exporting metadata

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Level 1

74 points

exporting metadata

i am trying to figure out if i can export metadata (for instance just the description) from my images and whether it may be possible to import this into a pdf. i have Aperture 3.4.1 as well as Acrobat 10 and the various mac software such as Preview etc.

also, when i export metadata out of Aperture does/can it go out as XMP and if so is there a way to /read/ what is in this file? i ask because i have exported metadata out of Acrobat 10 and it appears to be a file type with no visible extension and it would be helpful to be able to read what is in it.

thank you for any keywords/terms that i may be missing, references to good url's etcetera, or tips on good workflows for getting this done.

- jon

(i know i had a brief discussion about this earlier on the forum but i am not finding this documentation ATM.)

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.1), with 64 bit Win7 Parallels

Posted on Oct 28, 2012 8:35 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

léonie

Level 10

194,761 points

Oct 28, 2012 8:58 AM in response to hotwheels22

Jon,

you can export an xml-sidecar file with the metadata tags, or write an AppleScript to print the metadata tags to a textfile. I have a sample Automator workflow on my webpage, that performs an AppleScript to read EXIF tags - you can use it as a pattern to add the metadata tags you need.

This sample Automator workflow is to be used as a service with Aperture, to create a text file with metadata of all selected images:

Download: PrintFullImageInfo.workflow.zip

Install this service in the Services Folder of your User Library and launch it from the services Menu in Aperture, after selecting some Images.

Enter a Filename when prompted for the name of the output file.

Regards

Léonie

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Answer 2

Oct 28, 2012 9:03 AM in response to hotwheels22

Did you try File->Export->Metadata...? It exports a txt file containing metadata for all selected images.

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

194,761 points

Oct 28, 2012 9:18 AM in response to Thomas Emmerich

Thomas,

Right, I forgot about that option 😊, because it does export the IPTC tags and Apertures tags, but the EXIF camera tags are missing. So I have not used it in a long time, but fall back on my scripts:

File -> Export -> Metadata will give you these tags:

Version Name

Title

Urgency

Categories

Suppl. Categories

Keywords

Instructions

Date Created

Contact Creator

Contact Job Title

City

State/Province

Country

Job Identifier

Headline

Provider

Source

Copyright Notice

Caption

Caption Writer

Rating

IPTC Subject Code

Usage Terms

Intellectual Genre

IPTC Scene

Location

ISO Country Code

Contact Address

Contact City

Contact State/Providence

Contact Postal Code

Contact Country

Contact Phone

Contact Email

Contact Website

Label

Latitude

Longitude

Altitude

AltitudeRef

My script will print the following EXIF tags, but can easily be extended: for example:

Version Name: Nepal04ChitwanNationalpark93

Dimensions: 2444x1660

Image Date: Freitag, 5. März 2010 13:10:34

Rating: 5, flagged: false, picked: true

Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ28

Focal Length: 11.5mm, Aperture: f/ 3.4, Shutter Speed: 0.008s

Regards,

Léonie

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Answer 4

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

74 points

Oct 28, 2012 9:14 AM in response to Thomas Emmerich

thank you thomas!

this should help me get organized.

much appreciate it.

jon

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Answer 5

Oct 28, 2012 9:16 AM in response to léonie

Thanks Leonie for answering the question I had but didn't ask. I was wondering what was missing from the Export Metadata command that caused you to do all that work with scripts. I never had a need for the command so I haven't paid attention to what is missing from the export.

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Answer 6

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

74 points

Oct 28, 2012 9:48 AM in response to léonie

hi leonie,

thank you so much for your help here. also thank you for the kindness with the scripts. i am trying to study up a bit on this issue and in some cases i am finding it a bit confusing.

i have been able to use thomas' suggestion to export the metadata to a text file. this is /mostly/ just helping me get everything organized in aperture as i am going to use it simply to make sure that all my Albums have metadata on all the images. if i see a blank text file i will know i need to add metadata.

but this txt file does not seem very well formatted so i cannot image that i will use it to PRINT OUT for reference or that i will use it to IMPORT into something like a pdf. also, of course i understand that there may be different information such as IPTC information in an image as opposed to a pdf but it seems like i could re-use something like a description on both types of documents.

