InfoTxt database

A fellow on the Nikon forum of the DPReview site asked if anyone knew how to get the information from a Nikon 990 Info.txt into a Microsoft Access database.

A typical info.txt file would have information for each photo on the Compact Flash card, in the following format:

DSCN0433.JPG
CAMERA : E990V1.0
METERING : MATRIX
MODE : P
SHUTTER : 1/119sec
APERTURE : F2.8
EXP +/- : 0.0
FOCAL LENGTH : f11.8mm(X1.0)
IMG ADJUST : STANDARD
SENSITIVITY : ISO100
WHITEBAL : AUTO
SHARPNESS : NORMAL
DATE : 2000.06.02 11:17
QUALITY : FULL FINE

Well, I've had a wee bit of experience with the database, so I thought I'd give it a shot. The result is a database that will parse info.txt files and add the information to an "Images" table.

Download the 200kb InfoTxt.mdb database here.

When you open the file, a form displays automatically showing the existing records in the "Images" table, along with a button to import new records from any info.txt file you might have.

I've kept the table simple, it could certainly be expanded to include notes, thumbnails, keywords, image location, URLs, etc. The import procedure makes one record per image file, with each of the image attributes in its own field.

You can also toggle the form view to show all the attributes for a single record (without scrolling horizontally.)

Currently there is no checking for duplicate image file names, because some people do reuse image names (not having them increment across memory cards, or via resetting the numbers).

The database is in MS Access 2000 format (I'll supply an Access '97 version if there's interest).

If you find this useful or have suggestions, please send comments via the feedback form.

Enjoy!