Need to manage photos and Indesign files

[David Fast]

I'm looking for a DAM application on the Mac that can help me organize photos and Indesign CS3 files.

I've been using EM2 for a while now, and I like what it can do with photos, but it doesn't import the metadata that I assign to my Indesign files with Bridge or Indesign.

Thanks for the help,
David

[johnbeardy]

Not sure there's a better choice. Extensis Portfolio does allow you to set fields so they read specific XMP addresses, so I would guess that it would read any metadata. What specific fields is EM having problems with?

John

[David Fast]

Thanks for your reply, John.

Expressions Media doesn't import the keywords or description information that I assign to my Indesign documents through Indesign's File/File Info menu, or through Bridge.

Is EM2 supposed to be able to read Indesign's IPTC information?

-David

[johnbeardy]

Well, I don't see why it shouldn't work, but I've just tested it (EM2, ID-CS4, Mac) and it doesn't seem to do so. Looking at a few fields, I'm unsure why it's failing.

This may be worth firing at Microsoft through their forum.

John

[David Fast]

I've raised this issue on the Microsoft forum.

I got a very quick response, but not an answer I was hoping for. Basically, EM2 doesn't read Indesign's XML data. I think Illustrator files have the same problem.

Here's the response from Microsoft:
________________________
"I tested on CS4, which is the only trial download I could find, and can replicate your issue. Looking at the advanced tab in file info, you can see the XML that's saved for the keywords, etc. They are in a section that looks like this:

Schema (http://purLorg/dc/elements/1.1/
   dc:format: application/s-indesign
   dc: subject(bag container)
      [1]: keyword1
      [2]: keyword2

where keyword1 and 2 are the actual keywords. The only difference I can see between the InDesign file and a TIFF, is that the TIFF says it's dc:format: image/tiff.

So more than likely the file format is short circuiting reading those keywords. I tried it the other way around, writing the keyword in Expression Media and syncing to the main file doesn't carry through to Bridge. I'm afraid that I don't have any good answer for you, unless you keep your annotations in one application or the other.

I will file a request for InDesign annotations to be read in Media."
_________________________

John, thanks for pointing me to this forum.
-David

[johnbeardy]

Long ago, well before Em2, probably when EM was iView, I asked that users be able to define the XMP addresses and sort out these things themselves. One day....

Depending on your skills, you may be able to adapt some of my Bridge scripts to copy from one namespace to the other.

John