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Finding a mislabeled .jpeg file

G

Goomba

Flightless Bird
Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot find it. The extension
could have been named .doc or .txt, and the file name is now unknown. Is
there any way to search for .jpeg files regardless of how they may be
labeled? Thank you,
 
S

Spamlet

Flightless Bird
"Goomba" <Goomba@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:7B4D9BEA-A671-44D3-9E8B-332C751FB7B0@microsoft.com...
> Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot find it. The
> extension
> could have been named .doc or .txt, and the file name is now unknown. Is
> there any way to search for .jpeg files regardless of how they may be
> labeled? Thank you,


Just search for big files. The big one without a video extension is your
mislabelled file.

S
 
V

VanguardLH

Flightless Bird
Goomba wrote:

> Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot find it.


JPEG is a picture format, not a video format.

> The extension could have been named .doc or .txt, and the file name is
> now unknown.


..doc files are documents typically composed using Word. .txt files are
plain text files. Neither are pictures or videos. Documents aren't
usually much over 5-20 KB in size. Videos will be MUCH larger, like in
the many-megabyte range, or higher.

> Is there any way to search for .jpeg files regardless of how they may
> be labeled?


Have you yet even tried using the file search included in Windows?
Search on all files but enter something for the Size criteria, like
200KB (or whatever you might think is the size of this mislabelled
file). Videos can be megabytes to even gigabytes in size. You didn't
explain the nature of the missing video file, like if you recorded 60
seconds using a digital camera, downloaded it from the Net, converted it
from a tape or DVD movie, or what. You might want to start searching
for files above 20,000 KB (20M8) and then progressively lower the size
if the prior search doesn't find your mislabelled file.
 
P

Paul

Flightless Bird
Goomba wrote:
> Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot find it. The extension
> could have been named .doc or .txt, and the file name is now unknown. Is
> there any way to search for .jpeg files regardless of how they may be
> labeled? Thank you,


It is possible to get info on files. I have two programs here
that may be useful. One is specifically for movies, and if you're working
with movies, that is the program to use. The other is general purpose,
but may not do as good a job identifying movie types.

*******

For video (like MJPEG a.k.a Motion JPEG), you can use GSPOT.
It has a batch mode, which allows dragging and dropping a handful
of files on the window at one time, and the "export" file will
have printed in it, what the files are.

http://gspot.headbands.com/

http://gspot.headbands.com/v26x/GSpot270a.zip (download)

For general file identification, first consider which OSes use
extensions and which do not. Windows is pretty dependent on
extensions. Linux and Unix don't depend on the extension.
Instead, Linux and Unix examine key bytes in the file
(usually in the first 1Kbyte), and determine the file type
that way. The operative term for the bytes they look at,
is the "magic function".

There is a port of the "file" program available.

http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/

http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/file.htm

To get this working, you'll eventually end up with
a folder called "bin" and in it, will be files like
this.

file.exe
magic1.dll
regex2.dll
zlib1.dll

If the package has an installer, it should add an entry to
the Windows environment variable for execution "PATH". That
way, when you type "file" at the command prompt (MSDOS window),
the system will be able to find it. The dependencies for the
file, must be in the folder with it, and as far as I know,
the above list is complete.

For me to test that at the moment, I can open a Command Prompt
window, vopy a JPEG file into the "bin" folder, and type the name
of the command, and see what it says. This first example, will
print all the options the program has (--help calls up the help
function, like /? would do for a Windows program). The second
command example, carries out my test case.

C:/Downloads\filetype_gnuwin32\bin> file --help
C:/Downloads\filetype_gnuwin32\bin> file test.jpg

test.jpg; JPEG image data, JFIF standard 1.01

Now, if I renamed that test file to test.txt, the answer would
still be the same

C:/Downloads\filetype_gnuwin32\bin> file test.txt

test.txt; JPEG image data, JFIF standard 1.01

So the program does its determination of file type, without
relying on the extension.

Neither of those example utilities, is "user friendly". With
a great deal of effort, they could be used in a script. You
can still use them by hand, but it will take you a *long* time
to find that file manually.

