Star rating not showing in PM 4.5

[Tony Fiorda]

Hello,

I've just upgraded to PM 4.5 and was doing some testing between LR, Bridge, and PM 4.5.  Since PM now supports the LR/Bridge star rating, I was surpised to see that the star ratings from the Adobe products are not showing in PM.  Maybe I misunderstood and the star ratings assigned in PM will show up in LR and Bridge but not vice-versa.  Or do I have an option not set correctly in PM?  I am using WinXP as the op system.

Thanks,

Tony...

BTW, I didn't use the beta versions, but I really like the updates to 4.5.  Very useful.

[Kirk Baker]

Tony,

I've just upgraded to PM 4.5 and was doing some testing between LR, Bridge, and PM 4.5.  Since PM now supports the LR/Bridge star rating, I was surpised to see that the star ratings from the Adobe products are not showing in PM.  Maybe I misunderstood and the star ratings assigned in PM will show up in LR and Bridge but not vice-versa.  Or do I have an option not set correctly in PM?  I am using WinXP as the op system.

Make sure that in the IPTC/XMP settings for JPEGs you have it set to read XMP before IPTC, and for RAW files have it set to read XMP sidecar files first, embedded IPTC second.

If you're using an Adobe workflow, we recommend not embedding XMP into RAW files when writing.

HTH,

-Kirk

[Tony Fiorda]

Hey Kirk,

Thanks, it was the order things were being read.  I changed the prefs and it fixed the issue.

On your other note, are you referencing the "Automatically write changes into XMP" in the Lightroom Preferences?  Should this be on or off to comply with your recommendation?

Tony...

[Kirk Baker]

Tony,

Thanks, it was the order things were being read.  I changed the prefs and it fixed the issue.

On your other note, are you referencing the "Automatically write changes into XMP" in the Lightroom Preferences?  Should this be on or off to comply with your recommendation?

No, I was only speaking about Photo Mechanic's preferences.  Basically you want them to look like this if you're using Adobe's products:


[attachment deleted by admin]

[Tony Fiorda]

Kirk,

That's the way I've changed them after the first message.  Guess I was just confused.

Thanks,

Tony...

[Juerg]

If you're using an Adobe workflow, we recommend not embedding XMP into RAW files when writing.
HTH,
-Kirk

Kirk,

Why isn't it recomended embedding XMP into RAW files?

On top of it, your sample screen shot above shows that you set preferences so no XMP sidecar file is created as well (at least it looks on the screenshot like this option is not active). But aren't Adobe products reading in following order 1) embedded XMP and 2) XMP sidecar files. Having neither one means Adobe products don't have anything to read for RAW files. Or do I miss something here?

By the way I use XP and Nikon NEF RAW files.

Thanks,
Archer

[Kirk Baker]

Archer,

If you're using an Adobe workflow, we recommend not embedding XMP into RAW files when writing.

Why isn't it recomended embedding XMP into RAW files?

Because both Bridge and ACR have a problem (bug?) where they prefer the embedded XMP data over the sidecar XMP file, yet when you make adjustments in Bridge or ACR, the embedded XMP is not updated.  This has the side effect that when you exit out of Bridge/ACR and return, your photos appear to have lost your adjustments.

By not embedding XMP into RAW files, this situation is resolved in Adobe products.  I don't know if Lightroom is similarly affected.

On top of it, your sample screen shot above shows that you set preferences so no XMP sidecar file is created as well (at least it looks on the screenshot like this option is not active). But aren't Adobe products reading in following order 1) embedded XMP and 2) XMP sidecar files. Having neither one means Adobe products don't have anything to read for RAW files. Or do I miss something here?

The reason it is disabled is because we force the choice in the menu and disable it, because if you were to change the popup such that no XMP file were to be created and you weren't embedding, then there would be no place for your captions to go.  By making that popup selected to the desired setting and disabling it, we prevent you from getting into that situation.

HTH,

-Kirk

[Juerg]

OK. So I don't use Adobe ACR for RAW adjustments, but NX, which unlike Adobe doesn't read sidecar files, but embedded XMP (which is also read by Adobe). On the other hand, if I make changes in Bridge to captions, it writes it into the sidecar file.

These in turn is again read by PM and added into the embedded XMP of the file during rescan in PM (update)? Correct?

So, in my situation I need both I guess.

Thanks,
Archer

[Kirk Baker]

Archer,

OK. So I don't use Adobe ACR for RAW adjustments, but NX, which unlike Adobe doesn't read sidecar files, but embedded XMP (which is also read by Adobe). On the other hand, if I make changes in Bridge to captions, it writes it into the sidecar file.

These in turn is again read by PM and added into the embedded XMP of the file during rescan in PM (update)? Correct?

So, in my situation I need both I guess.

I would then recommend embedding IPTC only, and always create/update XMP sidecar files.  Don't bother embedding XMP.  Capture NX does not do anything with embedded XMP.  It does however, maintain IPTC data all the way through adjustments to the NEFs and in JPEGs/TIFFs produced from NEFs.

Maintaining the external XMP file would give you the flexibility to use Adobe products if the need were to arise.

HTH,

-Kirk

[Juerg]

OK, my mistake. I missunderstood and didn't realize that Nikon reads IPTC and not embedded XMP. So I will change it to write IPTC and ALWAYS create/update sidecar files. Thanks for the clarification.

Regards,
Archer