Sidecar XMP file question.

Greetings all, I have some questions regarding XMP sidecar files; I am creating a complete API to access and create metadata, including XMP (I'm not basing myself on any SDK). 1. A sidecar xmp file must have an extension of .xmp, right, but does it replace an existing extension, or simply add to it: For example, the sidecar filename for testit.exe should be testit.xmp or testit.exe.xmp? If it is the latter case, would it not cause problems with CDFS ISO 9660 Level 1 file systems (8+3 limit)? 2. Does this require the xpacket block? It would seem to be illogical to me, but still, it is not quite clear in the specification. My sidecar XMP generator immediately starts with the x:xmpmeta block (after the <?xml .. standard xml header). Is this wrong or correct? Thanks!

1. The convention so far has been to replace the extension to .xmp - ex. testit.xmp 2. Here is a sample of a side car file that was created for a RAW file: <x:xmpmeta xmlns:x='adobe:ns:meta/' x:xmptk='XMP toolkit 3.0-28, framework 1.6'> <rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf='http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#' xmlns:iX='http://ns.adobe.com/iX/1.0/'> <rdf:Description rdf:about='' xmlns:crs='http://ns.adobe.com/camera-raw-settings/1.0/'> <crs:Version>2.0</crs:Version> ..... I believe it is done in this way so that when the user selects the RAW file in the Photoshop CS filebrowser the xmp info can be seen in the metadata pane and in the file info dialog.

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4.1.1 SDK Problems with missing xpacket tags in sidecar XMP files

The current 4.1.1 SDK has problems with sidecar XMP files that don't have the xpacket headers and trailers, i.e:
<?xpacket begin='ï»¿' id='W5M0MpCehiHzreSzNTczkc9d'?>
<?xpacket end='w'?>
is missing. Now, unfortunately Adobe Bridge CS2/CS3 does not export these xpackets in sidecar XMP files.
The standard, http://www.aiim.org/documents/standards/xmpspecification.pdf, is also very vague about it all:
● Write external metadata as though it were embedded and then had the XMP Packets
extracted and catenated by a postprocessor.
The grammar is strange(past tense had) and the spec implies that the xpacket should be extracted and again catenated... Someone should review this document and clearly state if xpacket statements should be in sidecar files or not. I suspect myself that they should be there, but the standard is very vague.
Anyway, there are two places in the SDK code where changes might be needed:
XMPFiles::Initialize has XMP_Asserts in case the xpacket header/trailer is missing, but the underlying assert is only active in debug builds.
XMPScanner::PacketMachine::FindNextPacket () also has in its truth table the assumption that the xpackets exist.
There could be even other places in the code that assumes that the xpacket tags are present in all files, which includes text XMP sidecar files.
Anyway.
a) Shouldn't bridge export the xpacket tags? Same with any other application?
b) If the spec is vague, then the SDK should not assume that the xpacket tags are present.
Any comments? Has someone already fixed this issue as I suspect a lot of apps using the the XMP SDK would break concerning reading XMP sidecar files? Thx, Kent

I was able to work around the problem by creating a mapped view of the .xmp file (this creates an array in memory backed by the file on disk, so there's no need to read the file into a separate internal buffer), and constructing the SXMPMeta object directly from the buffer. (The ctor for that class calls ParseFromBuffer, so this is the same thing as was suggested by other messages in this thread.)
It seems that Adobe needs to do one of these things:
(1) say that Bridge CS3 has a bug, and agree that Bridge CS3 should include a proper xpacket header when writing xmp sidecar files
(2) say that the XMP Toolkit has a bug, and that the SDK should be able to parse sidecar files without an xpacket header, and agree to fix the toolkit
(3) say that Bridge CS3 and the XMP Toolkit behave as expected, but then provide a sequence of steps by which users of the XMP Toolkit are expected to read xmp sidecar files written by Bridge CS3
Does Bridge CS4 write an xpacket header to the xmp sidecar files?
Maybe what I could do is create a custom file handler for .xmp sidecar files, so I could use the SXMPFiles for everything, instead of having to special-case .xmp files.
My needs are pretty modest though, and it might be just as simple to use the MS DOM-based XML parser for load the xmp sidecar file. I bet I could get the data I need (only the "Rating" for now) using a simple XPath expression.
-Matt

