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Phil Fischer
Participating Frequently
August 29, 2013
Answered

How do I copy keywords “backwards?”

  • August 29, 2013
  • 1 reply
  • 5816 views

I added Keywords to many jpg files when I should have added them to their scanned source files (tifs). Is there an efficient way to copy them from the jpg versions to their tif “originals?” Except for their suffixes, they are identically named. Obviously the keywords assigned to any one jpg can be dragged to its tif version (or to any any other image file). But I have about nine thousand of them, each with its own set of keywords, and each with its own tif source file (with no keywords). Is there a way to automate this? Is there a way to tell the jpgs to transfer their metadata to other files with the same names (minus prefix) or to any other files?

I’m working in Bridge3 OSX, but will use any software that can do this efficiently. And I will learn whatever scripting is necessary if that’s what it takes.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer I have gone

I copied the forum text of the script, pasted it into TextEdit, titled it Copy Metadata, and changed the extension to .jsx. I added it to the Startup Scripts folder revealed in the Startup Script Preferences and checked its box. It now appears in Prefs whenever I restart Bridge.

However, upon restart, a message says an error occurred while running the new script. It suggests updating Bridge, but the updater under the Help menu no longer seems to work. I am running Bridge 3.0.0.464 CS4 (Mac). I will look around to make sure I have the latest upgrade.

The message also says the script has been disabled, “but can be re-enabled in the Startup Scripts section of Preferences.” I tried that several times, but no go. The message ends with:

“.../Startup Scripts/Copy Metadata.jsx Line1:{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\cocoartf1187\cocoasubrtf390 Syntax error”

Could I have erred in preparing the .jsx text file?


The problem is that you haven't set Textedit to use plain text, as the error message is showing control characters, denoted by the rtf.

This is why it is best to use ExtendScript Toolkit that is installed with Photoshop.

You should find it in <hard drive>/Applications/Utilities/Adobe Utilities

1 reply

David W. Goodrich
David W. Goodrich
Participating Frequently
August 30, 2013

I expect the regulars here can provide a far better answer than I can as a Bridge-scripting noob, but since no one else has answered I'll say "This sounds like a job for ExifTool."  In fact, the ExifTool forum has a thread "Copy Meta-Data from 1 set of files to another."  But for all I know, scripting Bridge might be easier.

David

Message was edited by: David W. Goodrich for typo in URL

P
Phil FischerAuthor
Participating Frequently
August 31, 2013

Unfortunately, that solution appears not to apply to the Mac OS platform.

David W. Goodrich
David W. Goodrich
Participating Frequently
August 31, 2013

ExifTool is is about as platform-independent as software can be.  There are graphical user interfaces available, but I've only used it from the command line in Windows.  It's been a long time since I did anything with OSX's Terminal, but I assume ExifTool works similarly there.  ExifTool can do a hell of a lot, but getting it to do what you want in a single command entails precisely controlling the command with a series of parameters (though you can combine some in callable arguments files).  All this can be pretty intimidating at first, and part of the ethos, seemingly, is that you are expected to learn by doing: the homepage quotes an Adobe forum contributor, "Insanely great tool with a long learning curve."  I expect ExifTool can do what you want under OSX, and I've gotten far enough along the learning curve that I'd try it over Bridge scripting, but I expect some of the experts here could do it more easily with Bridge.

David

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