#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# File: ExifTool.pod - Documentation for File::ExifTool
#
# Description: Read and write meta information
#
# URL: http://owl.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/
#
# Legal: Copyright (c) 2003-2008, Phil Harvey (phil at owl.phy.queensu.ca)
# This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
# modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=head1 NAME
Image::ExifTool - Read and write meta information
=head1 SYNOPSIS
use Image::ExifTool qw(:Public);
# ---- Simple procedural usage ----
# Get hash of meta information tag names/values from an image
$info = ImageInfo('a.jpg');
# ---- Object-oriented usage ----
# Create a new Image::ExifTool object
$exifTool = new Image::ExifTool;
# Extract meta information from an image
$exifTool->ExtractInfo($file, \%options);
# Get list of tags in the order they were found in the file
@tagList = $exifTool->GetFoundTags('File');
# Get the value of a specified tag
$value = $exifTool->GetValue($tag, $type);
# Get a tag description
$description = $exifTool->GetDescription($tag);
# Get the group name associated with this tag
$group = $exifTool->GetGroup($tag, $family);
# Set a new value for a tag
$exifTool->SetNewValue($tag, $newValue);
# Write new meta information to a file
$success = $exifTool->WriteInfo($srcfile, $dstfile);
# ...plus a host of other useful methods...
=head1 DESCRIPTION
ExifTool provides an extensible set of perl modules to read and write meta
information in image, audio and video files, including the maker note
information of many digital cameras by various manufacturers such as Canon,
Casio, FujiFilm, HP, JVC/Victor, Kodak, Leaf, Minolta/Konica-Minolta, Nikon,
Olympus/Epson, Panasonic/Leica, Pentax/Asahi, Ricoh, Sanyo, Sigma/Foveon and
Sony.
Below is a list of file types and meta information formats currently
supported by ExifTool (r = read, w = write, c = create):
File Types | Meta Information
--------------------------------------- | --------------------
3FR r HTML r PPM r/w | EXIF r/w/c
ACR r ICC r/w/c PPT r | GPS r/w/c
AI r ITC r PS r/w | IPTC r/w/c
AIFF r JNG r/w PSD r/w | XMP r/w/c
APE r JP2 r/w QTIF r | MakerNotes r/w/c
ARW r JPEG r/w RA r | Photoshop IRB r/w/c
ASF r K25 r RAF r/w | ICC Profile r/w/c
AVI r KDC r RAM r | MIE r/w/c
BMP r M4A r RAW r/w | JFIF r/w/c
BTF r MEF r/w RIFF r | Ducky APP12 r/w/c
CR2 r/w MIE r/w/c RWZ r | PDF r/w/c
CRW r/w MIFF r RM r | CIFF r/w
CS1 r/w MNG r/w SO r | AFCP r/w
DCM r MOS r/w SR2 r | JPEG 2000 r
DCR r MOV r SRF r | DICOM r
DIVX r MP3 r SVG r | Flash r
DJVU r MP4 r SWF r | FlashPix r
DLL r MPC r THM r/w | QuickTime r
DNG r/w MPG r TIFF r/w | GeoTIFF r
DOC r MRW r/w VRD r/w/c | PrintIM r
DYLIB r NEF r/w WAV r | ID3 r
EPS r/w OGG r WDP r/w | Kodak Meta r
EXE r ORF r/w WMA r | Ricoh RMETA r
ERF r/w PBM r/w WMV r | Picture Info r
FLAC r PDF r/w X3F r | Adobe APP14 r
FLV r PEF r/w XLS r | APE r
FPX r PGM r/w XMP r/w/c | Vorbis r
GIF r/w PICT r ZIP r | SPIFF r
HDP r/w PNG r/w | (and more)
=head1 CONFIGURATION
User-defined tags can be added via the ExifTool configuration file, or by
defining the %Image::ExifTool::UserDefined hash before calling any ExifTool
functions. See "ExifTool_config" in the ExifTool distribution for more
details. If necessary, the configuration feature can be disabled by setting
the ExifTool C<noConfig> flag before loading Image::ExifTool. For example:
BEGIN { $Image::ExifTool::noConfig = 1 }
use Image::ExifTool;
=head1 EXPORTS
Exports nothing by default, but L</ImageInfo> and all static functions may
be exported with the C<:Public> export list.
=head1 METHODS
=head2 new
Creates a new ExifTool object.
$exifTool = new Image::ExifTool;
Note that ExifTool uses AUTOLOAD to load non-member methods, so any class
using Image::ExifTool as a base class must define an AUTOLOAD which calls
Image::ExifTool::DoAutoLoad(). ie)
sub AUTOLOAD
{
Image::ExifTool::DoAutoLoad($AUTOLOAD, @_);
}
=head2 ImageInfo
Obtain meta information from image. This is the one step function for
obtaining meta information from an image. Internally, L</ImageInfo> calls
L</ExtractInfo> to extract the information, L</GetInfo> to generate the
information hash, and L</GetTagList> for the returned tag list.
# Return meta information for 2 tags only (procedural)
$info = ImageInfo($filename, $tag1, $tag2);
# Return information about an open image file (object-oriented)
$info = $exifTool->ImageInfo(\*FILE);
# Return information from image data in memory for specified tags
%options = (PrintConv => 0);
@tagList = qw(filename imagesize xmp:creator exif:* -ifd1:*);
$info = ImageInfo(\$imageData, \@tagList, \%options);
# Extract information from an embedded thumbnail image
$info = ImageInfo('image.jpg', 'thumbnailimage');
$thumbInfo = ImageInfo($$info{ThumbnailImage});
=over 4
=item Inputs:
L</ImageInfo> is very flexible about the input arguments, and interprets
them based on their type. It may be called with one or more arguments.
The one required argument is either a SCALAR (the image file name), a file
reference (a reference to the image file) or a SCALAR reference (a
reference to the image in memory). Other arguments are optional. The
order of the arguments is not significant, except that the first SCALAR is
taken to be the file name unless a file reference or scalar reference comes
earlier in the argument list.
