Extract individual items/values from a list-type tag and then alphabetize them

[bssmith]

I've successfully configured my desktop search tool (FileLocator Pro) to use ExifTool as a custom extension, so that issuing the following command...

exiftool -Subject -XMP:description -IFD0:Software -XMP:metadatadate -XMP:creatortool -XMP:createdate D:\Desktop\2354.jpg

...produces output in the below format which is then inhaled back into FileLocator Pro as indexable data:

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Subject                         : Stanley, Richard, # theBullFamily, MMB, Smith, # photograph, # theMainFamily, ~ The Smiths
Description                     : [2354]
Software                        : Photo Supreme Version 6.7.2.4229
Metadata Date                   : 2022:07:11 05:00:37.906-05:00
Creator Tool                    : Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0
Create Date                     : 2006:12:02 11:11:48-05:00
This is great! But I want to slice up those eight Subject: metadata list items so that each individual item is on its own line, and to alphabetize those values found within the Subject: output.

The ideal output from the same source image file would instead look like this:

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Subject                         : # photograph
Subject                         : # theBullFamily
Subject                         : # theMainFamily
Subject                         : ~ The Smiths
Subject                         : MMB
Subject                         : Richard
Subject                         : Smith
Subject                         : Stanley
Description                     : [2354]
Software                        : Photo Supreme Version 6.7.2.4229
Metadata Date                   : 2022:07:11 05:00:37.906-05:00
Creator Tool                    : Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0
Create Date                     : 2006:12:02 11:11:48-05:00
I've looked through the forum and the documentation. I see the -sep option - but it looks like this is only for writing out a string of comma-separated metadata tags to a target file? I'm not writing anything here, only reading in the metadata.

FAQ 17 (list-type tags) looks promising but did not reveal an obvious path (that I could recognize, anyway). But the true answer may lie within the API documentation - something which takes the array found within my Subject: tag and carves out each item? GetValue or ExtractInfo, perhaps? But I don't think I see an "alphabetize the output" option within the API.

So my goal is a) split up all of the values within the Subject: tag, and b) alphabetize those values within the Subject: tag. FileLocator Pro is looking for a command-line to invoke, so I'd have to express it that way.

Any pointers? Thanks,

-- Ben

[bssmith]

Values of list-type tags are read in from the source file individually, and then concatenated in the output string.

Is there a switch or some other approach to change this behavior, so that each value is not concatenated with the others, and is instead output individually?

Might look like this, if -donotconcat existed:

exiftool -donotconcat -Subject D:\Desktop\2354.jpg

This would get me close to the first of my two goals above, by splitting out all the Subject tag values separately.

-- Ben

[bssmith]

sed to the rescue:

exiftool -s -s -s -Subject D:\Desktop\2354.jpg | sed -e "s/^/Subject                         : /" -e "s/, /\nSubject                         : /g" | sort && exiftool -XMP:description -IFD0:Software -XMP:metadatadate -XMP:creatortool -XMP:createdate D:\Desktop\2354.jpg

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Subject                         : # photograph
Subject                         : # theBullFamily
Subject                         : # theMainFamily
Subject                         : ~ The Smiths
Subject                         : MMB
Subject                         : Richard
Subject                         : Smith
Subject                         : Stanley
Description                     : [2354]
Software                        : Photo Supreme Version 6.7.2.4229
Metadata Date                   : 2022:07:11 05:00:37.906-05:00
Creator Tool                    : Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0
Create Date                     : 2006:12:02 11:11:48-05:00

Still have to confirm this output works as expected with the FileLocator Pro workflow, but ExifTool has done its part of this job.

[StarGeek]

You might want to take into account that it is possible to have a comma in a keyword.  For example, "Smith, John" and "Doe, Jane".  The output of that would be

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C:\>exiftool -G1 -a -s -Subject y:\!temp\Test4.jpg
[XMP-dc]        Subject                        : Doe, Jane, Smith, Johnwhich would be 4 separate keywords using your commands.

You might want to look into the -sep option and use some sort of unique code to separate the tags.  For example

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C:\>exiftool -G1 -a -s -sep "--uniqueseparator--" -Subject y:\!temp\Test4.jpg
[XMP-dc]        Subject                         : Doe, Jane--uniqueseparator--Smith, John
But a better option, IMO, would be to output the data using something like the -j (-json) option or the -X (-xmlFormat) option

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C:\Programs\My_Stuff>exiftool -G1 -a -json -Subject y:\!temp\Test4.jpg
[{
  "SourceFile": "y:/!temp/Test4.jpg",
  "XMP-dc:Subject": ["Doe, Jane","Smith, John"]
}]

C:\Programs\My_Stuff>exiftool -G1 -a -X -Subject y:\!temp\Test4.jpg
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf='http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#'>

<rdf:Description rdf:about='y:/!temp/Test4.jpg'
  xmlns:et='http://ns.exiftool.org/1.0/' et:toolkit='Image::ExifTool 12.64'
  xmlns:XMP-dc='http://ns.exiftool.org/XMP/XMP-dc/1.0/'>
 <XMP-dc:Subject>
  <rdf:Bag>
   <rdf:li>Doe, Jane</rdf:li>
   <rdf:li>Smith, John</rdf:li>
  </rdf:Bag>
 </XMP-dc:Subject>
</rdf:Description>
</rdf:RDF>