P
PhotoGuyBK
Guest
So I've been using Microsoft Photo Gallery for years. Very successfully. My library currently consists of over 75,000 photos and videos and the tagging feature of the application (and Windows Explorer in general) makes it possible to manage a large library and instantly access what you're looking for.
Background:
Until recently, any file, photo or video (except .MTS files) could be tagged in Photo Gallery and the Title, Tags, People, Comments, Rating, etc. would immediately be reflected in the actual object file (photo or video). This makes it possible to locate files OUTSIDE of the Photo Gallery application and also makes it possible to rebuild the database in the application if there is ever a problem. This is an extremely comprehensive way to maintain these files especially since one spends hundred of hours tagging and polishing all of these files so that they are actually useful and it would otherwise be impossible to locate a specific photo thru other means.
The Problem:
Now, when I add tags within the Photo Gallery application, the application stores the tag information but Windows does not store the tag in the file itself as it once did. Furthermore, if I manually try to edit a TAG in the properties dialog of Windows Explorer, the following error occurs:
Error 0x80004001: Not Implemented
Since the tags are now no longer updating in the file itself, they are only being stored in the Photo Gallery database. That's fine as long as the app is still working but since it is was discontinued by Microsoft and is no longer supported, there is no guarantee it will function forever. Therefore, all of the hours spent updating metadata for 75000 files will be lost as soon as the database crashes. Previously, when the metadata (tags) were stored in the file itself, the solution was permanent and portable to any other similar application without re-tagging the files. The Photo Gallery database is proprietary and only editable by Microsoft.
Microsoft obviously removed the Windows Explorer user GUI interface to access these tags in a recent update, intentionally or not. Interestingly, I can still tag .MP4 files but cannot tag .MOV files. Upon further investigation, all files that were previously tagged still maintain the tag and when viewing the file properties in Windows Explorer, all is in tact. If I copy one of these files to a machine running Windows 10 version 1803, all original functionality remains and I do not receive the above error! Most definitely a problem introduced in a subsequent update to Windows 10.
My Question:
How can this functionality be restored? Is there a Group Policy which can be edited? Can Microsoft respond to this? I have read a lot of forum questions about this problem and Microsoft has not weighed in, suggesting it is perhaps an intentional change to create a problem for non-Microsoft vendors and their users? Coincidentally or not, Apple movie files have a .MOV extension. This is a major problem for those of us who use tagging and I would appreciate a thoughtful and comprehensive response from Microsoft. There is no need for me to try troubleshooting as this problem is well documented on this site, works fine on 1803 but is confirmed broken on several version 1903 and 1909 machines . Please provide a reason and resolution as all of us utilizing tagging are at risk and exposed until this problem is resolved.
Thank you in advance.
BK
Continue reading...
Background:
Until recently, any file, photo or video (except .MTS files) could be tagged in Photo Gallery and the Title, Tags, People, Comments, Rating, etc. would immediately be reflected in the actual object file (photo or video). This makes it possible to locate files OUTSIDE of the Photo Gallery application and also makes it possible to rebuild the database in the application if there is ever a problem. This is an extremely comprehensive way to maintain these files especially since one spends hundred of hours tagging and polishing all of these files so that they are actually useful and it would otherwise be impossible to locate a specific photo thru other means.
The Problem:
Now, when I add tags within the Photo Gallery application, the application stores the tag information but Windows does not store the tag in the file itself as it once did. Furthermore, if I manually try to edit a TAG in the properties dialog of Windows Explorer, the following error occurs:
Error 0x80004001: Not Implemented
Since the tags are now no longer updating in the file itself, they are only being stored in the Photo Gallery database. That's fine as long as the app is still working but since it is was discontinued by Microsoft and is no longer supported, there is no guarantee it will function forever. Therefore, all of the hours spent updating metadata for 75000 files will be lost as soon as the database crashes. Previously, when the metadata (tags) were stored in the file itself, the solution was permanent and portable to any other similar application without re-tagging the files. The Photo Gallery database is proprietary and only editable by Microsoft.
Microsoft obviously removed the Windows Explorer user GUI interface to access these tags in a recent update, intentionally or not. Interestingly, I can still tag .MP4 files but cannot tag .MOV files. Upon further investigation, all files that were previously tagged still maintain the tag and when viewing the file properties in Windows Explorer, all is in tact. If I copy one of these files to a machine running Windows 10 version 1803, all original functionality remains and I do not receive the above error! Most definitely a problem introduced in a subsequent update to Windows 10.
My Question:
How can this functionality be restored? Is there a Group Policy which can be edited? Can Microsoft respond to this? I have read a lot of forum questions about this problem and Microsoft has not weighed in, suggesting it is perhaps an intentional change to create a problem for non-Microsoft vendors and their users? Coincidentally or not, Apple movie files have a .MOV extension. This is a major problem for those of us who use tagging and I would appreciate a thoughtful and comprehensive response from Microsoft. There is no need for me to try troubleshooting as this problem is well documented on this site, works fine on 1803 but is confirmed broken on several version 1903 and 1909 machines . Please provide a reason and resolution as all of us utilizing tagging are at risk and exposed until this problem is resolved.
Thank you in advance.
BK
Continue reading...