Query about metadata storage and fields in Lr

Guides and How-Tos
#1

The metadata fields added to the Lr Classic catalog are quite handy, especially when using a camera to digitize film (otherwise conflicts would abound).

I will be using NLP for a digitizing project, but may not have film to digitize after the project is finished, and hence wouldn’t need NLP after that point.

My question is what happens to the NLP-created metadata fields and data therein if I uninstall the plugin?

Also, I note that a “Save metadata to file” command in Lr does not write the NLP metadata to the file or sidecar. It is written using an NLP export, but my concern is preserving the info I enter even if NLP isn’t around.

It’s a pain to try to copy the plugin’s metadata to other fields (like keywords, etc), hence I want to get it sorted before I commit to adding a lot of info there.

And BTW, if a field could be added to NLP’s list of metadata it would be fabulous: Lens filter. Lots of us use those, and aside from dumping that info in keywords or somewhere else it’s tough to store it. Having it with the lens info, etc would be Very Cool. And also BTW, the metadata fields alone would be something I’d pay for as a plugin even without film, since they could also be useful for adapted lenses and filters and such, and for other old digital rigs that don’t do exif well if at all. Call it your “retro” package… :wink:

Thanks!

#2

On the original RAW files, the NLP created custom metadata is stored with the Lightroom Catalog itself. (That’s just how it works in Lightroom’s SDK). This is true even if you uninstall the plugin (of course, if you uninstall the plugin, you will not be able to access or edit this metadata, until you reinstall).

Yes, the custom metadata is only stored with the LR Catalog, not with the photo. Because it uses non-standard fields, even if you could store the metadata with the photo (rather than the catalog) it would not be of much use to you at this point because you need something to interpret the custom metadata (e.g. the Negative Lab Pro plugin).

The direct association of the custom metadata with a photo happens at the time of export, using the custom export options that Negative Lab Pro provides, which enables you to select exactly how you would like the metadata to be written to standard fields. For archival purposes, you could use one of the included TIF export options.

negative lab pro custom export options
negative lab pro custom export options1792×1502 203 KB

Since the export is writing everything to standard fields, you won’t need Negative Lab Pro to read any custom metadata on the exported file.

That’s a good idea! Thanks!

#3

Thanks for that; I gleaned similar info from another plugin maker.

Using the Search Replace plugin by John Beardsworth I can write the info to other IPTC fields, which for my purposes suffices. When posting online I sometimes like to replace the exif of the digitizing camera with the film camera data but that’s well beyond what Lr can do, so I use exif. The NLP storage in Lr allows me to have the info at hand, so thanks!

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