Good luck,
Paul
 
M

Mike S

Flightless Bird
On 8/7/2010 3:56 PM, Paul wrote:
> Goomba wrote:
>> Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot find it. The
>> extension could have been named .doc or .txt, and the file name is now
>> unknown. Is there any way to search for .jpeg files regardless of how
>> they may be labeled? Thank you,

>
> It is possible to get info on files. I have two programs here
> that may be useful. One is specifically for movies, and if you're working
> with movies, that is the program to use. The other is general purpose,
> but may not do as good a job identifying movie types.
>
> *******
>
> For video (like MJPEG a.k.a Motion JPEG), you can use GSPOT.
> It has a batch mode, which allows dragging and dropping a handful
> of files on the window at one time, and the "export" file will
> have printed in it, what the files are.
>
> http://gspot.headbands.com/
>
> http://gspot.headbands.com/v26x/GSpot270a.zip (download)
>
> For general file identification, first consider which OSes use
> extensions and which do not. Windows is pretty dependent on
> extensions. Linux and Unix don't depend on the extension.
> Instead, Linux and Unix examine key bytes in the file
> (usually in the first 1Kbyte), and determine the file type
> that way. The operative term for the bytes they look at,
> is the "magic function".
>
> There is a port of the "file" program available.
>
> http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/
>
> http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/file.htm
>
> To get this working, you'll eventually end up with
> a folder called "bin" and in it, will be files like
> this.
>
> file.exe
> magic1.dll
> regex2.dll
> zlib1.dll
>
> If the package has an installer, it should add an entry to
> the Windows environment variable for execution "PATH". That
> way, when you type "file" at the command prompt (MSDOS window),
> the system will be able to find it. The dependencies for the
> file, must be in the folder with it, and as far as I know,
> the above list is complete.
>
> For me to test that at the moment, I can open a Command Prompt
> window, vopy a JPEG file into the "bin" folder, and type the name
> of the command, and see what it says. This first example, will
> print all the options the program has (--help calls up the help
> function, like /? would do for a Windows program). The second
> command example, carries out my test case.
>
> C:/Downloads\filetype_gnuwin32\bin> file --help
> C:/Downloads\filetype_gnuwin32\bin> file test.jpg
>
> test.jpg; JPEG image data, JFIF standard 1.01
>
> Now, if I renamed that test file to test.txt, the answer would
> still be the same
>
> C:/Downloads\filetype_gnuwin32\bin> file test.txt
>
> test.txt; JPEG image data, JFIF standard 1.01
>
> So the program does its determination of file type, without
> relying on the extension.
>
> Neither of those example utilities, is "user friendly". With
> a great deal of effort, they could be used in a script. You
> can still use them by hand, but it will take you a *long* time
> to find that file manually.
>
> Good luck,
> Paul


I like XNView, freeware, great program, I just changed the extension of
a file from .jpg to .txt and it showed a graphic thumbnail just as it
did for the .jpg extension, no difference, XNView lets you browser
folders and displays thumbnails for each graphics file, just another
option.

Mike
 
E

Elmo

Flightless Bird
Goomba wrote:
> Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot find it. The extension
> could have been named .doc or .txt, and the file name is now unknown. Is
> there any way to search for .jpeg files regardless of how they may be
> labeled? Thank you,


Also look for files created around the date it was mislabeled. That
might narrow the amount of files. Then try opening any that fit: are
familiar in name, and won't open with their current extension.

--

Joe =o)
 
M

Mike S

Flightless Bird
On 8/7/2010 9:43 AM, Goomba wrote:
> Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot find it. The extension
> could have been named .doc or .txt, and the file name is now unknown. Is
> there any way to search for .jpeg files regardless of how they may be
> labeled? Thank you,


If you know the file format, are there characters that appear inside
every jpg file that could be searched for? I could write a free visual
basic program that would examine every program on the hard drive and
list the ones that included those characters, but I'm not familiar with
the encoding and I don't know what to look for. If you can identify
certain characters that always exist inside every jpg file let me know,
vb's really easy to program with and this program would be a snap. I
wrote this program, just so you can see I know vb:
http://mscir.tripod.com/parabola/
 
P

Paul

Flightless Bird
Mike S wrote:
> On 8/7/2010 9:43 AM, Goomba wrote:
>> Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot find it. The
>> extension
>> could have been named .doc or .txt, and the file name is now unknown. Is
>> there any way to search for .jpeg files regardless of how they may be
>> labeled? Thank you,

>
> If you know the file format, are there characters that appear inside
> every jpg file that could be searched for? I could write a free visual
> basic program that would examine every program on the hard drive and
> list the ones that included those characters, but I'm not familiar with
> the encoding and I don't know what to look for. If you can identify
> certain characters that always exist inside every jpg file let me know,
> vb's really easy to program with and this program would be a snap. I
> wrote this program, just so you can see I know vb:
> http://mscir.tripod.com/parabola/


But you have the answer already. The "file.exe" program I mentioned, has
all the logic necessary to do the file identification for you. There
is no need to write any more code to do the byte munging to come up
with the answer. "file.exe" is relatively efficient, because it
doesn't typically "eat" the whole file, to do an identification.
In many cases, it gets the answer, using info in the first 1KB of
the file.

