Would like an easy interface and user-friendly software that convert an old version of picture files called "SFW" to "JPG"-files.
The program that can do this exults, but it lacks of doing batch jobs of files.
[login to view URL] is small MS-DOS program that converts Extrafilm images, the JPEG standard, but to reduce the already limited picture quality. The program works as expected. Open an MS-DOS prompt, go to your SFW files and type:
SFW2JPG * .SFW
Your original files will not be overwritten. The program can also convert a single file or convert files between devices and so on. If [login to view URL] started without parameters writes it out a brief help text.
Unfortunately, all converted images improper orientation. Instead of photos taken on edge needs to be turned, all images have to be turned vertically and some additionally turned. The software should take care of this as other programs that can do this without any loss of quality. For example, Holger Jungk's pie (Pic Info Extractor).
Background
For two years I developed the pictures of Extrafilm using Seattle Filmworks systems. This creates 640x437 images on disc. I do not use Extrafilm longer, but I had a collection of ~ 200 photos in their specific formats. Although picture quality was pretty bad, I wanted to look at the pictures, without contaminating your hard drive with their PhotoWorks® programs.
It is possible to open the images in PhotoWorks® and save them as JPEG, but it is not attractive because the JPEG compression degrades picture quality.
SFW files is about as large as the corresponding JPEG, so Bengt Cyrén suspected that they were using similar compression. When he learned more about the JPEG (by reading Tom Lanes JPEG FAQ), he began to scrutinize SFW files with MS-DOS debugger. He found that SFW files simply were sabotaged JPEG files. With a little hint from Ed Hamrick (which made the program VuePrint), he managed to gather the remaining data to write [login to view URL]
But the better solution with a batch job for many files he didn't solve.
So that is the programming and creating of a complete software doing all steps (hopefully similar as Explorer etc)