Update METADATA-ONLY in previously-exported JPG files

Question

(if this is possible in LR today.. please enlighten me!)

My workflow is simple: shoot RAW ... edit in LR ... export my finished "prints" as JPGs and keep them in a giant collection of all my photos. Archive the RAWs somewhere else. Why jpg? Works with screensavers, Plex app on the TV, post to social media, etc. etc.

WISH: I'd like to use Lightroom to manage this catalog of already-exported-JPGs ... and to sometimes update the METADATA ONLY, writing changes INTO THE JPG FILE. Why?

- add location info (years ago I never did this)

- add people info. (face identification keeps getting better)

- change ratings

I have kept an ancient copy of Digital Image Library from Microsoft because it thankfully DOES update the metadata in the JPG file. I can't find a way for LR to do this.

Two suggestions:
1) add "Export as metadata-update only" for JPG files in the library. Don't change the image, just sync the metadata into the file.

2) add a global option "Auto-update JPG metadata in files when it changes in LR". <-- I'd prefer this!

THANK YOU!

richardplondon · Answer

Assuming you are only interested in these exported JPGs and no longer interested in the Raws - you could import the JPGs into a (new, separate) Catalog. Then you can use LrC features inside this Catalog to characterise them with location, people tagging, ratings, whatever. Existing ratings and keywords on these JPGs will get read in at import but then can be further changed.

Then you'd write all this newly changed metadata that shows inside the Catalog, out to these JPGs that you've imported. This can happen as you go along if "automatically write changes into XMP" is checked, otherwise with Ctrl+S or with the menu command Save Metadata to File.

No new (re)export is needed.

The "XMP" referred to there, will be in this case that part of the header info of the same single JPG file itself. No separate .XMP sidecar file made, as would have happened if these were proprietary Raw files.

To avoid writing out lots of Develop adjustment info as well when this is done, make sure the option to do that is unchecked in the Catalog Settings. So that only informational metadata will be written.

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