Batch RAW conversion: no sidecar XMP files

When I open and save a RAW file as a JPEG by hand, I always get a XMP file that tells me the RAW settings. Actually the XMP is generated as soon as I "open" the RAW file in PS. When I do the exact same steps in a batched action, no XMP files result. I just painfully batch converted 4000 RAW files, no XMP files showed up. Ran some test cases, manually doing the steps result in a XMP file, batching them doesn't. Why doesn't PS generate the XMP files?
One thing I worry about is what RAW settings were applied to my files. Without the XMP files it's very hard to check. Some settings, like noise reduction and saturation, are pretty subtle and hard to determine w/o a "with" and "without" comparision. In theory the XMP files would let me detemine exactly what settings were applied.
This is for Windows XP, CS3, latest RAW update downloaded a few days ago.

For the case of DNG files with both internal XMP and a sidecar file, Camera Raw picks the file with the newer OS modification date/time.
Adobe does not support sidecar XMP files for JPEG or TIFF files.
It is fairly trivial to write computer programs to exact XMP from files, so yes, it is "possible". You can save the XMP out of any opened file in Photoshop CS3's get info dialog in advanced mode (see the save button at the bottom).

Sidecar .xmp files ignored when importing all files from a card

Hello,
I've noticed what I think is a bug. This is my workflow:
* I shoot pictures as Raw (in .nef format)
* I run a program on them to add sidecar .xmp files with some GPS metadata
* When I import the .net into lightroom I click on "import" on the left panel.
* The import dialog box shows up, with 2 choices : import all pictures from card / select which images to import
1) If I choose to manually select the files to import, the XMP metadata are successfuly taken into account (I choose to convert the NEF to DNG and the GPS data are well imported)
2) But if I choose "import all pictures from card", the GPS metadata are ignored.
Can you advise, please?
Thanks!

Are the XMP sidecars actually on the card?

Sidecar .xmp for a DNG file ...

Photoshop CS6 Reference says that "When a DNG file is processed in Camera Raw, the settings are stored in the DNG file itself, but they can be stored in a sidecar XMP file instead." How can I store the changes made to a DNG file in a sidecar file? Thanks.

Complete paragraph: "When a camera raw image file is processed with Camera Raw, the image settings are stored in one of two places: the Camera Raw database file or a sidecar XMP file. When a DNG file is processed in Camera Raw, the settings are stored in the DNG file itself, but they can be stored in a sidecar XMP file instead. Settings for TIFF and JPEG files are always stored in the file itself."
And it adds at the end of the same page: "If you want to store all adjustments to DNG files in the DNG files themselves, select Ignore Sidecar “.XMP” Files in the DNG File Handling section of the Camera Raw Preferences dialog box."

XMP files not being created with DNGs...

I'm used to using Bridge with ACR to process Nikon NEFs. But a recent camera update has me experimenting with converting the D3's NEFs to DNG files and editing them with CS2 and Bridge 1.04 which works better on my system. I've also experimented with CS3 and Bridge 2.1.1.9 with the same DNG files.
In both cases XMP files are not being created when working with DNG files. I have enabled "Save image settings in : Sidecar ".xmp" files" turned ON. But they do not seem to be generated and I assume the ACR adjustments are being embedded in the DNG file. Meanwhile doing edits on NEF files continues to create .xmp files as expected.
I find .xmp files to be very useful and I'm wondering why they're missing with DNG files? Are they hiding somewhere other than in the same folder that the images reside in?
Thanks.
Russell

