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Resolved Question

EXIFS etc. REMOVAL FOR DUMMIES PLEASE?

Mar 22, 2012 12:24PM PDT

Starting from wanting just to remove datestamps from photos I was posting on forums, I discovered that stuff you post contains a lot of info (metadata?) you might not want to post for privacy considerations. I didn't know this and am probably not the only one. I learned how to do it 1 pic at a time but it is very tedious (and I am led to believe, incomplete) when I have, say, 30 pics to do so I want a BATCH and COMPLETE method. It is not such a big, frequent, or professional thing as to buy a ExifCleaner (and probably be bugged with updates and renewals). Discussion, now closed, on this forum referred me to another forum discussion http://photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/00Dy2C?start=10 where 4 batch removal methods were given. I have reproduced the key posts below.

I have tried enough and none of them have worked for me! Tedious to go through what happens, or rather doesn't, but things they say happen or pop up don't.
Could someone please give me dummy's keystroke by keystroke instructions preferably that they have checked work?

The most promising for me was Luke Inman's as that is said to be more complete and I have Photoshop. Others who haven't might find one of Spirer's methods useful to know. Thanks in advance.

3 methods that didn't work copied from other forum:

Jeff Spirer , Oct 26, 2005; 05:38 p.m.
To remove the EXIF in Irfanview, go into batch conversion, set the output format to jpeg, click on the options button next to the output format box, and uncheck the boxes on "keep original data." Then run the batch operatoin.

Jeff Spirer , Oct 26, 2005; 08:31 p.m.
Bill is right that you should use the lossless jpg operation. However, his method isn't the way to do it in batch. If you want to do it in a batch, you need to open the thumbnail view (type "T" while in the main Irfanview window and select a folder which has the images you want to strip the info from). When the thumbnails open, select the images for stripping (CTRL-A selects them all). Then go to the File menu (not the Options as you would for a single image in the main Irfanview window), then select JPG Lossless Operations, then Lossless Transformations with Selected Thumbs. Click Custom in the bottom of the menu that pops up, and unclick EXIF and IPTC. Then hit Start.
This is easier than it sounds, the steps are pretty obvious once you are in thumbnail view with the items selected and choose File.
Also, because it overwrites the original file, you may want to use a copy if you ever want the EXIF again.
Thanks to Bill for mentioning the lossless operation - I usually work from TIFF files when I convert, so I don't have the issue of lossy vs lossless since I'm not rewriting a jpg.
Luke Inman , May 06, 2011; 04:38 p.m.
There is a much easier way to remove ALL exif data than downloading programs and saving for web or saving as BMP then back to JPEG, most of which dont work, All you need to do is - SELECT - ALL, EDIT - COPY, SELECT - DESELECT, FILE- NEW-OK, EDIT-PASTE then flatten image. You can of course use keyboard shortcuts on a mac it would be - command a - command c - command d - then file new and ok - command v then flatten image. Once this is done ( sounds complicated but its not ) save the file and once you reopen it there is NO exif data left.

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evennewerbie has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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Something new is brewing out there.
Mar 23, 2012 12:36AM PDT
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At last, that works, I think
Mar 23, 2012 7:24AM PDT

Thank you, I am sure you are right that "many folk need a CLICK HERE SOLUTION rather than a procedure" because among other things you have forgotten some detail and wrinkles of the procedure the next time you use it.

I downloaded that programme and it enabled me to do a whole batch in one go for the first time. Cool
I then used Irfan to see what it had done (the only way I know how for now) and the date of the photo taken and the model of camera have been removed, two things I did want. Today's date appears instead. A lot though not all of the techie detail has been removed. It has my computer filepath. I do not have geolocation data on this camera but I might get one. I guess that is enough for all privacy concerns? (People mutter darkly Devil about "stuff you don't realise". Nothing like my IP address would be hidden there right?)

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To remove more,
Mar 23, 2012 9:13AM PDT

I think I'd have to convert them to PNG or other?

Glad it helped but the file path. Does it change as you move it to other folders? If so, it's not in the EXIF.
Bob