Windows 7 not auto rotating pictures

Anonymous
2010-04-28T18:17:17+00:00

I use Nik and Adobe software to edit photos and currently use Nikon Transfer to import photos, these programs read the exif auto rotate imformation stored by my nikon D80.

My problem is that when I view my pictures in Window explorer or Windows live photo gallery they are not auto rotated to portrait mode, it has become apparent that these programs are unable to to read the exif information.

I have tried rotating to portrait mode in explorer and photo gallery only to discover that when I view these pics in another non microsoft program that they revert back to landscape mode,  I have also used win 7 autoplay to import pics and they are rotated correctly using win7 programs but not in other programs I use.

Is there a current fix for this problem?

Using Win7 64bit

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Music, photos, and video

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Anonymous
2011-11-21T14:32:29+00:00

Hi,

 

Some photo applications will display a photo as rotated which is referred to as soft rotating by reading metadata on the photo itself. Although the Photo Gallery rotates photos on import using this same metadata, many a times it doesn't also rotate all un-rotated photos in their collection for them automatically, or at least display the photos as rotated like some other applications do.

The reason that the Photo Gallery rotates on import, but not after that is because there are a number of applications that don't correctly update the photo metadata after rotating. This metadata is supposed to reflect the state of the photo, but if the photo is rotated without updating this metadata, another application using this metadata to determine whether or not to rotate it will incorrectly rotate the photo.

During import, the photos are coming directly from the camera, at which point the integrity of this metadata is not in question. So although it's safe for the Photo Gallery to rely on this metadata to make an accurate rotate decision during import, as soon as the photo makes its way to the PC, any other application could interact with the photo, and potentially corrupt this metadata. Therefore, the Photo Gallery doesn't soft rotate at this point.

 

Regards,

Syed N – Microsoft Support

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

The great part of Microsoft's answer is this explanation and this is how it reads to me; well if other programs don't read and write Exif data correctly, Windows and MS products shouldn't either.  Don't cater to the bad programs, program to a higher standard and then people will make the choice not to use these ones that don't work correctly, or allow your software to update or correct the metadata to repair these photos with bad metadata, making your product superior and the product people actually want to use.

Microsoft, any fixes expected for Windows 7 Explorer and Photoviewer coming soon?

Come on Microsoft, get your act together, there is a reason people are leaving you so quickly for Apple!

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-11-28T16:36:33+00:00

    This problem is still present with the Microsoft Windows.

    At this point it is November 2011.  The iPhone 4s and iOs 5 is out.

    The iPhone image sent by email DOES CONTAIN the exif rotation data.

    The image has the meta-tag for Orientation: Rotate 180 embedded in it (at least thats is what the exif plugin for firefox is reporting.  Microsoft's photoviewer displays the image upside down (by not rotating 180 degrees, or is it upside down BECAUSE it is rotated 180 degrees?)  Firefox is ALSO displaying the image upside down... and it would also have access to that exif tag, which the plugin is indicating is set to Rotate 180.

    So I wonder, are both Windows Photo Viewer and Firefox ignoring the exif tag or is it being applied to an image that was already rotated when the iPhone sent the email attachement, but Apple failed to clear the exif tag to reflect no further rotation was necessary.  Not being able to tell if you are viewing the image as encoded or with exif rotation applies confuses the issue.

    Corel Photo Paint X3 doesn't indicate an EXIF tag for rotation and also shows the image upside down.  I suspect the problem there is Corel Photo Paint X3 doesn't care about some tags and thus ignores them (ie it only lists things in the  EXIF properties, it actually makes use of).  Maybe the problem is that the EXIF tagging for 'which side is up' is just so non-standard that programs ignore it.

    What is clear is Microsoft isn't seeing the rotation meta data at all, or at least not exposing it, because  viewing the image in Windows Photo Viewer doesn't reveal the orientation exif information for the same file.  Its got nothing in the details tab for image properties that relates to the rotation (or which side is up).

    Its amazing that industry still cannot manage to get something so simple.  Come on guys, get your acts together.  This is NOT a hard problem.

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-11-27T22:00:45+00:00

    I hope Microsoft will fix the problem too. FastStone, PIE, Nikon ViewNX2 works correctly all the time.  If all of them implemented EXIF incorretly, I think Microsoft should at least give us the option to use the "wrong" way.

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-10-21T11:14:31+00:00

    But one more reason I am happier with Apple.  I use MS computers as well but the fact that freeware can auto rotate photos for me with the Exif information and my screensaver slideshow built into Win 7 cannot is among the hundreds of problems that I have with Windows.  Is anyone in Redmond awake?

    Hi,

     

    Some photo applications will display a photo as rotated which is referred to as soft rotating by reading metadata on the photo itself. Although the Photo Gallery rotates photos on import using this same metadata, many a times it doesn't also rotate all un-rotated photos in their collection for them automatically, or at least display the photos as rotated like some other applications do.

    The reason that the Photo Gallery rotates on import, but not after that is because there are a number of applications that don't correctly update the photo metadata after rotating. This metadata is supposed to reflect the state of the photo, but if the photo is rotated without updating this metadata, another application using this metadata to determine whether or not to rotate it will incorrectly rotate the photo.

    During import, the photos are coming directly from the camera, at which point the integrity of this metadata is not in question. So although it's safe for the Photo Gallery to rely on this metadata to make an accurate rotate decision during import, as soon as the photo makes its way to the PC, any other application could interact with the photo, and potentially corrupt this metadata. Therefore, the Photo Gallery doesn't soft rotate at this point.

     

    Regards,

    Syed N – Microsoft Support

    Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

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  4. Anonymous
    2011-10-18T04:41:04+00:00

    A good photo editor/ viewer will not let that happen,

    Granted windows 7 does have a serious problem reading inside closed folders unless you either import to the same folder or copy and paste the files to the same folder every time.

    The other issue can also happen if you change the names of files from prior imports, any import software will consider these files as new files and will import them again.

    Apple is just as restrictive (if not more) than microsoft is,

    Microsoft has a more open environment than apple will ever have,

    Ask people with Ipad's why they have no adobe flash player :)

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