> The information contained in the XMP file is stored in the DNG file so there is no need for a separate file.
Aww, yuck!! That's a real drag...
When editing lots of files (yesterday's shoot produced 8GB) I back everything up to off-line storage and then, after doing all my edits and crops in ACR, I only have to copy over the small XMP files which takes no time at all.
So if I re-edit the DNG with ACR I have to re-copy ALL the files again to the off-line storage.
I used to sometimes even save 2 versions of the xmp files when I needed 2 different crops of the same images, such as doing a wide screen 'cinema' crop for a corporate client's Intranet presentation of their event, as well as more standard crops to be used for their newsletters.
Guess I won't be using DNG any more..
Thanks for the help Kees :-)
Russell

Camera Raw 6.7 does not save XMP files

I am running Camera Raw 6.7 on a Windows XP machine.
In the Preferences under "General" I have the "Save image settings in" set to "Sidecar ".xmp" files.
And in the DNG File Handling, I do NOT have the "Ignore sidecar ".xmp." file check-box checked in.
But still when I alter a raw file and press Done the DNG file changes date/size and no XMP-file is
created in the directory. Also when Ioad the picture and "reset" it to "Camera Raw Default" and
press Done, the next time I open it is in the "Image settings" state anyway
Anyone have any idea what the problem could be ?
Regards,
Klas

Noel Carboni wrote:
Adobe has taken the decision to ALWAYS write metadata into file types they know the structure of.
Personally I find this approach apalling...
And you were accused of being an Adobe "fan-boy" only hours ago...
+1 vote for sidecar option - all file types...

.xmp files showing up in my SD card when accessing RAW files in Finder... Very weird!

Hi,
I'm having a very weird problem... I'm using a 4GB Scandisk SD card and am shooting my RAW photos on a Canon Rebel 2ti. I'm using a Macbook Pro, 2011 2.3Ghz i5, 4gb of Ram, with Lion v. 10.7.2 and am accessing the SD card RAW files through Finder. I'm secondary clicking on the image file or double clicking them as PS is my default opening program for RAW files. When I hit the "Done" key on any of the Photoshop files, a new .xmp file shows up in Finder. When I open it, it's a Microsoft Messenger for Mac 8 License Agreement...
I do have Microsoft Office 11 installed and have never used Messenger. It's not a huge deal, but it's driving me crazy and it's totally weird!
Thanks,
-Dave

It's a lot of separate, unrelated things happening to you in one long chain, but each step is normal and explainable.
You are opening raw files straight from a card into Photoshop. Photoshop will open them in Camera Raw. Camera Raw's preferences are set to save changes in XMP sidecar files. You are clicking Done, which applies the default Camera Raw processing, and that change generates an XMP file to store these new settings. That's why an XMP file is showing up in the same folder. On a computer, that's fine. But writing back out to a camera card with a device other than the camera is not recommended. What is recommended is to use another, faster way to preview raw files on a card without changing them (Adobe Bridge, Lightroom, Apple Aperture, Photo Mechanic, etc.), so that the card's left untouched as it should be.
If you don't want the XMP file to be generated, you have to do just one of the following:
In Camera Raw preferences, change the "Save image settings in" option to "Camera Raw database", not "Sidecar XMP files".
Instead of clicking Done every time, which applies any changes, click Cancel instead, if you were just looking and not editing.
Use something other than Photoshop to preview raw files. Most of the other ways are faster than opening them in Photoshop. The recommended workflow is to use a camera downloading utility to look through all the images on the card at once (instead of one by one as you are doing), and then select only the ones you want to bring into your computer. Bridge (via File > Get Photos from Camera, not by browsing), Lightroom, Aperture, and iPhoto all have that capability.
As to why double-clicking an XMP file opens a Messenger license agreement: As you probably know, the system has to figure out what program should open a file with a given filename extension. It sounds like maybe both Adobe and Microsoft have used the XMP extension, and the Office installer probably associated it with some type of MS Messenger file. So when you double-click an XMP file, Mac OS X opens Messenger. Since you have not used Messenger before, it's showing you the "first run" screen for Messenger, and Microsoft has set it up so that you have to click Agree on the license agreement before using it. If you never click Agree, it will still be the "first run" next time you open Messenger, whether you meant to or not. You can use Get Info in the Mac Finder to reassign XMP to open in another program.
You probably didn't expect so many things to happen from just opening a raw file off a card, but that's the way it worked out.

