Portable ExifTool GUI?

[KenO]

Is it possible to run ExifTool GUI from a USB Drive?

Thanks

Ken

[BogdanH]

Hi Ken,

I haven't tried, but I'm quite sure it will work from USB stick. Just make some folder (i.e. ET_GUI) and put Exiftool.exe + ExiftoolGUI.exe into it, and run GUI from there. After first execution, GUI will automatically create a small ini file inside this folder (this ini file contains several GUI settings) -beacause of this, GUI can't be run from read-only media (i.e. CD-ROM).
I believe Exiftool.exe (which is called from GUI) will write some data on HDD -which can be found (and deleted later, if neccessary) inside Windows Temp folder.

Greetings,
Bogdan

[Phil Harvey]

As Bogdan mentioned, exiftool unpacks files into a temporary directory the first time it is run.  This temporary directory may be specified via environment variables so in theory it could be located on the USB drive if you want.  See the PAR documentation notes for details.

- Phil

[KenO]

Phil

Thanks for the doc link!

Fortunately everything has worked OK using the Portable ExifTool GUI USB Drive on WinXP if JPGs are  used but had problems with NEFs. 

Will give the details in a separate post so not to confuse everyone.

Ken

[KenO]

Bogdan,

As previously mentioned everything seems to work on WinXP except No Images for RAW photos.

Most of the use of the Portable ExifTool GUI will be on WinXP PCs that I have no control over what WinXP updates and other files are installed.

Would like a small RAW image only as a check that I am viewing the correct photo.

Is it possible to have a Portable ExifTool GUI that is entirely self contained for RAW images (does Not depend on WinXP to show small RAW photos)?

Ken

[BogdanH]

Hi Ken,

I know exactly what you mean. Yes, it is possible (it always is  ) to make GUI would show preview from raw. Btw. at very beginning of making GUI, I played with that idea, but have soon discovered, that it isn't "worth" to reinvent the wheel: there already exist 3rd party tools for that purpose -and I don't need to worry about changes which might (and do) happen inside various raw files in the future. To be honest, I was very happy when I "found" FastPictureViewer codec (after ArcSoft's plugin became obsolete) -otherwise, I would be forced to do it by myself.
I don't use any other tool than Exiftool, so I can hardly recommend some other exif editor for your needs. Maybe you should try with PhotoME, which seems to be very promising (see http://www.photome.de/roadmap_en.html).

Sorry to dissapoint you..
Bogdan

[TT]

If ExifTool could look in the application directory first for the 'temporary' pearl files, then there would be no reason to write to the temp directory.  There are often reasons that the temp directory is purged, requiring a re-write of the files when ExifTool is launched again.  Also, if those files could be stored in the ET folder then it would be truely portable, and (hopefully) not be drive-letter dependant.  Is there any way this could be accomplished?

[Phil Harvey]

As mentioned, you should be able to put the exiftool temporary files wherever you want by setting the appropriate PAR environment variable.  This includes putting them in the application directory.

- Phil

[TT]

Thanks for the reply, Phil.

"... by setting the appropriate PAR environment variable."

How do I go about setting this?  I was hoping it doesn't require modifying settings on whatever computer I plug my USB flashdrive into.

Is there a way to set this variable in the app folder?

I'm trying to run exiftool(GUI) as a stand-alone 'Portable' application that is drive-letter independant and doesn't have to write a ton of stuff to the local computer's harddrive.

Sorry, I'm not a programmer.

[Phil Harvey]

How do I go about setting this?

From the command line, this could be done with a command something like this before running exiftool:

set PAR_GLOBAL_TMPDIR=F:\

But I don't know how this would be done when running ExifToolGUI.  Perhaps there is a way to set this in the Properties of ExifToolGUI.exe?

- Phil

[BogdanH]

Hi,

I've tried "set" and it works... but only as long console window (in which "set" was executed) is open and user executes commands there. Once console is closed, Windows (local) "set" variables are lost -meaning: everytime console window is opened (for Exiftool usage), user must take care to place "set" variable first.

IMO, the simplest way is... after Exiftool(GUI) usage, one deletes temp files manually (or using some *.bat script).

Bogdan

[Mike Lee]

While others may be aware of this script, I had to look long and hard to find a way to delete the temp "par" folder ExifTool creates.  While the average user won't have a use for this, I suspect that those who visit this forum are not typical ExifTool users and so might find it useful.

[batch file attached]

Mike Lee

[BogdanH]

Hi Mike,

Thank you for comming by with this idea.

Greetings,
Bogdan

[Mike Lee]

Bogdan,

You are very welcome.  I've now compiled this batch file into a tiny executable, which makes it very easy to use.  I believe using RDpar.exe goes a long way towards making ExifToolGUI (i.e. ExifTool) "portable" as it deletes ExifTool's temp folder on virtually any Windows machine.

Mike

RDpar.exe (zipped) attached

[RoninV]

Having a portable ExifTool (gui) is great. As far as the .bat file Mike created, two things. (1) You indicate "...deletes ExifTool's temp folder on virtually any Windows machine." Which OS or machine configurations did the .bat not work? (2) Where can one download this .bat, or has it become a built in feature of ExifTool (gui) since Aug 2010?

Ronin