IMatch 2020. 9. 4 seems to refuse to delete certain keywords from certain photos

[emef]

Hello everyone
I have a problem that drives me crazy because I don't understand what's going on: for a few days, IMatch 2020. 9. 4 seems to refuse to delete certain keywords from certain photos which are either Nef or Jpg taken from these Nef. At first glance, it seems to work, IMatch announces me who updates the meta-datas in the files, then he launches a proofreading of the metas-datas and I end up with the keywords that I had just deleted (I control this in the "File Categorie). I'm going in circles.

Attached is the logfile in debug mode.
Thanks in advance.

[Mario]

What do you mean by "refuse to delete"?
When you delete a keyword in the Keyword Panel from a file, is it not removed? Is there an error message?
Or does this happen while you write-back the file?
In that case, it is probably legacy IPTC data and XMP data which is out-of-sync. Or your thesaurus causes this. Or your metadata settings cause this.

Please run the Metadata Analyst on the affected file and use the green "Copy Results" button to transfer the results into a reply.
Show us your settings under Edit > Preferences > Metadata.

[emef]

Attached are the metadata parameters.
However, I do not find the "Metadata Analyst"?

[emef]

Metadata Analyst Results. Version 2020.9.4. 9/25/2020 5:29:41 PM
File analyzed: E:\Photos\2012-03-21\emef_20120321_DSC5594.NEF
Errors: 1
Warnings: 13

Warning: [System] IMatch is configured to not update the 'last modified' file system timestamp on write-back.<br/>This will cause issues with detection of modified files.
Warning: [XMP] Embedded XMP record (photools.com IMatch 17.14.0.2 (Windows)) and XMP sidecar file (photools.com IMatch 20.9.0.4 (Windows)) found.
Warning: [XMP] Embedded XMP rating is 3.
Warning: [XMP] [IFD0]:Artist and [XMP-dc]:Creator (embedded) mismatch.
Warning: [XMP] [IFD0]:Artist and [XMP-dc]:Creator (sidecar) mismatch.
Warning: [XMP] [IPTC]:By-line and [XMP-dc]:Creator (embedded) mismatch.
Warning: [XMP] [IPTC]:By-line and [XMP-dc]:Creator (sidecar) mismatch.
Warning: [XMP] [IFD0]:Artist and [XMP-tiff]:Artist (embedded) mismatch.
Warning: [XMP] [IFD0]:Artist and [XMP-tiff]:Artist (sidecar) mismatch.
Warning: [XMP] [IPTC]:By-line and [XMP-tiff]:Artist (embedded) mismatch.
Warning: [XMP] [IPTC]:By-line and [XMP-tiff]:Artist (sidecar) mismatch.
Warning: [XMP] [ExifIFD]:UserComment not mapped to [XMP-dc]:Description (embedded).
Warning: [XMP] [ExifIFD]:UserComment not mapped to [XMP-dc]:Description (sidecar).
Error: [Keywords] Different XMP keywords in embedded XMP record and sidecar file.

[Mario]

[System] IMatch is configured to not update the 'last modified' file system timestamp on write-back.<br/>This will cause issues with detection of modified files.

You should not use this setting. It may break your backup and prevent Windows and other application from noticing changes done to the image file by IMatch. This is off by default and exists only for historical reasons.

Error: [Keywords] Different XMP keywords in embedded XMP record and sidecar file.

This explains your problem. Your NEF file has embedded XMP metadata (from whatever) and also XMP data in a sidecar file.
These two XMP records don't match.

By standard, XMP for RAW files goes into a separate XMP sidecar file and is not embedded in the RAW image.
Somehow your file has no two competing XMP records.
I recommend to remove the embedded XMP record and only stick to the standard XMP record in the sidecar file.
There is a preset for this in the The ExifTool Command Processor which allows you to remove the embedded XMP metadata.

[emef]

 Hello
on the attached screen copy you will see my problem: the red lines (@keywords...) indicate a bad place: if I uncheck them from "Files Categories" and then I click on the pencil to record the metadas, the @keywords concerned no longer appear at first. Then IMatch rereads the data and places these lines in "Files Categories.

