Image Browser

Browse folders, inspect captures, and manage image files without changing source images

The Image Browser is the main place to review images and videos that are already on disk.

Use it to move through folders, select images, inspect exposure and metadata, regenerate cached display data, convert NEF files, and run batch actions. The browser reads source files for display and inspection, but routine browsing and cache maintenance do not change your source images.

Main areas

The Image Browser is split into areas that can be shown or hidden depending on how you want to work.

  1. The folder list lets you choose the source folder.
  2. The main image area shows the selected image or video.
  3. The thumbnail area shows the files in the selected folder.
  4. The details area can show a small preview, histogram, and metadata for the selected file.
  5. The status bar shows the selected file path and selection position.

When the details area is visible, Preview and Histogram toolbar buttons let you show or hide those detail panels.

You can resize the folder list, details area, preview area, and thumbnail area. Use Reset layout from the browser options menu if you want to return to the default layout.

If you want an uncluttered review view, enable the Image Preview window from Settings > Windows. The Image Preview window shows the currently selected Image Browser image in a separate app window, so you can place it on another monitor while you keep thumbnails, metadata, and controls in the main app window.

Browser layouts

The top toolbar lets you switch between common layouts.

  1. Image only shows the selected image as the main focus.
  2. Image and thumbnails shows the selected image with a thumbnail strip below it.
  3. Thumbnails only uses the main area as a thumbnail grid.

When Image and thumbnails is active, the options menu can show the thumbnail strip as a single row or as multiple rows. Multi-row thumbnails are useful when you want to keep the selected image visible while seeing more nearby files.

Folder list

Select a folder to load its supported files into the browser.

When the selected folder is inside a deep path, the folder list may compress the ancestor chain into one compact row. The compact row keeps the list narrow while still showing the current parent folder and nearby folders. Hover over a folder row to see its full path.

Right-click a folder for folder actions:

  1. New folder creates a child folder.
  2. Rename renames the selected folder.
  3. Delete deletes the selected folder.
  4. Refresh reloads the folder tree.
  5. Explore opens the folder in Windows File Explorer.

Thumbnails

Thumbnails can be shown as Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, or List. The options menu also lets you show or hide thumbnail filenames and thumbnail histograms.

Use file type filters to show or hide JPG and JPEG files, TIF and TIFF files, NEF files, and MOV or MP4 files. Use the search box to filter the visible thumbnail list by filename.

The thumbnail list can be sorted ascending or descending, and by filename or date modified.

Selecting files

Click a thumbnail to select it. The preview, histogram, metadata, and status bar update for the selected file.

The thumbnail list supports selecting more than one item for commands that can work on multiple files, such as delete, batch actions, and NEF conversion.

If Auto-select on capture is enabled, newly captured images can become the selected image when they appear in the browser.

Inspecting an image

Click the main image to toggle the magnifier. The magnifier is a local inspection lens: it zooms the area under your pointer while the full image stays in place. This is different from whole-image zoom, where the entire picture gets larger and you pan around it.

Use the magnifier when you want to check focus, detail, noise, dust, or small features in one part of the image without losing your overall framing. Move the pointer to inspect a different area. Click the main image again, or move out of the image area, to hide the magnifier.

The magnifier samples the high-resolution display image for the selected file, not just the scaled pixels already shown on screen. This lets you inspect source detail even when the main image has been reduced to fit the browser.

Use the magnification hotkeys while the magnifier is visible to step through the available magnification levels. When the level changes, a small label such as 120% appears briefly in the upper-left corner of the magnifier. Right-click the main image to choose an exact magnifier level from the menu. The magnifier stays visible while that menu is open.

Move the mouse over the main image to track exposure on the histogram. The vertical indicator in the histogram follows the pixel value under the pointer. If the histogram is set to luminosity, the indicator follows luminosity. If the histogram is set to red, green, or blue, the indicator follows that channel.

