How to quickly remove keywords from many files?

[Carlo Didier]

I stumbled upon the problem discussed in this topic: https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=2863.0
Now, I need to remove all the unwanted keywords from the files that have them. I can easily enough identify the files, but how can I quickly remove all keywords from them?
I'm talking about the keywords in the metadata in the files, not in the iMatch database.

[ubacher]

Assuming you have selected all the files:
I would use the Category Panel - CURRENT Tab - and uncheck the categories(=keywords) there.
Then the files will need to have their metadata written out.

[jch2103]

Option 2:

Select all the files, go to the Keywords panel (lower right of screen) and delete the unwanted keyword(s).

Then the files will need to have their metadata written out.

[Richard]

Option 3:

Keywords can be deleted using the @Keywords. Just select a keyword and press Ctrl+Delete.

[Carlo Didier]

Option 2:

Select all the files, go to the Keywords panel (lower right of screen) and delete the unwanted keyword(s).

Then the files will need to have their metadata written out.

That's what I was looking for! Thanks!

[Carlo Didier]

categories(=keywords)

This is definitely not the case for me. I never write categories to keywords. It's all in the iMatch database, nothing in the image files, because then the files would be changed with every small metadata change which would cause them to be backed up again, causing the backups to take more time and more space unnecessarily.

[cytochrome]

If you want to delete ALL keywords from FILES, you may use the ECP (F9-E), select the files and the "Delete all keywords" action. It will clear -IPTC:Keywords,
XMP:Subject, and XMP:HierarchicalSubject

Works well, I used it often when I had unwanted keywords coming back...

Francis

[Carlo Didier]

If you want to delete ALL keywords from FILES, you may use the ECP (F9-E), select the files and the "Delete all keywords" action. It will clear -IPTC:Keywords,
XMP:Subject, and XMP:HierarchicalSubject

Works well, I used it often when I had unwanted keywords coming back...

Francis

Thanks, Francis! Great idea.

[stonecherub]

I have a pot-full (1572) of scanned transparencies that have been treated badly and contain junk keywords. I have tried three times so far to remove them.

Trying once again using the keyword panel, I select a bunch (<500), right click and "Delete all keywords." Lines appear through all of the words in the box and when I click the green arrow icon at the top, the lined words disappear from the box. Go through the set in four groups.

"Commands - Meta-data write-back - for all files" yields a messagebox showing 1572 with pending metadata. Imatch works for a few minutes and tells me that I'm done. Alas, not so.

Go back to the top of the set, select a bunch and - Viola! (ancient family joke) The keywords are STILL there. The files are not write-protected.

Soooo.........

[ColinIM]

Hi stonecherub,

What file format / file extension do those scanned files have?

I had this exact problem - until I remembered that each file extension has its own settings in -
Edit | Preferences | Metadata 2 |  Configure File Formats
which allow, or don't allow, IMatch to create new metadata 'blocks' in the handful of my files which didn't already have existing metadata. (See my attached screen-shot.)

Is it possible that the default write-back setting for those file extensions doesn't allow them to be updated?

Colin P.

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[sinus]

categories(=keywords)

This is definitely not the case for me. I never write categories to keywords. It's all in the iMatch database, nothing in the image files, because then the files would be changed with every small metadata change which would cause them to be backed up again, causing the backups to take more time and more space unnecessarily.

But from my understanding:
If you have keywords in your file or if you have keywords in your IMatch-DB (not written back to the file), then you have AUTOMATICALLY these keywords as categories, so from my point of view is ubacher correct.

This was not the case in IM3, but IM5 does mirror the keywords and the @keywords in the categories, hence it depends, what you like more:
you can add or delete or change a keyword in the keyword panel, and this would reflect also in the cats OR
you can add or delete or change a keyword in the @keyword-tree of the categories, and this would also reflect in the "real" keywords of the file.

I you have not enabled automatically writing metadata to the files, then these changes are first only in the DB, but if you write the metas, then these keywords are in the file.

[cytochrome]

I have a pot-full (1572) of scanned transparencies that have been treated badly and contain junk keywords. I have tried three times so far to remove them.

Trying once again using the keyword panel, I select a bunch (<500), right click and "Delete all keywords." Soooo.........

Try the ECP. Select your files, open the ECP  (F9 - E), select "Delete all keywords", should do the job...

Francis

[Carlo Didier]

I have a pot-full (1572) of scanned transparencies that have been treated badly and contain junk keywords. I have tried three times so far to remove them.

Trying once again using the keyword panel, I select a bunch (<500), right click and "Delete all keywords." Soooo.........

Try the ECP. Select your files, open the ECP  (F9 - E), select "Delete all keywords", should do the job...

Francis

This is really not working, out of the box (i.e. with default settings). I too had to set "Allow create IPTC/EXIF/GPS" to Yes for those file types. Otherwise the keywords would not be deleted from the files. Sounds weird ... but that's it.

[Carlo Didier]

categories(=keywords)

This is definitely not the case for me. I never write categories to keywords. It's all in the iMatch database, nothing in the image files, because then the files would be changed with every small metadata change which would cause them to be backed up again, causing the backups to take more time and more space unnecessarily.

