Photo Mechanic won't display metadata embedded by ExifTool

[emccainaz]

I am running Photo Mechanic 4.6.8 on Mac OS 10.6.8 on an intel Macbook Pro. I've been working with a set of about 50 files where I am embedding them with data from a csv using ExifTool. This is basically a test for embedding about 5,000 files that have been exported from SharePoint. According to ExifTool, 7 of the files are getting metadata, but Photo Mechanic is not reading it (except for the Create Date). Here is the output from ExifTool for one of the files:

EMcs-MBP-240:CBD_Salamanders emccainaz$ exiftool -a -xmp:all ../CBD_images_metadata/FrostedFlatwoodsSalamander_c_MichaelGraziano_1TP.jpeg
XMP Toolkit                     : Image::ExifTool 8.68
Creator Contact Info            :
Creator Work Email              : mpgraziano@gmail.com
Intellectual Genre              : XMPIntellectualGenre
Location                        : XMPLocation
Scene                           : No
Subject Code                    : 8649
Description                     : Frosted Flatwoods Salamander Ambystoma cingulatum  Photo Credit: ? Michael Graziano
Subject                         : amphibians;salamanders
Title                           : FrostedFlatwoodsSalamander_(c)MichaelGraziano_1TP.jpeg
Aperture Value                  : 3.0
Brightness Value                : 2.18359375
Color Space                     : sRGB
Contrast                        : Normal
Custom Rendered                 : Normal
Date/Time Digitized             : 2005:12:13 10:11:09-07:00
Date/Time Original              : 1957:06:26
Exif Version                    : 0220
Exposure Compensation           : 0
Exposure Index                  : 100
Exposure Mode                   : Auto
Exposure Program                : Program AE
Exposure Time                   : 1/125
F Number                        : 3.0
File Source                     : Digital Camera
Flash Fired                     : True
Flash Function                  : False
Flash Mode                      : Auto
Flash Red Eye Mode              : False
Flash Return                    : Return detected
Focal Length                    : 23.8 mm
Focal Length In 35mm Format     : 116 mm
Focal Plane Resolution Unit     : cm
Focal Plane X Resolution        : 2.775e-05
Focal Plane Y Resolution        : 2.775e-05
Gain Control                    : Low gain up
ISO                             : 100
Light Source                    : D55
Max Aperture Value              : 2.6
Metering Mode                   : Center-weighted average
Exif Image Width                : 714
Exif Image Height               : 586
Saturation                      : Normal
Scene Capture Type              : Standard
Scene Type                      : Directly photographed
Sensing Method                  : Monochrome area
Sharpness                       : Normal
Shutter Speed Value             : 1/125
Subject Distance Range          : Macro
White Balance                   : Auto
Prefs                           : Tagged:0, ColorClass:0, Rating:0, FrameNum:-00001
Authors Position                : CalPhotos, http://calphotos.berkeley.edu, http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&enlarge=1111+1111+1111+4649
Caption Writer                  : XMPCaptionWriter
Category                        : No
Color Mode                      : RGB
Date Created                    : 2005:12:13 10:11:09-07:00
Headline                        : XMPHeadline
ICC Profile Name                : sRGB IEC61966-2.1
Instructions                    : XMPInstruction
Legacy IPTC Digest              : D4C0F4E228229E5701CA228088878AFC
Supplemental Categories         : E:\Staff\Bill_H\SharePoint_Photo_Export\SPECIES\ANIMALS\AMPHIBIANS\salamanders\FrostedFlatwoodsSalamander_(c)MichaelGraziano_1TP.jpeg
Transmission Reference          : XMPTransmissionReference
Bits Per Sample                 : 8, 8, 8
Copyright                       : ? Michael Graziano
Image Height                    : 586
Image Width                     : 714
Make                            : Hewlett-Packard
Camera Model Name               : HP PhotoSmart C945 (V01.67)
Orientation                     : Horizontal (normal)
Photometric Interpretation      : RGB
Resolution Unit                 : inches
Samples Per Pixel               : 3
X Resolution                    : 72
Y Resolution                    : 72
Create Date                     : 2005:12:13 10:11:09-07:00
Metadata Date                   : 2009:11:04 09:02:26-07:00
Modify Date                     : 1957:06:26
Rating                          : 0
Usage Terms                     : 1TP: One-time only permission; must request permission for additional use
Already Applied                 : True

Any idea why PM isn't reading the fields? I have my preferences set to read XMP metadata first, then IPTC, since I've been using XMP fields to do the transfer from the csv file to the image files.

I'm attaching the file in question in case it might help diagnose the problem.

Thanks,

Edward

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Kirk Baker]

Edward,

I am running Photo Mechanic 4.6.8 on Mac OS 10.6.8 on an intel Macbook Pro. I've been working with a set of about 50 files where I am embedding them with data from a csv using ExifTool. This is basically a test for embedding about 5,000 files that have been exported from SharePoint. According to ExifTool, 7 of the files are getting metadata, but Photo Mechanic is not reading it (except for the Create Date). Here is the output from ExifTool for one of the files:

Any idea why PM isn't reading the fields? I have my preferences set to read XMP metadata first, then IPTC, since I've been using XMP fields to do the transfer from the csv file to the image files.

Which fields in particular aren't showing up?