Below is an explanation of how the L</ImageInfo> function arguments are
interpreted:
=over 4
=item ExifTool ref
L</ImageInfo> may be called with an ExifTool object if desired. The
advantage of using the object-oriented form is that the options may be set
before calling L</ImageInfo>, and the object may be used afterward to access
member functions. Must be the first argument if used.
=item SCALAR
The first scalar argument is taken to be the file name unless an earlier
argument specified the image data via a file reference (file ref) or data
reference (SCALAR ref). The remaining scalar arguments are names of tags
for requested information. If no tags are specified, all possible
information is extracted.
Tag names are case-insensitive and may be prefixed by an optional group name
followed by a colon. The group name may begin with a family number
(ie. '1IPTC:Keywords'), to restrict matches to a specific family. A tag
name of '*' may be used, thus allowing 'GROUP:*' to represent all tags in a
specific group, or a group name of '*' may be used, in which case all
available instances of the specified tag are returned regardless of the
L</Duplicates> setting (ie. '*:WhiteBalance'). And finally, a leading '-'
indicates tags to be excluded (ie. '-IFD1:*').
Note that keys in the returned information hash and elements of the returned
tag list are not necessarily the same as these tag names -- group names are
removed, the case may be changed, and an instance number may be added. For
this reason it is best to use either the keys of the returned hash or the
elements of the tag array when accessing the tag values.
See L<Image::ExifTool::TagNames|Image::ExifTool::TagNames> for a complete
list of ExifTool tag names.
=item File ref
A reference to an open image file. If you use this method (or a SCALAR
reference) to access information in an image, the FileName and Directory
tags will not be returned. (Also, the FileSize and FileModifyDate tags will
not be returned unless it is a plain file.) Image processing begins at the
current file position, and on return the file position is unspecified. May
be either a standard GLOB reference, or a reference to a
L<File::RandomAccess|File::RandomAccess> object;
=item SCALAR ref
A reference to image data in memory.
=item ARRAY ref
Reference to a list of tag names. On entry, any elements in the list are
added to the list of requested tags. Tags with names beginning with '-' are
excluded. On return, this list is updated to contain an ordered list of tag
keys for all extracted tags.
=item HASH ref
Reference to a hash containing the options settings. See L</Options>
documentation below for a list of available options. Options specified
as arguments to L</ImageInfo> take precedence over L</Options> settings.
=back
=item Return Values:
L</ImageInfo> returns a reference to a hash of tag key/value pairs. The tag
keys are identifiers, which are similar to the tag names but may have an
embedded instance number if multiple tags with the same name were extracted
from the image. Many of the ExifTool functions require a tag key as an
argument. Use L</GetTagName [static]> to get the tag name for a given tag
key. Note that the case of the tag names may not be the same as requested.
Here is a simple example to print out the information returned by
L</ImageInfo>:
foreach (sort keys %$info) {
print "$_ => $$info{$_}\n";
}
Values of the returned hash are usually simple scalars, but a scalar
reference is used to indicate binary data and an array reference may be used
to indicate a list. Lists of values are joined by commas into a single
string if and only if the PrintConv option is enabled and the List option is
disabled (which are the defaults). Note that binary values are not
necessarily extracted unless specifically requested or the Binary option is
set. If not extracted the value is a reference to a string of the form
"Binary data ##### bytes".
The code below gives an example of how to handle these return values, as
well as illustrating the use of other ExifTool functions:
use Image::ExifTool;
my $exifTool = new Image::ExifTool;
$exifTool->Options(Unknown => 1);
my $info = $exifTool->ImageInfo('a.jpg');
my $group = '';
my $tag;
foreach $tag ($exifTool->GetFoundTags('Group0')) {
if ($group ne $exifTool->GetGroup($tag)) {
$group = $exifTool->GetGroup($tag);
print "---- $group ----\n";
}
my $val = $info->{$tag};
if (ref $val eq 'SCALAR') {
if ($$val =~ /^Binary data/) {
$val = "($$val)";
} else {
my $len = length($$val);
$val = "(Binary data $len bytes)";
}
}
printf("%-32s : %s\n", $exifTool->GetDescription($tag), $val);
}
As well as tags representing information extracted from the image,
the following tags generated by ExifTool may be returned:
ExifToolVersion - The ExifTool version number.
Error - An error message if the image could not be processed.
Warning - A warning message if problems were encountered while
processing the image.
=back
=head2 Options
Get/set ExifTool options. This function can be called to set the default
options for an ExifTool object. Options set this way are in effect for
all function calls but may be overridden by options passed as arguments
to a specific function.
# Exclude the 'OwnerName' tag from returned information
$exifTool->Options(Exclude => 'OwnerName');
# Only get information in EXIF or MakerNotes groups
$exifTool->Options(Group0 => ['EXIF', 'MakerNotes']);
# Ignore information from IFD1
$exifTool->Options(Group1 => '-IFD1');
# Sort by groups in family 2, and extract unknown tags
$exifTool->Options(Sort => 'Group2', Unknown => 1);
# Do not extract duplicate tag names
$oldSetting = $exifTool->Options(Duplicates => 0);
# Get current setting
$isVerbose = $exifTool->Options('Verbose');
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference.
1) Option parameter name.
2) [optional] Option parameter value (may be undef to clear option).
3-N) [optional] Additional parameter/value pairs.
=item Option Parameters:
=over 4
=item Binary
Flag to extract the value data for all binary tags. Tag values representing
large binary data blocks (ie. ThumbnailImage) are not necessarily extracted
unless this option is set or the tag is specifically requested by name.
Default is 0.
=item ByteOrder
The byte order for newly created EXIF segments when writing. Note that if
EXIF information already exists, the existing order is maintained. Valid
values are 'MM', 'II' and undef. If ByteOrder is not defined (the default),
then the maker note byte order is used (if they are being copied), otherwise
big-endian ('MM') order is assumed. This can also be set via the
ExifByteOrder tag, but the ByteOrder option takes precedence if both are
set.
=item Charset
Character set for encoding character strings containing code points above
U+007F. Valid values are:
UTF8 - UTF-8 characters (the default)
Latin - Windows Latin1 (cp1252)
Note that this option affects some types of information when reading/writing
the file and other types when getting/setting tag values, so it must be
defined for both types of access.
