Ian's Software Site - JPGExtra Program

Because JPGExtra is still a very new program, I don't yet have a list of typical problems that users have experienced. This section therefore only contains a few problems that are likely to be encountered through normal usage of JPGExtra.

Typical Errors

Corrupt or Invalid JPG Files:
JPGExtra performs extensive checking that all required sections of a JPG file are intact and valid. JPGExtra will indicate when any critical section is missing or invalid and will skip that file.

Non-JPG Files:
Some people mistakenly believe that an image in a different file format can be converted to a JPG file simply by renaming it. For example, renaming ABC.GIF to ABC.JPG. However, changing the filename does not change the file contents, so the data within the file will not be in the correct JPG format.

As above, JPGExtra will consider such a JPG file to be corrupt because it will almost certainly be missing one or more critical sections. JPGExtra will not try to identify what other type of file it "might be", it will simply skip that file.

Truncated JPG Files:
A JPG file that has been cut short can easily occur when downloading images from the Internet. For example, pressing "Esc" on the browser before an image has completely downloaded will create a truncated JPG file. JPGExtra will show a warning and will still try to optimize such a file, but will make no attempt to properly terminate the chopped off portion.

JPG Files With "Read-Only" Attribute:
Windows allows any file to be tagged with a "Read-Only" attribute in order to prevent such files being modified. JPGExtra will respect that attribute and will not attempt to process such a file.

JPG Files From CDs or DVDs:
CDs and DVDs normally can't be written to directly without special CD or DVD "Burning" software. This means three things:

JPGExtra does not contain any such "Burning" capabilities, and therefore cannot process JPG files directly on a CD or DVD.
All files on CDs and DVDs (not just JPG files) are automatically given a "Read-Only" attribute, which as explained above means that Windows is indicating that the file can not (or should not) be modified. This is a further reason preventing JPGExtra from processing JPG files directly on a CD or DVD.
When files are copied by Windows, the file attributes are normally copied as well. If JPG files are copied from a CD or DVD to a hard drive, they will inherit the Read-Only attributes. Once again, JPGExtra will not be able to process those JPG files.

If files on a CD or DVD need to be processed with JPGExtra, they should firstly be copied to a hard drive, then the Read-Only attributes need to be reset. This can be done file by file using Windows Explorer, or can be done on groups of files using the "Attrib" command. Consult the Windows "Help" for details on either of these.

Disk Space Errors:
It's possible to run out of disk space whilst optimizing, especially if the option: [√] Backup Original Files is selected, as some disk space will be consumed for every single JPG file that is optimized.

If this happens whilst processing an individual file, JPGExtra will simply show the error and stop. If it happens whilst processing a whole library of files, JPGExtra will quit processing the current file but will nonetheless attempt to continue processing the remaining JPG files on the theory that enough space may still be available to optimize some other smaller files.

Errors During Batch Processing:
JPGExtra's greatest strength is that it is designed to run over a whole library of JPG files, often called "Batch Processing". In order to find out about any errors without having to pause for each and every one, do the following:

Un-tick the option: [ ] Pause on Errors;
Select the option: (o) Log All Files Processed.

If JPGExtra does find any errors, processing will continue. Once completed, examine the Log File for a brief description of any errors found.

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