odd things about the Sidecar Files indicator in Metadata panel

[chongo]

My cameras allow me to generate small WAV files associated with an image. I make use of this feature to annotate important/selected photos while in the field. I appreciate that Lightroom treats these WAV files as sidecar files. I very much appreciate that Lightroom allows me to play the WAV sidecar file!

I have noticed an odd behavior in regards to the Metadata panel in the Library module. It reports a WAV sidecar with a raw file, but not a psd. On the other hand it shows an associated Audio file with both.

For example, consider the following files in a directory:

foo.cr2 foo.jpg foo.psd foo.xmp foo.wav

The lightroom Library module will show three images (i.e., raw, JPEG, Photoshop foo images). The Metadata panel, using the all preset, will report:

Audio File: foo.wav

with each of the three images. (Clicking on the ==> that appears on the far right will play the WAV file - a very nice/important feature! ) That is as it should be.

What is odd is that the Metadata panel, using the all preset, will also report:

Sidecar File: xmp,wav

for the foo.cr2 image, but not the foo.jpg nor the foo.psd images.

Clearly associating the "Audio File: foo.wav" with each of the 3 images is the right thing to do. Why then, does it only report "Sidecar File: ...,wav" with only the raw image?

chongo (Landon Curt Noll) /\oo/\

 

[Halfje-Bruin]

As Lightroom stores the XMP data for JPG, TIFF, DNG files in the actual files, there is no sidecar file.

 

[chongo]

[quote author=Halfje-Bruin link=topic=7583.msg51931#msg51931 date=125'674153]
As Lightroom stores the XMP data for JPG, TIFF, DNG files in the actual files, there is no sidecar file.
[/quote]

Kees de Bruin,

You raise a valid point about XMP sidecar files. One could successfully argue that the EXIF/XML information in the foo.xmp file is only associated with the raw foo.cr2 file and that any embedded EXIF data in a foo.dng file or that could be in a foo.jpg file, for example, overrides any foo.xmp file. So I can see why "Sidecar file" would not report "xmp" as a sidecar for a foo.dng file or a foo.jpg file.

The foo.wav audio file is a sidecar file that is associated with all foo.* images. Moreover, Lightroom correctly has an "Audio File" entry in the Library module Metadata panel for all of the foo.* images. So therefore I would expect that foo.dng and foo.jpg would show "Sidecar file: wav" under the Metadata.

I think in their haste to disassociate the XMP sidecar file from all images other than the original non-DNG raw images, the Lightroom developers forgot that a foo.wav file IS a sidecar file that needs to be reported with all foo.* images.

chongo (Landon Curt Noll) /\oo/\