-Kirk

[emccainaz]

None of the fields are showing up except Date.

[Kirk Baker]

Edward,

None of the fields are showing up except Date.

The XMP data is present, but it isn't embedded properly into the image.  PM can't read it, Photoshop CS5 can't read it, and neither can Apple's Preview application.

-Kirk

[emccainaz]

Could you be more specific about the problem? I'll want to check with Phil at ExifTool about how to fix this problem.

Thanks,

Edward

[Kirk Baker]

Edward,

Could you be more specific about the problem? I'll want to check with Phil at ExifTool about how to fix this problem.

Perhaps you could just send the file to Phil and have him look into it.  If three applications can't parse the file, I doubt the problem lies outside of ExifTool or some other app that produced the JPEG.

-Kirk

[Phil Harvey]

Perhaps you could just send the file to Phil and have him look into it.  If three applications can't parse the file, I doubt the problem lies outside of ExifTool or some other app that produced the JPEG.

I took a look but I can't find any applications that can't "parse the file".  The symptom that I observe is the that XMP information is being ignored (by Photoshop CS4 anyway).  This is perhaps understandable since for these images the IPTCDigest does not match the IPTC content, and I believe the MWG recommendation is to ignore the XMP in this case.

- Phil

[Kirk Baker]

Phil,

Perhaps you could just send the file to Phil and have him look into it.  If three applications can't parse the file, I doubt the problem lies outside of ExifTool or some other app that produced the JPEG.

I took a look but I can't find any applications that can't "parse the file".  The symptom that I observe is the that XMP information is being ignored (by Photoshop CS4 anyway).  This is perhaps understandable since for these images the IPTCDigest does not match the IPTC content, and I believe the MWG recommendation is to ignore the XMP in this case.

By 'can't parse the file' I didn't mean that applications would get errors.  I meant that none of the above applications do not show any of the XMP data in the file.  PM does nothing with the IPTCDigest and ignores it completely.  PM is not finding any XMP data in the file at all.  If you believe that the sample file is properly formed then we'll take a closer look at our code to see why PM doesn't find any XMP data in the file.

-Kirk

[Phil Harvey]

Hi Kirk,

I apologize.  I had analyzed sample images that Edward sent me and not the one posted in this thread.

The posted image has a problem that I didn't see in the other samples:  It has a superfluous empty CreatorContactInfo structure in the XMP which gives CS4 grief (ie. it raises a dialog that states "This file contains file info data which cannot be read and has been ignored").

I'll work with Edward to see if we can figure out how this happened.

- Phil

[Phil Harvey]

We have not been able to reproduce the exact steps to cause this problem, but I have found a mechanism whereby ExifTool will produce the observed XMP.  For this to happen, some application must write an empty XMP CreatorContactInfo structure to the image before it is edited by ExifTool.  In this case, the file in question may have been edited by PhotoMechanic, SharePoint and/or Adobe Bridge before ExifTool.  I have never seen this before so I am guessing that it wasn't an Adobe utility that generated this.

The problem was that ExifTool didn't understand the empty CreatorContactInfo structure, so it simply preserved it when writing new XMP.  In my testing, I found that Photoshop will not load XMP if it contains two CreatorContactInfo structures, even if one is empty.  However, it will load XMP which contains a single, empty CreatorContactInfo structure.

Since technically an empty XMP structure may be valid (although I have never seen one before and can't understand why one would be written), I have just released an ExifTool update (version 8.70) which properly handles empty XMP structures when writing.

- Phil

[emccainaz]

Hi Phil,

Thanks again for all your help in figuring this out - and helping me understand how IPTC and XMP interact when editing metadata. I'll look forward to downloading the update to ExifTool. ExifTool has really been a godsend for working with a large number of files and embedding metadata that was exported from SharePoint.

Edward

[emccainaz]

After using the newest version of ExifTool to embed XMP metadata in about 4,300 files, I am left with 36 files that PM isn't reading. Six of those files are eps files, which I'm assuming PM doesn't read, but that still leaves me with 30 files that PM can't or won't read. Of those, all but four of them can be read using Bridge CS4. Those four all happen to be in TIFF format. As a start, I'll attach one files as an example - a gif of an alaska image. Again, this one can be read by Bridge but not PM.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Kirk Baker]

After using the newest version of ExifTool to embed XMP metadata in about 4,300 files, I am left with 36 files that PM isn't reading. Six of those files are eps files, which I'm assuming PM doesn't read, but that still leaves me with 30 files that PM can't or won't read. Of those, all but four of them can be read using Bridge CS4. Those four all happen to be in TIFF format. As a start, I'll attach one files as an example - a gif of an alaska image. Again, this one can be read by Bridge but not PM.

PM does not parse GIF files for XMP or IPTC metadata.

PM is primarily a photo browser and works best with images produced by cameras.  GIF/BMP/TGA/PICT/EPS files are browseable as a convenience but support is limited.

-Kirk

[emccainaz]

Guess I had forgotten about those limitations. I'm not getting any previews for the EPS files. Is that also normal?

Edward

[Kirk Baker]

Edward,

Guess I had forgotten about those limitations. I'm not getting any previews for the EPS files. Is that also normal?

If the EPS file does not contain a preview then PM won't have anything to display.

-Kirk