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Windows metadata

Started by Phil Harvey, July 07, 2015, 07:07:50 AM

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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
...where DIR is the name of a directory/folder containing the images.  On Mac/Linux/PowerShell, use single quotes (') instead of double quotes (") around arguments containing a dollar sign ($).

StarGeek

#1
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.
* Did you read FAQ #3 and use the command listed there?
* Please use the Code button for exiftool code/output.
 
* Please include your OS, Exiftool version, and type of file you're processing (MP4, JPG, etc).

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.
* Did you read FAQ #3 and use the command listed there?
* Please use the Code button for exiftool code/output.
 
* Please include your OS, Exiftool version, and type of file you're processing (MP4, JPG, etc).

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
blog: http://jmoliver.wordpress.com
flickr:  http://flickr.com/jmoliver

StarGeek

Thank you for that link.  I never found anything like that when I went looking for info. 
* Did you read FAQ #3 and use the command listed there?
* Please use the Code button for exiftool code/output.
 
* Please include your OS, Exiftool version, and type of file you're processing (MP4, JPG, etc).

lewisn

#5
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.

* Did you read FAQ #3 and use the command listed there?
* Please use the Code button for exiftool code/output.
 
* Please include your OS, Exiftool version, and type of file you're processing (MP4, JPG, etc).

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.
blog: http://jmoliver.wordpress.com
flickr:  http://flickr.com/jmoliver

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.
* Did you read FAQ #3 and use the command listed there?
* Please use the Code button for exiftool code/output.
 
* Please include your OS, Exiftool version, and type of file you're processing (MP4, JPG, etc).

José Oliver-Didier

#9
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.
blog: http://jmoliver.wordpress.com
flickr:  http://flickr.com/jmoliver

Phil Harvey

Thanks for the sample, and for the links.

- Phil
...where DIR is the name of a directory/folder containing the images.  On Mac/Linux/PowerShell, use single quotes (') instead of double quotes (") around arguments containing a dollar sign ($).

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.
blog: http://jmoliver.wordpress.com
flickr:  http://flickr.com/jmoliver

StarGeek

#12
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. 
* Did you read FAQ #3 and use the command listed there?
* Please use the Code button for exiftool code/output.
 
* Please include your OS, Exiftool version, and type of file you're processing (MP4, JPG, etc).

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

Quote from: neebah on May 18, 2017, 09:40:51 PM
#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.

Quote#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.
* Did you read FAQ #3 and use the command listed there?
* Please use the Code button for exiftool code/output.
 
* Please include your OS, Exiftool version, and type of file you're processing (MP4, JPG, etc).