ACDSee RegionsRegionListNames - accessing individual records

[Mhol]

Dear all, using ACDSEE as a central image-database, I am in the process of correcting ACDSEEs information and matching it with other sources.

My challenge is to read and write individual records of ACDSee's structured tags. Example: in in the attached file faces of two people are listed in XMP-acdsee-rs (and in XMP-mwg-rs):

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[u]c:exiftool -g1 -a -struct -Reg* test.jpg[/u]
---- XMP-acdsee-rs ----
Regions                        : {AppliedToDimensions={H=2048,Unit=pixel,W=3072},RegionList=[{DLYArea={H=0.152344,W=0.132813,X=0.8173835,Y=0.524414},Name=Jonna Dethlefsen,Type=Face},{DLYArea={H=0.180664,W=0.139974,X=0.777669,Y=0.326172},Name=Nicole Seifferth,Type=Face}]}
---- XMP-mwg-rs ----
Region Info                    : {AppliedToDimensions={H=2048,Unit=pixel,W=3072},RegionList=[{Area={H=0.15234375,Unit=normalized,W=0.1328125,X=0.817382813,Y=0.524414063},Name=Jonna Dethlefsen,Type=Face},{Area={H=0.180664063,Unit=normalized,W=0.139973953,X=0.777669251,Y=0.326171875},Name=Nicole Seifferth,Type=Face}]}

[u]c:exiftool -g1 -a -s -Reg* test.jpg (selected lines)[/u]
---- XMP-acdsee-rs ----
RegionsRegionListName          : Jonna Dethlefsen
RegionsRegionListType          : Face
RegionsRegionListName          : Nicole Seifferth
RegionsRegionListType          : Face
---- XMP-mwg-rs ----
RegionName                      : Jonna Dethlefsen, Nicole Seifferth
RegionType                      : Face, Face

How can I read and then correct (write) only one individual face record in the ACDSee section? Examples:
- what is the syntax to read only the record of
RegionsRegionListName          : Nicole Seifferth

- what is the syntax to update / overwrite only the record of
RegionsRegionListName          : Nicole Seifferth
with
RegionsRegionListName          : Jonny Muller

- How can I set only the record below to "empty" without deleting it
RegionsRegionListName          : Nicole Seifferth

And lastly, using this file as an example, how can I create a record for a third persons face (possibly using dummy coordinates)?

Currently I am correcting my (face)name information, later I will have to cross-check the ACDSee keywords (structured as well). And I hope that answers to the above will enable me to work on that successfully also.

[StarGeek]

How can I read and then correct (write) only one individual face record in the ACDSee section? Examples:
- what is the syntax to read only the record of
RegionsRegionListName          : Nicole Seifferth

Assuming you mean this name and its associated region details, I think of a way off hand to only do one.  You would have to get the -struct output and parse it out.

- what is the syntax to update / overwrite only the record of
RegionsRegionListName          : Nicole Seifferth
with
RegionsRegionListName          : Jonny Muller

I know Phil posted a way to do this some time ago, but it was different than what I use.  This is how I do it in batch, as a name change might apply to multiple images.  This is for the MWG name tag, but just replace it with the ACDSee one.
exiftool -P -overwrite_original -progress -if "$RegionPersonDisplayName ne $RegionPersonDisplayName#" -TagsFromFile @ -RegionPersonDisplayName -api "Filter=s/Nicole Seifferth/Jonny Muller/i" /path/to/files/

- How can I set only the record below to "empty" without deleting it
RegionsRegionListName          : Nicole Seifferth

It depends upon what you mean by "empty".  You can completely remove the name without affecting the region info with (but see below for the pitfall of doing this)
exiftool -RegionsRegionListName-="Nicole Seifferth" /path/to/files/

Or you could set it to a 0-length string similar to the replacement command
exiftool -P -overwrite_original -progress -if "$RegionPersonDisplayName ne $RegionPersonDisplayName#" -TagsFromFile @ -RegionPersonDisplayName -api "Filter=s/Nicole Seifferth//i" /path/to/files/

And lastly, using this file as an example, how can I create a record for a third persons face (possibly using dummy coordinates)?

