December 9, 2002: Recent changes to either iView Media Pro or Apple's ColorSync software now make software more EXIF/DCF aware. You don't need JPEG-JFIF Repair anymore if you were having problems using iView Media Pro to embed color profiles in your digital camera files. iView now embeds color profiles whether the files are EXIF/DCF or JFIF JPEG's.
JPEG-JFIF Repair adds header information to certain JPEG files so that they conform to the JPEG File Interchange Format (JFIF) format. This allows these files to be used with applications that require JPEG files to conform to the JPEG-JFIF specification, such as iView Media Pro.
The application does not fix corrupted JPEG files. You may want to look at applications such as Image Rescue, Data Rescue, or Salvage for help. Rob Galbraith's web site also looks into various image recovery applications that might be of some assistance.
Most digital camera JPEG files are formatted according to the Design rule for Camera File system (DCF) emerging standard. Make no mistake, JPEG-DCF files are valid JPEG files. Certain applications, such as iView Media Pro for the Macintosh, however, do not work properly unless the file conforms to the JPEG-JFIF specification.
Note the DCF specification consists of much more than the simple format of the JPEG file headers. It provides media, writer, and reader specifications for digital camera makers. JPEG-JFIF Repair is an application that allows JPEG files to work with certain applications. Ideally, these application should be updated to support DCF-files, but in the absence of such updates, a place exists for JPEG-JFIF Repair.
Here's a look at the beginning data format of a JPEG-DCF file in hexadecimal format:
FF D8 FF E1 ...
Here's a look at the beginning data format for a JPEG-JFIF file in hex:
The JFIF specification states that the APP0 marker should follow immediately after the SOI marker in a JPEG file. Here is an example of the beginning of a valid JPEG FIF file:
FF D8 FF E0 ...
In this example, immediately following the SOI marker is the APP1 (FF E1) marker that describes Exif information (i.e. shutter speed, aperture, and camera model). The APP0 marker is nowhere to be found! Applications and services such as Apple's ColorSync and iView MultiMedia Pro depend on JPEG files conforming to the JFIF specification for certain functions, such as embedding ICC Color Profiles.
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JPEG-JFIF REPAIR MAKES EVERY ATTEMPT TO SAFELY MODIFY THOSE JPEGS FILES WITH MALFORMED JFIF HEADER INFORMATION. BY USING THIS SOFTWARE YOU AGREE TO NOT HOLD RESPONSIBLE FOUNDATION SYSTEMS NOR ITS AGENTS FOR ANY LOSS OF DATA OR DATA CORRUPTION THAT MAY OCCUR. IN NO EVENT SHALL FOUNDATION SYSTEMS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE, THE MATERIALS AND THE PRODUCTS.
JPEG-JFIF Repair has the following requirements:
JPEG-JFIF Repair has been tested extensively on a PowerBook G3 (Lombard) and a PowerMac G4 867MHz (Quicksilver).
JPEG-JFIF Repair can be used as an application or a droplet. You can drag files and folders onto the application icon's in the Finder, shown to the right.
If you double-click on the application's icon in the Finder, the dialog shown below will appear. Here you can choose to verify and repair a single file or the entire contents of a folder. JPEG-JFIF Repair will iterate recursively through the contents of the folder, including sub-folders. It will not follow document or folder aliases.
Clicking "Choose File..." or "Choose Folder..." will bring up the standard MacOS X Open Dialog box. Navigate to the file or folder you wish to verify and click "Choose".
JPEG-JFIF Repair will now calculate the number of JPEG files to verify. When complete, it will display the following dialog box:
When you click "Verify and Repair", JPEG-JFIF Repair to search for and modify only those JPEG files which do not have the JFIF APP0 marker at the beginning of the file. This process may take some time the application has to search through a large number of files.
When complete, the JPEG-JFIF Repair will display the following dialog box:
JPEG-JFIF Repair cannot modify locked files and will alert you if it found any during its search. If no files needed repairing, the following alert will appear:
Files that have been repaired by JPEG-JFIF Repair will now work properly with applications and services such as ColorSync or iView MultiMedia Pro for features such as embedding ICC Color Profiles.
This section details issues that might come up when using JPEG-JFIF Repair.
JPEG-JFIF Repair says it can only run on Mac OS X and AppleScript 1.8.
You are likely running on a Macintosh with Mac OS 9 or earlier. Please upgrade to the latest version of Mac OS X. If you are running OS X, please run Software Update (in the System Preferences application) to install to the latest version of AppleScript.
What do I do if JPEG-JFIF Repair says there were locked files that were skipped?
In the Finder, select the files that JPEG-JFIF Repair tried to verify. Select "Show Info" from the File menu and ensure that the "Locked" checkbox is unchecked.
Why does JPEG-JFIF Repair take so long to search through my files?
For each JPEG file, JPEG-JFIF Repair has to open the file, look at the first few bytes, and modify the file if it detects a malformed header. This process takes a few seconds for each JPEG and is greatly dependent on the performance of your computer. A fast computer with a speedy hard drive will improve the performance of JPEG-JFIF Repair.
If you have any questions and comments regarding JPEG-JFIF Repair or any other product by Foundation Systems, please contact us at:
Email: support@tow.com
Web: http://www.tow.com/software/
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