File Locking Issue with Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer version 1.0

Updated: December 20, 2005

The Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer is a free PowerToy that enhances Windows XP by providing thumbnails, previews, printing, and metadata display for RAW images from Canon and Nikon digital cameras.

An issue has been identified in the original release of the RAW Viewer software that may cause unexpected file locks to occur for Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) files. This results in the user being unable to move or delete TIFF files from within Windows Explorer.

On December 20, 2005 Microsoft posted an updated build of the RAW Viewer software (Version 1.0 Build 50) that fixes this file locking issue. If you are still using the original release of the RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer and are experiencing unexpected TIFF file locking, we strongly recommend that you download the latest software version.

As a work-around, you can also turn off the TIFF thumbnailing feature from within the RAW Viewer options dialog:

1. In Windows Explorer, right-click on a RAW image, then choose Preview to open the Microsoft RAW Image Viewer.
2. In the toolbar, click the Options button.
3. On the General tab, clear the check box for Render thumbnails for Canon RAW TIF images.
4. Click OK to confirm changes.
5. Close the Microsoft RAW Image Viewer.
6. Then log off and back on, or restart your computer, to clear any outstanding file locks.

This should eliminate unexpected TIFF file locking.
— The Microsoft Pro Imaging PowerToys team

Note: We've taken great care to ensure that this tool operates as it should, but it is not part of Windows and is not supported by Microsoft. For this reason, Microsoft Technical Support is unable to answer questions about the Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer.