Edit IPTC: Job ID field is not compliant with spec

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jkm
Posts: 504
Joined: Sat May 11, 2024 12:43 am

Edit IPTC: Job ID field is not compliant with spec

Post by jkm »

I was looking at the Edit IPTC dialog today, and there seems to be an issue with the Job ID field.

:bug: When in one of the IIM modes, the Job ID field actually writes IPTC:FixtureIdentifier. This is not to spec.

In the IIM spec, a Job ID field does not exist. So it could be argued this field should be disabled for IIM mode (or renamed).

In the IPTC Photo Metadata spec, 7.17 Job Id is listed as having these fields:

Code: Select all

XMP Specs		photoshop:TransmissionReference [Text <External>]

IIM Specs		2:103 Original Transmission Reference, max bytes for text: 32

XMP			XMP-photoshop:TransmissionReference / IIM: IPTC:OriginalTransmissionReference
IPTC:FixtureIdentifier is not in there. Photoshop uses a "Job Identifier" field to write TransmissionReference, as per the quoted spec.

Of course XnViewMP already uses XMP:TransmissionReference<->IPTC:OriginalTransmissionReference, and has fields with those names in each dialog.

In either of the XMP modes, Job ID is greyed out and unavailable. There is no Job ID field in Edit XMP at all.

So what XnViewMP should be doing with the Job ID field in Edit IPTC would depend on what spec it is trying to implement, but I can't see how IPTC:FixtureIdentifier is an appropriate mapping for a entry field named Job ID.

Perhaps the most straightforward thing would be to relabel this field "Fixture Identifier", since that is the IPTC IIM field name. Since "Fixture Identifier" has no named XMP equivalent, it would still be appropriate for the "Fixture Identifier" field to be disabled in XMP mode.