[digikam] [Bug 505626] New: Reverse Geocoding Fails to Write Location Data to IPTC/XMP in Image File (macOS 8.6.0)

[Janne Juopperi]

https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=505626

            Bug ID: 505626
           Summary: Reverse Geocoding Fails to Write Location Data to
                    IPTC/XMP in Image File (macOS 8.6.0)
    Classification: Applications
           Product: digikam
      Version First 8.6.0
       Reported In:
          Platform: macOS (DMG)
                OS: macOS
            Status: REPORTED
          Severity: normal
          Priority: NOR
         Component: Geolocation-ReverseGeoCoding
          Assignee: digikam-bugs-null at kde.org
          Reporter: jannematias at gmail.com
  Target Milestone: ---

SUMMARY
When performing reverse geocoding on images that contain valid GPS coordinates,
digiKam successfully retrieves the textual address information from online
services (e.g., Nominatim/OpenStreetMap) and displays it within the Geolocation
Editor's "Reverse Geocoding" panel. However, this geocoded location data is not
written to the standard IPTC or XMP metadata fields within the image file
itself, even when the "Write locations metadata" option is enabled. This
prevents the use of these metadata fields for features like file renaming based
on location.



STEPS TO REPRODUCE
Okay, here is a comprehensive bug report draft that you can use. Copy and paste
this into the bug reporting system (e.g., bugs.kde.org for digiKam), filling in
any specific details if prompted by their form.

Remember to attach the screenshots and the ExifTool output as separate files to
the bug report.

Bug Report Title: Reverse Geocoding Fails to Write Location Data to IPTC/XMP in
Image File (macOS 8.6.0)

Product: digiKam
Version: 8.6.0
Operating System: macOS (Please specify your exact macOS version, e.g., macOS
Sonoma 14.x)
Component: Geolocation / Metadata / Database Integration

Description:
When performing reverse geocoding on images that contain valid GPS coordinates,
digiKam successfully retrieves the textual address information from online
services (e.g., Nominatim/OpenStreetMap) and displays it within the Geolocation
Editor's "Reverse Geocoding" panel. However, this geocoded location data is not
written to the standard IPTC or XMP metadata fields within the image file
itself, even when the "Write locations metadata" option is enabled. This
prevents the use of these metadata fields for features like file renaming based
on location.

Steps to Reproduce:

Ensure digiKam is configured to use your desired photo collection (e.g., a test
folder).
Go to digiKam (top menu bar) > Settings > Configure digiKam...
Navigate to Metadata in the left sidebar.
In the "Behavior" tab, ensure the checkbox Geolocation information (GPS) is
CHECKED.
Ensure Use lazy synchronization is UNCHECKED (or experiment with its state).
Click OK.
Select one or more images in your digiKam album that are known to contain valid
EXIF GPS coordinates (confirmable by seeing them placed correctly on the map in
digiKam or by external tools like ExifTool).
Go to Item > Edit Geolocation... (or Cmd+Shift+G).
In the "Geolocation Editor" window, ensure:
An online reverse geocoding service is selected (e.g., "Open Street Map").
The "Reverse Geocoding" panel on the right sidebar is expanded.
The checkbox Write locations metadata is CHECKED.
(Optional but confirms lookup): Right-click in the "Reverse Geocoding" panel's
content area and add tags for {City}, {Country}, {Suburb} to display the
retrieved location types.
Click the Process reverse geocoding button.
After the process completes, observe the "Reverse Geocoding" panel (it should
show lists of locations like Helsinki, Finland) and the "Tags" column in the
image table (it should populate with extracted location names like
"Location/Helsinki, FIN").
Click Apply at the bottom of the Geolocation Editor.
Click OK to close the Geolocation Editor.
In the main digiKam window, select the same processed image(s).
Go to Album > Re-read Metadata From Selected Items.
In the right sidebar, go to the Metadata tab and select the IPTC sub-tab.

OBSERVED RESULT
The "Details" panel in the Geolocation Editor does NOT display an "Address"
section with parsed City, Country, etc., even after successful processing of
reverse geocoding.
The IPTC sub-tab in the main digiKam window's Metadata panel remains completely
empty for location-related fields (e.g., City, Country, Sub-location).
When using an external metadata inspection tool (like ExifTool), the image file
does NOT contain any IPTC or relevant XMP fields for geocoded location data,
despite the presence of raw EXIF GPS coordinates.
The [meta:IPTC.Location.City] or [meta:IPTC.Location.Sub-location] tags used in
the batch renaming tool do NOT populate with location names.


EXPECTED RESULT
The "Details" panel in the Geolocation Editor should populate with a textual
"Address" section (City, Country, etc.) after successful reverse geocoding.
The IPTC sub-tab in the main digiKam window's Metadata panel should display the
geocoded location information (City, Country, Sub-location, etc.).
The image file should contain correctly written IPTC and/or XMP metadata tags
for the geocoded location, verifiable by external tools like ExifTool.
The [meta:IPTC.Location.City] and [meta:IPTC.Location.Sub-location] tags should
correctly retrieve this data for file renaming.

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Windows: 
macOS: 15.5 (Intel)
Linux/KDE Plasma: 
KDE Plasma Version: 
KDE Frameworks Version: 
Qt Version: 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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