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R
raumgleiter
Participant
November 18, 2023
Question

Can XMP info be written into HEIC images?

  • November 18, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 837 views

In my photo library I use DNG files (for all my RAWs), jpg and HEIC.

For DNG files I know xmp is written into the file, no sidecar file needed. Works fine.
For jpg I have also never seen any xmp sidecar being created so it seems to be written into the jpg also.

Only for HEIC images, if let's say I add a keyword, then a xmp file is created automatically for that HEIC image in the same folder. Or I make some edit in Camera raw, xmp file is also created.

Is that correct? Is there no way to save this info directly into the HEIC file? I would much prefer to not have hundreds of xmp files in my image folders.

I did look at many posts on this forum and other websites but the info is conflicting when it comes to HEIC files. So I'd like to get some updated information on this. Thanks for any help.

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    1 reply

    Stephen Marsh
    Community Expert
    Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 19, 2023

    The last time I looked, Adobe didn't provide native HEIC/HEIF support, it was using the underlying CODEC installed in the host operating system. I haven't seen this myself as I don't work with HEIC, however, if an XMP sidecar is being generated, then it sounds like a "workaround".

    R
    raumgleiterAuthor
    Participant
    November 20, 2023

    I'm on Mac. So no idea how this affects that part.

    In the meantime I saw the following info at this link:
    https://www.adobe.com/th_en/creativecloud/file-types/image/comparison/heic-vs-jpeg.html#:~:text=JPEG%20files%20have%20a%20longer,Adobe%20Photoshop%2C%20GIMP%20and%20beyond.

    "HEICs, while also a lossy file format, tend to retain better image quality over time. They also store editing information, so even once you’ve saved edits to an image, you can reverse them in the future. "

    I do not know if this is more if a general information of HEIC files but I find it strange if that is written on the Adobe website but then any edit information is not written into the file but into an external xmp.

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