Microsoft Photos File Information not available

[Phil47]

There are two aspects to this problem. The first is not to do with File Information.
Once upon a time for many years I always used Canon ZoomBrowser EX to check all my photos to decide which ones to keep.
Why? Because you can view several photos on the screen at once and compare them and thus make a choice.
This is even more important when you are photographing children's sports and taking burst shots with several to choose from.
But alas Canon ZoomBrowser EX went AWOL and I cannot use it any more. Yes, I mentioned it here some time ago and some have advised me that it can be resurrected but I couldn't make it work.
So since then I have just been using Microsoft Photos to look at a single pic and then sometimes look at the File Information to see what it told me.
But that particular function stopped working for me yesterday. All the other functions seem to be ok except that one.
So I checked online and found out how to repair Microsoft Photos but that didn't work. The other option was to reset it but that didn't work either.
The last option is to delete it and re-download it again a process I feel is likely to end in disaster so I will not try that at the moment.
I realise I can view the File data by right clicking on the photo and then clicking on Properties and then Details but that is a bit long-winded for me.
I of course can view all the photos in Corel PSP 2019 but there they are fairly small along the bottom of the screen.
Does anyone have any helpful ideas please?
Is there a free photo app that will do the same as Canon ZoomBrowser EX?

[LeviFiction]

Use Manage Mode inside PSP. Manage Mode allows you to view the photos in a grid view (thumbnail mode), you don't have to use the film strip (preview mode). You can also increase the zoom so they appear larger in the grid showing fewer images at one time. And you can use the Info palette on the side to see the image information.

Open PSP 2018, Use the Manage Mode along the top. I don't remember if PSP defaults to the preview mode or the thumbnail mode.

Here you can see a screen-shot of my Manage Mode. I have the Manage tab highlighted as well as the "thumbnail mode" button at the top of the screen.

And in this image you can see the bottom of the screen I've highlighted the zoom.

[Phil47]

Thanks LeviFiction!
One drawback to using the zoom on the thumbnail mode option is that the sharpness/quality drops off considerably and it is often this aspect that determines which one to keep.

[ehume]

One way to compare photos in PSP is via Windows in the Menu bar. 2-3 images can get you side-by-side images if you select "Tile Vertically." If you open four pics, you can select "Tile Vertically" or "Tile Horizontally" and you will get four pictures, all with good resolution.

I also have Silkypix Pro 7 and 8SE, both for Panasonic cameras (dirt cheap that way). One thing I like about SP is that you can adjust the size of the thumbnails you want to compare. There is no resolution problem there. Not that I recommend SP: the UI and features are definitely an acquired taste. You seem to be using Canon. Have you looked into all of their software? They make a Digital Photo Professional, for example. I have not used it so I can only note its existence.

[hartpaul]

what do you mean Canon Zoombrowser EX went AWOL? Did you lose the installation file? Did it no longer work in windows 10?
I have Canon Zoombrowser EX version 6.2.1 and it has no problems in Windows 10.

[Phil47]

hartpaul, I can't remember all the to-ing and fro-ing but it stopped working.
Someone on here tried to help but I couldn't work it out.

All I know now is that it appears on my list of programs in my Start menu as a manilla folder and then it opens up a file under Canon and then ZoomBrowser which has a file named Program which says 70.3MB.
Double clicking on Program shows a list of items as long as your arm.
However, I can't see anywhere that I can open the ZoomBrowser software.

[Phil47]

Just found that it appears to be under Canon Utilities in the Windows Start programs but when I click on it it just says "Invalid class string".

Here is the thread I had going with the Canon Community back in March 2018, over a year ago.
https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/Soft ... d-p/238307

[Phil47]

ehume, yes, I was using Canon for many years but now have Panasonic G9 with 3 lenses.
I still have the Canon Digital Photo Professional software but prefer the ZoomBrowser EX for what I need.
It is just so much easier to use and far more suitable for me.

[ehume]

ehume, yes, I was using Canon for many years but now have Panasonic G9 with 3 lenses.
I still have the Canon Digital Photo Professional software but prefer the ZoomBrowser EX for what I need.
It is just so much easier to use and far more suitable for me.

If you are using a Panasonic now, you might be able to get SP7 for Panasonic really cheap, then on to 8SE for free. That version of Silkypix has been limited to Panasonic, which is why it is cheap (I once had an email back-and-forth with someone there). Again, I do not recommend it for general work -- it handles only raw and JPG and it outputs JPG and TIF -- it is an acquired taste. But its browser is infinitely variable. I have already noted how you can use the Window feature in PSP to compare pics.