Now and then I get image files by different people. If I import them into IM, they will be indexed with my standard metadata template. This is not correct because I set also my name as creator. As long as the metadata will not be rewritten it is acceptable.
Is it possible to supress applying of the metadata temporarily, e.g. by shortcut or holding key?
There is no dedicated feature to temporarily disable metadata templates or the many other options controllable via Edit > Preferences > Indexing. You can only disable the template in Edit > Preferences > Indexing and then enable it again afterwards.
Maybe you can add some intelligence to your templates and check some conditions with a variable before you set the creator tag? For example:
{File.Folder|contains:New,,My Name}
This variable returns My Name only when the folder does not contain the word New.
If the files you don't want to process can be identified by the folder name or the camera model or whatever, you can use a similar logic to not add your own name to the creator tag.
If you want to retain the existing creator in that case, use a variable like this:
{File.Folder|contains:New,{File.MD.creator},My Name}
This variable retains the existing creator if the folder name contains New, else it sets it to My Name.
Instead of checking the folder name, you can use any other metadata tag or File attribute to determine if these files are from your or others (file name, camera model, etc.)
The ability to use variables in Metadata Templates and the power of IMatch variables makes many things possible.
Thanks, I'll give it a try.