Lightroom Tip: Save Your Metadata
[By Jay Kinghorn]
Save Lightroom’s metadata back into the original files by selecting images, then, from the Metadata menu, select Save Metadata to File. Alternatively you can use the keyboard shortcut Cmd+S (Mac) or CTRL-S (Win). This writes metadata into JPEG, TIFF, DNG and PSD files and writes metadata into XMP sidecar files for Camera Raw files. This helps to ensure your metadata always travels with your photos and helps you recover quickly should your Lightroom Catalog becomes corrupted.
4 Responses to 'Lightroom Tip: Save Your Metadata'
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You can also have it automatically saved to the file. Go up to Lightroom > Catalog Settings. Click on the Metadata at the top and click on “Automatically Write Changes Into XMP”. That will automatically save what you do to the original file.
That saved my ass last night when my first (ever) catalog wouldn’t open.
Michael,
Yes, you can enable Lightroom to write metadata automatically to XMP, though in Lightroom 1 it frequently caused crashes and in Lightroom 2, it can slow Lightroom’s performance. I’m glad it came through in a pinch for you though.
I recently recorded a video tutorial and wrote an article all about the advantages of the “Automatically Write Changes into XMP” switch. You can see it here.
http://thelightroomlab.com/2009/05/the-mega-important-automatically-write-changes-into-xmp-switch/
The simple acronym I use is GAS.
GAS your files often!!
G GRID MODE
command-A SELECT ALL
command-S SAVE METADATA TO FILE