I'm new to Photo Mechanic and want to be sure I've got it set up correctly and that I understand how xmp data and sidecar files will work with Lightroom (which I'm just starting to use -- refugee from Aperture). So I have a few questions.
Is it correct to assume that IPTC/XMP data gets written into the file header of jpgs but is written to a xmp sidecar file for RAW? Where are the Photo Mechanic generated xmp sidecar files stored?
How can I confirm that xmp data is being written (either to file header or sidecar)? Here are my current settings for Preferences > IPTC/XMP. For jpg, tiff, psd, and dng, I have checked "Add embedded IPTC (XMP will always be written)". For Tiff-based RAW photos (non-DNG), I have checked "Always create and/or update XMP sidecar files". To what folder do these sidecar files get written? Are they only written upon ingest? See the attachment.
I opened a contact sheet of a folder of images exported from Aperture with xmp files. All those xmp files display in the contact sheet. Is there a way in the contact sheet to only display the photos and not the xmp sidecar files? Do those sidecar files need to be located somewhere else?
Any best practices for handling IPTC/XMP data I should know about?
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