Odd error messages when modifying metadata

It's unknown what these messages mean exactly, other than they cause havoc if you're attempting to tag a large number of images at a time. You'll have to force quit Bridge since there's no other way to stop these messages from popping up without clicking on them one at a time. 


No pattern has been found, aside from perhaps they seem to be more prevalent with RAW files but that's not an absolute.


Any ideas?

Keywording tips

There is a great deal of chatter about keywords and how they can make archiving photos (and other digital assets) accessible. The simple fact is they can indeed make life infinitely more enjoyable for the digital archivist and searchable for the designer or writer. But -- and this is a BIG but - you have to follow a few simple rules.

Identify and clarify an initial keyword list. This is best done in conjunction with your team's designers and writers. Once identified, the list can be built upon and developed as needed.

Deciding is your keyword list for internal or external use.

Know your image environment. If you're working primarily in one field use the words most associated with that field. For example, if you're in higher education, chances are slim you will need to search using military-oriented keywords. "Academics" or "History" or "Student," yes, but probably not ""armor," "platoon," or "squad."

Keep the keyword list short, sweet and relevant. There are a few exceptions to this rule, however. For example, we have a number of "historical" images representing old academic programs no longer taught at JWU: "keypunch" and "office machines" to name just two. I've tagged those programs using relevant keywords although I am almost certain those search terms will never be used again.

Also, if I'm faced with tagging an image that doesn't reflect any of the previously identified keywords, add a new keyword. You can always go back later and modify it -- but if you don't identify the keyword up front you've lost the opportunity to tag that image or group of images accurately.

For more in-depth discussion of this often misunderstood and misapplied concept, visit Peter Krough's illuminating article in DPBestFlow online.

Adding Metadata - bugs and glitches

An ongoing problem -- one that has frustrated me from the very beginning of this project -- is the error message that continually crops up whenever I try to add, delete, or otherwise modify the metadata in an image or group of images in the library. (I began this discussion this in my previous post.)

Specifically, the problem usually occurs in the "Search results" window (but not always). What happens is, when I try and modify the metadata of an image or a group of images and will often (but not always) get an error message, saying that such-and-such image cannot be modified, no reason given. Furthermore, if you have selected a number of images to be modified, you have to manually click through each one. More frustration.

Much of the time the problem can be "worked around" by going to the specific folder where the images are located and modifying them there, rather than in the search results window. Clunky but it does work. Sometimes the problem arises when dealing with Camera RAW files (NEF has been a primary culprit here). as I noted in my previous post, one can simply convert RAW files to DNG and the problem goes away. Plus it lowers the overall file size and no sidecar XMP files to deal with.

If anyone has any ideas or thoughts about this, I'd love to hear them. And share them.