But from my understanding:
If you have keywords in your file or if you have keywords in your IMatch-DB (not written back to the file), then you have AUTOMATICALLY these keywords as categories, so from my point of view is ubacher correct.

This was not the case in IM3, but IM5 does mirror the keywords and the @keywords in the categories, hence it depends, what you like more:
you can add or delete or change a keyword in the keyword panel, and this would reflect also in the cats OR
you can add or delete or change a keyword in the @keyword-tree of the categories, and this would also reflect in the "real" keywords of the file.

I you have not enabled automatically writing metadata to the files, then these changes are first only in the DB, but if you write the metas, then these keywords are in the file.

What I would prefer? No keywords at all, only my categories in IM. No automatic whatsoever between them. I don't want anything created automatically that I don't want to have.

[ubacher]

I too had to set "Allow create IPTC/EXIF/GPS" to Yes for those file types.

If you use the ECP to delete the keywords then you should not have to do this.
- delete keywords from IM (so they won't be written out later)
- delete the keywords from each file with exiftool. NB: if you have XMP files associated then you have to delete them from the XMP file, else
from the image file. Maybe do both or at least check that none are left in the file(s).

The files will still show as "pending metadata write-out" because of the deletion of the keywords.
You can do the write-back or clear the writeback queue of all entries. Under Database tools. (Should exit and restart after I think I recall).

[cytochrome]

..

This is really not working, out of the box (i.e. with default settings). I too had to set "Allow create IPTC/EXIF/GPS" to Yes for those file types. Otherwise the keywords would not be deleted from the files. Sounds weird ... but that's it.

Hello Carlo, it works for me, also with "Allow create IPTC/EXIF/GPS" to NO. Maybe I should explain what I did and why: I had NEF with unwanted Hierarchical Keywords    like France|Provence|Prads|LeSerre and couldn't get rid of them. My workflow is to write XMP to the NEF, so no sidecar.

I made a new test with such a NEF. The ECP with Delete all  keywords wipes all keywords.
Maybe we are talking about different things or settings, but here it works, out of the box
The JPGs show the state of keywords in the NEF before I apply the ECP, after, and my settings

Before

After

Settings 


Francis

[stonecherub]

OK, I think it time to declare this a "Mario Mediated Mess."

All my files are jpegs, no nefs or sidecars. I have not been paying the kind of careful attention this needs. As I scroll through my files, I see some that I think had key words and are now are clear but I am not sure.

I can delete the keywords from ONE file at a time. Select a single file, show keywords in keyword panel, delete all, Commands - metadata writeback - for selected file - GO. Select another then go back and the keywords are gone.

I can delete the keywords from the LAST FILE in a set. Select a file (click - red) move down three more, shift select (all red). All keywords from all files show in the keyword panel, all disappear when "delete all keywords" and green arrow. After metadata writeback for those selected files, the keywords are gone from THE LAST ONE of the selected files and remain in the others.

ECP does nothing at all, even for a single selected file.

[Mario]

When your files are JPEG files they can contain three sets of keywords:

1. Legacy IPTC keywords.
2. XMP keywords (dc:subject)
3. XMP hierarchical keywords (xmp:lr:hierarchicalSubject)

Note: I here assume that you don't force IMatch to use XMP sidecar files with your JPEG files or other additional complexities.

A)

When you run the ECP on one of your files using the "All Keywords" preset, the ECP will show all keywords from all three locations. This allows you to see what's really in the file on disk.

B)

1. Please check that under Edit > Preferences > Metadata 2: File Formats the JPEG format is set to the default settings.
2. Disable background write-back if enabled under Edit > Preferences > Background Processing. This way you have more control.

Select two of your files.
In the Keyword Panel remove all keywords (e.g by using the "Delete all Keywords" command available in the right-click menu of the upper keyword field.

Save the changes back to the database with <Ctrl>+<S>.

Now open the ExifTool output panel (<F9>,<O>) and write-back the two files.
Select all text in the output panel, copy into a text file and attach the file here.


C)

I made a test. Starting with two JPEG files having different keywords. I selected both files, removed the keywords and write back. All keywords are removed from both files. The ECP shows that the files have no keywords anymore, neither in IPTC nor in XMP. So, at least here, it works.

[stonecherub]

Thanks, Mario, but there's something you know but I don't. (Geologists should not be allowed to drive the heavy machinery)

I did what you directed and when I pressed <F9>, O; the exiftool output panel opened but was empty, both tabs. I don't know exiftool well enough to figure it out.

This is strange! After a metadata writeback on those two files, their keywords were gone. So I tried three more and the metadata was only removed from the LAST SELECTED.

I need to be led through this by the ring in my nose.

[Mario]

The ExifTool output panel has to be open before you write back the files. Only then it can catch the ExifTool output produced while ExifTool updates the files.

Also check under Edit > Preferences > Application: Settings that the ExifTool Verbose Logging is set to "Yes" (this is the Default).

[stonecherub]

OK, here is the output you wanted. As usual for me, only the final selection of the pair lost its keywords.



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