3FR (and possibly other file types with only "R" support) ignored when copying

[Photon42]

(Exiftool version 12.51 on a M2 MBA)

I am trying to copy image files into a YYYYMMDD folder structure, using the following command:

Code Select Expand

exiftool -r -o . -d /Volumes/Chicken/Images/TEST/%Y-%m-%d "-directory<filemodifydate" "-directory<createdate" "-directory<datetimeoriginal" .
Everything works as intended (folders created and files copied), unless I noticed that certain files weren't copied (no error shown). Turns out all the files being ignored were of the 3FR file type.

After I played a little around with the extension of one of the 3FR files, it turns out that by renaming them to NEF or FFF they get copied (no content change, just extension change). However, using file type extensions with a "R" only support, it does not seem to work.

As I think the file copying process does not really touch the file itself, what is the background of all that and what am I doing wrong, potentially?

Thanks for pointers.
Ivo

[Phil Harvey]

Hi Ivo,

This is FAQ 16.

- Phil

[Photon42]

Hi Phil

thanks for the swift answer (and your great tool ...). Works now with

Code Select Expand

-ext+ 3FR-  but I wonder: is there a reason for that behaviour?

Cheers
Ivo

[Phil Harvey]

Hi Ivo,

The reason is because ExifTool can't write the other file types.  The fact that it can change the filesystem attributes of any file is only useful in some situations, and for most cases it doesn't make sense for ExifTool to try to write unsupported files.

- Phil