digiKam › digikam-users

[digiKam-users] Rereading metadata from images

Classic

List

Threaded

6 messages Options

Fred Brigham

[digiKam-users] Rereading metadata from images

Hi,

I installed digiKam v. 7.1.0 linux on my Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook and all is working fine except when I try to "Reread Metadata from Images" via the Album or Item menus.

The description of this function for the Album menu in the Documentation is: "Write the metadata of all items in the current album to the database. The database will inherit the images metadata, not the other way round as in the previous menu item". This appears to be exactly what I want to do. (The description of this function for the Item menu is different but I assume the function is the same but limited to an item. If so, it would be good to make the descriptions consistent.)

I realise that when working with databases it's usually advisable to make changes within the application concerned but I occasionally have good reason to add a keyword tag in another app. When the files are first imported into digiKam all keyword tags and other metadata are transferred but if I add tags at a later stage and use the "Reread Metadata from Images" function none of the new tags are visible in digiKam.

Is this function not working correctly or is there really no way of updating metadata such as tags from images after the initial import?

Thanks in anticipation,
Fred Brigham

Maik Qualmann

Re: Rereading metadata from images

The problem is in which metadata fields the foreign program saved the new
keywords. And which metadata fields digiKam queries first. You can define this
behavior in digiKam Setup under the advanced metadata settings.

Maik

Am Dienstag, 10. November 2020, 11:03:04 CET schrieb Fred Brigham:

> Hi,
>
> I installed digiKam v. 7.1.0 linux on my Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook and all
> is working fine except when I try to "Reread Metadata from Images" via the
> Album or Item menus.
>
> The description of this function for the Album menu in the Documentation
> is: "Write the metadata of all items in the current album to the database.
> The database will inherit the images metadata, not the other way round as
> in the previous menu item". This appears to be exactly what I want to do.
> (The description of this function for the Item menu is different but I
> assume the function is the same but limited to an item. If so, it would be
> good to make the descriptions consistent.)
>
> I realise that when working with databases it's usually advisable to make
> changes within the application concerned but I occasionally have good
> reason to add a keyword tag in another app. When the files are first
> imported into digiKam all keyword tags and other metadata are transferred
> but if I add tags at a later stage and use the "Reread Metadata from
> Images" function none of the new tags are visible in digiKam.
>
> Is this function not working correctly or is there really no way of
> updating metadata such as tags from images after the initial import?
>
> Thanks in anticipation,
> Fred Brigham

Fred Brigham

Re: Rereading metadata from images

Thanks for your response Maik. I went to the advanced metadata settings and explored the options. I then did some extensive testing and found the following:

When I add a file containing a keyword tag from a foreign program to an album in digiKam, the tag is then visible in both programs. In the case of digiKam the tag appears and is shown as selected in the Tag Manager. If I then add further tags in the foreign program and reread the metadata in digiKam, the tags are always visible in both programs without any problems.

If at any point I add a keyword tag in digiKam and reread the metadata in the foreign program, the tag is then visible in both programs. This can be repeated any number of times.

So far so good! However, after the addition of the first tag in digikam, when I add further tags in the foreign program they are only visible in the foreign program and never in digiKam Tag Manager, despite rereading the metadata from the image.

I have checked the metadata in the image files using an external app and found the following. While all is working well (i.e. before the addition of the first tag in digiKam) the only metadata field used for the tags is XMP::dc Subject. This is the case even after I have updated the digiKam database from the image metadata. However, after adding the first tag in digiKam, the tags are also shown in the XMP::digiKam field (and various other fields e.g. XMP::Lightroom).

Maybe the solution lies in the metadata settings but I am not sure what I should change.

regards,

Fred

PS I have just discovered that when I go to Item > Edit Metadata > Edit XMP I can see the missing tags from the foreign program. The problem however remains. After the addition of the first tag via digiKam, tags from the foreign program are not visible in the Tag Manager.

On Tue, 10 Nov 2020 at 12:01, <[hidden email]> wrote:

Send Digikam-users mailing list submissions to
[hidden email]

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/digikam-users
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
[hidden email]

You can reach the person managing the list at
[hidden email]

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of Digikam-users digest..."

Today's Topics:

1. Rereading metadata from images (Fred Brigham)
2. Re: Rereading metadata from images (Maik Qualmann)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2020 10:03:04 +0000
From: Fred Brigham <[hidden email]>
To: digiKam users mailing list <[hidden email]>
Subject: [digiKam-users] Rereading metadata from images
Message-ID:
<CAD_XrwZ0Y-h6XfO3=TKc8jVuKnXoanP9=[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Hi,

I installed digiKam v. 7.1.0 linux on my Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook and all
is working fine except when I try to "Reread Metadata from Images" via the
Album or Item menus.

The description of this function for the Album menu in the Documentation
is: "Write the metadata of all items in the current album to the database.
The database will inherit the images metadata, not the other way round as
in the previous menu item". This appears to be exactly what I want to do.
(The description of this function for the Item menu is different but I
assume the function is the same but limited to an item. If so, it would be
good to make the descriptions consistent.)

I realise that when working with databases it's usually advisable to make
changes within the application concerned but I occasionally have good
reason to add a keyword tag in another app. When the files are first
imported into digiKam all keyword tags and other metadata are transferred
but if I add tags at a later stage and use the "Reread Metadata from
Images" function none of the new tags are visible in digiKam.

Is this function not working correctly or is there really no way of
updating metadata such as tags from images after the initial import?

