Custom metadata already in XMP files?

[x509]

Using another DAM, I have successfully created custom metadata fields, which were exported to XMP.  I verified these fields using Microsoft XML Notepad (2007).

However, when I imported these images into a trial copy of iMatch, I didn't see any of these custom fields?  Is this a limitation of the trial?  If not, how do I display those fields?

How can I create custom fields using iMatch?

[jch2103]

See Edit/Preferences/Metadata 2/Tag Manager (button in lower right). Once you've clicked Tag Manager, hit F1, which will bring up Help about which tags IMatch should import.

By default, IMatch doesn't import all tags, to avoid loading things down with unnecessary tags. You'll need to ID the tags you want to add.

[Mario]

1. 
Where did you look for this fields?
Did you try the "Browser" mode in the Metadata Panel? This shows you all metadata IMatch has imported.

2.
IMatch processes metadata via the gold standard in the field: ExifTool.
This allows IMatch to support nearly 14,000 metadata fields from all common standards, maker notes, application-specific data etc.

Unfortunately, many camera vendors and software products stuff image files with hundreds of proprietary tags. A single RAW file may contain 300 to 500 metadata fields  - and only a small mount of these tags are meant to be viewed by humans. The rest is proprietary data only useful for a particular camera or software.

In order to keep databases small and fast, IMatch imports only common metadata tags by default. This includes legacy IPTC, EXIF, GPS, XMP (several common namespaces), PDF, Office, OpenOffice, several video metadata formats etc. This is usually more than sufficient for the majority of users.

3.
If a user wants to see non-standard metadata (e.g. certain EXIF maker notes written by his camera) he can configure IMatch to import additional metadata in the Tag Manager (See info above by jch2103). The Tag Manager shows all metadata tags known to ExifTool.  Just locate the group of tags your "Other DAM" has stored the data into.

4.
Defining custom XMP namespaces is all nice and funny, as long as you stick to one application. I usually advise against it. It locks you in.

Other applications in the field may ignore your custom metadata, or even remove it when re-saving your images!

If ExifTool does not know the custom XMP fields you have created, it will import them as part of XMP, but will not be able to update them. ExifTool has no idea about the custom XMP data, how to format it on import or export. Only the application where you have created the data with will know how to do that.

You can extend ExifTool to understand your custom metadata (http://owl.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/config.html) and then it will 'understand' your custom XMP data. It will not only be able to read, but also to write it. And then IMatch will tool.

This is a bit complicated, though. May ask your other DAM vendor to help you with that, or to provide a tool that allows you to create a configuration file for ExifTool - using he metadata their system stores for your custom XMP data. This would enable you to use your data in all products which use ExifTool, and this means a large share of the market and photo web sites.