Windows metadata

[Phil Harvey]

StarGeek has documented the behaviour of the Windows Title Property:

When you set the Title from Windows Properties, the following tags are set:

1. EXIF:ImageDescription
2. EXIF:XPTitle
3. IPTC:Caption-Abstract
4. XMP:Description
5. XMP:Title

And when populating the Title Property, Windows will take the value from the first existing tag with the above order of priority.

And deb27 has documented the behaviour of the Windows Subject Property (for Windows 7):

When you set the Subject from Windows Properties, the following tags are set:

EXIF:XPSubject

And Windows will populate the Subject Property from the following fields, in order of priority:

1. EXIF:XPSubject
2. EXIF:ImageDescription

[StarGeek]

Jpeg/Tiff
Note: IPTC data is only written when there is a pre-existing IPTC block.

Windows property	Tags Read	Tags Written	Notes
Title	EXIF:ImageDescription EXIF:XPTitle IPTC:Caption-Abstract XMP-dc:Description XMP-dc:Title	EXIF:ImageDescription EXIF:XPTitle IPTC:Caption-Abstract XMP-dc:Description XMP-dc:Title
Subject	EXIF:XPSubject	EXIF:XPSubject
Rating	EXIF:Rating EXIF:RatingPercent XMP-microsoft:RatingPercent XMP-xmp:Rating	EXIF:Rating EXIF:RatingPercent XMP-microsoft:RatingPercent XMP-xmp:Rating	When writing: 0 stars = removes tags 1 star = 1 2 stars = 25 3 stars = 50 4 stars = 75 5 Stars = 99  When reading: no tag or 0 = 0 star 1-12 = 1 star 13-37 = 2 stars 38-62 = 3 stars 63-87 = 4 stars 88-100+ = 5 Stars
Tags	EXIF:XPKeywords IPTC:Keywords XMP-dc:Subject	EXIF:XPKeywords IPTC:Keywords XMP-dc:Subject XMP-microsoft:LastKeywordIPTC XMP-microsoft:LastKeywordXMP	Windows combine all entries in these three tags when reading.  Windows will write LastKeywordIPTC only when a previously existing IPTC block exists.
People	XMP-MP:RegionPersonDisplayName	N/A	Does not display in the Property window if empty
Comments	EXIF:UserComment EXIF:XPComment XMP-exif:UserComment	EXIF:XPComment	Clears EXIF:UserComment and  XMP-exif:UserComment when writing
Authors	EXIF:Artist EXIF:XPAuthor IPTC:By-line XMP-dc:Creator	EXIF:Artist EXIF:XPAuthor IPTC:By-line XMP-dc:Creator
Date Taken	EXIF:CreateDate EXIF:DateTimeOriginal IPTC:DateCreated + IPTC:TimeCreated XMP-exif:DateTimeOriginal XMP-xmp:CreateDate	EXIF:CreateDate EXIF:DateTimeOriginal EXIF:SubSecTimeDigitized EXIF:SubSecTimeOriginal IPTC:DateCreated + IPTC:TimeCreated XMP-Xmp:CreateDate	Only date portion can be set.  Time is set to current computer time.  If only IPTC:DateCreated exists, then the time will be set to 00:00:00. IPTC:TimeCreated is ignored when IPTC:DateCreated doesn't exist.  Sets timezone for  IPTC:TimeCreated to +00:00, ignoring computer's local timezone.
Program name	EXIF:Software IPTC:OriginatingProgram XMP-tiff:Software XMP-xmp:CreatorTool	N/A
Date Acquired	XMP-microsoft:DateAcquired	XMP-microsoft:DateAcquired
Copyright	EXIF:Copyright IPTC:CopyrightNotice XMP-dc:Rights	EXIF:Copyright IPTC:CopyrightNotice XMP-dc:Rights
Image ID	EXIF:ImageUniqueID XMP-exif:ImageUniqueID	N/A
Horizontal resolution	EXIF:Yresolution	N/A
Verticle resolution	EXIF:Xresolution	N/A	If only one tag is filled, the same value will be used for both.
Compression	EXIF:Compression	N/A	Probably tiff only
Resolution unit	EXIF:ResolutionUnit XMP-tiff:ResolutionUnit	N/A	Displays raw number, 2 = inches 3 = cm
Color representation	EXIF:ColorSpace	N/A
Camera maker	EXIF:Make XMP-tiff:Make	EXIF:Make
Camera model	EXIF:Model XMP-tiff:Model	EXIF:Model
F-stop	EXIF:FNumber XMP-exif:Fnumber	N/A	Rounds to nearest decimal
Exposure time	EXIF:ExposureTime XMP-exif:ExposureTime	N/A
ISO speed	EXIF:ISO XMP-exif:ISO	EXIF:ISO
Exposure bias	EXIF:ExposureCompensation	N/A
Focal length	EXIF:FocalLength XMP-exif:FocalLength	N/A	Rounds to nearest decimal
Max aperture	EXIF:MaxApertureValue XMP-exif:MaxApertureValue	N/A
Metering mode	EXIF:MeteringMode XMP-exif:MeteringMode	EXIF:MeteringMode
Subject distance	EXIF:SubjectDistance XMP-exif:SubjectDistance	N/A
Flash mode	EXIF:Flash	EXIF:Flash
Flash energy	EXIF:FlashEnergy XMP-exif:FlashEnergy	N/A
35mm focal length	EXIF:FocalLengthIn35mmFormat XMP-exif:FocalLengthIn35mmFormat	EXIF:FocalLengthIn35mmFormat
Lens maker	XMP-microsoft:LensManufacturer	XMP-microsoft:LensManufacturer
Lens model	XMP-microsoft:LensModel	XMP-microsoft:LensModel
Flash maker	XMP-microsoft:FlashManufacturer	XMP-microsoft:FlashManufacturer
Flash model	XMP-microsoft:FlashModel	XMP-microsoft:FlashModel
Camera serial number	XMP-microsoft:CameraSerialNumber	XMP-microsoft:CameraSerialNumber
Contrast	EXIF:Contrast XMP-exif:Contrast	EXIF:Contrast
Brightness	EXIF:BrightnessValue XMP-exif:BrightnessValue	N/A
Light source	EXIF:LightSource XMP-exif:LightSource	EXIF:LightSource	Windows does not know the full range of values that exiftool can write
Exposure program	EXIF:ExposureProgram XMP-exif:ExposureProgram	EXIF:ExposureProgram
Saturation	EXIF:Saturation XMP-exif:Saturation	EXIF:Saturation
Sharpness	EXIF:Sharpness XMP-exif:Sharpness	EXIF:Sharpness
White balance	EXIF:WhiteBalance XMP-exif:WhiteBalance	EXIF:WhiteBalance
Photometric interpretation	EXIF:PhotometricInterpretation XMP-tiff:PhotometricInterpretation	N/A
Digital zoom	EXIF:DigitalZoomRatio XMP-exif:DigitalZoomRatio	N/A
EXIF version	EXIF:ExifVersion XMP-exif:EXIFVersion	EXIF:ExifVersion
Latitude	EXIF:GPSLatitude + EXIF:GPSLatitudeRef XMP-exif:GPSLatitude	N/A	Always positive, ignores reference direction
Longitude	EXIF:GPSLongitude + EXIF:LongitudeRef XMP-exif:GPSLongitude	N/A	Always positive, ignores reference direction
Altitude	EXIF:GPSAltitude XMP-exif:GPSAltitude	N/A	Always positive, ignores reference direction

