that was the one that didn't include an ACDSee region, but did include a MWG and Microsoft region.

Code Select Expand

C:\>exiftool -config acdsee.config -*region* -g1 -a -s Y:\!temp\mmm\20190904_093253511_iOS_original.jpg
---- XMP-mwg-rs ----
RegionAreaY                     : 0.17200000584125524, 0.13850000500679022
RegionAreaW                     : 0.10400000214576721, 0.15800000727176666
RegionAreaX                     : 0.22500002384185791, 0.14600002765655518
RegionAreaH                     : 0.078000001609325409, 0.11900000274181367
RegionAreaUnit                  : normalized, normalized
RegionType                      : Face, Focus
RegionExtensionsAngleInfoYaw    : 0
RegionExtensionsAngleInfoRoll   : 8
RegionExtensionsConfidenceLevel : 99
RegionExtensionsTimeStamp       : 356850655540
RegionExtensionsFaceID          : 1
RegionExtensions                :
RegionAppliedToDimensionsH      : 4032
RegionAppliedToDimensionsW      : 3023.9999999999995
RegionAppliedToDimensionsUnit   : pixel
---- XMP-MP ----
RegionRectangle                 : 0.321111, 0.116712, 0.395495, 0.226523
RegionPersonDisplayName         : Master Woo

Checked it in ACDSee and there were not regions shown.  But checking the others that did have regions, they also didn't show any regions.  Looking around, I found the "Import ACDSee Face Data" menu item.

Ran that on all the files and all files with an ACDSee region embedded now showed regions.

Made a copy of the above file, now called 20190904_093253511_iOS_original-newcopy.jpg.  Ran command on the file to convert the Microsoft region into the ACDSee region. There was an Error reading MPImage2 warning, but that didn't affect writing the new region.

Code Select Expand

C:\>exiftool -config acdsee.config -P -overwrite_original "-RegionInfoACDSee<MPRegion2ACDSeeRegion" Y:\!temp\mmm\20190904_093253511_iOS_original-newcopy.jpg
Warning: Error reading MPImage2 from file - Y:/!temp/mmm/20190904_093253511_iOS_original-newcopy.jpg
    1 image files updated

C:\>exiftool -config acdsee.config -*region* -g1 -a -s Y:\!temp\mmm\20190904_093253511_iOS_original-newcopy.jpg
---- XMP-MP ----
RegionPersonDisplayName         : Master Woo
RegionRectangle                 : 0.321111, 0.116712, 0.395495, 0.226523
---- XMP-acdsee-rs ----
ACDSeeRegionAppliedToDimensionsH: 3333
ACDSeeRegionAppliedToDimensionsUnit: pixel
ACDSeeRegionAppliedToDimensionsW: 1909
ACDSeeRegionDLYAreaH            : 0.226523
ACDSeeRegionDLYAreaW            : 0.395495
ACDSeeRegionDLYAreaX            : 0.5188585
ACDSeeRegionDLYAreaY            : 0.2299735
ACDSeeRegionName                : Master Woo
ACDSeeRegionType                : Face
---- XMP-mwg-rs ----
RegionAppliedToDimensionsH      : 4032
RegionAppliedToDimensionsUnit   : pixel
RegionAppliedToDimensionsW      : 3023.9999999999995
RegionAreaH                     : 0.078000001609325409, 0.11900000274181367
RegionAreaUnit                  : normalized, normalized
RegionAreaW                     : 0.10400000214576721, 0.15800000727176666
RegionAreaX                     : 0.22500002384185791, 0.14600002765655518
RegionAreaY                     : 0.17200000584125524, 0.13850000500679022
RegionExtensionsAngleInfoRoll   : 8
RegionExtensionsAngleInfoYaw    : 0
RegionExtensionsConfidenceLevel : 99
RegionExtensionsFaceID          : 1
RegionExtensionsTimeStamp       : 356850655540
RegionType                      : Face, Focus
RegionExtensions                :

Exiftool now shows an ACDSee region embedded in the file.  It should be noted that the MWG region does not contain a RegionName.  Converting this region to an ACDSee region will end up with an ACDSee region that does not load.  The ACDSeeRegionName is required.  Thought for later, maybe automatically add an "Unknown Region ###" name to the nameless regions.

