Program to transribe file name into metadata?

[eric_connolly1]

<p>I am preparing for the task of archiving a massive amount of negatives (40+ years) to digital and was wondering if there are any programs that, similar to an MP3-related program I've used, can take information from the file name, in this case the date entered in the file name (e.g. 1986-01-01_0001.tif) and transcribe it to the metadata as the date the image was taken, as opposed to what will show up, which is when it was scanned. I know I can edit this manually, but for as many images as I'll be scanning, anything that can be automated will save countless hours. Thanks!</p>

[tom_mann1]

<p>Photo Mechanic (http://www.camerabits.com/site/) is very strong in doing these sort of metadata manipulations and provides a huge number of built-in variables for such purposes. I've never done that particular manipulation myself, and I'm at a computer which doesn't have Photo Mechanic installed, but I will check later today and let you know. I'd be surprised if it couldn't parse the file name and stuff the first 10 or so characters into various metadata fields. The only question might arise from the need for possible format conversions, e.g., 1986_01-01 in the file name might need to be changed to 1986_01_01 or something analogous to be able to be used in the date field.</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

[marc_rochkind]

My ImageIngester app can do this, as long as the filenames have a common structure. It's cheaper than PM, and also better suited to processing thousands of images as a batch.

 

It can write the date into the IPTC Date Created field. It can't modify the EXIF date/times.

 

(Google ImageIngester to get to my site.)

[robert_hall2]

<p>I have spent a lot of time doing this very thing and finally settled on using the powerful metadata engine in Bridge. Bridge comes with PhotoShop, the full version. For example, if you have the same date to enter into a batch of images, you highlight the images, enter the file name in the appropriate metadata field, and Bridge applies that to each image. If you have dozens of images with different, unique dates (like 86-01-01 and 86-01-02, etc.) it might be a pain. The metadata functions of Bridge are superb. </p>

[robert_hall2]

<p>Different topic but related. Now, how do you PRINT that metadata? How do you display it with an image? </p>

[marc_rochkind]

Well, you could use my app Proof Sheet (in the Mac App Store) that can print photos with labels that can include most any EXIF or IPTC data.

[don_gallagher]

<p>In don't know of any program that will pull the date out of the file name, but we are also archiving our old negatives. We use EXIFTool with the EXIFTool GUI interface. This will at least let you batch edit the exif DateTimeOriginal (and other date) fields in a batch for a single date, so you can process several photos taken on the same day at once.</p>

[charlie_novice]

<p>ExifTool with input prepared by massaging a list of the bare filenames (generated with a DOS command) in Excel could do it.<br>

Robert, see the free viewer Fast Stone | Tools | Batch convert | Advanced options | Add Text | Insert variables .</p>

 

[david_riecks]

<p>The two applications I would recommend to check out are Photo Mechanic (mac/win), or Breeze Browser (Win only). Both have strong 'token based' features that allow you to pull information from existing metadata fields and use it in others.<br>

To simply rewrite the filename into another field (like the "title" field), check out the "Filename 2 Title" page at <a href="http://www.controlledvocabulary.com/imagedatabases/filename2title.html">http://www.controlledvocabulary.com/imagedatabases/filename2title.html</a> for details on how to do this with seven different applications.<br>

Unless the filenames are only the date, it will be difficult to input that value into the Date Created field. However, you may be able to take the list of filenames with corresponding dates and write these into the Date Created field using Photo Mechanic's "code replacement" and "variables" features in tandem. An article outlining how to do this with a text file of data is covered on the <a href="http://www.controlledvocabulary.com/imagedatabases/cv-photo-mechanic-code-replacement.html">http://www.controlledvocabulary.com/imagedatabases/cv-photo-mechanic-code-replacement.html</a> page.<br>

Keep in mind, however, that this will only change the value in the IPTC-IIM or IPTC Core (XMP) metadata. If you need to have this changed in the Exif as well, then you will need to look into the use of something like ExifTool (<a href="http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil"><cite>http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil</cite></a>).<br>

Hope that gives you a few ideas to point you in the right direction.<br>

David</p>

[david_riecks]

<p>In response to Robert Hall's question, there are a number of programs that can take one or more of the values in specific metadata fields and write that as a "watermark" on the image. Photo Mechanic has a "Watermarking" option in the "Save As", "Export", "Printing Proofs", "Upload" and "Send Photos via Email" features. You can opt to write in a value, or use the Variables feature to pull metadata from one or more fields.<br>

Breeze Browser has a similar feature, and it doesn't take much work to master.<br>

Hope that helps.</p>

[robert_hall2]

<p>I would like to start a topic on printing metadata with images. I would like to print metadata as an equivalent of "writing on the back of the photo." I would like to put the information below the image in white space. It's a little more complex than first appears because you need word-wrap. Sometimes it is appropriate to write the data to the side of the image. Qimage prints metadata, but poorly, at this point. A Mac app will not work in a PC. </p>

[howard_m]

<p>If it was me and none of the other tools were satisfactory (haven't tried Marc's new software), I'd start looking at combining ImageMagick's 'mogrify' command coupled to exiftool and w/ PERL as my glue.</p>