PNG
Windows will only read/write one tag.  All others are ignored.

Windows property	Tags Read/Written
Date Taken	PNG:CreationTime

MP4 files
Windows has a problem displaying metadata when there is a large amount of embedded data.  It will show most entries as empty when this happens.  Unlike images, Windows will read/write only one tag for each entry under "Details".

Windows property	Tags Read/Written	Notes
Title	ItemList:Title
Subtitle	Microsoft:Subtitle
Rating	Microsoft:Rating	1 Star : 1 2 Star : 25 3 Star : 50 4 Star : 75 5 Star : 99
Tags	Microsoft:Category
Comments	ItemList:Comment
Contributing artists	ItemList:Artist	Slash separated list,  e.g. Elton John/Axel Rose
Year	ItemList:ContentCreateDate
Genre	ItemList:Genre	The Details tab treats this as a List Type tag, but writing to this value with a slash separated list (as with Artist) only lists the first entry.  Re-writing this from windows creates a second ItemList:Genre tag.
Directors	Microsoft:Director	List Type tag
Producers	Microsoft:Producer	List Type tag
Writers	Microsoft:Writer	List Type tag
Publisher	Microsoft:Publisher
Content provider	Microsoft:ContentDistributor
Media created	Quicktime:CreateDate	Time portion cannot be set through Properties.  This tag correctly adjusts to UTC.
Encoded by	Microsoft:EncodedBy
Author URL	Microsoft:AuthorURL
Promotion URL	Microsoft:PromotionURL
Copyright	Unknown	The Property window cannot write this.  Unknown which tag but Microsoft:Copyright is likely.
Parental rating	Microsoft:ParentalRating
Parental rating reason	Unknown	The Property window cannot write this.  Unknown which tag but Microsoft:ParentalRatingReason is likely.
Composers	ItemList:Composer	Slash separated list,  e.g. Elton John/Axel Rose
Conductors	Microsoft:Conductor	List Type tag
Period	Microsoft:Period
Mood	Microsoft:Mood
Part of set	ItemList:DiskNumber	Must be number
Initial key	Microsoft:InitialKey
Beats-per-minute	ItemList:BeatsPerMinute	Setting this from Properties results in exiftool displaying an empty tag, though Windows will still be able to read the data.  Setting this with exiftool to a number and Windows correctly reads it.
Protected		The Property window cannot write this.  Unknown which tag but Microsoft:IsProtected is likely.