Export Camera Raw sidecar XMP from DB

Hi
I forgot to change my options for xmp sidecar files in bridge last time I installed it. For a good two months it's been saving xmp data in the camera raw databse instead of in sidecar XMP files.
Now I need to move a whole bunch of raw files to a new computer and I don't want to lose all the camera raw adjustments. Is there a trick to write out the info it has in the databse to XMP files along with the corresponding raw files?
As a last resort, would it be possible to import the existing xmp data in the DB on computer 1 into a already existing DB on computer 2?
thanks

ACR has an Export Settings to XMP menu item in the menu available by clicking the arrow-and-three-lines icon at the right of the title area of the tabs in the right panel of ACR.
On my Windows 7 computer the camera-raw database file appears to be:
C:\users\yourusername\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Database

*.xmp files are incomplete.

I am running Bridge CS5.1 on OSX Lion.
I am shooing RAW (*.CR2) on a 600D with FW 1.0.2
My workflow is to copy the files from the card to the internal HDD with finder. Then browse the files in Bridge, opening them in Camera RAW when edits need to be made.
This was working until I reset bridge recently due to some cache corruption (which was resolved by the reset). Now, on my latest import when I open the files in Camera RAW, make changes and press done an *.xmp is created, however this file does not contain the changes I made (to white balance, exposure, sharpness, cropping etc). As a result of this, the icon which indicates changes does not show in bridge and when I open the file in Camera RAW again the changes are missing.
Oddly, this problem is only applicable to my latest import - the files which I had imported previously still work within the same workflow. So it appreas there's possibly something wrong with the permissions on the newly created files.
I understand this thread (http://forums.adobe.com/message/4102902#4102902) is addressing a similar problem, and it remains unresolved.
This is a link to an *.xmp file which is holding the changes - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14483853/IMG_3825.xmp
And this is a link to one which is not - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14483853/IMG_3832.xmp
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The XMP files contain information about the last conversion you did on a particular raw file. If you delete it your conversion parameters will revert to defaults next time you open the raw file, instead of Camera Raw using the last conversion parameters.
Go into Edit - Preferences - Camera Raw... and you'll see that you could choose to save the conversion parameters in a central database if you don't like the sidecar XMP files showing up. If you DO choose the central database, consider upping the max size from the default of 1 GB.
-Noel

Why is Bridge creating XMP files in CS6?

I'm using the CS6 beta on a new set of photos. All I've done so far is batch rename all the files (all raw, all CR2) and edited the IPTC metadata - to add my name, the project name, etc. Now I've got a side-car file for every photo. CS5 just included this stuff in the original file, why not CS6?

Hi,
The 'Camera Raw Database' is written to a local directory on your machine, and won't travel (without an extra step) if you copy the CR2 file to another machine. If you use DNG then the metadata will be stored in the file.
If you store the camera raw settings in the Camera Raw database and plan to move the files to a different location (CD, DVD, another computer, and so forth), you can use the Export Settings To XMP command to export the settings to sidecar XMP files.
You may have been using, and wanting, sidecar .xmp files, but just had them hidden in previous Bridge versions. To hide the .xmp file from the Content panel's display, go to View> Show Hidden Files and toggle the checkmark OFF, by selecting it.
regards,
steve

Xmp files - are they safe to delete

after I open a RAW file there is always a xmp file saved. If I made changes to the RAW file, will there be any effects on my photos if I delete all of the xmp files. I know that they are there to show the file information, but I just want to make sure that nothing will go wrong with my edited photos if I delete the xmp files.

