EXIF metadata batch editing

[Silvio]

Hello, I am fairly new to XnView MP, so I apologize in advance if this topic has already been discussed. From what I’ve been able to see in XnView MP and on the forum, however, I haven’t found a way to edit EXIF metadata for groups of photos. I have only managed to modify this data by working on one photo at a time. Other applications, such as ACDSee, allow batch editing of this information. Is there perhaps a method that I haven’t been able to find?

[jkm]

There are some ways to do do this, but it depends on exactly what you mean when you say "EXIF Metadata"... I'm not sure how precise you're being with your terminology. When some people say "EXIF" they loosely mean any metadata in the file; but that's not really correct. There are different types of metadata in image files, and EXIF is one specific type. The term "EXIF Metadata" could be generally understood to include MakerNotes metadata, which the EXIF specification allows for but does not define the specifics of. (You could think of MakerNotes as an extension of EXIF)

NOTE: XnViewMP allows for the modification of most of these types of metadata, but it does not allow the modification of MakerNotes. It reads MakerNotes, and allows searching by them and other things, but no modification of those fields. You can use ExifTool (or ExifTool GUI) to modify (some) MakerNotes fields if you need to do that.

On the Metadata menu, XnViewMP offers several commands for editing Metadata, and most of these can be used to modify multiple files at once. Just select some files before choosing the command.

There are of course the standard Set Color/Rating/Category, but I assume you mean something more detailed. So there are:

Edit IPTC (this edits IPTC Metadata, so technically not "EXIF")
Edit XMP (this edits XMP Metadata, so technically not "EXIF")
Add/Replace Metadata (This does true EXIF metadata, plus other types, but it is not an interactive "edit". )
Edit EXIF (Interactively edit true EXIF metadata)

The first three let you batch modify many files. The last one, Edit EXIF, does not. It is an interactive edit, but only one file at a time.

But "Add/Replace Metadata" perhaps does what you mean. It lets you set or add EXIF metadata fields for a bunch of files at once. For example, you could set the Lens ID, ISO, and camera Make/Model all in a single step. But this function doesn't let you see what's in those fields first. That's what "Edit EXIF" if for.

Hopefully this helps...

[Silvio]

Thanks for your reply.
To be more precise, the EXIF fields I’m interested in modifying in batch are:

EXIF Image – Image Description
EXIF Image – User Comment
EXIF Image – Artist (can’t find it in XnView MP)

I use these fields to manage personal information for each image, such as the location where the photo was taken, the date, and possibly the artist who created a work. I’m not interested in IPTC and XMP fields; moreover, these can be easily edited in batch if needed, which doesn’t seem to be the case for the EXIF fields I mentioned.

[jkm]

EXIF Image – Image Description
EXIF Image – User Comment
EXIF Image – Artist (can’t find it in XnView MP)

"Add/Replace Metadata" lets you set those fields on a batch basis. It was one of the methods I mentioned.

[Silvio]

Thanks for your patience. You're right, I have made an attempt editing a couple of images with "Add/Replace Metadata" and it works. Step by step, XnView MP is becoming "my" photo manager.

[michel038]

In my opinion (this is only an opinion), IPTC metadata has been obsolete for about ten years. And “user” EXIF metadata has been obsolete for more than twenty years. In 2026, I would suggest using the equivalent XMP metadata if you want your work to be usable by others.
An ExifTool command can copy your metadata from EXIF to XMP in one step, directly from within XnView MP
… as long as the expertise still exists and these two pieces of software are still commonly used.