keywords that cannot be deleted

[stonecherub]

In 2010, I got too enthusiastic with keywords and now, I no longer use them finding categories better. The "keywords" panel allowed me to remove them from 9 of 10 folders but one folder resists deletion. My Footer 1 left displays categories and @Keywords gets in the way.

[Mario]

IMatch's unique categories are cool when you need to manage your files in many different ways.
Keywords are cool when you want to store keywords in the file, so other applications can see them.
Often a mix of both is ideal.


Try to find out what's different with the files in that folder.
Does IMatch report problems when writing back the changed metadata?
Do the files contain non-synchronized IPTC keywords perhaps?
There are so many potential reasons, I don't know where to start...

Start with one file.
Remove all hierarchical keywords.
Write back...
Check the ExifTool output panel for warnings...?
Attach the file as a sample so we can have a look...
...

[stonecherub]

Exiftool reports: Warning: Error converting value for ExifIFD:SubSecTimeOriginal (ValueConvInv) - D:\Images\ByDay\2010yr\03\2010-03-26\2010-03-26_E87_001.JPG

I suspect I used Hert's failed IDimager (Requiescant in Pacem) to put keywords on these images from 2010. Having them is annoying, not critical; getting rid of them isn't worth a lot of effort on your part or mine.

My initial post was incorrect, they remain in all the 2010 folders.

[Mario]

This error is normal, many files don't have sub-second data. It should be a warning, not an error.

If you can send me a sample image (or attach one) I can provide further feedback.
What often helps is to strip the legacy IPTC record from the file with the ExifTool Command Processor (there is a preset for this) and then let IMatch re-import and write-back the file.
If the (potentially broken or out-of-synch) IPTC data in the file is gone, IMatch can use XMP only.

[stonecherub]

Here is a file with unremovable keywords shrunk by Faststone. I tried to send it yesterday but the original was too large.

[Mario]

The community software removes metadata from uploaded images.
Please ZIP the image and attach it again.

[stonecherub]

OK, it took a while because zipping the original with Powerdesk yielded a file of similar size. I used Lightroom to make a copy at 50% quality and then used IM to move metadata into the new copy. It looks OK in the metadata panel.

I do need to get rid of these keywords because they show in the thumbnail footer as @keywords above any categories I assign. I would really like to have the "Current" categories show up in that footer (even displacing image, if necessary), word-wrapped to display some of my 5- or 6-deep categories.

[Mario]

It looks like you have again uploaded a JPG file. The community software strips metadata from uploaded files for security reasons.

Please create a ZIP file in Windows Explorer from your original image (the one you're having the problem with) and attach that ZIP file.

If you add another step, e.g. loading the image in PS, resizing and saving, PS will re-create the metadata anyway, and the original problem may be gone or affected in some way.

[stonecherub]

I used Powerdesk to zip the file yesterday and sent it as "file.zip." I don't know how you got it as a jpg. Attached is another zip file (it has a zip extension) made using win 10. If this fails, the original and zip are in dropbox at

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/t0fldqtmqz0jo6m/AACAkQ1Vsma2qXoK_5Iz8meta?dl=0

[Mario]

I used the Dropbox download. The ZIP file you have attached contains only one JPEG file, but this file has no keywords at all.

The Dropbox download has two files. One file has no keywords, the other file has keywords in XMP and legacy IPTC.

The problem with this file is that it contains an incomplete legacy IPTC record. IMatch follows the guidelines of the Metadata Working Group to not create legacy IPTC records, it only updates existing records. To determine if a file has an IPTC record, IMatch looks at certain mandatory (required) IPTC tags. If none of these tags is found, it assumes that file has no legacy IPTC data.

The IPTC record in this file is incomplete (apparently written by ID Imager). It does not even have the mandatory IPTC version number tag set. IMatch considers the file to have no legacy IPTC data, and hence does not write / update the partial IPTC data in that file. This means that the keywords in the IPTC record remain unchanged and are re-imported every time you write-back.

Solutions:

Remove the partial IPTC record from the file with the ExifTool command processor. Select the file in a file window, open the ExifTool Command Processor via the Tools menu and run this command:

-overwrite_original_in_place
-iptc:all=
{Files}


this strips the partial IPTC data from your file. It will afterwards only contain XMP and EXIF metadata.

Now, open the keyword panel and click on the pen icon in front of the "Enter new keywords". Click on the green arrow toolbar button. This marks the keywords in your file as changed. When you now write back, the XMP keywords will be properly synchronized. Or just change a keyword and write back.


If you need to retain legacy IPTC data, you first need to fix the incomplete legacy IPTC record, e.g. by rewriting the IPTC.
If you use the ECP to set the urgency, for example:

-overwrite_original
-iptc:Urgency=5
{Files}


ExifTool will correct the incomplete legacy IPTC record in the file and IMatch will detect the legacy IPTC data and update it on write-back.

[stonecherub]

Thanks, Mario, I figured it was ID Imager. There are more than 2000 of these old CoolPix 8700 images made in a desert that was unusually green. I have not written a batch file in years and would have to re-learn how to do it. Do you have a simple batch file structure that I could use as a template?

[Mario]

ExifTool Command Processor works with all selected files.
You can apply the commands I have supplied on any number of files at once.

Start with a few sample files and verify that the problem is indeed solved.
Then select larger batches of files and either remove or fix the legacy IPTC data. I suggest to fix it (via adding the urgency tag), just in case.

2000 files is not much, should take only a few minutes.