Hi All,
Operating System: Windows 7 64-Bit
Software Versions: Photo Mechanic V5.0, build 16438
Lightroom CC (2015)
Photoshop CC (2014)
Bridge CC
I am a photographer that believes in filling out the metadata for my photos, and that is why I like to include Photo Mechanic (PM) in my workflow. The other applications that I use in my photography workflow are Lightroom (LR), Photoshop, and Bridge. My workflow is usually a little chaotic because I like to use the best application for the job I am doing. So, in regard to the color labels, if I add a color label with one program, and then look at the same photo in another program, the new color label should be there.
I have heard photographers say that you can not use color labels when using more than one application. I don't believe that this is true. In fact, I am 95% of the way there. I will start by explaining how I have my preferences set in each of the programs, and then walk through an example, and at the end I have a question.
I use 5 color labels, and I changed the label names in Bridge, LR, & PM, so that it looks like this:
Color Purple: change name to "Purple"
Color Red: change name to "Red"
Color Yellow: change name to "Yellow"
Color Green: change name to "Green"
Color Blue: change name to "Blue"
Note: I do not use the other color labels in PM, (Orange, Light Blue, Gray).
Now, in LR go to => edit menu => catalog settings => Metadata tab, and in the section called, "Editing", check mark the box next to "Automatically write changes into XMP".
Next, in PM go to => edit menu => Preferences => "IPTC/XMP" tab. Look in the section: "When reading IPTC/XMP:".
1. The first line reads: "For Jpeg, Tiff, PSD, DNG Photos:", change the pull down menu to read: "Read embedded XMP before IPTC."
2. The second line reads: "For TIFF-based RAW photos search in the following order:"
A. Set the first option to read: "Read XMP sidecar file".
B. Set the second option to read: "Read embedded XMP".
C. Now the third option will read: "Read embedded IPTC".
Okay, still in PM Preferences Dialog box, and still in the tab "IPTC/XMP", look at the section called, "When writing IPTC/XMP:"
1. "For Jpeg, Tiff, PSD, DNG photos:", check mark the box next to: "Add embedded IPTC (XMP will always be written)".
2. "For TIFF-based RAW photos:"
A. check mark the box next to "Allow RAW files to be modified".
B. check mark the box next to "Add embedded metadata:", and change the pull down menu to read: "XMP and IPTC".
C. check mark the box next to "Always create and/or update XMP sidecar file".
I have attached a jpg photo of my PM IPTC/XMP Settings.
Now for the example, in PM I will apply color labels to 5 photos like this: first.dng is Purple, second.dng is Red, third.dng is Yellow, fourth.dng is Green, and five.tiff is Blue.
Next, open Bridge and navigate to the same folder, and the same pictures. In a few seconds you should see the color labels appear on the photos. Notice that if the pictures are in the same order, then the color labels will also be in the same order, (i.e. third.dng is still Yellow).
Next open LR, navigate to the same folder using the Library module, if you click on the folder, you should see your pictures in the middle of the screen and switch to grid view so you can see all of the photos. Notice that the pictures do not have any color labels on them. Now, right click on the folder and select "Synchronize folder..." and a dialog box opens. Make sure, "Scan for metadata updates", has a check mark next to it and click: "Synchronize". All the color labels should now be visible.
So far, so good. Now let's go in the opposite direction.
In LR remove the last 3 color labels. So, remove Yellow from third.dng, remove Green from fourth.dng, and remove Blue from five.tiff. If you open Bridge and check the photos, 3 of the color labels will have been removed. But if you open PM you will notice that all of the photos still have color labels.
Go back to LR, right click the folder again, and select "save metadata" from the pop-up menu. Now open PM, right click the folder, and select "refresh" from the pop-up menu. Notice that these last 2 steps made no difference, the color labels are still present inside of PM.
I think it is important to point out that Bridge worked when going in either direction. The only way I am able to remove the color labels from inside of PM is to right click each photo, and set the "color class" to "none". Then open Bridge again and wait a few seconds and the last 2 color labels will be removed.
Finally, the question: so why is PM not recognizing that the color labels have been removed from the photos by another program? It looks to me like PM is not checking the status of the color labels. Is this a problem that the programmers never thought of?
Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to make sure that everyone could follow and understand what I did. Thanks for reading.
[attachment deleted by admin]
