Yes ButchM I am well aware of this. Writing to xmp has its uses and I use it when I need to share files and info with someone. For my personal workflow I know where my info is, in the Catalog file which I keep secure and backed up.
OK ... I think you need to go back to the beginning of your effort to set me straight. There was indeed a point back in the early formation of Lightroom where the Write XMP metadata to files was indeed on by default, I then corrected my assertion to point out that it likely may have been in one of the early public beta builds ... I recall because there was a huge kerfuffle on the Adobe Labs discussion forum as the function was causing issues with many users seeing a larger than normal performance hit due to the extra effort of writing XMP on the fly. Just like the performance hits folks were experiencing with the current v6.2 Import dialog splash screen.
I NEVER once recommended or was trying to sell you on the idea of incorporating XMP sidecar files into your workflow. I was simply pointing out that the option to use or not to use the feature is not a zero sum choice.
