Auto save to xmp...another question

[MMarz]

Okay, for the record, I love LR!

I'm improving my workflow incrementally and want to revisit the Auto write to XMP, Save Metadata to File and Update DNG Preview and Metadata commands.. from a broad view.

I am working with DNG files converted from NEF's at import. Seems to work well for me. I don't use Auto-write to XMP because I don't want to take any performance hit (though I haven't thouroughly tested if there actually would be a noticeable hit with that option checked. As a habit I try to do a Ctrl+A / Ctrl+S at the end of each session. I know I am supposed to do this to write the changes, but truth told, I don't know exactly why.

Does Auto-Write xmp do the same as the Ctrl+S command? And exactly what gets written and where? How does the Update Preview and Metadata differ?

If I were to have a total drive failure and had to restore images and catalog files from my backups, what am I potentially going to lose if I don't use the above commands?

I don't share raw images and images are viewed exclusively through LR and CS4, so it isn't important to me that previews are accurate if I open the images in a different app, but I want to safe guard my work in the event images or catalog files get lost or damaged.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Auto-Write writes as you go along, whereas Ctrl-S does it on demand, but they do the same job. They write the settings (most, not all) back to the files.

Update Preview and Metadata does the same, but also updates the built-in preview to reflect your current Develop settings.

XMP is just belt-and-braces. With good catalog and image backups, you wouldn't lose anything by not having XMP, as all of the data is contained in the catalog backups. XMP is for the paranoid among us! (Yes, I use it...LOL) The belt-and-braces come into their own if, for example, all of your catalogs were corrupted but your image backups were ok, but that is obviously a preventable situation. Other situations where they're useful is if you've removed photos from your catalog and then change your mind later - settings that would have been lost when you removed from the catalog would still be stored in the files themselves.

 

[MMarz]

[quote author=Victoria Bampton link=topic=9212.msg62'61#msg62'61 date=1266672843]
Auto-Write writes as you go along, whereas Ctrl-S does it on demand, but they do the same job. They write the settings (most, not all) back to the files.

Update Preview and Metadata does the same, but also updates the built-in preview to reflect your current Develop settings.[/quote]

So it would seem to me that if I don't intend to open images in other apps or send DNG's to someone else, the Ctrl+S doesn't carry a huge benefit for me and Auto Write might not be necessary or useful for my workflow.

[quote author=Victoria Bampton link=topic=9212.msg62'61#msg62'61 date=1266672843]XMP is just belt-and-braces. With good catalog and image backups, you wouldn't lose anything by not having XMP, as all of the data is contained in the catalog backups. XMP is for the paranoid among us! (Yes, I use it...LOL) The belt-and-braces come into their own if, for example, all of your catalogs were corrupted but your image backups were ok, but that is obviously a preventable situation. Other situations where they're useful is if you've removed photos from your catalog and then change your mind later - settings that would have been lost when you removed from the catalog would still be stored in the files themselves.
[/quote]

My catalog is backed up weekly to an external drive and I have all images backed up, though my backups are of the original DNG's, not DNG's that have develop settings. Is that a vulnerability? Or doesn't it matter if the settings/metadata is stored in the catalog. If I lose the original master DNG and it's develop settings from my library, and then pull a backup file from the many backups I have, I am assuming that as long as the file name is the same I can bring the backup file into LR and match it up with it's develop settings saved in the catalog. Am I correct?

Right now I have four back-ups of every image, plus the working copy.. a little over-kill. The original/working master linked to my LR catalog, and at least three other backups on external drives. But none of the backups are of DNGs after they are processed in LR. I am in the process of pushing all images up to real-time cloud storage, so that might resolve this issue because the cloud files will be updated as the original/working master gets updated. The plan is to then keep one, MAYBE two copies of the file on externals instead of three or four.

Thanks for your tremendous help!!

 

[clee01l]

Another place where writing to the XMP section of the DNG file comes in handy is if you are using a Windows Codec to produce DNG thumbnails in Windows Explorer. If the crop, and other filter data are contained in the DNG file, the thumbnail will use them to display your DNG image in Windows Explorer along side JPEGs, TIFFs etc.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

[quote author=MMarz link=topic=9212.msg62'63#msg62'63 date=1266677697]
My catalog is backed up weekly to an external drive and I have all images backed up, though my backups are of the original DNG's, not DNG's that have develop settings. Is that a vulnerability?
[/quote]

As long as the backups have the same names, and ideally are in the same directory structure, then just having those plus the catalog will do you fine.

 

[MMarz]

[quote author=clee'1l link=topic=9212.msg62'68#msg62'68 date=126668'234]
Another place where writing to the XMP section of the DNG file comes in handy is if you are using a Windows Codec to produce DNG thumbnails in Windows Explorer. If the crop, and other filter data are contained in the DNG file, the thumbnail will use them to display your DNG image in Windows Explorer along side JPEGs, TIFFs etc.
[/quote]

Hmmm... I don't view the images outside of LR too often. This is worth considering though.. thanks

?[quote author=Victoria Bampton link=topic=9212.msg62'7'#msg62'7' date=1266682328]
As long as the backups have the same names, and ideally are in the same directory structure, then just having those plus the catalog will do you fine.
[/quote]

Yes, I use BeyondCompare to sync all my drives so the file name and structure of all backups is a mirror of the working master.