.ORF file with .XMP sidecar modification

[cg]

My database contains a large portion of .ORF files from many years ago. They all have .XMP sidecar files that I believe were created by iMatch when they were imported into the database. They also have corresponding camera-generated .JPG files that iMatch treats as both Buddy files and Versions with the .ORF file the master.

I recently changed the Version settings to make sure the XMP metadata I'm adding (faces, location, etc.) to the .ORF files is propagated to the .JPG's, as the .JPG files are the files I plan to export more than the .ORF.

After doing the metadata writeback of one file, I noticed:

1. The file date shown in windows had not been updated for the .XMP sidecar file (though the XMP contents had been updated),
2. The .JPG file date was still the original capture date. Though I find this desirable, I had expected it to be changed because, as per Mario's instruction in another thread, I changed the "Preserve file date" setting to OFF.
3. The .ORF file has been updated with today's date.

Am I right in thinking that the .XMP file means that the Exiftool will never rewrite the .ORF file directly? If that's the case, what would cause the .ORF date to be updated? Is there some other metadata write that would cause that?

As these files are old and valuable, so I'd like to make sure I'm using the safest, most efficient workflow.

Thank you!

[JohnZeman]

You should be asking this question in the IMatch forum.

[Mario]

ExifTool will update existing EXIF, GPS and legacy IPTC data (if existing) in the ORF. Same for the JPEG.
For ORF files, XMP data is stored in sidecar files.
For JPG files, XMP data is embedded in the JPG itself.
Furthermore, by definition, a XMP file belongs to all files with the same name in the same folder, so the JPEG will receive a merged set of XMP data, from the sidecar file, and with higher priority, from the embedded XMP data in the JPG.

ExifTool always updates the "last modified on disk" timestamp, unless you explicitly forbid it via an option.
The Date you  show in Windows Explorer is not the last modified date on disk, it is a date Windows Explorer pulls from somewhere. Windows Explorer is not really good at metadata.

When you propagate data, it all depends on what you propagate. If you propagate only XMP data, the original files may not have to be updated if the tags you propagate have no counterparts in EXIF/GPS/IPTC and thus no synching is needed.

Always provide sufficient information.
The original ORF file. The XMP file. The JPG file. Your propagation rules and settings. The Edit > Preferences > Metadata 2 settings you use etc.

There are many, many things with metadata in combination with existing metadata in your files that influence how metadata is written and propagated.
Impossible to answer any questions without having an actual set of files and all your setting to reproduce metadata issues you are experiencing.

Start by opening the ExifTool Output Panel: The Output Panel
Then select the ORF and then force a fresh propagation via <F4>,<P>.
This will rewrite the master (if pending) and then propagate data to the JPEG.
The contents of the output panel show what ExifTool has written and to which file(s), and if there have been any warnings or problems.