.NEF.JPG files

[Brian B]

Hi, my first post! Why does ACDSee create .NEF.JPG files and why do I need them? Thanks, Brian B

[Greyfox]

Hi, my first post! Why does ACDSee create .NEF.JPG files and why do I need them? Thanks, Brian B

If you have View mode set to show RAW Decode (Tools/Options/General/RAW Display), then when you view an ex camera RAW image in View mode, you will briefly see the low resolution preview image that is embedded in your RAW .nef files, and then the basic developed or decoded RAW image. You can then toggle between RAW decode and Embedded preview using the button in the lower Tool bar.

When you "Develop" an ex camera raw image in Develop mode and use Done/Save, the adjustments you make to the basic developed or decoded image are recorded in an xmp "sidecar" file placed in the same folder as the .nef RAW file, and the thumbnail is updated to show the "adjusted" image. A proxy jpg image (in your case xxxx.nef.jpg) showing the developed image with your adjustments is placed in the [Developed] folder.

When you subsequently select the thumbnail for the developed raw file, and change to View mode, the image you then see is the above proxy jpg. This provides faster viewing than if ACDSee had to again develop the raw file and then make the adjustments that had previously been made in Develop mode from the xmp file.

You ask are they really needed. Opinions vary. If you delete them, then subsequent moving between developed images in view mode will arguably be slower. This would likely be more obvious with very large raw images with lots of develop adjustments on slower PC's. But the efficiency the proxy files provide is at the expense of storage space.

You may find the forum thread on this subject of interest

https://forum.acdsee.com/forum/main-category/acdsee-ultimate/41147-what-is-the-use-of-the-hidden-developed-folders

If you don't want the proxy files generated in the first place, then when developing ex camera RAW images in Develop Mode, instead of using Done/Save, use Save/Export and export the developed and adjusted images in a format of your choice. That doesn't save the proxy image in the [Developed] folder, but does save your exported image.