You could write a script to loop over the file system, testing for files
that match a certain description, and print their names to an output file.

For example, if "file test.jpg" returns

test.jpg; JPEG image data, JFIF standard 1.01

and if the user entered "JPEG image data, JFIF standard 1.01", your
script could return a list of files that match the description.

What we really need, is a positive identification of the type of
the file that is "missing", in order that the program written
stands a better chance of finding it. If the file is an obscure
movie format, it might not be in the current magic file used
by "file.exe".

If you download the source code for the "file.exe" thing, the
file in the source tree called "magic" is a text file you can
open in Wordpad. You might want to add an extension of ".txt"
on the end of the file. In that file, is a shorthand notation
for identifying files. On Unix systems, such a file could be
found in /etc/magic for example. In this case, the magic file
has probably been hand rolled (with bits and pieces of ID info
added from various sources), so the magic file may not correspond
to a file you'd find on a Unix box.

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infoc...pic=/com.ibm.aix.files/doc/aixfiles/magic.htm

"The fields of the magic file are as follows:

1. Byte offset
2. Value type
3. Optional relational operator ("=" by default) and value to
match (numeric or string constant)
4. String to be printed

Numeric values may be decimal, octal, or hexadecimal. Strings
can be entered as hexadecimal values by preceding them with '0x'."

Using the utility as it exists, eliminates having to re-invent
the logic used in the magic identification procedure. Most of the
hard work in this case, is in building the magic file itself, which
has taken years.

Paul
 
M

Mike S

Flightless Bird
On 8/8/2010 1:52 AM, Paul wrote:
> Mike S wrote:
>> On 8/7/2010 9:43 AM, Goomba wrote:
>>> Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot find it. The
>>> extension
>>> could have been named .doc or .txt, and the file name is now unknown. Is
>>> there any way to search for .jpeg files regardless of how they may be
>>> labeled? Thank you,

>>
>> If you know the file format, are there characters that appear inside
>> every jpg file that could be searched for? I could write a free visual
>> basic program that would examine every program on the hard drive and
>> list the ones that included those characters, but I'm not familiar
>> with the encoding and I don't know what to look for. If you can
>> identify certain characters that always exist inside every jpg file
>> let me know, vb's really easy to program with and this program would
>> be a snap. I wrote this program, just so you can see I know vb:
>> http://mscir.tripod.com/parabola/

>
> But you have the answer already. The "file.exe" program I mentioned, has
> all the logic necessary to do the file identification for you. There
> is no need to write any more code to do the byte munging to come up
> with the answer. "file.exe" is relatively efficient, because it
> doesn't typically "eat" the whole file, to do an identification.
> In many cases, it gets the answer, using info in the first 1KB of
> the file.
>
> You could write a script to loop over the file system, testing for files
> that match a certain description, and print their names to an output file.
>
> For example, if "file test.jpg" returns
>
> test.jpg; JPEG image data, JFIF standard 1.01
>
> and if the user entered "JPEG image data, JFIF standard 1.01", your
> script could return a list of files that match the description.
>
> What we really need, is a positive identification of the type of
> the file that is "missing", in order that the program written
> stands a better chance of finding it. If the file is an obscure
> movie format, it might not be in the current magic file used
> by "file.exe".
>
> If you download the source code for the "file.exe" thing, the
> file in the source tree called "magic" is a text file you can
> open in Wordpad. You might want to add an extension of ".txt"
> on the end of the file. In that file, is a shorthand notation
> for identifying files. On Unix systems, such a file could be
> found in /etc/magic for example. In this case, the magic file
> has probably been hand rolled (with bits and pieces of ID info
> added from various sources), so the magic file may not correspond
> to a file you'd find on a Unix box.
>
> http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infoc...pic=/com.ibm.aix.files/doc/aixfiles/magic.htm
>
>
> "The fields of the magic file are as follows:
>
> 1. Byte offset
> 2. Value type
> 3. Optional relational operator ("=" by default) and value to
> match (numeric or string constant)
> 4. String to be printed
>
> Numeric values may be decimal, octal, or hexadecimal. Strings
> can be entered as hexadecimal values by preceding them with '0x'."
>
> Using the utility as it exists, eliminates having to re-invent
> the logic used in the magic identification procedure. Most of the
> hard work in this case, is in building the magic file itself, which
> has taken years.
>
> Paul


Nice solution.
 
