XnView Software

Metadata loading:
JPEG - Embedded/Sidecar-Embedded
PNG - Embedded/Sidecar-Embedded

Metadata update:
JPEG - Catalog/Embedded/Sidecar
PNG - Catalog/Embedded/Sidecar
TIFF - Catalog/Embedded/Sidecar
RAW - Catalog/ExifTools/Sidecar
Others - Catalog/Sidecar

A little bit cryptic, but let me try to address :

1. I think that we need a way to set the precedences what to read first?

Something like:

IF Option#1 exists THEN read it
ELSE IF Option#2 exists THEN read it
ELSE IF Option#3 exists THEN read it

We need a GUI to keep the order of these 3 options (Embedded, Sidecar & Catalogue)

Usually it is a list which supports drag & drop and two buttons: Move Up and Move Down.

2. If the sidecar is from another type of file - for example if was generated through editing a Raw file and we are looking at a JPG, then ...well it can be a problem but not too much because, usually, because if they are the same file name then they - in most cases in the same folder - they have the same image. Ok, JPG can be „doctored” but the catalogging metadata (which is the XnView MP's main focus) is the same.

Well it can be changes but I think that we will complicate too much the GUI. Of course, if we can specify the precedences per file type the more the better, but I think that this is a rather small percentage case.