Re-ran "Import ACDSee Face Data" on the file.  Image now shows up in ACDSee


Also of note, there's a menu entry to inport Picasa/Lightroom region data as well.

[Phil Harvey]

Wow StarGeek.  You go above and beyond!

And Master Woo!...  LOL

- Phil

[StarGeek]

Well, I did want to try ACDSee out at some point, so why not now?

But there's already plenty of deal breakers for me to use it.  Database is set to C:\User\<username>\AppData\Local\ and I can't find a way to change it.  Not everyone has large boot drives.  And someone who isn't computer savvy won't necessarily be able to figure out where it's located in order back it up.   Also adds in a right-click context menu for Windows directories and no apparent way to disable it.  My right click menu has too many options as it is without adding this


Also, a tray icon that is there even when the program isn't running.  I can't find a way to get rid of that, either.


Add your comment under the ACDSee xmp tags, and it's a big no thank you from me.

[miweb]

Dear StarGeek,

first of all: THANK YOU very much for the time you invested. I finally found some time to test this and here are my results:

1. I ran you command on another file as follows:

D:\Photos\2021\changed>exiftool -config convert_regions.config -*region* -g1 -a -s D:\Photos\2021\test\DSC09173.jpg
Bareword found where operator expected at convert_regions.config line 8, near ""en" data"
        (Missing operator before data?)
Bareword found where operator expected at convert_regions.config line 8, near ""auto" data"
        (Missing operator before data?)
Bareword found where operator expected at convert_regions.config line 8, near ""light" data"
        (Missing operator before data?)
Excessively long <> operator at convert_regions.config line 18.
---- XMP-MP ----
RegionRectangle                 : 0.576214, 0.411173, 0.080402, 0.107263
RegionPersonDisplayName         : Jojo Jais El Valaho


2. => it found the face correctly. This is great. Then I checked in ACDSee and the person was not shown - exactly as you described
3. Then I used the "Import ACDSee Face Data" option for the file and this gave me following pop-up notification: "This file does not contain valid embedded ACDSee face data"

As this worked for you but not for me, I assume that I did something wrong. If you have any hint on the above, kindly please let me know.

Thank you

[StarGeek]

A bit late as I've been dealing with computer problems of my own.

1. I ran you command on another file as follows:

D:\Photos\2021\changed>exiftool -config convert_regions.config -*region* -g1 -a -s D:\Photos\2021\test\DSC09173.jpg

As I said

The convert_regions.config doesn't do ACDSee regions.  The ACDSee definitions are only in the ACDSee.config.  The convert_regions.config converts between Microsoft, IPTC, and MWG regions.  I just used it to create a MWG region from the Microsoft region in your file to compare it to the ACDSee region

Go back to this post.  Follow the link and grab the updated ACDSee.config file.  That is the only config file you will use.  Then use the command listed to convert Microsoft regions into ACDSee regions.  Ignore the command that converts MWG regions, as you don't have those.

[miweb]

again thank you very much and sorry for the misunderstanding. we are getting closer:

using following command works, but ACDSee does not read any faces tagged with Windows Live Photogallery

D:\Photos\2021\test>exiftool -config acdsee.config "-RegionInfoACDSee<MPRegion2ACDSeeRegion" D:\Photos\2021\test\
Warning: [minor] Possibly incorrect maker notes offsets (fix by 4198?) - D:/Photos/2021/test/DSC00755.JPG
Warning: [minor] Possibly incorrect maker notes offsets (fix by 4140?) - D:/Photos/2021/test/DSC00756.JPG
Warning: [minor] Possibly incorrect maker notes offsets (fix by 4140?) - D:/Photos/2021/test/DSC00757.JPG
Warning: [minor] Possibly incorrect maker notes offsets (fix by 4186?) - D:/Photos/2021/test/DSC04477.JPG
Warning: [minor] Possibly incorrect maker notes offsets (fix by 4128?) - D:/Photos/2021/test/DSC04478.JPG
Warning: [minor] Possibly incorrect maker notes offsets (fix by 4128?) - D:/Photos/2021/test/DSC04479.JPG
    1 directories scanned
    6 image files updated


using following command reads the correct person name which was tagged via Windows Live Photogallery but does not write anything to the files:

