Clear Settings does not delete .xmp sidecars

Question

Using latest CR 6.4, Bridge 4.0.4.2 & Ps 12.0.4
Posting here because most knowledgeable folks here rarely if ever seem to visit the Bridge forum anymore. And it does relate to CR settings.
In Bridge, if you choose Develop Settings/Clear settings, the settings are indeed cleared but the sidecar files remain, even if you refresh the Windows folder and/or close and reopen both Bridge and Ps. Additionally, even if you manually delete the sidecars, the size of the exported cache file Bridge.T is not reduced but remains the same.
Anyone else noticed this?

Answer 1

Andrew_Hart wrote:
…In Bridge, if you choose Develop Settings/Clear settings, the settings are indeed cleared but the sidecar files remain…
That has always been the case, and it's perfectly normal, expected behavior.
Your mistake is assuming that the xmp file would contain only ACR edit information.  That is just not the case.
Here's an example of the kind of information retained in an xmp file in CS4 after clearing the develop settings in Bridge.  This should make it clear to you why the xmp file must remain after clearing the ACR development settings rather than having to be built from scratch all over again next time you open the file:
<x:xmpmeta xmlns:x="adobe:ns:meta/" x:xmptk="Adobe XMP Core 4.2-c020 1.124078, Tue Sep 11 2007 23:21:40        ">
<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#">
  <rdf:Description rdf:about=""
    xmlns:tiff="http://ns.adobe.com/tiff/1.0/">
   <tiff:Make>PENTAX</tiff:Make>
   <tiff:Model>PENTAX K20D</tiff:Model>
   <tiff:Orientation>1</tiff:Orientation>
  </rdf:Description>
  <rdf:Description rdf:about=""
    xmlns:exif="http://ns.adobe.com/exif/1.0/">
   <exif:ExifVersion>0221</exif:ExifVersion>
   <exif:ExposureTime>1/160</exif:ExposureTime>
   <exif:ShutterSpeedValue>7321928/1000000</exif:ShutterSpeedValue>
   <exif:FNumber>8/1</exif:FNumber>
   <exif:ApertureValue>6/1</exif:ApertureValue>
   <exif:ExposureProgram>0</exif:ExposureProgram>
   <exif:DateTimeOriginal>2010-02-10T18:29:45-08:00</exif:DateTimeOriginal>
   <exif:DateTimeDigitized>2010-02-10T18:29:45-08:00</exif:DateTimeDigitized>
   <exif:ExposureBiasValue>20/10</exif:ExposureBiasValue>
   <exif:MeteringMode>5</exif:MeteringMode>
   <exif:FocalLength>1900/100</exif:FocalLength>
   <exif:SensingMethod>2</exif:SensingMethod>
   <exif:FocalLengthIn35mmFilm>28</exif:FocalLengthIn35mmFilm>
   <exif:CustomRendered>0</exif:CustomRendered>
   <exif:ExposureMode>1</exif:ExposureMode>
   <exif:WhiteBalance>0</exif:WhiteBalance>
   <exif:SceneCaptureType>0</exif:SceneCaptureType>
   <exif:Contrast>2</exif:Contrast>
   <exif:Saturation>0</exif:Saturation>
   <exif:Sharpness>2</exif:Sharpness>
   <exif:SubjectDistanceRange>3</exif:SubjectDistanceRange>
   <exif:ISOSpeedRatings>
    <rdf:Seq>
     <rdf:li>800</rdf:li>
    </rdf:Seq>
   </exif:ISOSpeedRatings>
   <exif:Flash rdf:parseType="Resource">
    <exif:Fired>True</exif:Fired>
    <exif:Return>0</exif:Return>
    <exif:Mode>1</exif:Mode>
    <exif:Function>False</exif:Function>
    <exif:RedEyeMode>False</exif:RedEyeMode>
   </exif:Flash>
  </rdf:Description>
  <rdf:Description rdf:about=""
    xmlns:xap="http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/">
   <xap:ModifyDate>2010-02-10T18:29:45-08:00</xap:ModifyDate>
   <xap:CreateDate>2010-02-10T18:29:45-08:00</xap:CreateDate>
   <xap:CreatorTool>K20D Ver 1.03</xap:CreatorTool>
   <xap:Rating>0</xap:Rating>
  </rdf:Description>
  <rdf:Description rdf:about=""
    xmlns:aux="http://ns.adobe.com/exif/1.0/aux/">
   <aux:LensInfo>160/10 450/10 40/10 40/10</aux:LensInfo>
   <aux:Lens>smc PENTAX-DA 16-45mm F4 ED AL</aux:Lens>
   <aux:LensID>4 254</aux:LensID>
  </rdf:Description>
  <rdf:Description rdf:about=""
    xmlns:crs="http://ns.adobe.com/camera-raw-settings/1.0/">
   <crs:RawFileName>_IMG0187.PEF</crs:RawFileName>
   <crs:Version>5.7</crs:Version>
   <crs:ProcessVersion>5.0</crs:ProcessVersion>
   <crs:HasSettings>False</crs:HasSettings>
   <crs:HasCrop>False</crs:HasCrop>
   <crs:AlreadyApplied>False</crs:AlreadyApplied>
  </rdf:Description>
  <rdf:Description rdf:about=""
    xmlns:photoshop="http://ns.adobe.com/photoshop/1.0/">
   <photoshop:SidecarForExtension>PEF</photoshop:SidecarForExtension>
  </rdf:Description>
</rdf:RDF>
</x:xmpmeta>
Note the creation date:  <exif:DateTimeOriginal>2010-02-10T18:29:45-08:00</exif:DateTimeOrigin al>.  Yet, I just cleared the Develop Settings in the last few minutes.
Wo Tai Lao Le
我太老了