How to View Image Metadata

What this image metadata viewer checks

Image metadata can help you identify what an image file contains before you organize, document, or troubleshoot it. This tool inspects supplied base64-encoded image data and reports basic properties such as the format, color mode, dimensions, frame count, animation status, and available EXIF information. It is an inspector rather than an image editor, converter, or image-content analysis tool.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Prepare the image data as base64 text. The tool accepts image data as an optional input, and its default value is empty.

2. Supply the base64 text in the image-data input. The tool decodes that text before opening the image for inspection, so the input needs to represent the image data rather than a file name or a regular image URL.

3. Run the inspection. A successful result reports the image format, color mode, dimensions, width, height, whether a palette is present, the number of frames, and whether the image is animated.

4. Review the metadata section when it appears. If EXIF data is available, the result includes EXIF entries. Values are reported as strings; byte values are decoded as UTF-8 with replacement when possible.

5. If the operation fails, check that image data was supplied and that the supplied text can be decoded and opened as an image. Processing errors from decoding, opening, or extracting information are returned as a failed operation with the exception text.

How to interpret the result

Read dimensions in the stated order: width comes first, followed by height. This makes it easier to distinguish a landscape image from a portrait image without relying on a single combined dimensions field.

Treat EXIF as conditional rather than guaranteed. Some supplied images may have no EXIF data, and an absent EXIF section does not by itself indicate a problem. The reported properties describe what the inspection can extract from the supplied data; they should not be treated as a guarantee that every format, metadata field, or value will be recognized or complete.

A failed operation can have two different practical causes: no image data was supplied, or processing could not decode, open, or inspect the supplied data. If the input is present but processing still fails, review the base64 text and the source image, then try again with data that represents a readable image.

Worked example

A photographer wants to check the technical properties and available camera metadata of a landscape image before cataloging it.

A photographer prepares a base64 representation of a landscape image, supplies it to the image-data input, runs the inspection, and checks the reported dimensions and optional EXIF section.

The result contains basic image-property fields for format, color mode, dimensions, width, height, palette status, frame count, and animation status, with an EXIF section only if EXIF data is available.

Limitations

• EXIF information is conditional, and decoding, opening, or extraction problems can produce a failed operation.
• The tool reports properties it can extract from the supplied data; it does not guarantee recognition or completeness for every image format, metadata field, or value.

Common errors

• Supplying an empty input causes the operation to fail because no image data was provided. Add the image's base64 text before running the inspection.

FAQ

What input does the image metadata viewer need?

The tool accepts base64-encoded image data as its optional input and decodes it before inspection. A file name or regular image URL is not the described input.

Which image properties are reported?

The result reports width first and height second, along with the format, color mode, palette status, frame count, and animation status.

Will every image show EXIF metadata?

EXIF entries appear when EXIF data is available in the supplied image. Their absence is therefore possible, and does not by itself mean the inspection failed.