XnView Software

AFAICT, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but XnViewMP can read the tags in a file's properties (the ones you see when viewing the file's properties in Windows Explorer on the details tab), but when adding tags using XnViewMP, it apparently only does so in the sidecar files or whatever database XnViewMP uses. While that may be better for some reason (and I'd love to know why), I'd really like to have it apply the tags to the file's properties, so they're carried by the files themselves.

There are 4 families of "properties"
-File system properties, such as file type, checksum, creation/ modification date, size, version etc ...

and 3 others for photos
- Exif metadata : hundreds exist, most of them are technical informations written by camera and 30 years ago users added exif keywords,title, comment, author ...
-ITPC metadata : 20 years ago users entered captions, locations, keywords, copyrights ... until today, iptc is still used, even by this cat .
-xmp embedded metadata : hundreds of fields; users are adding (a third kind of) keywords, titles, descriptions etc ... When file format does not support embedded data, a sidecar xmp file can be created.

In XnviewMp , you can read all types, and write only some metadata, the family in which they will be stored depends on the settings you choose.
(but in EXIF fields, only GPS data and dates are modifiable)

When you use "Edit iptc/xmp" window, settings are in "Mode" drop down menu in last tab :"Options".
When you use "Categories" tool in XnViewMp to enter keywords, settings are in "Tools, settings, metadata"

Windows explorer displays some of these informations in its own way (search for exif, if it doesn't exist, search for iptc, sometimes choose xmp ... I don't know how, and each version of Windows had a different behaviour). (Never used W10 sorry.)

So please tell us which informations you are talking about, which family you want to use, where do you want them to be displayed etc ...
If you want to see location and names of all these informations, read the "ExifTool" tab in the "Informations" pane
(You can use the photo of the cat, copy the picture, and paste it in XnviewMP browser)

If you navigate to a photo in Windows file explorer, right-click, go to properties, switch to the details tab, under the "Description" group (the first one), there's a "Tags" line. That's where the photos I've gone through and tagged so far with another software are tagged. In XnViewMP, they show in the Info area under the IPTC-IIM tab and in the Categories area. So I'm guessing I'm looking for a way to get XnViewMP to write IPTC-IIM tags, preferably by being able to have them all listed in an area to the side like they are in Categories so the desired ones can simply be checked, which would apply them to the selected photo(s). Or typed like they can in the Categories area, after which you press enter to apply them as typed.

Which brings me to another issue I noticed. When typing something there, you have to hit enter twice to get it to apply, which causes some confusion and causes them to accidentally not be applied sometimes. Also, it would be ideal if it would automatically sort them to put the applied/checked ones at the top, which would help both to see right away what tags are applied to a photo when selecting it and to be able to immediately verify that a tag has been applied when typing it and pressing enter.

michel038 wrote: Sat Apr 18, 2020 12:30 pm ...lots of quality text...

I appreciate how your response aligns with your avatar

So I'm guessing I'm looking for a way to get XnViewMP to write IPTC-IIM tags

Ok, the easier way to enter keywords is to use "Categories" (use "Categories" panel, select at least one photo, rignt click to add new category etc)

"Categories" is a tool that :
- creates and updates internal database of XnViewmp (file : xnview.db).
- creates simultaneously embedded iptc keywords (settings, metadata, "export ..." and "create iptc ..." ) or xmp keywords (xmp-dc:subject)
You can use hierarchical IPTC keywords, but I think they are not commonly used
Xmp hierarchical keywords, normalized by Adobe are more up to date ( so you need to add "create xmp" in settings)
- enter many hierarchized keywords in many photos in one click
- It handles your keywords dictionnary (export, import ) and allows hierarchical keywords (look for "thesaurus" on the net)
- Offers multi-criteria searches with "categories filter" panel ( combine with Ctrl, or Alt keys )
- permits "easy" editing functions to change/add/remove keywords ( "easy" only when you have understood the exact way to do this)

In Settings, Catalog, you can ask XnViewMP to read already tagged files in whole folders and subfolders with "add folder" button
(in metadata settings, you must add "import ..." option )

...

you have to hit enter twice to get it to apply, which causes some confusion

- select a photo, check a category , and ... you must release the selection to make XnViewMP update it's DB and write keywords, yes.

Also, it would be ideal if it would automatically sort them to ...

In "View" menu, select "Sort by ... , Show headers"
You can switch between "View, View as ... Details" and "View, View as ... Thumbnails + labels" and click in headers to sort photos ...