=item Compact
Flag to write compact output. Default is 0. The XMP specification suggests
that the data be padded with blanks to allow in-place editing. By setting
this flag, 2kB is saved for files with XMP data.
=item Composite
Flag to calculate Composite tags automatically. Default is 1.
=item Compress
Flag to write new values in compressed format if possible. Has no effect
unless Compress::Zlib is installed. Default is 0.
=item CoordFormat
Format for printing GPS coordinates. This is a printf format string with
specifiers for degrees, minutes and seconds in that order, however minutes
and seconds may be omitted. For example, the following table gives the
output for the same coordinate using various formats:
CoordFormat Example Output
------------------- ------------------
q{%d deg %d' %.2f"} 54 deg 59' 22.80" (the default)
q{%d deg %.4f min} 54 deg 59.3800 min
q{%.6f degrees} 54.989667 degrees
=item DateFormat
Format for printing date/time values. See C<strftime> in the L<POSIX>
package for details about the format string. The default is similar to a
format of "%Y:%m:%d %H:%M:%S". If date can not be converted, value is left
unchanged unless the StrictDate option is set. Timezones are ignored.
=item Duplicates
Flag to return values from tags with duplicate names when extracting
information. Default is 1.
=item Exclude
Exclude specified tags from tags extracted from an image. The option value
is either a tag name or reference to a list of tag names to exclude. The
case of tag names is not significant. This option is ignored for
specifically requested tags. Tags may also be excluded by preceeding their
name with a '-' in the arguments to L</ImageInfo>.
=item ExtractEmbedded
Flag to extract information from embedded documents in PostScript files.
Default is 0.
=item FastScan
Flag to increase speed of extracting information from JPEG images. With
this option set, ExifTool will not scan to the end of a JPEG image to check
for an AFCP, CanonVRD, FotoStation, PhotoMechanic, MIE or PreviewImage
trailer. Also, when combined with the ScanForXMP option, prevents scanning
for XMP in recognized file types. Default is 0.
=item FixBase
Fix maker notes base offset. A common problem with image editing software
is that offsets in the maker notes are not adjusted properly when the file
is modified. This may cause the wrong values to be extracted for some maker
note entries when reading the edited file. FixBase specifies an integer
value to be added to the maker notes base offset. It may also be set to the
empty string ('') for ExifTool will take its best guess at the correct base,
or undef (the default) for no base adjustment.
=item Group#
Extract tags only for specified groups in family # (Group0 assumed if #
not given). The option value may be a single group name or a reference
to a list of groups. Case is significant in group names. Specify a
group to be excluded by preceding group name with a '-'. See
L</GetAllGroups [static]> for a list of available groups.
=item HtmlDump
Dump information in hex to dynamic HTML web page. The value may be 0-3 for
increasingly larger limits on the maximum block size. Default is 0. Output
goes to the file specified by the TextOut option (\*STDOUT by default).
=item HtmlDumpBase
Specifies base for HTML dump offsets. If not defined, the EXIF/TIFF base
offset is used. Set to 0 for absolute offsets. Default is undef.
=item IgnoreMinorErrors
Flag to ignore minor errors. Causes minor errors to be downgraded to
warnings, and minor warnings to be ignored. This option is provided mainly
to allow writing of files when minor errors occur, but also allows thumbnail
and preview images to be extracted even if they don't have a recognizable
header. Minor errors/warnings are denoted by '[minor]' at the start of the
message.
=item List
Flag to extract lists of PrintConv values into arrays instead of joining
them into a string of values. The L</ListSep> option specifies the
separator used when combining values. Default is 0.
=item ListSep
Separator string used to join lists of PrintConv values when L</List> option
is not set. Default is ', '.
=item MakerNotes
Option to extract MakerNotes and other writable subdirectories (such as
PrintIM) as a data block. Normally when the MakerNotes are extracted they
are rebuilt to include data outside the boundaries of the original maker
note data block, but a value of 2 disables this feature. Possible values
are:
0 - Do not extract writable subdirectories [default]
1 - Extract and rebuild maker notes into self-contained block
2 - Extract without rebuilding maker notes
=item MissingTagValue
Value for missing tags in expressions evaluated by L</SetNewValuesFromFile>.
If not set, a minor error is issued for missing values, or the value is set
to '' if L</IgnoreMinorErrors> is set. Default is undef.
=item PrintConv
Flag to enable automatic print conversion. Also enables inverse
print conversion for writing. Default is 1.
=item ScanForXMP
Flag for scan all files (even unrecognized formats) for XMP information
unless XMP was already found in the file. When combined with the FastScan
option, only unrecognized file types are scanned for XMP. Default is 0.
=item Sort
Specifies order to sort tags in returned list:
Alpha - Sort alphabetically
File - Sort in order that tags were found in the file
Group# - Sort by tag group, where # is the group family
number. If # is not specified, Group0 is assumed.
See GetGroup for a list of groups.
Input - Sort in same order as input tag arguments (default)
=item StrictDate
Flag to return undefined value for any date which can't be converted when
the DateFormat option is used. Default is 0.
=item TextOut
Output file reference for Verbose and HtmlDump options. Default is
\*STDOUT.
=item Unknown
Flag to get the values of unknown tags. If set to 1, unknown tags are
extracted from EXIF (or other tagged-format) directories. If set to 2,
unknown tags are also extracted from binary data blocks. Default is 0.
=item Verbose
Print verbose messages to file specified by TextOut option. Value may be
from 0 to 5 for increasingly verbose messages. Default is 0. With the
verbose option set, messages are printed to the console as the file is
parsed. Level 1 prints the tag names and raw values. Level 2 adds more
details about the tags. Level 3 adds a hex dump of the tag data, but with
limits on the number of bytes dumped. Levels 4 and 5 remove the dump limit
on tag values and JPEG segment data respectively.
=back
=item Return Values:
The original value of the last specified parameter.
=back
=head2 ClearOptions
Reset all options to their default values.
