Read develop edits from sidecar XMP file not working

[paulb56358451]

Hi one and all,

I'm hoping someone can help. I've spent the last few days working on editing a wedding on my MacBook Pro and had pretty much finished, so I wanted to export the catalogue to an external drive so I could then import that catalogue into my main catalogue on my iMac for final edits.

However, in a moment of stupidity I managed to delete the folder that contained the catalogue itself (not the raw files - they were in a separate folder), and even went as far as emptying the trash. I tried some rescue software straight away but no luck. So...the catalogue is gone forever.

I thought I might be saved as I have the "write metadata to sidecar XMP" option ticked, and all the XMP files are in the same folder as the parent raw files. So, I was hoping that when I import the files into Lightroom on my iMac the edits would still be there. However, they aren't.

I've looked at various threads and tried everything suggested, namely choosing "read metadata from file", but it completes and nothing changes - the metadata box shows as "up to date". It appears to not be working.

Does anyone know what the issue might be? Like I say, the files are there, with the associated XMP files in the same folder, with the same file names, so everything should work as far as I'm aware, but it isn't.

Running Lightroom CC 2015.7 on a 2013 MacBook Pro Retina and 2015 iMac 5K i7.

I'm hoping someone can help so the last few days of editing aren't totally wasted!

Thanks.

[dj_paige]

Lightroom does not write the edits to the XMP files by default. You have to specifically tell Lightroom to do so, and you probably didn't do that.

If you open one of the XMP files with a text editor, do you see your edits in there, or not?

[paulb56358451]

I have the "automatically write changes to XMP" box ticked in the catalog settings (the first thing I did when I installed Lightroom in the hope it would save me if I ever need saving!), which I thought was all that was required. Is there something I've missed?

[dj_paige]

Please answer the question ... are the edits in the XMP files when you open them with a text editor?

[paulb56358451]

Hmmm...it's not looking hopeful. Here's an example:

<x:xmpmeta xmlns:x="adobe:ns:meta/" x:xmptk="XMP Core 5.1.2">

<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#">

  <rdf:Description rdf:about=""

    xmlns:photoshop="http://ns.adobe.com/photoshop/1.0/"

    xmlns:xmp="http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/"

    xmlns:photomechanic="http://ns.camerabits.com/photomechanic/1.0/"

    xmlns:aux="http://ns.adobe.com/exif/1.0/aux/"

   photoshop:DateCreated="2017-06-03T13:40:18+01:00"

   xmp:Label="Winner"

   xmp:Rating="0"

   photomechanic:ColorClass="1"

   photomechanic:Tagged="False"

   photomechanic:Prefs="0:1:0:004961"

   photomechanic:PMVersion="PM5"

   aux:ImageNumber="4961"/>

</rdf:RDF>

</x:xmpmeta>

It seems to refer to PhotoMechanic, which I used initially for culling/flagging, but since then I've edited them in Lightroom, but the metadata doesn't seem to reflect that.

[dj_paige]

No Lightroom edits in there, I would say the work you did is gone.

[paulb56358451]

I think you could be right there.

Which begs the question, is this a bug? As far as I'm aware ticking the "automatically write changes to XMP" box should mean the file contains all LR edits, but in this case it doesn't. Seems to me it isn't working.

Question not aimed at you by the way, just throwing it out there in the hope someone from Adobe can look into it...not that it will help me.

Oh well, back to the edit I guess!

Thanks for your input.

[johnrellis · Accepted solution]

As far as I'm aware ticking the "automatically write changes to XMP" box should mean the file contains all LR edits, but in this case it doesn't.

Normally, the XMP sidecar does contain the develop settings changed in Develop -- I just verified in LR CC 2015.10.1.

I don't know what happened in your case.  Perhaps the option Automatically Write Changes Into XMP wasn't in fact set for that catalog or had somehow gotten reset.  You can't verify this after the fact, unfortunately, since the setting is stored in the catalog, and the catalog got deleted.

Or perhaps there's an obscure incompatibility between Photo Mechanic and LR with respect to .xmp sidecars that caused LR not write the sidecars.  Some incompatibilities in the past have occurred, but I don't recall these particular symptoms.

Going forward, you might try a culling a sample photo through Photo Mechanic, importing it into LR, editing it, and then seeing if the edits got written back to the sidecar. 

[ambershaunb75842312]

I am having the problem of the xmp files not updating.  I just lost all of my edits from last night. I am using the same catalog.  xmp files are there but are the original xmp files created when I imported files into Lightroom.  Someone PLEASE HELP!

[DdeGannes]

Quote "I am having the problem of the xmp files not updating.  I just lost all of my edits from last night. I am using the same catalog.  xmp files are there but are the original xmp files created when I imported files into Lightroom.  Someone PLEASE HELP!"

