Trying to make xmp files not visible when saving raw NEF files from Adobe Bridge to MacBook Pro

[BozoMonkey]

Hi, I am using a Mac BookPro, 16-inch, 2023 M2 Pro, running the latest Mac OS Sonoma 14.5. I would like to know if there is some way in saving raw image files (NEF)(edited) from Adobe Bridge, with the side car files (xmp files)(because of editing/adding meta data/etc.) so the xmp side car file is hidden, instead of visible in the file I store them to (maybe a setting someplace or something?). I know it is necessary to have these files because they carry the edited information with them, but I would like to not have them visible. So as not to have the added clutter, making, at least for me, it harder to look through the files with these raw images that have the xmp attached to them. Thank you for any help given.

Dan

[Lumigraphics]

Bridge hides XMP sidecars but the operating system does not. The only way around this is to convert your RAW files to DNG, which store metadata internally.

[gary_sc]

Regular raw files cannot be changed, so any "alterations" are contained within sidecar files (XMP files). If you change your camera's raw files to DNG files, that should solve your issue. DNG files are container files (sort of like a folder). JPG images are also container files which is why you do not see XMP sidecar files with them as well.

You can get the DNG Converter from here: https://helpx.adobe.com/camera-raw/using/adobe-dng-converter.html

[timothyw34651453]

Do Adobe .PSD files use .XMP?

[gary_sc]

Hi, @timothyw34651453, no, they do not. In the list of files that can contain XMP data, I did leave off TIF, they can also store XMP data, but PSDs cannot. When you open ANY kind of file in Photoshop, and open ACR as a filter, there's no way to save that as a raw image, so you have to save the file as a changed file. If you want to step back to the original file and "re-try" with ACR, you need to first convert the ACR Filter as a Smart Layer.

But, while you can open JPG and TIF files with ACR, you cannot do so with PSD files.

Oh, one last comment: if you open a TIF or JPG file in ACR and make a bunch of changes, if you send that off to someone who doesn't have a photo enhancement program that can read the xmp data, they will not see your enhancements. If you plan on sending the files to someone, or to social media, you need to resave the file with your changes as a JPG or TIF file to "burn" the changes into the file.

Good luck