[Gary Small]

So thanks to Kevin for alerting me to OSXphotos, which I will take a look at (eventually) and also for Nik’s reply, which makes sense, but if I read it correctly would possibly work in Nitro, but not CHANGE the titles that would still be needed in Apple Photos.

So if anyone else is interested, my research put me on to Photo Workbench (https://www.houdah.com). For about $30 (US) it does exactly what I need.

The process (for me) is to go one folder at a time (I organize by year), select all photos in the folder, click on the “Change Titles” menu at top of page, Method is Name Format, select File Name from elipse symbol and click “OK”….DONE and FAST!

I need to do some work anyway in my AP library and will use Nitro’s Flagging (mostly reject) to thin things out, but having the folders actually sorted by the same file structure as in the Finder is a major help.

Shame on Apple for this seriously dysfunctional way of sorting, but I guess it creates opportunities for the independent developers.

gary

[Gary Small]

So it turns out that I CAN do this with the photos OUTSIDE of the Apple Photos library using Photo Supreme, Graphic Converter (already tested both) and “probably” Photo Mechanic. So THAT would mean exporting out all the photos from the library, doing the process, then re-importing into AP -OR- simply delete the library, do the thing externally, then re-export the (mainly raw) files out (again) to compressed HEIC or JpegXL and then re-import into a blank library…either way a huge PITA.

I’d much prefer to do it inside the library, but it may not be possible. It appears that Nitro also follows the same requirement in a Photo Library window, where it clearly does NOT in a folder view.

So definitely hoping for some enlightenment.

thanks

gary

[Gary Small]

Thanks Nik…got it. I know the key-stoning issue was a result of the angle I was forced to use (narrow spaces), but was just surprised to see there was no lens correction for an iPhone. I suspect that the “computational” processing manages distortion internally.

thanks

[Gary Small]

Richardb’s postulated workflow is similar to what I do. To import Fuji X-T5 RAF files and iPhone 17 Pro Raw (DNG) files into “Photos” would be a failed “IQ” test for me, since Photos won’t process Fuji Compressed Raw and in any case the file size (along with the iPhone DNG files) would bloat my iCloud storage, even after culling.

I store those original files in yearly folders. I use the Finder to batch rename the files “YYYY_MM_location_sequence). Nitro can do this too, (I like the underscore _ separator better than the hyphen -), but mainly, I also add Finder tags at the same time. I use Photo Supreme for folder asset management which will read Finder tags and automatically add identical Keywords (Graphic Converter can do this too, but it is an extra step with additional software). I then add those new photos to Nitro for editing (and additional keyboarding) and finally use the export direct to Photos using HEIC files. I would RATHER export using JpegXL (better compression and 16 bit color capable), but Nik hasn’t committed to add that option.

Once the exports are in Photos, I might use some of the 3rd party extensions (on1, Luminar Neo etc) to do final tweaks. The main thing is that the original (large) files are stored on local drives accessible to Nitro if re-edits are desired, and iCloud Photos manages the small processed photos and are globally accessible to my devices.

[Gary Small]

Good article, prompted me to install Apolloone. Not seeing it as very useful with nothing not already in Nitro…unless I am just not seeing the “big picture”. For starters, it is not seeing keywords that are created in Nitro and visible in other apps. It supposedly has “Keyword Management”, but if it doesn’t see existing keywords (tried RAF with xmp sidecars and iPhone DNG files), it is a non starter for me. Glad it was free to try.

I am open to “standing corrected” if anyone thinks I’ve simply missed the key to using Apolloone, or eventually I will remove it. I simply do not see it being anywhere near in the same class as Nitro……gary

[Gary Small]

Of course, leave it to Apple to muddy the feature with a new OS release. I’m not fully sure I think I understand your point about colors, but as long as “portrait” is still spelled “portrait” the Finder would (find) “portrait”. I know finder tags are weird because the system does not allow one to sort or alphabetize them (among other possible issues as you point out). While colors aren’t really that useful to me, I do note that when I add tags in the Finder, the colors default to the same color as previously used.

I DID see that I could (and did) “import” finder tags and see them displayed in the Info panel, but haven’t explored if it has any search functionality.

Thanks Nik.

Gary

[Gary Small]

Thanks Nik, but your post today indicates that Nitro “supports” Finder tags in Tahoe. Have you posted any clarification on that? The cataloging software (Photo Supreme) writes finder tags as a synchronization option. I suppose the issue you described with changing those tags outside of Nitro or other PHOTO software could be an issue, but I simply see it as a “one way street” in terms of writing finder tags. The photo software doesn’t need to read or import them…but the option exits in the Finder to do a Spotlight search if one discontinues using a certain commercially branded photo software.

My case in point is moving away from Lightroom (a few years back) left me with a hierarchical keyword mess that took hours to untangle with other software (Photo Mechanic). Having finder tags would be a nice backup.

gary

[Gary Small]

I think Heic compatibility outside of the Apple universe are too problematic to be useful when coming straight out of the camera or iPhone. I’ve read that Google dropped support for jpeg-xl maybe because rendering time issues over the compression… so JXL may be lost in the wilderness for a fair amount of time.

I think a workflow (developing AND keyboarding) using Nitro initially with export of Heic files into Photos library and moving the raw (or other original) files to a dedicated catalog (Photo Mechanic, Photo supreme, xnView) with keywords hopefully intact will work pretty well for me.

thanks

gary

[Gary Small]

Thanks Nik, that is a very helpful understanding that you provided.

gary

[Gary Small]

Further follow-up…..So this has been a bit like “herding cats”. what I THINK has been the issue is that (only) Apple Pro Raw dngs have a conflict when other software writes keywords INSIDE the DNG and others write xml files, which may conflict with Nitro’s XMP files. It looks like I may have resolved the issue, but will continue to experiment….gary

[Gary Small]

Hi Nik,

Follow up issue with keyword compatibility. In Files Mode, I added keywords to 10 Apple Pro Raw (DNG) files (as a test). XMP files were created, but none of my other software (DxO PL, xnView, ON1, Photo Supreme) read them. conversely, keywords written by Photo Supreme in “xmp” are not read by Nitro.

Perhaps I am doing something wrong. I have a rather large catalog (approx 50k) photos in Photo Mechanic and more recently in Photo Supreme. I am somewhat keen on starting my workflow with Nitro for initial demosaicing, editing and keywording…but need to be able to retain the keyword efforts in my other cataloging software.

Is this possible, or do I need to rethink the process?

Also, if I WERE to rely on Nitro as my primary DAM…is there a limit to number of files managed? The ideal scenario (I thinK) would be to manage the raw files in Nitro Files mode and the exported Heic files in Apple Photos library…all from within Nitro.

thanks

gary

[Gary Small]

Thanks Nik. Photos not reading Xmp files says it all! I have previously had issues with software not reading Heic keywords written by software such as Photo Mechanic. As I understand it, HEIF has some proprietary issues which some software either avoids or doesn’t fully support. Jpeg-XL would seem to solve some off that as “open source” with even better compression and support for 16bit color. I HAVE noticed however, that the increased compression can result in longer rendering time.

gary

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