Keyword List, in which file and folders are they located

[thierrylegros396]

Hi to all,


After tagging a lot of photos, I wanna be sure all are saved when saving the catalog !

Strangely, the size of the catalog has not changed before/after tagging ?!


How do you explain that ?

Where is located the keyword list ?


Have a Nice Day

Thierry

[john beardsworth]

The keywords and all other metadata is stored in the catalogue.

John

[thierrylegros396]

Many Thanks !

Thierry

[Jon Meddings]

The keywords and all other metadata is stored in the catalogue.

John

In addition I'd note that if you save all metadata to an xmp sidecar file then this will also include the keywords. That way if you lost the catalog (heaven forbid) you also have a copy in the sidecar file that could be reused by either a new install of Lightroom or another program. Just remember to "Ctrl-S" after working with a selected group of images and you will write these files.

[Josh-H]

You can also export your entire keyword list as a .txt file - which is a good back-up of the keywords if you need to migrate them to another puter.

[thierrylegros396]

You can also export your entire keyword list as a .txt file - which is a good back-up of the keywords if you need to migrate them to another puter.

Many thanks !

I ignore that, Lightroom is more complicated that you may imagine at first sight.

Thierry

[Alan Goldhammer]

In addition I'd note that if you save all metadata to an xmp sidecar file then this will also include the keywords. That way if you lost the catalog (heaven forbid) you also have a copy in the sidecar file that could be reused by either a new install of Lightroom or another program. Just remember to "Ctrl-S" after working with a selected group of images and you will write these files.

It is all exceedingly well designed.  I just did a migration to a new computer over the weekend and everything transferred seamlessly.  When I booted up the new installation of Lightroom, all that had to be done was to point to the new file location and voila, all the images were there.  The only thing that is less than intuitive is the migration of all your presets which are in a different location from your images and catalog.

[wolfnowl]

Thierry:  If you haven't already, go to Edit/Catalog Settings (Win) or Lightroom/Catalog Settings (Mac), and on the Metadata tab, check 'Automatically write changes into XMP'.  It's off by default, and you'd have to tell Lightroom to update the metadata manually.

Mike.

[thierrylegros396]

Thierry:  If you haven't already, go to Edit/Catalog Settings (Win) or Lightroom/Catalog Settings (Mac), and on the Metadata tab, check 'Automatically write changes into XMP'.  It's off by default, and you'd have to tell Lightroom to update the metadata manually.

Mike.

Thanks !

[Jon Meddings]

Thierry:  If you haven't already, go to Edit/Catalog Settings (Win) or Lightroom/Catalog Settings (Mac), and on the Metadata tab, check 'Automatically write changes into XMP'.  It's off by default, and you'd have to tell Lightroom to update the metadata manually.

Mike.

Thierry, Mike (as always) is quite correct. However, I think it is worth thinking about this step a little. Also worth checking some of the LL videos on using Lightroom where this is much talked about.

The advantage of following Mike's suggestion is that you don't have to worry about writing the data out to XMP files. The disadvantage is that doing this automatically means that there is extra time taken after each and every change you make to write out a file. Depending upon your machine and workflow this may or may not make a difference.

In my case I've elected not to do this. My reasoning has been that all my changes are already stored in my catalog (including a few that aren't written to xmp such as what collection the image is in) and that I back up my catalog every night (SyncBack). So the extra time spent outweighs the usefulness of the automatic writing in my case. What I tend to do is at some point each month - when I'm not going to work on an image for a few minutes - I select all images for that month and use Ctrl-S and manually write out all the data. It only takes a few minutes in one fell swoop and so that is the compromise I've come to settle on. Different strokes for different folks though.

[thierrylegros396]

What I tend to do is at some point each month - when I'm not going to work on an image for a few minutes - I select all images for that month and use Ctrl-S and manually write out all the data. It only takes a few minutes in one fell swoop and so that is the compromise I've come to settle on. Different strokes for different folks though.

Thanks, My PC is pretty slow and I've to live with for some more weeks.

But what Ctrl+S does exactly ?

Does it write over the old file ?

Lightroom in a non destructive software workflow.

Could you explain with more details, please ?!

Thierry

[john beardsworth]

Use Ctrl S (ie saving metadata back to the file or to its sidecar XMP file) if you routinely open the files in another program. For example, if you often want to open files directly from Bridge or directly in Photoshop, then save the metadata out either automatically or with Ctrl S.

Otherwise, as Jon said, backup your catalogue regularly and rely on it. All your metadata is there - it isn't all in the XMP.

So think of the XMP files as being mainly for communication with other programs, not backup.

John

[thierrylegros396]

Use Ctrl S (ie saving metadata back to the file or to its sidecar XMP file) if you routinely open the files in another program. For example, if you often want to open files directly from Bridge or directly in Photoshop, then save the metadata out either automatically or with Ctrl S.

Otherwise, as Jon said, backup your catalogue regularly and rely on it. All your metadata is there - it isn't all in the XMP.

So think of the XMP files as being mainly for communication with other programs, not backup.

John

Have just controlled with a new catalog and different kind of files.

Ctrl+S saves in XMP sidecar for RAW files, but replace JPG with new ones containing new metadatas.

Thierry

[Gordon Buck]

With Google Desktop, I can find pictures, emails, files, etc and so quickly that am amazed everytime I use it.