$exifTool->ClearOptions();
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
=item Return Values:
(none)
=back
=head2 ExtractInfo
Extract all meta information from an image.
$success = $exifTool->ExtractInfo('image.jpg', \%options);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
L</ExtractInfo> takes exactly the same arguments as L</ImageInfo>. The only
difference is that a list of tag keys is not returned if an ARRAY reference
is given. The following options are effective in the call to
L</ExtractInfo>:
Binary, Charset, Composite, FastScan, FixBase, HtmlDump, HtmlDumpBase,
IgnoreMinorErrors, MakerNotes, ScanForXMP, TextOut, Unknown and Verbose.
=item Return Value:
1 if image was valid, 0 otherwise (and 'Error' tag set).
=back
=head2 GetInfo
L</GetInfo> is called to return meta information after it has been extracted
from the image by a previous call to L</ExtractInfo> or L</ImageInfo>. This
function may be called repeatedly after a single call to L</ExtractInfo> or
L</ImageInfo>.
# Get image width and hieght only
$info = $exifTool->GetInfo('ImageWidth', 'ImageHeight');
# Get information for all tags in list (list updated with tags found)
$info = $exifTool->GetInfo(\@ioTagList);
# Get all information in Author or Location groups
$info = $exifTool->GetInfo({Group2 => ['Author', 'Location']});
=over 4
=item Inputs:
Inputs are the same as L</ExtractInfo> and L</ImageInfo> except that an
image can not be specified. Options in effect are:
Charset, CoordFormat, DateFormat, Duplicates, Exclude, Group#, List,
StrictDate, PrintConv (and Sort if a tag list reference is given).
=item Return Value:
Reference to information hash, the same as with L</ImageInfo>.
=back
=head2 WriteInfo
Write meta information to a file. The specified source file is rewritten to
the same-type destination file with new information as specified by previous
calls to L</SetNewValue>. The necessary segments and/or directories are
created in the destination file as required to store the specified
information. May be called repeatedly to write the same information to
additional files without the need to call L</SetNewValue> again.
# add information to a source file, writing output to new file
$exifTool->WriteInfo($srcfile, $dstfile);
# create XMP data file from scratch
$exifTool->WriteInfo(undef, $dstfile, 'XMP');
# edit file in place (you do have backups, right?)
$exifTool->WriteInfo($srcfile);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1) Source file name, file reference, scalar reference, or undef to create a
file from scratch
2) [optional] Destination file name, file reference, scalar reference, or
undef to edit in place
3) [optional] Destination file type
=item Return Value:
1 if file was written OK, 2 if file was written but no changes made, 0 on
file write error.
If an error code is returned, an Error tag is set and GetValue('Error') can
be called to obtain the error description. A Warning tag may be set even if
this routine is successful.
$errorMessage = $exifTool->GetValue('Error');
$warningMessage = $exifTool->GetValue('Warning');
=item Notes:
The source file name may be undefined to create a file from scratch
(currently only XMP, ICC and MIE files can be created in this way). If
undefined, the destination file type is required unless the type can be
determined from the destination file name.
If a destination file name is given, the specified file must not exist
because an existing destination file will not be overwritten. The
destination file name may be undefined to edit the source file in place
(make sure you have backups!). In this case, a temporary file is created
and renamed to replace the source file if no errors occurred while writing.
The destination file type is only used if the source file is undefined.
=back
=head2 CombineInfo
Combine information from more than one information hash into a single hash.
$info = $exifTool->CombineInfo($info1, $info2, $info3);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1-N) Information hash references
=back
If the Duplicates option is disabled and duplicate tags exist, the order of
the hashes is significant. In this case, the value used is the first value
found as the hashes are scanned in order of input. The Duplicates option
is the only option that is in effect for this function.
=head2 GetTagList
Get a sorted list of tags from the specified information hash or tag list.
@tags = $exifTool->GetTagList($info, 'Group0');
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference,
1) [optional] Information hash reference or tag list reference,
2) [optional] Sort order ('File', 'Input', 'Alpha' or 'Group#').
If the information hash or tag list reference is not provided, then the list
of found tags from the last call to L</ImageInfo>, L</ExtractInfo> or
L</GetInfo> is used instead, and the result is the same as if
L</GetFoundTags> was called. If sort order is not specified, the sort order
is taken from the current options settings.
=item Return Values:
A list of tags in the specified order.
=back
=head2 GetFoundTags
Get list of found tags in specified sort order. The found tags are the tags
for the information obtained from the most recent call to L</ImageInfo>,
L</ExtractInfo> or L</GetInfo> for this object.
@tags = $exifTool->GetFoundTags('File');
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1) [optional] Sort order ('File', 'Input', 'Alpha' or 'Group#')
If sort order is not specified, the sort order from the ExifTool options is
used.
=item Return Values:
A list of tag keys in the specified order.
=back
=head2 GetRequestedTags
Get list of requested tags. These are the tags that were specified in the
arguments of the most recent call to L</ImageInfo>, L</ExtractInfo> or
L</GetInfo>, including tags specified via a tag list reference. Shortcut
tags are expanded in the list.
@tags = $exifTool->GetRequestedTags();
=over 4
=item Inputs:
(none)
=item Return Values:
List of requested tag keys in the same order that the tags were specified.
Note that this list will be empty if tags were not specifically requested
(ie. If extracting all tags).
=back
=head2 GetValue
Get the value of a specified tag. The returned value is either the
human-readable (PrintConv) value, the converted machine-readable (ValueConv)
value, or the original raw (Raw) value. If the value type is not specified,
the PrintConv value is returned if the PrintConv option is set, otherwise
the ValueConv value is returned. The PrintConv values are same as the
values returned by L</ImageInfo> and L</GetInfo> in the tag/value hash
unless the PrintConv option is disabled.
Tags which represent lists of multiple values (as may happen with 'Keywords'
for example) are handled specially. In scalar context, the returned
PrintConv value for these tags is either a string of values or a list
reference (depending on the List option setting), and the ValueConv value is
always a list reference. But in list context, L</GetValue> always returns
the list itself.