N

News123

Flightless Bird
On 08/07/2010 06:43 PM, Goomba wrote:
> Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot find it. The extension
> could have been named .doc or .txt, and the file name is now unknown. Is
> there any way to search for .jpeg files regardless of how they may be
> labeled? Thank you,


Hi

You got already quite some answers.

Just a minor detail

Up to my knowledge .jpg files are always still images.

If you really search for a movie (done with a digital camera),
then the file type is probably "motion jpgeg".

Often this motion jpeg files are wrapped in an avi container.

If you use programs like file.exe
it might not return jpeg as file type, but only 'avi' or media
(though I don't know the verbosity of the windows file.exe program)
 
P

Paul

Flightless Bird
News123 wrote:
> On 08/07/2010 06:43 PM, Goomba wrote:
>> Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot find it. The extension
>> could have been named .doc or .txt, and the file name is now unknown. Is
>> there any way to search for .jpeg files regardless of how they may be
>> labeled? Thank you,

>
> Hi
>
> You got already quite some answers.
>
> Just a minor detail
>
> Up to my knowledge .jpg files are always still images.
>
> If you really search for a movie (done with a digital camera),
> then the file type is probably "motion jpgeg".
>
> Often this motion jpeg files are wrapped in an avi container.
>
> If you use programs like file.exe
> it might not return jpeg as file type, but only 'avi' or media
> (though I don't know the verbosity of the windows file.exe program)
>


Which is why GSPOT, a program specific to movie identification, might
be a better choice for movies. I can't vouch for how complete the
file type coverage is on file.exe . I wouldn't expect too many movie formats
to be in there. With GSPOT's batch mode, you can dump a pile of files into
the open window, and GSPOT writes entries to an "export" file, containing
the specific identification information you want it to write out.
For example, it can output identification information in a format
you can open in a spreadsheet.

I've never used the batch capability on GSPOT, but I think people on
rec.video.desktop have used it occasionally.

Paul
 
T

thumbnail problems

Flightless Bird
This could take a little time but put *.doc and then look through what the
results are and then try *.txt and scroll through those results. You'll find
it, it will just take a little dillegence on your part.

"Goomba" wrote:

> Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot find it. The extension
> could have been named .doc or .txt, and the file name is now unknown. Is
> there any way to search for .jpeg files regardless of how they may be
> labeled? Thank you,
 
T

Twayne

Flightless Bird
In news:i3krtc$333$1@news.eternal-september.org,
Mike S <mscir@yahoo.com> typed:
> On 8/7/2010 3:56 PM, Paul wrote:
>> Goomba wrote:
>>> Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot
>>> find it. The extension could have been named .doc or
>>> .txt, and the file name is now unknown. Is there any way
>>> to search for .jpeg files regardless of how they may be
>>> labeled? Thank you,

>>
>> It is possible to get info on files. I have two programs
>> here that may be useful. One is specifically for movies, and if
>> you're working with movies, that is the program to use.
>> The other is general purpose, but may not do as good a job
>> identifying movie types.


....

to the OP: Yes, there are. Look for file finders or duplicate file finders
that can search based on "content" or "file contents", etc and in instead of
the file extensions etc.. Dupliicate File Finder is one such program that
can find identical files or just one file based on the "contents" only and
nothing else.
http://dff.nazrashid.com/
Very handy IMO.

HTH,

Twayne`
 
G

Goomba

Flightless Bird
Thank you for all the suggestions. I love seeing smart help dumb. :-]

"Goomba" wrote:

> Last year I mislabeled a .jpeg video and now I cannot find it. The extension
> could have been named .doc or .txt, and the file name is now unknown. Is
> there any way to search for .jpeg files regardless of how they may be
> labeled? Thank you,
 
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