jimh12345

I actually don't care if AP can even read the metadata. I just want it to leave that metadata alone. Maybe ACDSee copies the IPTC to XMP, and that's where AP finds it. ExifTool would tell the story.

Ok, here's a zip of all 4. Capture One did not create the IPTC metadata. I used PixiShot, a tool for that purpose, which I've been using for years. It writes IPTC correctly and the resulting files are read, and the IPTC parsed, by every microstock and POD site I've ever used, as well as SmugMug. Please use ExifTool to verify this for yourself. with IPTC.zip

I started all over with a new JPG (created by Capture One). I added IPTC title, description and keywords, and viewed them in ExifToolGUI. I loaded that file in AP and saved as a .aphoto. Then I tried exporting it, and viewing the exported file in ExifToolGUI. In the exported jpg, my description was there in the IPTC, my keywords were not, and my title (ObjectName) had been replaced with the name of the original file ("with IPTC") minus the jpg extension. Hard to imagine how this could get much stranger. I'll try to attach all these files. with IPTC.afphoto

I didn't create an .aphoto and I didn't export. I just clicked 'save' and overwrote the original JPG. I'm not at home right now or I'd try those things.

I just repeated my test, starting with a JPG with no metadata (XMP or IPTC). I used a reliable tool (PixiShot) to add title, description, copyright and keywords, and verified with ExifTool that those fields were then stored in IPTC. I opened that file with AP and looked at "file" Metadata - my description was there, but not my title, keywords or copyright. All the "IPTC" fields were empty as well. Then I clicked "Save". I opened the file again in ExifTool. My IPTC description and copyright were still there; the title and keywords were gone. The description had also been written to XMP, but not the title or keywords. I can send you a file, but which version you want - original with no metadata, after I add my IPTC, or after AP removes it?

No sidecar, no .afphoto. As I recall, I just took one of my JPGs, opened it and saved it as a JPG, without modifying the metadata. Later today I'll repeat this test with another file, and then send you the original file.

Opened a JPG via File/Open, then used Save. Title and keywords were removed - the description remained. Trying to debug this further, using ExifTool, is a tedious process but based on a few experiments I think what's happening - maybe - is that AP is taking any metadata that was in XMP and writing it over the IPTC. Some tools that claim to edit metadata actually only use XMP, some use IPTC, and some mix the two up. In my case, some of my files have description fields in both places due to actions in the past. So if AP just blindly copied XMP over IPTC, that might explain what's happening. I might do some more experiments but like I said, it's tedious. I don't know what you mean by the reference to an "Etsy kind of file". I didn't know there was an option to "include metadata" and I'll look for it, but sounds like that would just strip everything on a Save...?

I found out that just opening and saving a JPG with AP results in loss of my IPTC metadata. This is a deal-breaker for me - I sell via POD and all my images have titles, descriptions and keywords in IPTC, which is read by POD sites on upload. I can't even touch those images with AP if it's going to silently delete my metadata. I'm confused, though, because I found a past thread indicating that this problem had been acknowledged and - maybe - fixed. Have others seen this? Is there any way to avoid it?

I just hit this snag too. I have hundreds of JPGs for sale via POD, and all have IPTC metadata: title, description, keywords. I just found out that if I open and save a file in AP, that metadata is stripped out. Now I have to try to think of which files I've already edited with AP, because they've lost their metadata. I could live with AP being unable to display or edit my IPTC, but not with that data being silently deleted. If AP wants to use XMP, that's ok, but if so it should leave the IPTC alone. XMP metadata just doesn't work for many of us because too many stock sites and PODs don't read it. IPTC is accepted everywhere. Is this an acknowledged problem that might be fixed in the future? Is there any workaround at present?

Is there currently a way to constrain the crop to the limits of the existing image?

Yeah I'm new. I see that I can attach a mask layer to an Adjustment - and then edit the mask somewhat (though not entirely) as in PS. But it seems I can also restrict the adjustment without using a mask layer - just by painting and erasing on the adjustment later. On the little thumbnail for the layer, I can see where I've "masked" it in this way - but that's pretty tiny. There does not seem to be a way to view and edit this "implied" mask layer. Is there perhaps a way to promote it to a "real" mask layer? What happens if I add a "real" mask layer to an adjustment - how does it interact with the "implied" mask?

Correct, HSL doesn't make a 'selection' although one is implied. That's really my question - is there a simple and direct way to make a usable mask layer or selection, once HSL has the color range you want? Capture One has it, but it appears AP does not. Although it can be done (as per the videos I found) the method is too complicated to remember. And I can live without this - because "Select - Selected Sampled Color" is good enough for most purposes.

Well that would come close, probably close enough, but doesn't let me tune the selection like I did with HSL. I'd like to use the selection I already have.

I understand how to use AP's HSL filter to select a range of color and modify it. What I'd like to do is use this selection as a mask for another filter, like Blur. In my case I've used HSL to select just the blue sky and change the tint and saturation a bit. Now I'd like to also do a Gaussian blur on that sky - without affecting all the tree branches. I Googled this and did find a couple of videos. BUT the methods for creating the mask seemed extremely complicated; I got lost. In Capture One, for example, this is literally one click on the Color Selection tool: "create mask". The color selection can then be used as a basis for other adjustments I'm thinking there has to be a simpler way within Affinity Photo.