Feat. Request: Selective IPTC field editing

[Junction10]

I could really do with a checkbox next to each field in the IPTC editor screen (with a select all/deselect all/toggle selection) that would allow me to make changes to just a select few IPTC fields in a batch of files.

It's quite time consuming at the moment, if I've already captioned all my images and realise I need to change just one of the fields in the batch.
With a checkbox, I could specify that all other fields should remain untouched, and ONLY the selected field should be updated in those files... then I wouldn't lose all my individual captions when I just want to change a range of headlines etc...

The only other workaround I know to this involves creating a dummy file and 'blanking' all the fields that I don't want to change, and using the 'leave existing fields if new field is blank' option, but that's too time consuming.

J

[Chris Breeze]

You can do selective editing of the keywords field using (by using the keyword editor) and of the desciption/caption (by setting use IPTC description/caption for comments and then editing the image comments).
I think having checkboxes on each of the fields would be too cumbersome because you'd have to tab through all the panels to check the right ones are set.

[Ferdinand in Paris]

We had a discussion about this recently. See towards the end of http://www.breezesys.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1734

I thought that you were thinking about implementing a selective IPTC editing capability like Imatch has? I would have thought it not all that hard, relatively speaking, and it is a glaring ommission from BB.

F_P

[Junction10]

I think having checkboxes on each of the fields would be too cumbersome because you'd have to tab through all the panels to check the right ones are set.

Not necessarily... Most of my images are all correctly captioned when I download via Downloader Pro, but sometimes I may incorrectly spell an artist's name in the Caption and Headline fields, or get the name of the venue wrong, or need to change the copyright status and copyright URL.

So by having a 'select all' and 'clear selection' option, I could simply click the clear button, then just select the one or two fields I do want to change without having to worry about removing all the changes to my previous caption editing (Nothing worse than going through 50 odd images entering the names of individual band member's in left-right order, then doing a batch IPTC edit and copying the 'current' image caption over all the work I've just done...)

Next time I want to batch edit and rewrite ALL fields, I'd just do 'select all' (I'd even accept this as the default option when the IPTC editor opens, but I think it's probably more acceptable to leave at it's last setting).

J

[Junction10]

This is a really nice method, similar to what I originally suggested, but iView works so much nicer...

(iView - "Info" panel, not Organize)

When working with multiple selections, show the IPTC fields, and all fields have a little 'pen' icon next to the field name.

When you edit any of the fields, the pen changes colour to show it's marked for saving, and only the fields with 'highlighted' pen icons are changed in the selected files.

This is not confusing for the user, as it ensures that only fields that have changed will be saved and doesn't require the user to click any radio buttons... of course, clicking the icon to unselect the field for saving is also possible, just in case you make any changes that you don't want saving after all...

BBP really does need something like this, because it's a feature that I need all the time but don't want to have to switch programs just to do it, especially as BBP is part of my tight-deadline workflow while iView comes much later after I've already submitted my images... I'm sure I'm not the only one in that position.. :)

Regards,

J

[DavidB]

I strongly support this request. We have discussed the problems associated with batch editing IPTC data in a number of threads over the past few months, and something along the lines suggested by Junction10 is the only safe way to do what (I suspect) most IPTC data users would wish to do.

One further suggestion. It's a while since I looked at iView, but I think it presents its IPTC data in a single grid. I much prefer BB Pro's tabbed arrangement, which is (for me) a lot easier to navigate, but, if you are showing fields to be edited (or not), there should be some sort of maker on each tab to indicate whether it has fields that are being changed.

[rdellar17]

Just my 2cents...

I think one of the cleanest implementations of this is how iTunes does it... If you select one song and select 'get info' then you get a dialog box that doesn't have any checkboxes by the editable fields... If you select multiple songs and select 'get info' then you get a different dialog box that has checkboxes beside every editable entry.

By default all checkboxes are unchecked... So nothing will get saved by default. The dialog displays only the elements that are in common between all songs selected. Then if you start typing or change the contents of one of the boxes the checkbox is checked and it will change all selected items when you hit ok...

The trick is how this will work with how multipicture selection is handled currently in Breezebrowser... Currently you get to scroll thru each picture selected. The iTunes method just shows one box when you select multiple pictures. (Also I don't think Breezebrowser could just show text in fields that have the same values... That would have to work different also.)

(Off topic but curious: Was the bug in http://www.breezesys.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1734 fixed? (The Urgency field was always was being set.)

-- Russell

[Junction10]

This is still a feature that I feel would improve BBPro immensely - having been searching for an alternative and cost effective solution, I've not found anything suitable.

My workflow is based on very tight deadlines for two photo agencies. I use Downloader Pro to embed generic IPTC data into the files as they're downloading, but leave certain fields blank such as the credit and source - as this will be different depending on which agency the image goes to.

When all images are down, I'll go through and refine the captions, identifying individuals if known etc, then I'll apply the credit and source info once I've selected which photos are going where.

I frequently find that I'll need to change fields for one reason or another, but they will already contain data, so I can't choose "only replace blank fields" option.

Currently - the quickest solution I have is to load IView media Pro, import my workflow folder, and use the IPTC editor in that, sync the annotations, then go back to Breeze Browser Pro...

It would be a great timesaver if the IPTC editor in BBP could have checkboxes next to each field that are blank at first, and get 'checked' if you change the contents of the field next to them... then 'apply to selection' would only change the fields in the selected files that have the checkmarks next to them - regardless of the existing or new fields being blank (but that could still be left as an option).
One other nice feature of IView's IPTC editor is the 'drop down' of previous entries in some fields (making it even quicker to enter certain data that is repeated frequently, like my copyright info - which has 3 variations, depending on which agency I'm supplying.

Because I work to very tight deadlines (agencies usually request the photos within an 30 minutes of the events I shoot!), I need every second available.. switching to IView is a pain in the backside.. no, an inconvenience, but it's the only tool I know of that does what I need....

So.. if BBP were to include this feature, surely it would lead to increased sales - especially as it would be one of the cheapest 'in depth' batch IPTC editing tools around - before you even consider it's other features.

Best regards,

J.

[DavidB]

This is still a feature that I feel would improve BBPro immensely - having been searching for an alternative and cost effective solution, I've not found anything suitable ... It would be a great timesaver if the IPTC editor in BBP could have checkboxes next to each field that are blank at first, and get 'checked' if you change the contents of the field next to them... then 'apply to selection' would only change the fields in the selected files that have the checkmarks next to them - regardless of the existing or new fields being blank (but that could still be left as an option).



I supported this idea before, and I support it even more strongly now. So far as I can see, something like this approach is the only safe way of batch editing a subset of IPTC tags without accidentally damaging other tags which were supposed to remain unchanged.

My impression is that, little by little, the usefulness of IPTC is becoming better understood. There are precious few applications that handle it sensibly, and BB Pro is one of them. Removing the one problem area is this set of capabilities would, I agree, give BB Pro a significant boost.

[Clive]

Yes! Yes, please.

And then a graceful search capability, I have found none yet - they all want to do much more than I want, and don't want to work with anything else.

There are benefits in using keywords, but file name and caption field and the location fields are items I MUST complete, and until I can search on the contents of those, keywords are irrelevant. When I can search on the primary info fields, I will then add keywords and want to search on them also.

[Junction10]

Especially since Microsoft are crippling IView - the only other decent product capable of batch editing selective IPTC fields... :(