Just so you are aware, Lightroom's default operation is to read and write all the info from the work you do in Lightroom to the Catalog file.

If you have specifically selected to "automatically write changes to xmp" Lightroom will also write info to xmp sidecar file for raw image files or to the file header with respect to dng, tiff, jpeg files. However info that is specific to Lightroom i.e. Collections, virtual copies, history steps etc do not get saved into sidecars. This is a secondary feature and may take place while Lightroom is not busy. So if you are making lots of edits and you shut down Lightroom immediately the info may be written at a later time when you have the relative Catalog open again.

A thing to be aware off, when you select the option to write to xmp that does not affect the files that were previously imported. That will only happen if and when you make changes to one of those images or if you use the feature in the menu bar Metadata >save metadata to file.

See this article for additional info about xmp files.

What Is Not Included In Lightroom XMP Files | Lightroom Fanatic

[dj_paige]

ambershaunb75842312  wrote

I am having the problem of the xmp files not updating.  I just lost all of my edits from last night. I am using the same catalog.  xmp files are there but are the original xmp files created when I imported files into Lightroom.  Someone PLEASE HELP!

Sounds like the default operation of Lightroom, which is to NOT create or modify XMP files, and should work perfectly fine.

Did you tell Lightroom to save your edits to XMP, or turn on the option that automatically writes changes to XMP?

[ambershaunb75842312]

Yes all of those boxes are checked. I am Not sure what is happening.

[dj_paige]

Okay, do this: edit a photo, quit Lightroom, and then open the XMP file in a text editor, and see if your edits are shown in the XMP file.

Also, even if your edits don't show up in the XMP file, you don't lose your edits, the edits are in the catalog.

[ambershaunb75842312]

Thank you for your response! Can you tell me more about where to find the

edits in the catalog?

Ambershaun

[DdeGannes]

In the develop module when you have a specific file selected you can view all the edits you have made to the image in the right hand panel. See the screen capture

In the left panel you can view the History with respect to the edits made. See the screen capture.

When you are in the Library module in the right side panel you can see all the rest of the metadata. See the screen capture.

All this information is from the Catalog file. So there is no real need for writing the info to xmp other than to enable other Adobe applications to view your files with the edits you have made. Saving metadata to xmp as a back up is being paranoid, what you need to concentrate on is backing up your Catalog file to insure your info is available. Concentrating on xmp data as backup is sticking your head in the sand.

One of the primary reasons for me to adopt the use of Lightroom as my main application for processing my raw files from my digital camera is the fact that I do not have to depend on xmp sidecars and the additional hassle of managing them. I know my information is in the Catalog and I protect these files as such. Easy to make backups and save to multiple locations.

Just wish to add that my image files are my sole property and I have no need to protect other parties interests.

[ambershaunb75842312]

All of the edits are gone except my imports preset. I specifically chose a

file I knew the client flagged Sunday night that is no longer flagged or

edited. I checked where you suggested. The edits are reverting back to the

original edit when I 1st imported them to Lightroom

[ambershaunb75842312]

Also I tried to edit a file, close Lightroom & open it back up & it's still

there. Not sure why it happens sometimes but not all of the time. I will go

back to backing up my catalog though thanks. Looks like I'm going to need

another software to have clients choose their favorites because I can't

figure this out :(.

On Nov 28, 2017 10:29 PM, "Ambershaun Byrd" <abyrdseyephoto@gmail.com>

[ambershaunb75842312]

Ok another update. I just read the metadata from the file and it took away

my color pick but not my flag. Those were the only 2 things I did to the

image. Any idea why?

On Nov 28, 2017 10:32 PM, "Ambershaun Byrd" <abyrdseyephoto@gmail.com>

[dj_paige]

ambershaunb75842312  wrote

Ok another update. I just read the metadata from the file and it took away

my color pick but not my flag. Those were the only 2 things I did to the

image. Any idea why?

It still sounds like you are not writing the metadata to the XMP file. Show us a screen capture that indicates you have the proper option checked to write metadata to XMP.

[DdeGannes]

I mentioned in an earlier post that Lightroom's default operation is to read and write to the Catalog File, even when you have selected to "Automatically save metadata to XMP". When you import image files into Lightroom if there is an XMP file present Lightroom will read them at this time.

If you make changes from outside lightroom i.e. using Bridge/Adobe Camera Raw those edits will not show up in Lightroom unless you access the files there. You should get a warning message that there is a mismatch with the xmp metadata and offering the option to update the data in the Catalog file. If you choose to change the info in the Catalog file there is the risk that you may loose previous edits you have done in Lightroom. Think very carefully when you mixing and matching what you do with metadata from several applications.