Thumber is a multi-purpose digital camera image management tool.  It is designed to work with JPEG images from many consumer-level digital cameras.  As of early 1999, the JPEG images produced by digital cameras come in several "flavors", two of which are supported by Thumber.  One flavor, known as "APP12", is shared by many Agfa (e.g. 307, 780, 1280 and 1680), Epson (e.g. 600, 700), Olmpus (e.g. 200, 220, 300, 320, 340, 500, 600) and Sanyo cameras.  A second, and increasingly popular "flavor" is the EXIF format.  This format provides more information, and is used by newer Nikon (e.g. 900, 900s, 950), Minolta (e.g. 1500), Olympus (e.g. 400z, 2000), Fuji (e.g. 700, 2700), Ricoh (e.g. 4200, 4300), Kodak (e.g. 200, 210, 220, 260) and Toshiba cameras.  There are other flavors of images produced by digital camera such as the Sony Mavica and Canon cameras that Thumber does not support.

Thumber's features have expanded dramatically since it was first created in early 1998, and I encourage you to explore all of its options to find out what it can do.  Thumber is designed to be self-explanatory and there is considerable "tool-tip" help built in.  Rest the mouse cursor over any part of Thumber for a explanation of what it does.

Following is a brief outline of some of Thumber's major features.  This is not meant to be a comprehensive help document, and I encourage you to experiment with any of Thumber's features if the purpose is not immediately obvious.  


1.) Thumbnail Extraction.  Thumber extracts thumbnails from digital cameras that store embedded thumbnails in their images.  Thumber does not create a thumbnail from scratch, it simply extracts the existing thumbail from the digital camera image.  (Because not all JPG images produced by all digital cameras have embedded thumbnails, Thumber does not work with all digital cameras.)  Select one or multiple JPG files using the "Extract Thumbnails..." menu item.  Thumbnails can be saved in the same directory as the original images or in their own subdirectory.

To process images from multiple directories, use the "Extract Thumbnails from Multiple Directories..." menu item.  Select a directory that contains the subdirectories that you want to process.  For example, selecting "C:\Pictures" will process images contained in all subdirectories such as "C:\Pictures\Directory1\", "C:\Pictures\Directory2\" etc.

2.) Web Page Creation.  Thumber can create a web page displaying the thumbnails it extracts along with links to the original images.  To create a web page, check the "Create Web Page Using Thumbnails" box in the Web Page tab and then extract the thumbnails from the images you want included on the page.  The web page is saved in the same directory as the original images.

When creating a web page Thumber can also extract and include information about the images in which it finds a thumbnail.  Depending on the type of camera, Thumber is able to determine time, date, file size, flash, shutter, focus, picture number, resolution and compression information from most pictures.  Note: Not all cameras store all of this information.  To see all the information that is embedded within an image select the "Image Properties" menu item.  If an image contains data that Thumber does not automatically retrieve, you can also set a custom search string that Thumber will search for in any file that it processes.  Choose the "Modify Custom Search Options..." menu item or button to set custom search strings.

3.) File Renaming/Redating.  Thumber can rename files using the information contained within the image files.  Thumber can process one file, multiple files in the same directory, or all files contained in multiple directories in one pass.  Choose the appropriate command under the "Rename" menu item, or button in "Rename" tab.  Thumber only attempts to rename files in which it finds image information.  Thumber will not rename a file if a file already exists with the target name.

Thumber can also change a file's Time/Date stamp to correspond with the time/date information reported in the image.  This feature is useful if you have downloaded an image using a serial cable and the time/date stamp corresponds to the download time, not the image capture time.  

4.) Image Information Report.  Thumber can create a text report containing the information contained within one or more image files.  In the "Data" tab, select either of the "Single/multiple files..." or "Multiple directories..." buttons to generate the report.  Use the "Report Style" option buttons to choose either a text file containing all available information, or a tab delimited file suitable for importing into a spreadsheet.  (Note: The tab delimited file only contains information for data items corresponding to boxes that are checked.)

The reports are saved with the filename "imageinf.txt" in the same directories as the analyzed images.  

If you have used the "Multiple directories..." option, then Thumber will prompt you to merge the individual reports into one master report.  If you choose to do so, this report is stored as "imageinf master list.txt" in the parent directory.  You can always choose the merge the reports at a later date by using the "Merge Image Info Reports..." menu item.

5.) Comments.  Thumber can add and read comments embedded within a JPEG file.  These comments do not affect the appearance/display of an image in any way, but can be used to store user-defined information within an image.  These comments can be included in the web page created by Thumber, and can be viewed using the "Comments" tab.  

Thumber can "Add" (overwrite any existing comment), "Append" (append comment to any existing coment), or "Remove" (erase the entire text of a comment) comments from one, or multiple files simultaneously.  Note: In order to retain the time/date stamp when modifying comments, make sure that the "Keep file time/date stamp when transforming or adding comments" menu item is checked.

Caution: This feature is invloves modifying the data in the image file.  You should always make a back up of any image in which you choose to insert a comment.  While it is unlikely that Thumber can damage a file while inserting a comment, it is possible.  The author takes no resposibility for any damage caused by Thumber!

Note:  You can search for files containing comments using the Windows 95/98 "Find Files or Folders" feature. From Windows Explorer choose the "Tools" menu item, then "Find", and then "Files or Folders".  Search for comments by entering the search term in the "Containing text" entry box.

6.) Lossless Image Manipulation.  Thumber can also act as a "front-end" for JPEGTRAN, a freely available image manipulation tool for JPEG files.  Using sophisticated image manipulation techniques, JPEGTRAN can permorm "loss-less" image transformation.  JPEGTRAN should be installed in the same directory as Thumber or in the "DOS path" directory in order for this feature to work.  JPEGTRAN is based on code written by the Independent JPEG group and is available from many popular FTP sites.  Try the Simtel archive at ftp.simtel.net or any of its mirror locations:
ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/graphics/jpeg6b32.zip 

Note: In order to retain the time/date stamp when performing rotation, make sure that the "Keep file time/date stamp when transforming or adding comments" menu item is checked.

7.) File Transfer. Thumber can transfer files between a source and desintation directories, such as a removeable memory card reader and a hard-drive.  Select the Transfer tab and choose a source and destination directory to activate this feature.  Thumber can also be set to automatically transfer files between directories upon startup. 

Tips:

1.) Right click on a displayed image to see its properties.  Double click on an image to bring up the "view image" dialog box.

2.) In a file selection dialog box, CTRL-A selects all files.

3.) Thumber only recognizes JPEG files that have the extension ".jpg".

4.) If Thumber reports inaccurate time information, use the time zone correction options in the Image Data tab.

5.) Rest the cursor over a control for tooltip help.

6.) Failed renames usually occur because another file already has the desired name.

7.) IF you want to use the lossless JPEG transformation features, download JPEGTRAN and put it in your DOS path (e.g. C:\Windows\Command), or the same directory as Thumber.

8.) Check the "Display thumbnail (if available) instead of original" menu item to speed up image display.

Thumber is freeware.  Your use of this software constitutes your agreement to the following terms: 

TawbaWare (http://members.tripod.com/~tawba) and the author take no responsibility for any damages caused by this program.  Thumber is provided 'as is' without warranty of any kind.  Use it at your own risk.  I disclaim all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall I be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages.  

Whew!  Use at your own risk and enjoy!

Max Lyons