Webp files
There are multiple tags for which Windows desplays a possible entry, but are not filled.  Some others seem to be hard coded
Windows lists the following properties that do not seem to be filled from any tag

• Rating
• Comments
• Date acquired
• Compression
• Color representation
• Compressed bits/pixel
• Flash maker
• Flash model
• Contrast
• Brightness
• Light source
• White balance
• Photometric interpretation

Windows will list these properties, but they seem to be hardcoded and not read from the files

• Horizontal resolution: Hardcoded 72 dip
• Vertical resolution: Hardcoded 72 dip
• Resolution unit: Hardcoded 2 (aka inches)
• Bit depth: Hardcoded 32?

Windows property	Tags Read (does not appear to be able to write any data)	Notes
Date taken	EXIF:DateTimeOriginal
Program name	EXIF:Software
Copyright	EXIF:Copyright
Image ID	EXIF:ImageUniqueID
Camera maker	EXIF:Make
Camera model	EXIF:Model
F-stop	EXIF:FNumber	Rounded to 1 decimal place, i.e. .44 is rounded to .4, .45 is rounded to .5
Exposure time	EXIF:ExposureTime
ISO speed	EXIF:ISO
Exposure bias	EXIF:ExposureCompensation
Focal length	EXIF:FocalLength
Max aperature	EXIF:MaxApertureValue
Metering model	EXIF:MeteringMode
Subject distance	EXIF:SubjectDistance
Flash mode	EXIF:Flash
Flash energy	EXIF:FlashEnergy
35mm focal length	EXIF:FocalLengthIn35mmFormat
Lens maker	EXIF:LensMake
Lens model	EXIF:LensModel
Exposure program	EXIF:ExposureProgram
Saturation	EXIF:Saturation
Sharpness	EXIF:Sharpness
Digital zoom	EXIF:DigitalZoomRatio
EXIF version	ExifVersion
Latitude	EXIF:GPSLatitude	Always positive, ignores reference direction
Longitude	EXIF:GPSLongitude	Always positive, ignores reference direction
Altitude	EXIF:GPSAltitude	Always positive, ignores reference direction

Revisions:
2015-07-25: Reorganized post, reformatted as table, added Tags, Ratings, Comment, Author, Program Name, Date Acquired, and Copyright for jpegs, added Title for Tif, added notes
2015-07-26: Resorted by order tags appear in windows Property->Details tab, fixed Rating, Author, Date Taken for jpeg, added Subject, Rating, Tags, Comments, Authors, Date Taken for Tif
2016-05-28: Updated info on Comments
2016-08-24: Updated info on Comments
2021-05-07: Updated to reflect Details tab of Windows 10, Added video metadata, split file types into separate tables and reformatted (took me long enough)
2023-04-11: Added webp, added notes to GPS tags

Credits:
deb27 - Subject property for Windows 7.
lewisn - updated comment info
José Oliver-Didier - Added RegionPersonDisplayName
neebah - Pointing out that Windows had expanded the data it read

Edit:  I figure that consolidating all this info into one post is better than spreading it out through a thread, unless there's any objection to that.  So I'll add any info from any other posts into this post.

[StarGeek]

Big revisions and corrections.

Somehow I seriously messed up the details for Date Taken.  I double checked it and the above posted info seems correct, at least for Windows 8.1.

[José Oliver-Didier]

This post is a very useful reference.

I also stumbled upon this MSDN page, which is more developer oriented. I believe it can also help out folks trying to understand how photo metadata is read and written in windows:

Microsoft Photo Metadata Policies:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ee872003(v=vs.85).aspx

[StarGeek]

Thank you for that link.  I never found anything like that when I went looking for info. 

[lewisn]

This is a great table!

On 'Comments' in Windows here is a bit more detail that I had documented for myself:

• 
  When enter 'Comments' in Windows 10, Windows puts 'Comments' in EXIF:XPComment (only), and DELETES EXIF:UserComment and XMP:UserComment.  It leaves FILE:Comment alone if that exists.
  
• Note that EXIF:UserComment and XMP:UserComment show in Windows at higher priority (in that order in my experiments) than EXIF:XPComment.  FILE:Comment is never displayed as 'Comments'.
  

[StarGeek]

Thanks, I was unaware of XMP:UserComment (too hard to catch them all), updated the table.

