jhead.exe and jpegtran.exe

[GeoVan]

Hello,
According to:
https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php?topic=3613.0

"As mentioned in humble GUI manual, these two files must be either in the same directory where GUI is, or (better) inside Windows directory.
Short explanation: GUI might not be the only one who might need these two files -thus, why having the same files on many places? If they are inside Windows, all other applications can use them."


and
https://exiftool.org/gui/

"Both files are included in GUI zip package. These two files are needed only:
for JPG lossless rotation purpose (see Various menu)
in case rotation is needed when embedding JPG image into raw image file.
If you think you might need this GUI feature, then copy both files into Windows directory -otherwise, both files can be deleted."


Question:
In ExiftoolGUI version 5 these 2 files are included in the GUI zip package.
For the ExiftoolGUI version 6, these 2 exe files jhead.exe & jpegtran.exe must download them separately?


I find the following download locations:
https://www.softpedia.com/get/Programming/Components-Libraries/jpegtran.shtml
http://jpegclub.org/jpegtran/

https://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Graphic/Graphic-Others/Jhead.shtml
https://www.sentex.ca/~mwandel/jhead/

Are the above the correct files to download and use with version 6, please?

[FrankB]

Question:
In ExiftoolGUI version 5 these 2 files are included in the GUI zip package.
For the ExiftoolGUI version 6, these 2 exe files jhead.exe & jpegtran.exe must download them separately?

I would download the 5.1.6 Version and get the jhead and jpegtran from the ZIP: https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php?topic=2750.0

A few remarks:
- In my personal opinion these 2 files don't belong in the Windows directory. Sure, it works, and I agree that if you save them there, other projects can use them also. But...
1) Microsoft makes it harder and harder for users to save in protected folders like Windows. (That's why I dont like the idea of saving ini files in the program folder)
2) It is not exactly 'best practice' to do this from a security point of view.
3) If you really want to avoid having multiple copies of the 2 executables on your system, I recommend to create a separate directory and add that to your system path.

- As far as I know, no 64 Bit versions are available, just use the 32 Bits version.

- With the current version of Embarcadero Rad11 (Delphi) the Jpeg libraries are included. I think it would be possible to do the same in ExifToolGui, without these 2 external programs. I will look into that.

Frank