Where's my IPTC info??

[tommygrealy]

Hi,

I am using Photo Mechanic version 4.6.3 and I run Windows XP Professional on a HP Laptop PC.

I have just started to use the Demo. When I load a set of images that have previously had IPTC data
applied using adobe bride, none of the caption info that was previously saved in bridge for these images
appears in Photo Mechanic's stationary pad. For example, in Adobe Bridge, I entered captions in the "Description" field.
But this does not come into the "Caption Field" in photomechanic.

However, If I write caption data in Photo Mechanic into the Caption field on the IPTC stationary pad,
It WILL overwite the previously entered caption text which was put there using Adobe Bridge's "Description" field.

How can I get photo mechanic to read in the previously entered metadata?
If its able to write the data out, why can it not read in the same?


Thanks
-Tommy

[tommygrealy]

I just found that if I hit the "I" key (insted of ctrl + I which brings up the IPTC Stationary Pad),
I get a smaller panel (simply called "IPTC info") and this panel does contain the data entered previously in bridge,
not sure why the Stationary pad doesn't get populated with same info or why there are 2 different entry systems
(eg Stationary pad and IPTC info)

If someone can explain the difference, please do.

Thanks

[Kirk Baker]

Tommy,

I just found that if I hit the "I" key (insted of ctrl + I which brings up the IPTC Stationary Pad),
I get a smaller panel (simply called "IPTC info") and this panel does contain the data entered previously in bridge,
not sure why the Stationary pad doesn't get populated with same info or why there are 2 different entry systems
(eg Stationary pad and IPTC info)

If someone can explain the difference, please do.

IPTC Info shows/edits metadata on individual images.
The IPTC Stationery Pad shows only its metadata and is used to bulk apply its data to a selection of images.  Very useful for getting your 'boilerplate' or common metadata applied to all of your images at once.  Things like City, State, Country, and contact information is often common between a set of images and the IPTC Stationery Pad is very effective at putting the same data into a selection of images.

-Kirk

[tommygrealy]

Thanks Kirk

[FVlcek]

To get most of Photo Mechanic as a first time user, I suggest you do watch the video tutorials at www.camerabits.com and read the manual at http://www.camerabits.com/download/Photo_Mechanic_4.6.3_Manual.pdf

Most of the features in PM are pretty straightforward but getting accustomed to its philosophy certainly helps. In the end, it can be a immensely powerful tool for a speedy workflow.