[José Oliver-Didier]

Some additional info which may prove useful, especially for folks using Windows Photo Gallery.

People Tags
- Written with Windows Photo Gallery. People names are displayed and read on Windows Explorer. It is written using the Microsoft XMP People Tags Schema.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ee719905(v=vs.85).aspx

Geo Tags
- Windows Photo Gallery can read the IPTC (Legacy) SubLocation, City, State-Province, Country fields but upon edit it stores this information in the corresponding IPTC Extension "Location Created Fields"- Sublocation, City, ProvinceState, and CountryName.

[StarGeek]

Thanks for the info.

At some point, I really want to make a fairly comprehensive list of various windows image programs and how they deal with metadata.  Things just keep getting in the way.

[José Oliver-Didier]

I was going over some old photos which I posted in Flickr and noticed the XP_DIP_XML tags in some of them. At the time I was using Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006 which introduced a hierarchical labels and keywords feature. You could group labels within some "base or root" labels such as Keywords, People, Places, Events and Flags.

A sample image can be seen here as well I am attaching one to this post- https://www.flickr.com/photos/jmoliver/98986647/meta
A review of the product: http://winsupersite.com/product-review/microsoft-digital-image-suite-2006-review
A screenshot of the hierarchical labels dialog -  https://winsupersite.com/site-files/winsupersite.com/files/archive/winsupersite.com/content/content/127172/reviews/dis2006_04.jpg


I did not find much info on XP DIP XML (Exif Tag ID 0x4747) on the exiftool site. So I am just posting this to point it out and let folks know if they stumble upon it on their photos.

Digital Image Suite was a good product at the time which got discontinued as Vista introduced Windows Photo Gallery. Ref article: https://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-axes-digital-image-suite/

Doing a Google Search for XP_DIP_XML site:flickr.com will yield a lot of samples. I was suprised to see photos taken as recently as last year with this metadata! Seem that some folks still use this app.

[Phil Harvey]

Thanks for the sample, and for the links.

- Phil

[José Oliver-Didier]

Over the years I have used different OSes and photo management apps which have played differently in terms of reading and writing metadata. I have a lot of photos with many annotations with some taken from old family albums from folks who have passed. Many of my early scans have information only written in the now notorious "XP" Tags and thus inaccessible in many modern applications. So, I have been spending time ensuring that they are adequately preserved to modern metadata standards.

Microsoft's Digital Image Suite which I used early on my projects was discontinued quite some time ago. Windows Photo Gallery and Picasa are more recent examples.

Building upon the excellent analysis of StarGeek and others in this forum I am testing out how Windows Photo Gallery's Info Pane behaves in terms of writing and reading metadata. So far, I have found some slight differences in comparison with how Windows Explorer works (example: Ratings), but most of it is similar. Of particular concern for example, is that WPG overwrites many other tags when updating the "Captions" field.

I am still updating this document:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19cfitAyoQj97iWE8GhMLDPWubijy_2zDuUp7xOPE3UQ

Feedback is welcomed.

[StarGeek]

So as not to duplicate work, these are the sites/apps I already have data on:
    Photos.google.com
    Flicker
    Irfanview
    Dropbox
    Picasa
    Adobe Reader
    Lightroom (4.4)
    Windows properties
    Adobe Bridge (7.0.0.93)

After I get a few more done and get the formatting correct, I'll make a consolidated thread and I'll add your info in as well. 

[neebah]

Two questions: 

#1:  Is the camera make and model only read from the exif in windows and WPG

#2:  Is there anyway to camera make and model tag mp4 files so that Windows or WPG reads them. 

[StarGeek]

I haven't done any testing with WPG yet, so I have no idea about what it reads

#1:  Is the camera make and model only read from the exif in windows and WPG

I didn't realize that Windows read the make and model.  My test image had only limited data and was an image I scanned previously.  Checking now with a image from my camera, I see that data is available.  That gives me a bunch more data to check for. 

I really need to get back to working on this project.  I was a bit discouraged when I realized that some programs would read data based upon what it encountered first in the file, meaning I would basically have to start all over with an expanded set of test files.

A quick test shows that Windows 10 properties will read from EXIF:Model and EXIF:Make first, then it will read XMP-tiff:Make and XMP-tiff:Model.  I haven't test beyond that or tested WPG.

#2:  Is there anyway to camera make and model tag mp4 files so that Windows or WPG reads them.

Windows 10 properties doesn't show XMP-tiff:Model, XMP-tiff:Make, XMP-exifEX:LensModel, or XMP-exifEX:LensMake when added to an MP4 and exiftool can't add EXIF tags to an MP4.  It also doesn't show the Nikon make and model tags taken from my camera.  So, I'd say that Windows 10 can't read those. 

Probably time to add MP4 to the testing as well.