/anyway/ can you help me make sure i understand your answer exactly? i mean, am i correct in hearing that you are saying there is an /existing/ method to export XMP sidecar information out of Aperture?

also, you are indicating that you have kindly posted an AUTOMATOR WORKFLOW script that will export a txt with EXIF data, yes? and am i correct in understanding that EXIF is primarily for images and/or for your personal record keeping with respect to your images?

i mean, i am thinking that i am in need of two things: 1. a way to export a certain amount of information that i have patiently entered into aperture so that i can use it in ACROBAT and 2. a way to print out aperture metadata in a way that is easy to read and reference in the future.

regards and THANKS.

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Answer 7

léonie

Level 10

194,761 points

Oct 28, 2012 10:41 AM in response to hotwheels22

Jon

but this txt file does not seem very well formatted

The text-file is in a format that you can import into Office programs - columns separated by tabs. FileMaker could read it for example, or Excel.

Then print it from these programs in any style you like.

My script you will need only, if you also need the EXIF data.

The IPTC metadata fields contain creator code, location information, copy right etc, the EXIF fields all data provided by your camera, like camera make ad lens information.

i mean, am i correct in hearing that you are saying there is an /existing/ method to export XMP sidecar information out of Aperture?

When you export the original image file and not the version, you will be prompted, if you want to include an XMP sidecar file. I have never used it, but try it and have a look, if this information is in a format you can use.

1. a way to export a certain amount of information that i have patiently entered into aperture so that i can use it in ACROBAT

If you import the text file into Excel or Filmaker, you can print it as a formatted pdf file, if you know how to use these programs.

2. a way to print out aperture metadata in a way that is easy to read and reference in the future.

The formatted pdf will serve for this too.

If you have a look at the sample printout of my script, you will see that it is quite readable, and you can also print the textfile to pdf.

But you will have to put in some work to extend the script to include the additional tags you will need. So far, I have primarily included the EXIF that is missing from the Aperture generated textfile.

Regards

Léonie

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Answer 8

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

74 points

Oct 28, 2012 11:52 AM in response to léonie

hi leonie.

OK. thanks. that explains a lot.

you are saying this is a "comma delimited tab" text file or something?

i find numbers to be a bit tricky to print out correctly so i am trying a "text wrap" in TextWrangler (not working perfectly) but i wonder if there is a /text/ editor that will let me put each section of this text file on a different line which would make it very easy to print out and refer to i think.

anyway -

the one thing i think i am missing here - and i am not so sure it is very easy - is whether there is some kind of FILE FORMAT or METHOD to get from the image metadata in my Aperture Library and have it import into my pdf in Acrobat.

i mean, so far Acrobat does not show me an easy way to COPY the data once it is in a pdf and it is not showing me a very good way to export so if there was a way to get the data out as XMP and then /import/ from XMP it might help. i guess you are suggesting i just export an image and make sure to include the sidecar. in which case i will test this as an import and see how i do...

THANKS A TON.

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Answer 9

léonie

Level 10

194,761 points

Oct 28, 2012 12:27 PM in response to hotwheels22

you are saying this is a "comma delimited tab" text file or something?

I said "columns separated by tabs." That means, each element in a line of text is separated by a tab. If you import the file to Excel or filemaker, you can specify that elements are separated by tab characters; then spreadsheet applications will be able to extract the fields that you need. If you do not have Excel, you might try the free open office.

For example, in Excel I see this, after importing Aperture's textfile: sorry, I only have a German version.

You can see, that I specify the data are separated by tabstops, and Excel sorts the fiels accordingly. In Excel I will be able to extract each field "Version name", "Title" separately and to print pdf-files with only the fields I am interested in.

You will need such an intermediate program to bridge the gap between Aperture's output and Acrobat's input.

If you know how to use the Terminal commandline tools, you can extract each field from the text file by using the "cut" filter. It will let you extract any column from the file, but all this will be a lot of work.

Regards

Léonie

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Answer 10

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

74 points

Oct 28, 2012 1:35 PM in response to hotwheels22

hi leonie and thomas.

thank you so much for the big help walking me through all of this!

it appears that if i take leonie's advice to Export Original and select the XMP sidecar pulldown option, that i then get an XMP file independent of the image file.

if i then get into acrobat and do File > Properties > Additional Metadata > Advanced > Replace that i can get all the metadata that i so carefully entered into Aperture into Acrobat...

perfect.

THANK YOU.

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