# PrintConv example
my $val = $exifTool->GetValue($tag);
if (ref $val eq 'SCALAR') {
print "$tag = (unprintable value)\n";
} else {
print "$tag = $val\n";
}
# ValueConv examples
my $val = $exifTool->GetValue($tag, 'ValueConv');
if (ref $val eq 'ARRAY') {
print "$tag is a list of values\n";
} elsif (ref $val eq 'SCALAR') {
print "$tag represents binary data\n";
} else {
print "$tag is a simple scalar\n";
}
my @keywords = $exifTool->GetValue('Keywords', 'ValueConv');
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1) Tag key
2) [optional] Value type, 'PrintConv', 'ValueConv', 'Both' or 'Raw'
The default value type is 'PrintConv' if the PrintConv option is set,
otherwise the default is 'ValueConv'. A value type of 'Both' returns both
ValueConv and PrintConv values as a list.
=item Return Values:
The value of the specified tag. If the tag represents a list of values and
the List option is disabled then PrintConv returns a string of values,
otherwise a reference to the list is returned in scalar context. The list
itself is returned in list context. Values may also be scalar references to
binary data.
Note: It is possible for L</GetValue> to return an undefined ValueConv or
PrintConv value (or an empty list in list context) even if the tag exists,
since it is possible for these conversions to yield undefined values.
=back
=head2 SetNewValue
Set the new value for a tag. The routine may be called multiple times to
set the values of many tags before using L</WriteInfo> to write the new
values to an image.
For list-type tags (like Keywords), either call repeatedly with the same tag
name for each value, or call with a reference to the list of values.
# set a new value for a tag (errors go to STDERR)
$success = $exifTool->SetNewValue($tag, $value);
# set a new value and capture any error message
($success, $errStr) = $exifTool->SetNewValue($tag, $value);
# delete information for specified tag if it exists in image
# (also resets AddValue and DelValue options for this tag)
$exifTool->SetNewValue($tag);
# reset all values from previous calls to SetNewValue()
$exifTool->SetNewValue();
# delete a specific keyword
$exifTool->SetNewValue('Keywords', $word, DelValue => 1);
# write a list of keywords
$exifTool->SetNewValue('Keywords', ['word1','word2']);
# add a keyword without replacing existing keywords
$exifTool->SetNewValue(Keywords => $word, AddValue => 1);
# set a tag in a specific group
$exifTool->SetNewValue(Headline => $val, Group => 'XMP');
$exifTool->SetNewValue('XMP:Headline' => $val); # equivalent
# shift original date/time back by 1 hour
$exifTool->SetNewValue(DateTimeOriginal => '1:00', Shift => -1);
# delete all but EXIF tags
$exifTool->SetNewValue('*'); # delete all...
$exifTool->SetNewValue('EXIF:*', undef, Replace => 2); # ...but EXIF
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1) [optional] Tag key or tag name, or undef to clear all new values. A tag
name of '*' can be used when deleting tags to delete all tags, or all tags
in a specified group. The tag name may be prefixed by group name, separated
by a colon (ie. 'GROUP:TAG'), which is equivalent to using a 'Group' option
argument.
2) [optional] New value for tag. Undefined to delete tag from file. May be
a scalar, scalar reference, or list reference to set a list of values.
3-N) [optional] SetNewValue options hash entries (see below)
=item SetNewValue Options:
=over 4
=item Type
The type of value being set. Valid values are PrintConv, ValueConv or Raw.
Default is PrintConv if the L</PrintConv> Option is set, otherwise
ValueConv.
=item AddValue
Specifies that the value be added to an existing list rather than replacing
the list. Valid values are 0 or 1. Default is 0.
=item DelValue
Delete the existing tag if it has the specified value. Valid values are
0 or 1. Default is 0.
=item Group
Specifies group name where tag should be written. If not specified, tag is
written to highest priority group as specified by L</SetNewGroups>. Any
family 0 or 1 group name may be used. Case is not significant.
=item NoShortcut
Disables default behaviour of looking up tag in shortcuts if not found
otherwise.
=item Protected
Bit mask for tag protection levels to write. Bit 0x01 allows writing of
'unsafe' tags (ie. tags not copied automatically via
L</SetNewValuesFromFile>). Bit 0x02 allows writing of 'protected' tags, and
should only be used internally by ExifTool. See
L<Image::ExifTool::TagNames|Image::ExifTool::TagNames>, for a list of tag
names indicating 'unsafe' and 'protected' tags. Default is 0.
=item Replace
Flag to replace the previous new value for this tag (ie. replace the value
set in a previous call to L</SetNewValue>). Valid values are 0 (don't
replace), 1 (replace with specified new value) or 2 (reset previous new
value only).
=item Shift
Shift the tag by the specified value. Currently only date/time tags can be
shifted. Undefined for no shift, 1 for a positive shift, or -1 for a
negative shift. If 0, the shift is applied only if the tag is shiftable,
and the shift is positive if AddValue is set, or negative if DelValue is
set. Default is undef. See
L<Image::ExifTool::Shift.pl|Image::ExifTool::Shift.pl> for more information.
=back
=item Return Values:
In scalar context, returns the number of tags set and error messages are
printed to STDERR. In list context, returns the number of tags set and the
error string.
=item Notes:
When deleting groups of tags, the Replace option may be used as in the last
example above to exclude specific groups from a mass delete. However, this
technique may not be used to exclude individual tags. Instead, use
L</SetNewValuesFromFile> to recover the values of individual tags after
deleting a group.
=back
=head2 SetNewValuesFromFile
A very powerful routine that sets new values for tags from information found
in a specified file.
