Basic principle

All metadata and keywords that Excire Foto assigns when adding and analyzing photos are initially only stored in the Excire Foto database – not in the photos themselves.

To make this information visible to other applications (e.g. Lightroom, Capture One, Windows Explorer), the metadata must be written to the photos or XMP sidecar files using Photo → Save Metadata.

Tip: The export dialog also offers the option "Save metadata for exported photos" to include metadata directly during export.

Loading keywords when adding photos

For Excire Foto to read keywords already stored in a photo when adding it, the option "Load keywords from analyzed photos" must be enabled in the settings (tab "Metadata"). This option is disabled by default.

Important: This option only works if the analysis is performed directly when adding photos. Photos that were added without analysis can load keywords afterwards via Photo → Load Metadata.

XMP sidecar files: When are they used?

Metadata can either be written directly into the image file or into a separate XMP sidecar file:

• RAW files (e.g. CR2, CR3, ORF, NEF): Metadata is always stored in an XMP sidecar file, as the RAW format does not allow direct embedding. This is not a limitation of Excire Foto, but is dictated by the format itself.
• JPEG and DNG: Metadata is stored directly in the file by default – unless the setting "Always use sidecar files" is enabled. In some cases, writing metadata to a DNG may fail; in this case, a sidecar file is created automatically.

Note for Lightroom users: Lightroom only supports XMP sidecar files for RAW formats, not for JPEGs. If you want to transfer metadata from Excire Foto to Lightroom, the option "Always use sidecar files" must not be enabled.

To test compatibility with other applications, Excire Foto provides a ZIP file with sample metadata exports (3× CR2 with sidecar file and 1× JPEG). There is also a video demonstrating metadata export and import in Lightroom.

Additional settings (for advanced users)

"Append metadata array content"

When this option is enabled, keywords are appended to existing keywords when saving, rather than overwriting them. The default setting is "overwrite" – this is correct for most users. If you want to synchronize keywords between multiple applications and also transfer deletions, this option should be disabled.

"Always use sidecar files"

This option is only recommended for advanced users who work with applications that exclusively use XMP sidecar files for metadata (e.g. Capture One in certain configurations).

Color labels

Excire Foto stores color labels depending on the language (e.g. "Red" in English, "Rot" in German). If colors are not displayed correctly in another application after saving, the language of the color labels can be adjusted in the settings under the "Label" tab.

For further information on application-specific details, please refer to the article "Metadata compatibility with other applications (Lightroom, Capture One, ACDSee, etc.)".