automatically remove black frames from batch scanned slides?

[wus]

Hi everybody,

I'm still new to Irfanview so might have overlooked something, hope you forgive me if I did. I did search the help, the forum and the FAQ but didn't find what I'm looking for.

I'm looking for a tool that can automatically remove the black frames of batch scanned slide images. Since the slide frames aren't all the same, the frame sizes aren't always the same, also the position of the "net picture" in each frame can vary slightly from slide to slide even if they were in the same type of frames.

Is there any function or plugin which would allow to automatically do this for all or selected images in a folder?

Thanks so much!

wus

[matera]

Auto crop borders -- available per image via Edit menu or keyboard (Ctrl+Shift+Y), or in the Advanced options of a batch operation. Removes all of a single-color border.

Just one of so many features it's hard to find the right one sometimes

[wus]

Thanks Matera.

Unfortunately this doesn't seem to work. When I click Auto Crop Borders (Ränder automatisch beschneiden in my German version), I see an hourglass very briefly (less than a second), but nothing happens.

What could be the reason that this doesn't work?

And perhaps you can also explain this, although it probably doesn't have to do with IV: I also batch-mirrored (horizontally) images, in contrast to the auto crop this did work. However, the thumbnails shown by the Windows Explorer are still the initial, unmirrored versions. In other words, thumbnails and images from the same folder are mirrored. I find this quite confusing. Ever seen this? I haven't.

[WellOiledPC]

matera rightly points out - and I quote him, "Removes all of a single-color border." Your border consists of more than one color, which is why Control+Shift+Y does not work!

[wus]

O.K., so what can I do? My borders are as they are, whether single color or not. I'm sure I remember having read there are tools out there which can do what I need, I just wish I could remember where. I hoped someone here could tell me. And I still hope so!

Thanks,
wus

[Frank]

...
And perhaps you can also explain this, although it probably doesn't have to do with IV: I also batch-mirrored (horizontally) images, in contrast to the auto crop this did work.
However, the thumbnails shown by the Windows Explorer are still the initial, unmirrored versions.
In other words, thumbnails and images from the same folder are mirrored. I find this quite confusing. Ever seen this? I haven't.

Please consider: The Thumbnail preview of IrfanView and Windows Explorer and are different!
To show us thumbnails the Windows Explorer use the file "Thumbs.db", but it seems that this file will not be actualized after changes in the picture folder! Delete "Thumbs.db" and start a new thumbnail view in Windows Explorer! (Then Windows Explorer will show all thumbnails in the correct order!)

You can also use "Thumbnails" in IrfanView! (See programm menu: \File\Thumbnails\)


regards
Frank

[wus]

I did this already. And when it didn't help I deleted the Thumbs.db, cut out the 3 files from that folder and pasted it into another, newly created one - but still the thumbs are wrong.

Where do the thumbs come from? Are they perhaps part of the JPEG file created by IV? As I said, I have never seen this before, and I have mirrored images before.

P.S.: IV Thumbnails shows the images correctly. I just wonder why Windows doesn't.

[Frank]

"Thumbs.db" is a hidden file and will be created with the first use of the thumbnail preview by Windows Explorer!
IrfanView doesn't use the file "Thumbs.db"!

[wus]

Good the IV doesn't use it (in this case for sure).

I knew that Windows creates the Thumbs.db for the preview mode, my question is how does it generate the thumbnails. Since the pictures look right when I open them with independent software such as IrfanView (I also tried with an older PaintShop) it seems Windows is not rendering it from the big image. So I wonder if the images as IrfanView created / saved them after the mirroring operation include the old, unmirrored thumbnails, which Windows then uses? If not, how else could be explained what I see?

[MItaly]

matera rightly points out - and I quote him, "Removes all of a single-color border." Your border consists of more than one color, which is why Control+Shift+Y does not work!

Trick: you may use IrfanPaint floodfill tool (that has a tolerance value) and fill the border with a single color (it should be the average color of the border); then use Ctrl+Shift+Y.

[matera]

I am female, however

[WellOiledPC]

I am female, however

Oops - apologies for my error, matera!

wus, you could also crop the image leaving out the border. For, if you are using floodfill, you will have to very carefully choose the tolerance value.

You could also draw a rectangular box that exactly covers your image borders (the part you don't want), but again, its thickness should be neither too thick or too thin. When you have the floodfill or Rectangular box in place, use Control+Shift+Y to crop the now-single-color border.

Remember, you have only one level of Undo in IrfanView!