This can be complicated.  I've done this by using the flattened tags but I don't know if it's possible to do so as structured info without recreating the full structure.  But using the flattened tags can give unexpected results if there is a empty entry.

Here's an example using a MWG region (sorry, I don't feel like digging into the format of the ACDSee region right now)

First, the output of a file with a single region

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C:\>exiftool -g1 -s -a -if "$XMP-mwg-rs:all or $XMP-MP:all" -XMP-mwg-rs:all -XMP-MP:all y:\!temp\Test4.jpg
---- XMP-mwg-rs ----
RegionAppliedToDimensionsH      : 1418.000000
RegionAppliedToDimensionsUnit   : pixel
RegionAppliedToDimensionsW      : 2521.000000
RegionAreaH                     : 0.458259
RegionAreaUnit                  : normalized
RegionAreaW                     : 0.258000
RegionAreaX                     : 0.753000
RegionAreaY                     : 0.623446
RegionName                      : Indiana Jones
RegionType                      : Face
The first three are not duplicated for each region, so those are ignored.  To add another region you just add to each region tag

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exiftool -P -overwrite_original -RegionAreaH+=0.119178 -RegionAreaW+=0.086000 -RegionAreaX+=0.683000 -RegionAreaY+=0.239041 -RegionAreaUnit+=normalized -RegionName+="Marion Ravenwood" -RegionType+=Face /path/to/files/
The pitfall is when one of these entries is missing a tag. For example, if we start with the file above that has Indiana Jones. Then we add the region but don't include -RegionName+="Marion Ravenwood".  If you take a look at the structured output, you can see the second region doesn't have a Name entry.  Then if you add another region this way, the name added ends up in the second region and the newly added region doesn't include a name.

Code Select Expand

C:\>exiftool -G1 -a -s -struct -RegionInfo y:\!temp\Test4.jpg
[XMP-mwg-rs]    RegionInfo                      : {AppliedToDimensions={H=1418.000000,Unit=pixel,W=2521.000000},RegionList=[{Area={H=0.458259,Unit=normalized,W=0.258000,X=0.753000,Y=0.623446},Name=Indiana Jones,Type=Face}]}

C:\>exiftool -P -overwrite_original -RegionAreaH+=0.119178 -RegionAreaW+=0.086000 -RegionAreaX+=0.683000 -RegionAreaY+=0.239041 -RegionAreaUnit+=normalized -RegionType+=Face y:\!temp\Test4.jpg
    1 image files updated

C:\>exiftool -G1 -a -s -struct -RegionInfo y:\!temp\Test4.jpg
[XMP-mwg-rs]    RegionInfo                      : {AppliedToDimensions={H=1418.000000,Unit=pixel,W=2521.000000},RegionList=[{Area={H=0.458259,Unit=normalized,W=0.258000,X=0.753000,Y=0.623446},Name=Indiana Jones,Type=Face},{Area={H=0.119178,Unit=normalized,W=0.086000,X=0.683000,Y=0.239041},Type=Face}]}

C:\>exiftool -P -overwrite_original -RegionAreaH+=0.2 -RegionAreaW+=0.2 -RegionAreaX+=0.5 -RegionAreaY+=0.5 -RegionAreaUnit+=normalized -RegionType+=Face -RegionName+="Henry Jones, Sr." y:\!temp\Test4.jpg
    1 image files updated

C:\>exiftool -G1 -a -s -struct -RegionInfo y:\!temp\Test4.jpg
[XMP-mwg-rs]    RegionInfo                      : {AppliedToDimensions={H=1418.000000,Unit=pixel,W=2521.000000},RegionList=[{Area={H=0.458259,Unit=normalized,W=0.258000,X=0.753000,Y=0.623446},Name=Indiana Jones,Type=Face},{Area={H=0.119178,Unit=normalized,W=0.086000,X=0.683000,Y=0.239041},Name=Henry Jones|, Sr.,Type=Face},{Area={H=0.2,Unit=normalized,W=0.2,X=0.5,Y=0.5},Type=Face}]}
If you have plans to clear a name then add a new region, then you should use the command above that sets a value to a 0-length string instead of outright removing it.