[Digikam-users] IPTC, EXIF, Kphotoalbum

[Thomas Hummel]

I'm new to this list. I search hard for answers but I'm not sure I get
everything right and feel I might use your help :

My understanding is that :

  . EXIF tags are for technical picture info (focal, exposure, ...)

  . IPTC tags are more adequate to store comments or personnal info

  . digikam will be, through the soon-to-be-released Metadata Kipi
    plugin, able to write tags into IPTC tags fields in the picture file
    itself. Or maybe does it that already and the Metadata plugin is for a
    convenient way to edit them ? As well, would all digikam tags be
    writable into the picture file or just a subset ?

  . although able to write metadata into the picture file, digikam
    does have, I guess, for performance reason, its own "database"

  . does digikam automatically write those in-picture-file tags or
    does it store tags into its "database" only and flush them only when
    explicitly requested ?

  . concerning tagging : what's the difference with Kphotoalbum ? I
    mean is there some tag-oriented actions which are possible in one an
    not in another (or is it just a matter of how easily it is to perform
    those actions ?)

Though Kphotoalbum seems to better suit my needs, I worry about it not
writing tags into pictures (in the case of the need to step to another
software - I wouldn't lose all the tagging work done). digikam,
through IPTC tagging seem to produce more portable work.

Also, though digikam seem to leave my underlying file-system folder
layout intact, when importing a directory which holds only
sub-directories (and no pictures), it creates empty "Albums" named
after those sub-directories : is there a way to avoid that ?


-- 
Thomas Hummel 	    | Institut Pasteur
<hummel at pasteur.fr> | Pôle informatique - systèmes et réseau