D:\Photos\2021\test>exiftool -config acdsee.config -*region* -g1 -a -s D:\Photos\2021\test\
======== D:/Photos/2021/test/DSC04478.JPG
---- XMP-MP ----
RegionRectangle                 : 0.287109, 0.283854, 0.151367, 0.201823, 0.490702, 0.490358, 0.172521, 0.230028
RegionPersonDisplayName         : Person1, Person2
RegionPersonEmailDigest         : 2A44004F4B17D6EFAC18F1DEF7E2444A18D7F184
RegionPersonLiveIdCID           : -1892378123817563794
RegionPersonSourceID            : WL:-1892378123817563794
======== D:/Photos/2021/test/DSC04479.JPG
---- XMP-MP ----
RegionRectangle                 : 0.024414, 0.096354, 0.247070, 0.329427, 0.377066, 0.329201, 0.364669, 0.486226
RegionPersonDisplayName         : Person1, Person2
RegionPersonEmailDigest         : 2A44004F4B17D6EFAC18F1DEF7E2444A18D7F184
RegionPersonLiveIdCID           : -1892378123817563794
RegionPersonSourceID            : WL:-1892378123817563794
======== D:/Photos/2021/test/exiftool.exe
    1 directories scanned
    3 image files read


my question is: which is the correct command line to read the tagged faces via Windows Live Photogallery and write them in the way AcdSee can read them?

[StarGeek]

using following command works, but ACDSee does not read any faces tagged with Windows Live Photogallery

D:\Photos\2021\test>exiftool -config acdsee.config "-RegionInfoACDSee<MPRegion2ACDSeeRegion" D:\Photos\2021\test\

...

my question is: which is the correct command line to read the tagged faces via Windows Live Photogallery and write them in the way AcdSee can read them?

That is the correct command.  As I showed in my previous post, I ran the command on the images you provided, told ACDSee to import the face data, and the regions showed up in ACDSee.

I'm not sure what is going wrong on your end, but I tested it thoroughly here and it worked.  All I can suggest is that you start over, remove all the config files and grab the updated acdsee.config file and test it on files that are not already part of the ACDSee library and only import them after running the command.

[miweb]

huge kudos! I retested this and it works perfect.
last question please. Is there a way to achieve following directly via cmd parameters?
1. run the conversion for all files within the current folder AND all files within all subfolders?
2. disable the creation of the backup copy

THANK YOU!

[StarGeek]

Add the -r (-recurse) option and the -overwrite_original option.

[miweb]

@StarGeek: this is absolutely mind-blowing!!! I could not believe this! With your help, Exiftool just saved me (and everyone else who'll run in this situation) several months of manual work!!! Within 5 min I was able to re-assign the faces for over 1000 photos. 179734 more files to go

TAHNK YOU again!!!

[miweb]

Closing the loop and documenting the 10 steps you need to do if you run in this situation:

You used the tool Windows Photo Gallery (aka. WLP) and used the face detection option to mark all persons (and manually the pets). Now you switched to ACDSee and have the bad surprise that no person was recognized. You think about the thousands of photos to need to manually re-tag and you start sweating and ask yourself: "OMG what have I done"? 
Well, no worry. If you are reding this, you will did everything right.

Following 10 steps will solve your issue:

BEFORE YOU DO this, ensure you BACKUP YOUR PHOTOS!!! Copy your photo folders on an external drive and disconnect it from your computer (yes, these is the "backup-maniac" option)