# set new values from all information in a file...
my $info = $exifTool->SetNewValuesFromFile($srcFile);
# ...then write these values to another image
my $result = $exifTool->WriteInfo($file2, $outFile);
# set all new values, preserving original groups
$exifTool->SetNewValuesFromFile($srcFile, '*:*');
# set specific information
$exifTool->SetNewValuesFromFile($srcFile, @tags);
# set new value from a different tag in specific group
$exifTool->SetNewValuesFromFile($fp, 'IPTC:Keywords>XMP-dc:Subject');
# add all IPTC keywords to XMP subject list
$exifTool->SetNewValuesFromFile($fp, 'IPTC:Keywords+>XMP-dc:Subject');
# set new value from an expression involving other tags
$exifTool->SetNewValuesFromFile($file,
'Comment<ISO=$ISO Aperture=$aperture Exposure=$shutterSpeed');
# set keywords list from the values of multiple tags
$exifTool->SetNewValuesFromFile($file, { Replace => 0 },
'keywords<xmp:subject', 'keywords<filename');
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1) File name, file reference, or scalar reference
2-N) [optional] List of tag names to set or options hash references. All
writable tags are set if none are specified. The tag names are not case
sensitive, and may be prefixed by an optional family 0 or 1 group name,
separated by a colon (ie. 'exif:iso'). A leading '-' indicates tags to be
excluded (ie. '-comment'). An asterisk ('*') may be used for the tag name,
and is useful when a group is specified to set all tags from a group (ie.
'XMP:*'). A special feature allows tag names of the form 'SRCTAG>DSTTAG'
(or 'DSTTAGE<lt>SRCTAG') to be specified to copy information to a tag with a
different name or a specified group. Both 'SRCTAG' and 'DSTTAG' may use '*'
and/or be prefixed by a group name (ie. 'modifyDate>fileModifyDate' or
'*>xmp:*'). Copied tags may also be added or deleted from a list with
arguments of the form 'SRCTAG+>DSTTAG' or 'SRCTAG->DSTTAG'. Tags are
evaluated in order, so exclusions apply only to tags included earlier in the
list. An extension of this feature allows the tag value to be set from an
expression containing tag names with leading '$' symbols (ie.
'CommentE<lt>Filename: $filename'). Braces '{}' may be used around the tag
name to separate it from subsequent text, and a '$$' is used to to represent
a '$' symbol. (The behaviour for missing tags in expressions is defined by
the L</MissingTagValue> option.) Multiple options hash references may be
passed to set different options for different tags. Options apply to
subsequent tags in the argument list.
By default, this routine will commute information between same-named tags in
different groups, allowing information to be translated between images with
different formats. This behaviour may be modified by specifying a group
name for extracted tags (even if '*' is used as a group name), in which case
the information is written to the original group, unless redirected to a
different group. (For example, a tag name of '*:*' may be specified to copy
all information while preserving the original groups.)
=item SetNewValuesFromFile Options:
The options are the same was for L<SetNewValue>, and are passed directly
to L<SetNewValue> internally, with a few exceptions:
- The Replace option defaults to 1 instead of 0 as with L<SetNewValue>.
- The AddValue or DelValue option is set for individual tags if '+>' or '->'
(or '+E<lt>' or '-E<lt>') are used.
- The Group option is set for tags where a group name is given.
- The Protected flag is set to 1 for individually specified tags.
- The Type option also applies to extracted tags.
=item Return Values:
A hash of information that was set successfully. May include Warning or
Error entries if there were problems reading the input file.
=item Notes:
The PrintConv option applies to this routine, but it normally should be left
on to provide more reliable transfer of information between groups.
If a preview image exists, it is not copied. The preview image must be
transferred separately if desired, in a separate call to L</WriteInfo>
When simply copying all information between files of the same type, it is
usually desirable to preserve the original groups by specifying '*:*' for
the tags to set.
=back
=head2 GetNewValues
Get list of new Raw values for the specified tag. These are the values
that will be written to file. Only tags which support a 'List' may return
more than one value.
$rawVal = $exifTool->GetNewValues($tag);
@rawVals = $exifTool->GetNewValues($tag);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1) Tag key or tag name
=item Return Values:
List of new Raw tag values. The list may be empty if the tag is being
deleted (ie. if SetNewValue was called without a value).
=back
=head2 CountNewValues
Return the total number of new values set.
$numSet = $exifTool->CountNewValues();
($numSet, $numPseudo) = $exifTool->CountNewValues();
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
=item Return Values:
In scalar context, returns the total number of tags with new values set. In
list context, also returns the number of "pseudo" tag values which have been
set. "Pseudo" tags are tags like FileName and FileModifyDate which are not
contained within the file and can be changed without rewriting the file.
=back
=head2 SaveNewValues
Save state of new values to be later restored by L</RestoreNewValues>.
$exifTool->SaveNewValues(); # save state of new values
$exifTool->SetNewValue(ISO => 100); # set new value for ISO
$exifTool->WriteInfo($src, $dst1); # write ISO + previous new values
$exifTool->RestoreNewValues(); # restore previous new values
$exifTool->WriteInfo($src, $dst2); # write previous new values only
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
=item Return Value:
None.
=back
=head2 RestoreNewValues
Restore new values to the settings that existed when L</SaveNewValues> was
last called. May be called repeatedly after a single call to
L</SaveNewValues>. See L</SaveNewValues> above for an example.
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
=item Return Value:
None.
=back
=head2 SetFileModifyDate
Set the file modification time from the new value of the FileModifyDate tag.
$result = $exifTool->SetFileModifyDate($file);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1) File name
2) [optional] Base time if applying shift (days before $^T)
=item Return Value:
1 if the time was changed, 0 if nothing was done, or -1 if there was an
error setting the time.
=back
=head2 SetFileName
Set the file name and directory. If not specified, the new file name is
derived from the new values of the FileName and Directory tags. If the
FileName tag contains a '/', then the file is renamed into a new directory.
If FileName ends with '/', then it is taken as a directory name and the file
is moved into the new directory. The new value for the Directory tag takes
precedence over any directory specified in FileName.
$result = $exifTool->SetFileName($file);
$result = $exifTool->SetFileName($file, $newName);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1) Current file name
2) [optional] New file name
=item Return Value:
1 if the file name or directory was changed, 0 if nothing was done, or -1 if
there was an error renaming the file.
=item Notes:
Will not overwrite existing files. New directories are created as necessary.
=back
=head2 SetNewGroups
Set the order of the preferred groups when adding new information. In
subsequent calls to L</SetNewValue>, new information will be created in the
first valid group of this list. This has an impact only if the group is not
specified when calling L</SetNewValue> and if the tag name exists in more
than one group. The default order is EXIF, IPTC, XMP then MakerNotes. Any
family 0 group name may be used. Case is not significant.
