EXIF data in image properties is not updated after cleaning metadata

[teslasystems]

XnView MP 1.10.5 64-bit on Windows 11.

Reproduce steps:
1. Open some image that contains EXIF data
2. In main menu choose Metadata->Clean metadata...
3. Ensure all checkboxes are selected, confirm by clicking OK
4. Save image
5. Right click on image->Properties, go to EXIF tab
6. All data are still here and not removed

Switching to next/previous image and back doesn't help. You need to restart the app to see that the data was removed. ExifTool tab is updated btw, the problem is only with EXIF tab.

Please fix. It leads to confusion when you check the tab to confirm that the data was removed.

[jkm]

I agree, this is poor behavior.

It's actually worse than you realize. If sidecar files are turned on, data is not removed from the sidecar file at all. That's a second problem, and it leads to a third problem...

You do not actually have to restart the app for the metadata changes to be recognized. If you do a Metadata->Update Catalog from files, the database (and thus the EXIF tab) will then show the refreshed data. But because the metadata was not removed from the XMP sidecar file, that metadata is re-imported into the database when Update Catalog from Files is performed. That's the third problem; the deleted metadata is effectively undeleted.

Unfortunately, this is another aspect of a longstanding problem, where certain metadata editing activities (like Edit XMP, Edit IPTC) do not force updates to the database, which then requires the user to manually "Update Catalog from Files". So that's a known issue.

[xnview]

Thanks to your detailed description I can reproduce the problem.

[xnview]

This problem is supposed to be fixed in XnView MP 1.11.4. Please check and confirm the bug fix here.

[jkm]

This issue is only partially fixed.

When doing "Clean Metadata" on a standalone file (no sidecar) the issue is corrected and things work as they should.

But things are still not handled properly when sidecar files are enabled and present.

[teslasystems]

This problem is supposed to be fixed in XnView MP 1.11.4. Please check and confirm the bug fix here.

Well, it's fixed, but something is wrong.
If I clear the metadata and then open Properties, EXIF tab is completely empty:

1.png

But if I close and reopen the same file, it has some data about image:

2.png

[xnview]

yes i you have the embedded thumbnail written

[teslasystems]

yes i you have the embedded thumbnail written

Ok, but in this case, if some data is not removed, it should be displayed. As I said, after cleaning EXIF, the tab is completely empty, but after reopening the file, there is thumbnail information. So, the problem is that the tab doesn't display actual data.

[xnview]

settings>Write>Jpeg - rebuild embedded EXIF thumbnail

[teslasystems]

settings>Write>Jpeg - rebuild embedded EXIF thumbnail

Checked

[xnview]

settings>Write>Jpeg - rebuild embedded EXIF thumbnail

Checked

so exif rewritten