Can't prevent the creation of buddy files/xmp files (zweisprachig)

[guentergulasch]

I would like to prevent IMatch (5.5) from creating xmp buddy files for RAW files (NEF), but the relevant option doesn't seem to work. (?)

I've set the option "Preferences > Metadata2 > XMP Export > Allow to create XMP files" to "No", but IMatch seems to ignore the setting and still creates xmp files every time metadata in (eg keywords) or for (eg labels) RAW files is changed, in this case NEF files.

Ideal would be if I could get IMatch to wrote metadata into the IPTC section of the RAW files (which it does), but not to create buddy files and not to add xmp to the RAW files themselves either. At the same time it would be good to somehow preserve labels and ratings (which are apparently xmp), also after saving metadata changes. - Maybe inside the database instead of in buddy files and/or in the RAW files?

The file type specific settings at "Preferences > Metadata2 > Configure File formats ...", if I understand them right, offer only either create xmp or embed xmp, both of which I don't really want. I'd like to not clutter my harddisk with buddy files, but I'm also suspicious of xmp in NEF files. As far as I know NEF files don't "like" internal xmp ... 

Does anyone know a solution?

Thanks in advance
Andreas
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I würde gerne IMatch (5.5) daran hindern, buddy-/xmp-Dateien für RAW-Dateien (NEF) zu erstellen, aber die betreffende Option scheint nicht zu funktionieren. (?)

Bei "Preferences > Metadata2 > XMP Export > Allow to create XMP files" habe ich "No" eingestellt, aber IMatch scheint die Einstellung zu ignorieren und erstellt trotzdem xmp-Dateien jedes Mal, wenn Metadaten in (z.B. Stichwörter) oder für (z.B. Label) RAW-Dateien, in diesem Fall NEF-Dateien, geändert werden.

Ideal wäre, wenn ich IMatch dazu bringen könnte, Metadatein in die IPTC-Abschnitt der RAW-Dateien zu schreiben (was es tut), aber nicht gleichzeitig xmp-Dateien zu erstellen und auch nicht xmp in die RAW-Dateien selbst zu schreiben. Gleichzeitig wäre es gut, irgendwie Label und Ratings (die wohl xmp sind) zu erhalten, auch nach dem Speichern von Metadaten. - Vielleicht innnerhalb der Datenbank, anstatt in xmp-Dateien oder in den RAW-Dateien selbst?

Die dateitypenspezifischen Einstellungen unter "Preferences > Metadata2 > Configure File formats ...", wenn ich sie richtig verstehe, bieten nur entweder xmp erstellen oder xmp einbetten, die ich beide aber nicht wirklich möchte. Ich würde gerne die vielen xmp-Dateien auf der Festplatte vermeiden, bin aber auch misstrauisch gegebenüber xmp in NEF-Dateien. Soweit ich weiß, "mag" NEF eingebettetes xmp nicht besonders ... 

Kennt jemand eine Lösung dafür?

Danke schon mal
Andreas

[Mario]

You cannot prevent IMatch from using/creating XMP data, because that's there core metadata format from which all other metadata is derived and updated. IMatch always creates/updates XMP metadata, and optionally synchronizes it with IPTC/EXIF/GPS etc. If IMatch would neither embed XMP data or produce/update the sidecar file, data would be lost on every write-back, because IMatch maintains data like rating/label and other important things in XMP.

I think the option you mention was once used, but in the 50 updates since the initial 5.0 release it has been ignored for the reasons mentioned above. I shall remove this option in one of the upcoming releases. A pure "legacy IPTC only (which is named legacy now for a reason)" workflow is neither recommended nor possible.

[guentergulasch]

Well, a pure IPTC workflow, even if IPTC is called legacy, seems very possible. In any case it works fine for me and also for the sites I upload (xmp-free JPEGs) to. Of course I don't mind IMatch using xmp, though. :-) But anyway, my "problem" only concerns RAW files.

So apparently it boils down to: I have to either embed xmp in RAW/NEF files (which I'm very hesitant to do) or tolerate all the buddy files filling up the hard disk. Well, ok, then, so be it. :-)

Thanks for the info.

