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    Requested Batch-export and quick-access to image GPS data

    Most of my image processing these days involves photographs of street art I've taken while travelling; I often take 500+ photos in a single day, from various points across a city.

    After processing, the images are uploaded to Instagram/Facebook/etc, generally with a comment saying which street the photo was taken on.

    Currently, it's possible in Irfanview to access the photo's GPS data by opening the image properties and then accessing the EXIF info - and then, there's even a handy (and very appreciated!) button to load the GPS co-ordinates in Openstreet/Google Earth/Google Maps/etc. However, this still involves a lot of clicks, as you then have to close the EXIF and Properties windows before going to the next image.

    Therefore, the request is: could we please have a toolbar button which can be used to load the GPS co-ordinates in a single click? This could be configurable in the settings menu, so you could choose which system to send the GPS co-ordinates to.

    A second request would be to have an option to batch-export the GPS coordinates into a KML file, so that they can be imported into a Google Map. I'm aware that there are external tools (e.g. exiftool) which can do this on the command line, but it would be nice to do it all quickly and easily within Irfanview

    Thanks!

    #2
    You can already open an image in Irfanview and view the latitude and longitude values in the window without pressing any buttons. In the browser you display it in the status bar from the Viewing tab of Properties /Settings options and entering $E402 and $E404 in the statusbar text. In fullscreen or slideshow modes you show them as an overlay by entering those codes in the Show Text box from the Fullscreen/Slideshow tab. I have attached examples of both below.

    To extract that data from Irfanview you need to use a Script file though, and run Irfanview with the /fullinfo option in the command line. Some years ago I posted a Visual Basic script to run a batch file and save all the /fullinfo results as a CSV file that could then be put into an Excel spreadsheet. The thread is still on the forum here. I think it is post #4 of the thread. It also has a reference to a script by Foxy showing how to extract data using a Command line.

    It is of course possible to create a KML from a script file too, although as I recall KML files usually define an area on Google Earth and the image file you include is a map overlay from something like OpenStreet or Google maps. I do not know if it is possible to define just a single point in a KML file and include an image taken at that spot.
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Mij; 29.06.2018, 05:32 PM.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by juice View Post
      ... involves a lot of clicks, as you then have to close the EXIF and Properties windows before going to the next image. ...
      You can keep the Exif-window open, it will automatically update as you move on to the next image file. Saves you two clicks/key-strokes.
      And just in case you don't know, you don't have to go through Properties for the Exif, key-shortcut E will directly open the Exif-window.


      All that is for as long as a script or single button solution isn't available.
      Last edited by jazzman; 01.07.2018, 04:33 PM.

      currently running 4.56 / 32 bit

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by jazzman View Post
        You can keep the Exif-window open, it will automatically update as you move on to the next image file. Saves you two clicks/key-strokes.
        And just in case you don't know, you don't have to go through Properties for the Exif, key-shortcut E will directly open the Exif-window.
        Problem is that to view the GPS coordinates you also have to open Google Maps or one of the other choices and that does not update automatically as you move on to the next image.

        Comment


          #5
          True, but that is only one click ('Show in Google maps') in the already actuated Exif window. No need to close/reopen the Exif window.

          currently running 4.56 / 32 bit

          Comment


            #6
            Yes, I agree with that.
            I was not counting clicks but thought that automatically updating the Google map would be something that Irfan might be willing to implement. I can see the attraction of browsing through a folder of pictures and having a map alongside to continuously show where the current picture was taken.

            Comment


              #7
              The current downside seems to be that for every image a new tab in the browser is opened (I tested with Firefox). - I doubt that there is a parameter that can direct the url to be opened in the current tab. Even if there was, it would vary in syntax/existence between browsers.

              currently running 4.56 / 32 bit

              Comment


                #8
                I had not noticed that. I am not a fan of the way Firefox keeps on opening more and more tabs. It would be nice if there was a way to delete the previous one before opening yet another or at least to hide it.

                Google Earth seems to work OK if you click on its button in the dialog box each time you want to show a new location from the Exif data. It does not use an external browser of course so it can replace the temporary location each time you send a new one. You just see the pin being moved rather than displaying a useless massive pincushion.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Thanks to all for the responses! There's a few things I didn't know, despite having using Irfanview for years

                  Originally posted by Mij View Post
                  You can already open an image in Irfanview and view the latitude and longitude values in the window without pressing any buttons. In the browser you display it in the status bar from the Viewing tab of Properties /Settings options and entering $E402 and $E404 in the statusbar text. In fullscreen or slideshow modes you show them as an overlay by entering those codes in the Show Text box from the Fullscreen/Slideshow tab. I have attached examples of both below.
                  Ooo - I wasn't aware of that! As far as I'm aware, you can't actually click on data in the statusbar, so it's not too helpful in this context, but it may well be useful for other things!

                  Originally posted by Mij View Post
                  To extract that data from Irfanview you need to use a Script file though, and run Irfanview with the /fullinfo option in the command line. Some years ago I posted a Visual Basic script to run a batch file and save all the /fullinfo results as a CSV file that could then be put into an Excel spreadsheet. The thread is still on the forum here. I think it is post #4 of the thread. It also has a reference to a script by Foxy showing how to extract data using a Command line.

                  It is of course possible to create a KML from a script file too, although as I recall KML files usually define an area on Google Earth and the image file you include is a map overlay from something like OpenStreet or Google maps. I do not know if it is possible to define just a single point in a KML file and include an image taken at that spot.
                  I was originally thinking of just getting all the co-ordinates into a KML file which I could upload, and then deal with the actual images manually, but it looks like you can create a KMZ file, which is essentially a zip file containing a KML file and support information (e.g. images). I'll do some more digging into this when I have time - there are a few apps out there which I should look into more.

                  Originally posted by jazzman View Post
                  You can keep the Exif-window open, it will automatically update as you move on to the next image file. Saves you two clicks/key-strokes.
                  And just in case you don't know, you don't have to go through Properties for the Exif, key-shortcut E will directly open the Exif-window.
                  ... and I hadn't realised this, either! I'm using a multi-monitor setup, so if I can keep the Exif window open, then that's enough of a speedup to mean that I don't really need a shortcut key to load the GPS coordinates in the browser.

                  I'm not too worried about multiple tabs, either - GPS coordinates can be a bit imprecise, so having multiple windows open can help to narrow down exactly where I was standing.

                  Because when you've spent 8 hours taking 1000 photos across an entire city, it can sometimes be hard to remember

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by juice View Post

                    ... and I hadn't realised this, either! I'm using a multi-monitor setup, so if I can keep the Exif window open, then that's enough of a speedup to mean that I don't really need a shortcut key to load the GPS coordinates in the browser.
                    Although having tested it a little bit more, it's not 100% ideal: if you leave the Exif window open, the focus auto-switches to it when you move to the next image. So you have to manually mouse-click back on the original Irfanview window to perform any actions (e.g. pressing F7 to move the file).

                    Still, it's definitely an improvement

                    Comment


                      #11
                      The problem is that every time you click on Show in Google Maps it sends an instruction to open a new copy of Google maps and centre the map on the new location, and it seems to do the same thing automatically even if the previous copy of Google maps is still open. There has to be a a way of centering the map on a new position without opening a new copy of Google maps every time, because that is exactly what a mobile phone does when you are using geolocation with Google Maps to emulate a SatNav in your car.

                      You could argue that Irfanview ought to check if Google maps is already open and send the new location that way instead, if it is.

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