The XMP files contain information about the last conversion you did on a particular raw file. If you delete it your conversion parameters will revert to defaults next time you open the raw file, instead of Camera Raw using the last conversion parameters.
Go into Edit - Preferences - Camera Raw... and you'll see that you could choose to save the conversion parameters in a central database if you don't like the sidecar XMP files showing up. If you DO choose the central database, consider upping the max size from the default of 1 GB.
-Noel

XMP files - Can I turned them off (retouching NEF files) ...

Hi ! When I edit some NEF (RAW) files then Photoshop generates XMP . Is there any way to prevent this ? I do not want to store this files ....
Thank You .

Yes, you can set Camera Raw to store the settings in a central database instead of sidecar XMP files.
Inside Photoshop go into Edit - Preferences - Camera Raw...
In the General section, change Save image settings in: to Camera Raw database.
I suggest also increasing the Camera Raw Cache size from the default.
-Noel

ACR 4.3 .xmp file problem

Would appreciate help on this if anyone has seen the problem.
I use ACR 4.3 on windows XP Pro with CS3, 4 gig ram.
My normal practice is to copy my CF cards to folders on the desktop, then
drag each folder to Bridge to rough select the keepers.
I then open the remaining images in ACR and make further deletions if
necessary.
When I delete images from the ACR screen, the X appears as normal but the
sidecar.xmp file is not been deleted, only the NEF deletes.
I can't recall having this problem before I upgraded to ACR 4,3 from 4,2.
Perhaps it's a bug or I may have disturbed a setting in the preferences etc
when I upgraded.
Any ideas?
Regards
Michael

Ramón G Castañeda wrote:
> Camera Raw 4.4.1 contains new profiles for all cameras and fixes.
That's right. And it also can read the updated DNG 1.2 file format. Camera Raw 4.3 cannot; it will read DNG 1.0 and 1.1 only ... or to be more precise, it
i can
read DNG 1.2 files but only the 1.0 and 1.1 parts of them.
And DNG Converter 4.4 and 4.4.1 will write DNG 1.2 files.
-- Olaf

.XMP files no longer appear as sidecars--how to clear metadata?

Photoshop CS2 ver 9.0.2
Bridge ver 1.0.4.6
ACR ver 3.7
eMac G4 800 MHz
Mac OS X ver 10.4.9
1 Meg RAM
12 GB available disk space
Bridge and Photoshop are set to save metadata in .XMP sidecar files, but sidecar files no longer appear. That is, up till a few days ago, .XMP files appeared when I opened raw files, but no longer. The drop-down menu is still set to save metadata in sidecar files.
Cannot clear metadata in Bridge. I can select "Camera Raw Defaults" in ACR, but that doesn't clear cropping.
1) How do I return already-stored metadata to .XMP files?
2) How do I get PSCS2 to store future metadata as .XMP files?
3) How do I clear metadata currently stored in ACR/PS database?
4) What did I do to cause system to store metadata in ACR/PS database despite being set to save in sidecar files?
Thanks.
--HC

Noel,
Excellent point. I have no idea. Maybe this was only working for
.PSDs/etc. (which contain the metadata embedded in the file itself[,
right?]). I may have been deluding myself this whole time. It's
possible that it never really worked the way I thought it did to begin with.
But, more specifically, here's the current question: If I have this
file (which is a backup from long ago):
J:\backup of M90\Documents and Settings\philipt\Application
Data\Adobe\CameraRaw\Database
...assuming that drives are currently mapped (by drive letter) the same
way they were when that backup was made), can I just replace the current
file:
C\Documents and Settings\philipt\Application Data\Adobe\CameraRaw\Database
...with the one from J: and expect it to work correctly?
What's the worst that can happen if I do this?
BTW, the file on J: is 2,569 Kb; the (new) one on C: is 2,754 Kb. This
doesn't seem to bode well, since the old one (J:) should have much, much
more data in it (assuming that the "Database" file per se is where the
metadata is stored): the older file has complex,
multi-tiered data for 10s of 1000s of images. "??"
Thanks again for your willingness to help with this!!
Aloha,
-pt

Sidecar XMP file question.

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