Here are the steps:
1. Create a folder called "Tool". I will use for this example "D:\Tool\"
2. Download and extract the file "exiftool(-k).exe" from https://exiftool.org/ (you can use the "Windows Executable" zip download link -> at the point of this writing it's called "exiftool-12.29.zip")
3. Save the file in the folder "D:\Tool\"
4. Optional step: rename the file "exiftool(-k).exe" to "exiftool.exe" -> this is just for simplicity reasons
5. Download the file called "ACDSee.config" from here: https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=12377.0;attach=4092 (or from this post https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php?topic=12377.0)
6. Save the file "ACDSee.config" in your folder "D:\Tool\"
7. Start the the Command Prompt (hit "Windows" on your keyboard, type "cmd" and hit enter)
8. Navigate to "D:\Tool\" (first type "d:" and hit enter. Then type "cd Tool" and hit enter)
9. Locate your Photos folder and remember the path. For this example I have all my photos saved in the folder "D:\Photos\". I have my photos organized by one folder for each year, so "D:\Photos\2021", "D:\Photos\2020"... etc.
10. Start the tool with following parameters: D:\Tool\exiftool -config acdsee.config "-RegionInfoACDSee<MPRegion2ACDSeeRegion" -r -overwrite_original D:\Photos\

!!!ATTENTION: this command will update ALL photos within the folder "D:\Photos\" including ALL photos in all subfolders like "D:\Photos\2021", "D:\Photos\2020" WITHOUT any backup!!!

PS: If you wish to have a backup file created automatically, use this command: D:\Tool\exiftool -config acdsee.config "-RegionInfoACDSee<MPRegion2ACDSeeRegion" -r D:\Photos\


THANK YOU again to the Exiftool creators and to StarGeek for providing the guidance!

[StarGeek]

8. Navigate to "D:\Tool\" (first type "d:" and hit enter. Then type "cd Tool" and hit enter)

Minor enhancement, use the /D option
cd /D D:\Tool\

[miweb]

Closing the loop and documenting the steps you need to do if you run in this situation:

You used the tool Windows Photo Gallery (aka. WLP) and used the face detection option to mark all persons (and manually the pets). Now you switched to ACDSee and have the bad surprise that no person was recognized. You think about the thousands of photos to need to manually re-tag and you start sweating and ask yourself: "OMG what have I done"? 
Well, no worry. If you are reding this, you will did everything right.

Following steps will solve your issue:

BEFORE YOU DO this, ensure you BACKUP YOUR PHOTOS!!! Copy your photo folders on an external drive and disconnect it from your computer (yes, these is the "backup-maniac" option)

Here are the steps:
1. Create a folder called "Tool". I will use for this example "D:\Tool\"
2. Download and extract the file "exiftool(-k).exe" from https://exiftool.org/ (you can use the "Windows Executable" zip download link -> at the point of this writing it's called "exiftool-12.29.zip")
3. Save the file in the folder "D:\Tool\"
4. Optional step: rename the file "exiftool(-k).exe" to "exiftool.exe" -> this is just for simplicity reasons
5. Download the file called "ACDSee.config" from here: https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=12377.0;attach=4092 (or from this post https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php?topic=12377.0)
6. Save the file "ACDSee.config" in your folder "D:\Tool\"
7. Start the the Command Prompt (hit "Windows" on your keyboard, type "cmd" and hit enter)
8. Navigate to "D:\Tool\" (first type "d:" and hit enter. Then type "cd Tool" and hit enter)
9. Locate your Photos folder and remember the path. For this example I have all my photos saved in the folder "D:\Photos\". I have my photos organized by one folder for each year, so "D:\Photos\2021", "D:\Photos\2020"... etc.
10. Start the tool with following parameters: D:\Tool\exiftool -config acdsee.config "-RegionInfoACDSee<MPRegion2ACDSeeRegion" -r -overwrite_original D:\Photos\

!!!ATTENTION: this command will update ALL photos within the folder "D:\Photos\" including ALL photos in all subfolders like "D:\Photos\2021", "D:\Photos\2020" WITHOUT any backup!!!

11. Open ACDSee and select all photos from the folder "D:\Photos"
12. Go to "Tools" -> "Face Detection" -> "Import ACDSee Face Data"
13. Confirm the overwrite message by clicking "OK"
14. Wait until all faces are imported


PS: If you wish to have a backup file created automatically, use this command: D:\Tool\exiftool -config acdsee.config "-RegionInfoACDSee<MPRegion2ACDSeeRegion" -r D:\Photos\

[robertklink]

Can any of you comment on how close this (apparently) WLPG solution is to an equivalent Picasa to ACDSee solution?