color classes/labels between PM and NX2 incompatibility

[gdpaige]

I downloaded a demo of PM recently as a trial for comparison to my existing workflow that uses Nikon's set of tools: Transfer and View NX, along with NX2, all the latest versions (NX2 is 2.2.0). I am running Vista Ultimate 64 (Dell 5400, 8mb ram), and have had no problems thus far.  I did update to PM 4.6.1.

I have set up PM as seems fit for compatibility with NX2, including the setting for 'sync color class with IPTC urgency field'. I cannot get NX2 to play nice and synchronize with PM, and have tried changing labels in each program and then checking the other, with both operating, with each operating alone and alternating between them, etc. I relabeled the titles of the colors in PM and in NX2. I started by changing the preference in NX2 to 'compatible with PM' and yet when I re-label them in NX2 (after set to use PM compatible labels) the setting shifted to 'custom.' Nevertheless, the colors and labels were the same as in PM. I am concerned that this combo is not quite ready for prime time.

The best I could do found that changes made in PM showed up in NX2. however, the opposite direction did not work--PM seems stuck on whatever it did, and NX2 could not influence the label. Perhaps I am asking too much of stars and labels. I use stars to rank the quality of photos, and labels to indicate the level of post-processing progress.

Any wisdom on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[Hayo Baan]

Well, as I use PM and Capture NX2 with ratings and colour labels just fine, the good news is it certainly works.  It is just a matter of settings (Note: I did not bother with Capture's "compatible with PM" stuff as that didn't give me the right label names, IIRC).

Here's what I did with the NX2 and PM colour label preferences.
Also make sure you have PM embed the IPTC/XMP information in the NEF file.

If this still does not work, show us your preferences for colour labels (both NX and PM) and IPTC (PM only)

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Hayo Baan]

Oh, and also see this topic: http://forums.camerabits.com/index.php?topic=4333.0

[gdpaige]

Thanks so much. I do have the IPTC setting as you have them. The color scheme I have is different from yours, and I believe is what came as the default when I started PM 4.6.1. It is:
magenta, red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, grey.  I made sure that the same scheme exists in NX2, with label 9 unassigned.  However, I changed the names for the color scheme to functional titles, as I had in the past when using NX2 with ViewNX. they are:  waiting, tag 2, tag 3, tag 4, PP-started, PP-maybe, PP-close, PP-finished. This reflects my typical workflow and progress, with star ratings linked to quality judgement. It makes sense for me, and it also makes sense that the colors have assigned meanings to them, not just names of the very colors we can all see before us.  The colors and lables for them are the same in PM and NX2. Functionally at this point, changing assigned labels in PM transfer to NX2, so that's a start, but the reverse does not happen. does that provide any valuable clue?  I looked at the other thread (thanks for that very relevant tip), but I am set up as noted there as well. I can't seem to find a nuance that makes sense.

[gdpaige]

aha!   I tried something new on a lark. I was testing this in a small test folder with a few shots already processed and another unprocessed. That made no difference at all. However, each of the images was in the NEF+JPG form. When I removed the JPG files, everything worked fine in both directions. I did not need to change the colors or labels for them at tall. they were already matched. both programs were wet to view NEF+JPG as one thumbnail, and I would have thought that labels and ratings would apply to both in a single operation--or at least I think it should be that way. I have not noticed any such glitch in NX2 earlier, or with ViewNX, though I'm not sure I went after it in the same systematic way as in this case. Is this a modest bug of sorts?  In reality, I do not process my work in both NEF and JPG forms, only NEF, and then in the end create JPGs for whatever end-purpose they serve, so in a way this is a bit remote. That said, I wonder if a simple fix might prevent folks from tripping in this same manner. Thoughts?
thanks for all your help
Gary

[Kirk Baker]

Gary,

aha!   I tried something new on a lark. I was testing this in a small test folder with a few shots already processed and another unprocessed. That made no difference at all. However, each of the images was in the NEF+JPG form. When I removed the JPG files, everything worked fine in both directions. I did not need to change the colors or labels for them at tall. they were already matched. both programs were wet to view NEF+JPG as one thumbnail, and I would have thought that labels and ratings would apply to both in a single operation--or at least I think it should be that way. I have not noticed any such glitch in NX2 earlier, or with ViewNX, though I'm not sure I went after it in the same systematic way as in this case. Is this a modest bug of sorts?  In reality, I do not process my work in both NEF and JPG forms, only NEF, and then in the end create JPGs for whatever end-purpose they serve, so in a way this is a bit remote. That said, I wonder if a simple fix might prevent folks from tripping in this same manner. Thoughts?

Photo Mechanic applies soft-edits equally to RAW+JPEG pairs.  My suggestion would be to shoot a new set of photos and then try your workflow again.  If it doesn't work for you, then please post screenshots of your settings (General, Files, and IPTC/XMP tabs of the Photo Mechanic Preferences dialog, and the Labels section of the Capture NX2 Preferences dialog) back at this thread.

-Kirk