Does DxO PL read/use Adobe sidecar (xmp) files?

I use FastRawViewer, which can be set to produce xmp sidecar files, saving any changes I make (WB, exposure, rating). Does PL make any use of these files? I’ve had it turned on for ACR, but I’m using PL 99-100% of the time as a raw converter, so it’s file clutter I can dispense with - unless PL is reading those sidecar files(?)

If it is using xmp, yay(!) - I have a solution for PL’s missing Auto WB (FRV saves this into the xmp files)

Hi Bob - I don’t know the specific answer to your question, but

There’s an option in PL preferences related to XMP sidecar files;
DxO_XMPoption

Its description is somewhat ambiguous, but it would be a simple matter to turn this ON and try it out.

Regards, John M

My understanding is that the settings done in one tool do not correspond to a clearly identified settings in another, so it is really difficult to do that reliably… Of course, I will be glad to be corrected on this!
(on the other hand, I have a full library of LR settings that I would be glad to port into DxO PL once and for all now that I am switching away from Adobe… but I fear there is no solution that would cope for this need in any satisfactory manner).

While settings that deal with the development of a raw file are not 1:1 transferable from Adobe Camera Raw to DxO’s raw engine, other settings that deal with library organization like stars, labels and keywords can be easily transfered from one tool to another using XMP. So if FRV creates Adobe Camera Raw ‘Develop’ metadata in XMP, this metadata could at most be translated into DxO’s ‘Customize’ settings, that produce a similar, but not an equal look.

I also notice in PL menu/file/Sidecars/import (and export).
I ran import, but it does not seem to work with FRV xmp files.

Yes, these menu options relate only to PL’s sidecar/.dop files.

Following on from my suggestion, above;

  • Run FRV and generate an XMP sidecar file from it (with your star ratings, etc)
  • Make sure the XMP file (from FRV) is in the same folder as your RAW file
  • Open PL and change the preference setting to “Preserve metadata in XMP sidecars for RAW images
  • Close & re-open PL (just to be sure the preference setting is taken)
  • Make a few changes to the image with PL - - See what happens;
    – Did PL recognise the Star-ratings you set in FRV ?
    – Did it accept any of your WB settings from FRV ?
    – Did PL save any settings to the XMP file … etc

ie. Some experimentation should go some way in answering your question.

John

If you find (from results of experiment suggested above) that PL is not reading/accepting your WB settings via the XMP file from FRV - then there’s another solution;

You can get FRV to provide the results from its “Auto-WB” determinations in a format that’s readily transferable to PL … albeit, manually;

  • Change FRV settings as shown here: DxO_FRV-WBprefs
  • These preference settings will result in FRV displaying WB settings in form of Color Temp & Tint (which is what PL accepts).
    DxO_FRV-WB

Tedious, admittedly - but you probably won’t need this for every image (as modern cameras are usually pretty good at getting it right with AutoWB … not always, but most of the time).

Regards, John M

The term XMP and Sidecar files are actually synonymous and are in fact just short for the full term XMP Sidecar Files. XMP files are used to store develop settings for RAW files here [sanitized by moderation]

Tapia753 why do you spam this message with a postcard site?
Please elaborate.

otherwise i assume your a bot account and flag you to the moderaters

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I guess Tapia have some sort of rouge ware on the computer which are injecting this link into posts. I’ve seen it before as well.

John, Happy Newyear,

would you be so kind to screenshot your steps in FRV which you default use for creating XMP’s which help PL to search keywords and such? And the culling/rating. FRV looks very “difficult” for a “simple” task as that.

I just hope they, DxO, wil com soon with the input section of the “DAM” because i am trying to keep the software string as short as possible but if they don’t , wel, why use a DAM if it can’t be build up information. And i think i start to think of a new library system setup.
core system the same, folders year/123months/event date but more use of rating and tagging on my source side. Which implies that this info has to be taken over automatic by my DAM on the other side.The library of finished images and video’s. In Short:
writing in properties or move a XMP along the file.
(in properties is cleaner less files in folder, xmp is more versatile)

Peter

Hi Peter,

Actually, I don’t use FRV for that purpose (I was simply using my knowledge of FRV to provide suggestion for @bobkoure to try out) … I prefer to use descriptive image file-names, combined with a directory structure system, to act as my DAM.