[Mario]

XMP files are quite small and don't fill your hard disk. One cluster each file, max.
Embedding XMP is RAW files is not suggested and IMatch by default maintains XMP data in sidecar files for all RAW formats, with the notable exception of DNG which has been designed to contain XMP data. XMP data can be read and written much faster than RAW files.

Embedding legacy IPTC data in RAW files is also not recommended by the Metadata Working Group and neither should new legacy IPTC data be created.
IMatch by default only updates legacy existing IPTC data in files, but does not create legacy IPTC data anymore. You can override this default behavior per file format in the Metadata settings. If you work with web sites which insist on metadata formats declared legacy 10 years ago by the IPTC committee, you may want ask them to consider updating to current formats like XMP.

[guentergulasch]

Whether thousands of files, small or not, fill up a hard disk is obviously a matter of opinion - see the IMatch Help file (Metadata 2 > XMP Export > Allow to create XMP files): "This option allows you to prevent creation of XMP sidecar files. You may find this useful if you don't want to clutter your hard disk with XMP sidecar files. (...)"

But of course, opions can change. :-)

Anyway, no worries, I can live with xmp files. Thanks again for your input.

My real problem with xmp and IMatch is actually a bit different:

I need to add custom sorted keywords to my files, but it looks like IMatch can't do that. Keywords can only be added, it seems, into the tag "File.MD.XMP::Lightroom\hierarchicalSubject\HierarchicalSubject\0" and there they are automatically sorted alphabetically; the only way I can add and edit keywords according to my own sorting priorities is via a different application, and it's a bit tedious having to switch to and from IMatch and constantly re-loading Metadata every time a keyword is changed.

I can view the xmp tag "File.MD.XMP::dc\subject\Subject\0" and the ITPC tag "File.MD.IPTC::ApplicationRecord\25\Keywords\0", both of which show custom-sorted keywords in the order that I add them (in that other application), but neither of those tags can be edited in IMatch.

Or have I missed something? Is it possible to get IMatch to store keywords in the order that I add them in, and not alphabetically?

Maybe you have a solution?

Happy new year! And danke im Voraus :-)

Andreas

[Mario]

see the IMatch Help file (Metadata 2 > XMP Export > Allow to create XMP files): "This option allows you to prevent creation of XMP sidecar files. You may find this useful if you don't want to clutter your hard disk with XMP sidecar files. (...)"

I have removed this option already for the next release. It was not implemented for almost two years, and no user ever complained. As I outlined above, IMatch cannot really work without persisting XMP data somewhere, either in the file or a sidecar file.

I need to add custom sorted keywords to my files, but it looks like IMatch can't do that.

Keywords are per definition just a "bag" of words. They have no inherent or specified sort order. IMatch does not sort keywords. When I enter the keywords zappa, abba, gamma in the Keyword panel, the hierarchical keywords will be written as

zappa
abba
gamma

It may be that when flattening keywords (into legacy ITPC or XMP-dc:SubJect) keywords need to be stored in order to find duplicates or to apply the thesaurus mapping rules you have specified for your database. This may cause flat keywords to be sorted alphabetically.

[guentergulasch]

It was not implemented for almost two years

Oh. Good to know.

Would have been better to know right from the start, though; I upgraded to IMatch 5 in March last year and since then spent many nights and countless work-hours trying to find "my" mistake, without of course having even the slightest idea that it wasn't my mistake at all but rather a software "mistake", and in the end just a grand waste of time. - And time is money, as we know.  I wonder what the point is of including (or in an update leaving) menu options in a software program plus extensive documentation, infos and tips - when the whole option is just a dummy.   

zappa
abba
gamma

Yes, you're right. Sorry, I was rather imprecise; what I wanted to say was that IMatch always sorts keywords alphabetically when they're written to IPTC and to XMP dc.

But I've now found what I was looking for: a custom order of keywords (through "Paste Special" in the keywords thingy). It took me a while, but now everything is fine in that respect.

Cheers again for your help
A.