$exifTool->SetNewGroups('XMP','EXIF','IPTC');
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1-N) Groups in order of priority. If no groups are specified, the priorities
are reset to the defaults.
=item Return Value:
None.
=back
=head2 GetNewGroups
Get current group priority list.
@groups = $exifTool->GetNewGroups();
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
=item Return Values:
List of group names in order of write priority. Highest priority first.
=back
=head2 GetTagID
Get the ID for the specified tag. The ID is the IFD tag number in EXIF
information, the property name in XMP information, or the data offset in a
binary data block. For some tags, such as Composite tags where there is no ID,
an empty string is returned.
$id = $exifTool->GetTagID($tag);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1) Tag key
=item Return Values:
Tag ID or '' of there is no ID for this tag.
=back
=head2 GetDescription
Get description for specified tag. This function will always return a
defined value. In the case where the description doesn't exist, the tag
name is returned.
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1) Tag key
=item Return Values:
A description for the specified tag.
=back
=head2 GetGroup
Get group name for specified tag.
$group = $exifTool->GetGroup($tag, 0);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1) Tag key
2) [optional] Group family number
=item Return Values:
Group name (or 'Other' if tag has no group). If no group family is
specified, L</GetGroup> returns the name of the group in family 0 when
called in scalar context, or the names of groups for all families in list
context. See L</GetAllGroups [static]> for a list of groups in each famly.
=back
=head2 GetGroups
Get list of group names for specified information.
@groups = $exifTool->GetGroups($info, 2);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
1) [optional] Info hash ref (default is all extracted info)
2) [optional] Group family number (default 0)
=item Return Values:
List of group names in alphabetical order. If information hash is not
specified, the group names are returned for all extracted information.
=back
=head2 BuildCompositeTags
Builds composite tags from required tags. The composite tags are
convenience tags which are derived from the values of other tags. This
routine is called automatically by L</ImageInfo> and L</ExtractInfo> if the
Composite option is set.
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) ExifTool object reference
=item Return Values:
(none)
=item Notes:
Tag values are calculated in alphabetical order unless a tag Require's or
Desire's another composite tag, in which case the calculation is deferred
until after the other tag is calculated. Composite tags may need to read
data from the image for their value to be determined, so for these
L</BuildCompositeTags> must be called while the image is available. This is
only a problem if L</ImageInfo> is called with a filename (as opposed to a
file reference or scalar reference) since in this case the file is closed
before L</ImageInfo> returns. However if you enable the Composite option,
L</BuildCompositeTags> is called from within L</ImageInfo> before the file
is closed.
=back
=head2 GetTagName [static]
Get name of tag from tag key. This is a convenience function that
strips the embedded instance number, if it exists, from the tag key.
Note: "static" in the heading above indicates that the function does not
require an ExifTool object reference as the first argument. All functions
documented below are also static.
$tagName = Image::ExifTool::GetTagName($tag);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) Tag key
=item Return Value:
Tag name. This is the same as the tag key but has the instance number
removed.
=back
=head2 GetShortcuts [static]
Get a list of shortcut tags.
=over 4
=item Inputs:
(none)
=item Return Values:
List of shortcut tags (as defined in Image::ExifTool::Shortcuts).
=back
=head2 GetAllTags [static]
Get list of all available tag names.
@tagList = Image::ExifTool::GetAllTags($group);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) [optional] Group name
=item Return Values:
A list of all available tags in alphabetical order, or all tags in specified
group. The group name is case insensitive, and any group in any family may
be used except for EXIF family 1 groups (ie. the specific IFD).
=back
=head2 GetWritableTags [static]
Get list of all writable tag names.
@tagList = Image::ExifTool::GetWritableTags($group);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) [optional] Group name
=item Return Values:
A list of all writable tags in alphabetical order. These are the tags for
which values may be set through L</SetNewValue>. If a group name is given,
returns only writable tags in specified group. The group name is case
insensitive, and any group in any family may be used except for EXIF family
1 groups (ie. the specific IFD).
=back
=head2 GetAllGroups [static]
Get list of all group names in specified family.
@groupList = Image::ExifTool::GetAllGroups($family);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) Group family number (0-2)
=item Return Values:
A list of all groups in the specified family in alphabetical order.
=back
Three families of groups are currently defined: 0, 1 and 2. Families 0 and 1
are based on the file structure, and family 2 classifies information based
on the logical category to which the information refers.
Families 0 and 1 are similar except that family 1 is more specific, and
sub-divides the EXIF, MakerNotes, XMP and ICC_Profile groups to give more
detail about the specific location where the information was found. The
EXIF group is split up based on the specific IFD (Image File Directory), the
MakerNotes group is divided into groups for each manufacturer, and the XMP
group is separated based on the XMP namespace prefix. Note that only common
XMP namespaces are listed below but additional namespaces may be present in
some XMP data. Also note that the 'XMP-xmp...' group names may appear in
the older form 'XMP-xap...' since these names evolved as the XMP standard
was developed. The ICC_Profile group is broken down to give information
about the specific ICC_Profile tag from which multiple values were
extracted. As well, information extracted from the ICC_Profile header is
separated into the ICC-header group.