It’s true that FRV can be a very “technical” tool, in its approach … but, it’s also quite easy to use as a simple RAW file browsing tool, which is how I use it.

It’s main advantage, in this regard, is that it works on the actual RAW file and NOT simply on the JPEG file embedded within the RAW file.

Regards, John M

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Tapia753 is a link spamming account likely operated by 3rd world labour. The exact text of both posts it has made can be found on the internet. The spammer googles for the thread title or something and copies and pastes some text from the result to camouflage a link added to it.

Search engines finding links on a site attribute some of the prestige of that site to the linked site and will place that linked site higher in search results because of it.

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Hi guys,

I am using FRV too.
But at the moment I only use it to cull rapidly my original (Originaux) pictures and “reject” (See the shortcut table of FRV) the unwanted photos.
After this first sorting step I copy the keepers in a work (Travail) folder.
In this folder I execute a script (Automator on macOS, would be a batch file for Windows I guess).
With this script, using Exiftool (Homepage for download and documentation)

  • I rename all the raw files (a copy since the originals are left as is for backup) with date and time of the shot
  • I create an XMP file
  • I add my copyright into that XMP file

In the future I will add more informations and keywords to the XMP.
At the moment I add some keywords with Neofinder (macOS) / abeMeda (Windows) my DAM software of today.
PS: in the DAM I only catalog the work folder and the export folder.

My dream is to build a simple and efficient GUI for Exiftool with drag and drop -and more powerful tools- to add those keywords.
If you are a not busy developper let me know :joy:

I did not use the search functionalities of PL, it should be working. Let me know if there is something specific I can help testing.
I hope I am not too off topic since I do not want to bother but help.

Why I use Exiftool ?
It is simply the best and more complete tool I know to deal with EXIF, XMP, metadata in general.
It is a very complex and large topic and the developer has years of experience, just have a look at the website to have a hint of how big that management is.

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Exactly !
And the second advantage, that is as important as the one you give, it is FAST :+1:t3:

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Thanks all for the report. Message is sanitized
@Tapia753 please check if something is wrong on your computer

And the culling/rating. FRV looks very “difficult” for a “simple” task as that.

It’s true that FRV can be a very “technical” tool, in its approach … but, it’s also quite easy to use as a simple RAW file browsing tool, which is how I use it.

It’s main advantage, in this regard, is that it works on the actual RAW file and NOT simply on the JPEG file embedded within the RAW file.

My use of it is pretty simple: pull up all files, flip through them, reject those in which I’ve missed focus or blown highlights (I look at the histogram for this), mark other files to be moved en-masse
With the stock keyboard shortcuts (they’re editable)
To reject a file: ctl+shift+del (moves current file to ./Rejected).
To mark a file as ‘Reject’ alt+del
To mark a file with a ‘color’ alt+[6 through 9]

If you’re doing this on a SD card, moving a file is less likely to mess up the card than deleting. I always copy to a PC first, though - and I use color marking to be able to select files and move them to other folders (brackets or panoramas)
It’s really quick - but it’s an evaluation tool, very much not a DAM

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Would you prefer a slider to zoom in addition to the use of the mouse wheel that is already available? (Are you aware that you can zoom in finer increments using the mouse wheel?) If so, you should probably have a separate voting thread for this feature, as it seems this Official thread puts the request for RAW file metadata first.

My experience is that DxO PhotoLab reads ratings from the FastRawViewer XMP sidecar files but does not write back to them. Did anyone establish if any of the development settings are read by DxO?

I generally don’t use the development tools in FRV as I prefer to start with OOC versions when I open up my FRV chosen selects. I move all the selects into a dedicated folder so that PhotoLab is not slowed down by generating thumbnails and managing hundreds of incoming images, but only the five to fifty odd selects from a day or an event.

FRV uses the Adobe-compatible tags for processing-related settings and DPL doesn’t pay attention to them. DPL pays attention to the star-rating info contained in the sidecar xmp file. Additionally, I think it copies the Author and Copyright info, and it even picks up the geolocation info (it shows it in the Exif palette but it loses the info upon export). Unfortunately DPL doesn’t recognize the colour labels set in FRV, XnView MP, Lr or C1.

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