NAME
exifcom - display or set the UserComment tag contained in a JPEG Exif
section
SYNOPSIS
exifcom [ -bfinv ] [ -w comment ] [ -s delim ] file ...
DESCRIPTION
When invoked without arguments, the exifcom utility displays the
contents of the Exif UserComment tag contained in file to the standard
output. Otherwise, depending on the options specified, exifcom will
blank the tag or set it to comment.
Some digital cameras include a standard UserComment tag in the Exif
data added to the image files they produce. This comment tag is fixed-
length and supports multi-byte character sets (though exifcom does
not). Note that not all cameras will include the tag.
The utility is conservative in its approach to writing the UserComment
tag. It does not modify, extend, or otherwise adulterate an image’s
Exif metadata structure. When writing the tag it merely changes pre-
allocated bytes. Therefore, exifcom is at the mercy of the Exif data
creator for both the presence of the tag and its length. It cannot
create a UserComment tag when the camera does not include one, nor can
it write a comment longer than the space pre-allocated by the camera.
exifcom only displays and writes ASCII character set comments.
OPTIONS
-b Blank the UserComment tag, overwriting both the character code
and comment fields with NUL. The character code specifies how
the comment is represented; it is "undefined" when blank. This
is the state to which many cameras initialize the tag. When
used in conjunction with the -w option, exifcom will blank the
comment prior to setting it to comment.
-f Overwrite or blank existing or unsupported comments without
prompting for confirmation.
-i Write a prompt to standard error before overwriting or blanking
an existing or unsupported comment. If the response from the
standard input begins with ’y’ or ’Y’, the comment is
overwritten. This option is default behavior.
-n Do not overwrite or blank existing or unsupported comments and
do not prompt for confirmation (i.e., automatically answer ’no’
to a confirmation prompt). This option takes precedence over
both the -f and -i options.
-s Separate field name and value in the verbose and multiple file
cases with the string delim. The default is ’: ’.
-v Be verbose when printing the contents of the UserComment tag.
Besides the comment itself (if present and supported), exifcom
will display the maximum comment length supported, the character
code of the comment, and the length of the comment.
-w Set UserComment to the ASCII string comment. If comment is
longer than what the tag supports, it will be truncated to fit.
DIAGNOSTICS
The exifcom utility exits 0 on success. When displaying a comment from
a single file, if the UserComment tag is missing, it exits 1; if blank,
it exits 2; if in an unsupported character code, it exits 3.
Otherwise, it exits 1 if an error occurs.
SEE ALSO
exiftags(1), exiftime(1)
STANDARDS
The exifcom utility was developed using the January 2002 Exif standard,
version 2.2 (http://tsc.jeita.or.jp/).
BUGS
If the tag doesn’t exist or is too short, too bad.
AUTHOR
The exifcom utility and this man page were written by Eric M. Johnston
<emj@postal.net>.