The histogram can be shown in the details area and on thumbnails. The details histogram supports changing the channel and scaling mode.

Metadata

The details area shows metadata for the selected file when metadata is available.

Use Browser Metadata in Settings to choose which common metadata fields are shown in the Image Browser metadata panel and what order they appear in.

Browser Metadata is for the commonly used fields you want visible during normal browsing. For a deeper technical view, open Metadata Explorer. Metadata display depends on the selected file type and on the cache data available for that file.

Metadata Explorer shows the detailed TIFF, EXIF, MakerNote, and virtual metadata structure for a selected image. It can also search a folder for images whose selected metadata paths contain specific values.

Thumbnail actions

Right-click a thumbnail for item actions:

  1. Rename renames the selected image file.
  2. Edit opens the selected item in the configured editor when available.
  3. Regenerate rebuilds cached display data for the selected item.
  4. Regenerate all rebuilds cached display data for the current folder.
  5. Run batch file runs a configured batch action for the selected files.
  6. Convert opens NEF conversion actions when selected NEF files can be converted.
  7. Delete deletes the selected source files.

Delete is a source-file action, not a cache cleanup action. Use it only when you really want to remove the selected files.

Running batch files

Run batch file lets you send the selected images to a Windows batch file that you control. This is useful when you want to connect the Image Browser to tools or file workflows that are outside the app.

Common uses include:

  1. Sending selected images to post-processing software.
  2. Copying selected files to another folder, drive, or network location.
  3. Creating a job file for another tool.
  4. Running a custom script that organizes, archives, or hands off files after review.

To use it, select one or more thumbnails, right-click the selection, open Run batch file, and choose one of the batch files in the menu. The app looks for .bat files in its batch-files folder. Use Explore in the same menu to open that folder in Windows File Explorer.

If no batch files exist yet, the app creates a Sample1.bat file. The sample does not change your files. It only shows the parameters that the Image Browser passes to a batch file:

  1. %0 is the batch file path.
  2. %1 is the current Image Browser folder.
  3. %2 and later are the selected image file paths.

Show when running controls how the batch file runs:

  1. Checked shows the normal batch console window. This is best when the batch file uses echo, pause, prompts, or other interactive output.
  2. Unchecked runs the batch file hidden in the background. Standard output and error output are captured in the app log. Hidden runs close standard input immediately, so a hidden batch file should not wait for keyboard input.

When the batch finishes, the app shows a Guidance message. A successful run shows a success message. A nonzero exit code or launch error shows an error message. For hidden successful runs, any text that the batch file writes to standard output is included in the success message. For hidden failed runs, error output is included in the error message.

Cache behavior

The Image Browser uses the thumbnail cache so folders can open quickly. Existing cached thumbnails, previews, histograms, and metadata can be shown right away. Missing or outdated cache data is created in the background.

If a thumbnail, preview, histogram, or metadata value looks stale, right-click the thumbnail and choose Regenerate. Use Regenerate all when the whole folder should be rebuilt.

For cache location, queue status, cleanup, and reset behavior, see the Thumbnail Cache help page.

Supported files

The browser supports common image, raw, and video files used by ControlMyNikon workflows, including JPG, JPEG, TIF, TIFF, NEF, MOV, and MP4 files.

NEF previews come from preview data that can be displayed by the browser. The Image Browser is not a raw editor and does not replace a full raw-processing workflow.

Use the NEF Converter when you want to convert selected NEF files to TIFF files for editing or post-processing.

Tips

  1. Use Thumbnails only when you want to scan a folder quickly.
  2. Use Image and thumbnails when you want to compare nearby files while keeping the selected image visible.
  3. Use the separate Image Preview window when you want the selected image on another monitor.
  4. Hide the thumbnail strip when you want the largest preview area.
  5. Keep the details area visible when you are checking exposure or metadata.
  6. Regenerate one thumbnail before resetting the full cache.