Adobe Community: How to remove XMP info from DNG files?

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1. CR Henderson,

Jun 16, 2009 4:34 AM in reply to willyengland

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willyengland wrote:

The XMP information is stored within the DNG file.
How can I remove it to get the untampered-with, original state in which it was safed in the first place?
I sometimes get DNG files of unknown previous history and would like to start from the virginal file.

Exiftool can be used to remove XMP metadata. If you're on a PC based system or a Mac system with Bootcamp or Parellels/VMWare Fusion installed then ExifToolGUI provides a simple to use interface to Exiftool.

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2. willyengland,

Jun 16, 2009 5:38 AM in reply to CR Henderson

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Thank you, EXIFtool works well!

I am still wondering if this is not possible within ACR.

DNG is an Adobe created format after all.

I think an "Open without XMP data" option would be nice.

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3. MadManChan2000,

Jun 16, 2009 5:58 AM in reply to willyengland

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Just go to the flyout menu on the right side and choose Camera Raw defaults.

Thank you, EXIFtool works well!
I am still wondering if this is not possible within ACR.
DNG is an Adobe created format after all.
I think an "Open without XMP data" option would be nice.

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4. willyengland,

Jun 16, 2009 6:06 AM in reply to MadManChan2000

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But that does not reset e.g. a crop. It doesn't reset everything.

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5. MadManChan2000,

Jun 16, 2009 6:10 AM in reply to willyengland

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The crop is an exception. You can reset that, too.

In fact, you can just create a preset called "reset everything" ...

Eric

But that does not reset e.g. a crop. It doesn't reset everything.

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6. willyengland,

Jun 16, 2009 6:19 AM in reply to MadManChan2000

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Ok, the obvious questions:

How do I reset a crop?

How do I do a "reset everything"?

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7. MadManChan2000,

Jun 16, 2009 6:40 AM in reply to willyengland

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How do I reset a crop?

Go to the Crop tool, click and hold on the icon, and choose Clear Crop.

How do I do a "reset everything"?

Depends on what "reset" means. If "reset" means to use the Camera Raw

defaults for this particular camera model, then choose "Camera Raw Defaults"

from the flyout menu and do the Clear Crop step mentioned above.

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8. willyengland,

Jun 16, 2009 7:08 AM in reply to MadManChan2000

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I noticed that rotation is also not resetted.

Perhaps there are other things from other converters that are not resetted, too.

What I need is a safe way to make sure that I have the original untampered with DNG file.

I don't see this atm in ACR.

The above EXIFtool solution works but is also not fully optimal, since I loose the information.

What I think would be optimal is to have an option "open file without utilizing the xmp settings".

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9. MadManChan2000,

Jun 16, 2009 8:39 AM in reply to willyengland

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The rotation is reset when you clear the crop (see post above).

Again, when you receive a batch of DNGs that you want to reset, just open

them all up in the film strip in ACR, select them all, choose Camera Raw

Defaults, click the crop tool and choose Clear Crop, then click Done ...

In general, however, it is not possible to get the state you want. Other

software can tamper with the DNG before ACR gets it, and ACR has no way of

knowing what the "original untampered" DNG file looks like. For example, if

a user gives you a DNG that has been exported from, say, Capture One or DxO,

some image corrections/adjustments have already been baked into the result

(i.e., the pixel data itself).

I noticed that rotation is also not resetted.
Perhaps there are other things from other converters that are not resetted,
too.
What I need is a safe way to make sure that I have the original untampered
with DNG file.
I don't see this atm in ACR.
The above EXIFtool solution works but is also not fully optimal, since I loose
the information.
What I think would be optimal is to have an option "open file without
utilizing the xmp settings".

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10. Jumping Walrus,

Jun 16, 2009 8:52 AM in reply to MadManChan2000

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Jumping in here...What about selecting DNGs in Bridge, right-clicking and selecting Clear Settings, then Camera Raw Defaults?

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11. Jeff Schewe,

Jun 16, 2009 9:45 AM in reply to Jumping Walrus

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Yep, that'll do it too...

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12. CR Henderson,

Jun 16, 2009 12:37 PM in reply to willyengland

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willyengland wrote:

What I need is a safe way to make sure that I have the original untampered with DNG file.
I don't see this atm in ACR.

One of the reasons Exiftool exists is because no single software vendor can be expected to support everything someone might wish to do with photo metadata--they need to focus on their main product. A specialized tool such as Phil Harvey has provided does an excellent job meeting that need. By learning Exiftool one doesn't have to worry too much about what an individual program might or might not support in the photo metadata realm.

willyengland wrote:

The above EXIFtool solution works but is also not fully optimal, since I loose the information.

Don't forget that Exiftool can be used to copy the metadata to a file before one removes it. It is also possible to automatically create a backup of the original before the metadata is removed. The 'copy original' function creates a file that is as large as the original while just extracting the metadata usually creates a much smaller file. One's needs specify which route to take, but both are available.

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13. Jeff Schewe,

Jun 16, 2009 4:25 PM in reply to willyengland

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willyengland wrote:

What I need is a safe way to make sure that I have the original untampered with DNG file.

Your definition of "untampered with" isn't really accurate..there will ALWAYS be some sort of XMP metadata in a DNG file. You seriously don't wanna be going in and messing with xmp metadata blocks unless you know what you are doing (and can tolerate screwing up the files).

You seem to be indicating that you want to start from scratch and ignore anybody else's parametric settings in the file, correct? It would be useful to know why...if it's a matter of image provenance or being able to document the changes, that may be useful. But if it's simply that you don't think the image adjustments are correct and you want to start fresh, that's another thing entirely.

In either case, if somebody went to the trouble to make image adjustments including crop, and those are THEIR images, it's kinda rude to be stripping them out don't ya think (I sure as heck would want anybody stripping out adjustments to MY images supplied as DNG).

In this case I really don't think you want to completely strip the parametric adjustments completely. I suggest you create a snapshot of the state of a file you are given, then reset to Camera Raw default and reset the crop and do another snapshot. Then you'll have a before/after of the supplied settings and your settings without having to throw the original settings completely out...note, this is presuming you are using Camera Raw 5.2 or above as that's when snapshots went into Camera Raw.

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14. willyengland,

Jun 16, 2009 11:14 PM in reply to Jeff Schewe

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Thank you all for your helpful answers.
I think I now know how to deal with this.

Jeff Schewe wrote:
> there will ALWAYS be some sort of XMP metadata in a DNG file.

The DNG files that come out of my camera have no XMP data whatsoever, acc. to EXIFtool.
I still think an option "open file without utilizing the xmp settings" would be nice in ACR.

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How to remove XMP info from DNG files?

Jun 16, 2009 12:04 AM

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