Fix
for Nikon NEF explorer thumbnails in
Windows XP SP2
First, an
explanation:
For Windows XP SP2, Microsoft made a
change in the way thumbnails are
retrieved for image files.
Before Windows XP SP2, a
Microsoft-supplied default thumbnail
extractor was used for any file
which identified in the registry as
having the perceived type "image".
In Windows XP SP2, this was
restricted to images with known file
extensions, such as JPG, TIF, TIFF,
BMP, etc.
Because NEF files are valid TIFF/EP
files, this thumbnail extractor is
capable of extracting the thumbnail
image, but because Nikon raw files
have the extension NEF, the
extractor no longer has the
opportunity to do so.
Following is a fix for the problem
of NEF thumbnails not being visible
in Windows XP SP2. But before we get
there, a disclaimer:
Microsoft provides this information
AS IS AND WITH ALL FAULTS, and
disclaims all warranties and
conditions, whether express, implied
or statutory, including, but not
limited to, any (if any) implied
warranties, duties or conditions of
merchantability, of fitness for a
particular purpose, of reliability
or availability, of accuracy or
completeness of responses, of
results, of workmanlike effort, and
of lack of negligence all with
regard to the information.
Now, the fix:
To restore this component's ability
to extract thumbnails from NEF
files, there is a simple registry
change.
Under this registry key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.nef
Create this key (note there are two
levels of keys):
To apply this change to the
registry, just open that file and
double-click on the .REG file
within. When you are asked if you
want to add the information to the
registry, select "Yes," and
thumbnails will now show up for NEF
files.