Here is a complete list of groups for each family:
=over 4
=item Family 0 (Information Type):
AFCP, AIFF, APE, APP12, APP13, APP14, APP15, APP5, APP6, APP8, ASF, BMP,
CanonVRD, Composite, DICOM, DNG, DjVu, Ducky, EXE, EXIF, ExifTool, FLAC,
File, Flash, FlashPix, FotoStation, GeoTiff, HTML, ICC_Profile, ID3, IPTC,
ITC, JFIF, JPEG, Jpeg2000, Leaf, MIE, MIFF, MNG, MPC, MPEG, MakerNotes,
Meta, PDF, PICT, PNG, PhotoMechanic, Photoshop PostScript, PrintIM,
QuickTime, RAF, RIFF, Rawzor, Real, Ricoh, SVG, SigmaRaw, Vorbis, XMP, ZIP
=item Family 1 (Specific Location):
AFCP, AIFF, APE, ASF, Adobe, AdobeCM, BMP, Canon, CanonCustom, CanonRaw,
CanonVRD, Casio, Composite, DICOM, DNG, DjVu, DjVu-Meta, Ducky, EPPIM, EXE,
ExifIFD, ExifTool, FLAC, File, Flash, FlashPix, FotoStation, FujiFilm, GPS,
GeoTiff, GlobParamIFD, GraphConv, HP, HTML, HTML-dc, HTML-ncc, HTML-prod,
HTML-vw96, HTTP-equiv, ICC-chrm, ICC-clrt, ICC-header, ICC-meas, ICC-view,
ICC_Profile, ID3, ID3v1, ID3v2_2, ID3v2_3, ID3v2_4, IFD0, IFD1, IPTC, ITC,
InteropIFD, JFIF, JPEG, JVC, Jpeg2000, Kodak, KodakBordersIFD,
KodakEffectsIFD, KodakIFD, KyoceraRaw, Leaf, LeafSubIFD, Leica, MAC,
MIE-Audio, MIE-Camera, MIE-Doc, MIE-Extender, MIE-Flash, MIE-GPS, MIE-Geo,
MIE-Image, MIE-Lens, MIE-Main, MIE-MakerNotes, MIE-Meta, MIE-Orient,
MIE-Preview, MIE-Test, MIE-Thumbnail, MIE-UTM, MIE-Unknown, MIE-Video, MIFF,
MNG, MPC, MPEG, MakerNotes, MakerUnknown, MetaIFD, Minolta, MinoltaRaw,
Nikon, NikonCapture, NikonPreview, NikonScan, Olympus, PDF, PICT, PNG,
Panasonic, Pentax, PhotoMechanic, Photoshop, PictureInfo, PostScript,
PrintIM, ProfileIFD, QuickTime, RAF, RAF2, RIFF, RMETA, Rawzor, Real,
Real-CONT, Real-MDPR, Real-PROP, Real-RA3, Real-RA4, Real-RA5, Real-RJMD,
Ricoh, SPIFF, SR2, SR2DataIFD, SR2SubIFD, SRF#, SVG, Sanyo, Sigma, SigmaRaw,
Sony, SubIFD, Track#, Vorbis, XMP, XMP-DICOM, XMP-PixelLive, XMP-album,
XMP-aux, XMP-cc, XMP-crs, XMP-dc, XMP-dex, XMP-exif, XMP-iptcCore,
XMP-iptcExt, XMP-lr, XMP-mediapro, XMP-microsoft, XMP-pdf, XMP-photomech,
XMP-photoshop, XMP-plus, XMP-prism, XMP-prl, XMP-pur, XMP-rdf, XMP-tiff,
XMP-x, XMP-xmp, XMP-xmpBJ, XMP-xmpDM, XMP-xmpMM, XMP-xmpNote, XMP-xmpPLUS,
XMP-xmpRights, XMP-xmpTPg, ZIP
=item Family 2 (Category):
Audio, Author, Camera, Document, ExifTool, Image, Location, Other, Printing,
Time, Unknown, Video
=back
=head2 GetDeleteGroups [static]
Get list of all deletable group names.
@delGroups = Image::ExifTool::GetDeleteGroups();
=over 4
=item Inputs:
None.
=item Return Values:
A list of deletable group names in alphabetical order. The current list of
deletable group names is:
AFCP, CIFF, CanonVRD, EXIF, ExifIFD, Ducky, File, FlashPix, FotoStation,
GlobParamIFD, GPS, IFD0, IFD1, InteropIFD, ICC_Profile, IPTC, JFIF,
MakerNotes, Meta, MetaIFD, MIE, PhotoMechanic, Photoshop, PNG, PrintIM,
RMETA, SubIFD, Trailer, XMP
All names in this list are either family 0 or family 1 group names, with the
exception of 'Trailer' which allows all trailers in JPEG and TIFF-format
images to be deleted at once, including unknown trailers. To schedule a
group for deletion, call L</SetNewValue> with an undefined value and a tag
name like 'Trailer:*'.
=back
=head2 GetFileType [static]
Get type of file given file name.
my $type = Image::ExifTool::GetFileType($filename);
my $desc = Image::ExifTool::GetFileType($filename, 1);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) [optional] File name (or just an extension)
1) [optional] Flag to return a description instead of a type
=item Return Value:
A string, based on the file extension, which represents the type of file.
Returns undefined value if file type is not supported by ExifTool. In array
context, may return more than one file type if the file may be different
formats. Returns a list of extensions for all recognized file types if no
input extension is specified.
=back
=head2 CanWrite [static]
Can the specified file or file type be written?
my $writable = Image::ExifTool::CanWrite($filename);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) File name, file extension, or file type
=item Return Value:
True if the specified file type can be written (edited).
=back
=head2 CanCreate [static]
Can the specified file or file type be created?
my $creatable = Image::ExifTool::CanCreate($filename);
=over 4
=item Inputs:
0) File name, file extension, or file type
=item Return Value:
True if the specified file type can be created from scratch. Currently,
this can only be done with XMP, MIE, ICC and VRD files.
=back
=head1 AUTHOR
Copyright 2003-2008, Phil Harvey
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the same terms as Perl itself.
=head1 CREDITS
Many people have helped in the development of ExifTool through their bug
reports, comments and suggestions, and/or additions to the code. See
html/index.html in the Image::ExifTool distribution package for a list of
people who have contributed to this project.
=head1 SEE ALSO
L<exiftool(1)|exiftool>,
L<Image::ExifTool::TagNames(3pm)|Image::ExifTool::TagNames>,
L<Image::ExifTool::Shortcuts(3pm)|Image::ExifTool::Shortcuts>,
L<Image::ExifTool::Shift.pl|Image::ExifTool::Shift.pl>,
L<Image::Info(3pm)|Image::Info>,
L<Image::MetaData::JPEG(3pm)|Image::MetaData::JPEG>
=cut
# end