Thanks in anticipation,
Fred Brigham
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.kde.org/pipermail/digikam-users/attachments/20201110/cbb750bd/attachment-0001.htm>

------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2020 12:40:46 +0100
From: Maik Qualmann <[hidden email]>
To: digiKam - Home Manage your photographs as a professional with the
power of open source <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [digiKam-users] Rereading metadata from images
Message-ID: <2759658.0rub9Nsrb3@linux-tpgn>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The problem is in which metadata fields the foreign program saved the new
keywords. And which metadata fields digiKam queries first. You can define this
behavior in digiKam Setup under the advanced metadata settings.

Maik

Am Dienstag, 10. November 2020, 11:03:04 CET schrieb Fred Brigham:
> Hi,
>
> I installed digiKam v. 7.1.0 linux on my Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook and all
> is working fine except when I try to "Reread Metadata from Images" via the
> Album or Item menus.
>
> The description of this function for the Album menu in the Documentation
> is: "Write the metadata of all items in the current album to the database.
> The database will inherit the images metadata, not the other way round as
> in the previous menu item". This appears to be exactly what I want to do.
> (The description of this function for the Item menu is different but I
> assume the function is the same but limited to an item. If so, it would be
> good to make the descriptions consistent.)
>
> I realise that when working with databases it's usually advisable to make
> changes within the application concerned but I occasionally have good
> reason to add a keyword tag in another app. When the files are first
> imported into digiKam all keyword tags and other metadata are transferred
> but if I add tags at a later stage and use the "Reread Metadata from
> Images" function none of the new tags are visible in digiKam.
>
> Is this function not working correctly or is there really no way of
> updating metadata such as tags from images after the initial import?
>
> Thanks in anticipation,
> Fred Brigham

------------------------------

Subject: Digest Footer

_______________________________________________
Digikam-users mailing list
[hidden email]
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/digikam-users

------------------------------

End of Digikam-users Digest, Vol 186, Issue 10
**********************************************

Fred Brigham

Re: Rereading metadata from images

In reply to this post by Maik Qualmann

As reported in my previous messages (Digikam-users Digest, Vol 186, Issues 10 & 13), my problem was that "Reread Metadata from File" did not appear to be working when I attempted to synchronize keyword tags with a foreign program. In my case the foreign program is F-Stop Gallery, an Android app running on a Chromebook, with digiKam 7.1.0 also running on the Chromebook in Linux. The tags were actually being read successfully from F-Stop and were visible in the digiKam Tag Manager but crucially they were not visible under Captions > Tags in the Right Sidebar (which I wrongly referred to as the Tag Manager in my last message). I am using Captions > Tags in the Right Sidebar to add and delete tags from individual images.

After much trial and error, I have now established reliable keyword tag synchronization between F-Stop and digiKam. F-Stop uses Xmp.dc.subject for keyword tags and everything works fine when I move this field to the top of the list of metadata namespaces in Settings> Metadata> Advanced> Tags. There is a note in Settings> Metadata> Advanced> Tags saying that "Sequence is important when reading metadata" but the documentation doesn't provide any tips to help find the right order.

Based on my experience, "Reread Metadata from File" works reliably when the metadata namespace used by the foreign program is moved to the top of the list (in my example Xmp.dc.subject). Of course the field to be moved would depend on the foreign program. My hypothesis is that in order to synchronize keyword tags effectively with Lightroom, for example, the field Xmp.lr.hierarchicalSubject should be moved to the top of the list.

Can anyone confirm whether this hypothesis is reasonable or alternatively provide any other guidance on the principles behind sequencing the fields in Settings> Metadata> Advanced> Tags? Keyword tags are very widely used so if any guidance can be provided it would be helpful to many users.

regards,

Fred

Maik Qualmann

Re: Rereading metadata from images

Your analysis is correct. The order in which digiKam queries the possible tag fields can therefore be changed in digiKam. Programs use different tag fields that they modify. Other programs update all possible fields. Probably also Xmp.dc.subject fits for LR. Since there are so many different programs on the market, it is not really possible to give a recommendation.

Maik

Am Di., 17. Nov. 2020 um 10:41 Uhr schrieb Fred Brigham <[hidden email]>:

As reported in my previous messages (Digikam-users Digest, Vol 186, Issues 10 & 13), my problem was that "Reread Metadata from File" did not appear to be working when I attempted to synchronize keyword tags with a foreign program. In my case the foreign program is F-Stop Gallery, an Android app running on a Chromebook, with digiKam 7.1.0 also running on the Chromebook in Linux. The tags were actually being read successfully from F-Stop and were visible in the digiKam Tag Manager but crucially they were not visible under Captions > Tags in the Right Sidebar (which I wrongly referred to as the Tag Manager in my last message). I am using Captions > Tags in the Right Sidebar to add and delete tags from individual images.

After much trial and error, I have now established reliable keyword tag synchronization between F-Stop and digiKam. F-Stop uses Xmp.dc.subject for keyword tags and everything works fine when I move this field to the top of the list of metadata namespaces in Settings> Metadata> Advanced> Tags. There is a note in Settings> Metadata> Advanced> Tags saying that "Sequence is important when reading metadata" but the documentation doesn't provide any tips to help find the right order.

Based on my experience, "Reread Metadata from File" works reliably when the metadata namespace used by the foreign program is moved to the top of the list (in my example Xmp.dc.subject). Of course the field to be moved would depend on the foreign program. My hypothesis is that in order to synchronize keyword tags effectively with Lightroom, for example, the field Xmp.lr.hierarchicalSubject should be moved to the top of the list.

Can anyone confirm whether this hypothesis is reasonable or alternatively provide any other guidance on the principles behind sequencing the fields in Settings> Metadata> Advanced> Tags? Keyword tags are very widely used so if any guidance can be provided it would be helpful to many users.

regards,
Fred

Alyssa3217

Re: [digiKam-users] Rereading metadata from images

In reply to this post by Fred Brigham