On the other hand, I did not find in ECP a specific preset to remove the XMP included in the NEFs, I used "Delete Camera RAW data" but without success. After using "Delete all Metadata", it necessarily works but I have to reintroduce everything "by hand".
Where can I find the preset that only attacks the XMP metadata included in the NEF files? On the Exiftools site?
Thank you for your patience.

[Mario]

Use the Delete XMP Metadata preset on the NEF.
No need to delete any other or all metadata.

If you don't have this preset, you have deleted it at some point in time.
You can re-crate it from this:

# im-warn
-overwrite_original_in_place
-xmp=
-charset
filename=UTF8
{Files}

[hap1484]

Although I'm running on 20.7.4 I have the same problem.  I attached a keyword to a photo by mistake and now can't get rid of it.  I can delete it from the keyword category in the metadata panel and it leaves temporarily but when I search on the term the file displays again (without the keyword in the metadata section).  If I write back the metadata, the deleted keyword comes right back into the metadata panel again.  I read the solution you provided the original poster but I don't understand the solution.  Please expand...thanks!!

[hap1484]

Here's the metadata analyst report for my file.  Thought this would help. The first report shows the results without the keyword in the metadata panel.  The second one has the keyword included.  The reports look exactly the same??

[Mario]

Please use the green Copy Results to copy the results into your posts. Easier than screen shots.
Both reports state that there is unwritten metadata. Hence you first need to write back before running the analyst.

[hap1484]

Thank you again for your prompt reply.  You must work 28 hours a day  . I did not perform a metadata "write back" before I created the Analyst Reports because the "write back" action just put the keyword right back into the metadata panel.  In any case, this is a moot point because the problem has gone away.  The keyword "refuse problem" no longer exists.

[Mario]

If the image has mismatching keywords in IPTC/XMP and hierarchical keywords, IMatch might need two write-backs to bring them in sync.

[emef]

Hello (news from the front) 
at home the problem is always topical: when I launch the Exiftools preset in order to eliminate the internal metadatas from the Nef, the preset seems unable to act and makes me warnings in the result part (see attached file).

On the other hand, to clarify my way in which I use IMatch, I do not assign the keywords by the Keywords tab but in the categories tab through "@Keywords.
It worked perfectly before (the latest version?) but since version 2020. 9. 2 and 2020. 9. 4, this creates me between the "@Keywords"and "@Builder" a whole series of keywords that I would prefer to avoid (see file"categories panel view @keywords). I suppose that this problem could solve this in the "Preferences", but I do not see where or how (my poor English does not allow me to understand everything in the subtleties of IMatch and in the actions necessary to respect standards).
Sorry to have been long on this one.

[Mario]

Tip: Make the ExifTool Command Processor dialog larger to see more info. Just left-click and drag the bottom-right corner.

ExifTool seems to be unable to update your images because they are defective or contain damaged metadata.
Only one file is successfully written.

ExifTool does not write files when it consider it unsafe to update the file. You might need to fix the files first.
Since ExifTool reports errors and warnings (probably also when IMatch attempts to write these files) IMatch re-imports them to get the current metadata. Which may

I'm not sure what you explained about @Keywords.
The @Keywords category reflects the keywords in your files. It is created and updated from the actual keywords you have in your files.
When you assign a file to a keyword category, the corresponding keyword is added to the file.

Sometimes users configure IMatch to break down hierarchical keywords, storing only the leaf-level (bottom level).
And when there is no path in the thesaurus which "leads" to this leaf level when IMatch re-imports the keywords, the keywords will end up at the top level, or there may be levels missing.
This all depends on your settings and the contents of your files and how you have structured your thesaurus. The default settings in IMatch are safe, but they cannot protect you from anything.

[emef]

Hello
here is the same kind of error reported by Exiftools, in a more readable version however (when I told you it took patience with me )

[Mario]

That's what I said.
ExifTool refuses to update the files because they contain errors and ExifTool does not consider it safe to write to them.
I don't know how damaged these files are or how to repair them. There may be a mystic ExifTool command sequence which repairs the damaged data in these files. I don't know.

Unless the files have been repaired, ExifTool cannot write to them and hence no keyword updates etc.