What are all these .XMP files Photoshop is making?

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I downloaded Photoshop CS2 trial, and I am processing all these raw files - for each one I make, Photoshop makes an .XMP file. What's this for?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    XMP stands for Adobe's Extensible Metadata Platform, and it is a labeling technology that allows you to embed data about a file, known as metadata, into the file itself. With XMP, Adobe has taken the ?heavy lifting? out of metadata integration, offering content creators an easy way to embed meaningful information about their projects and providing industry partners with standards-based building blocks to develop optimized workflow solutions.



    I didn't write this, I just found it on Adobe's site which you can look at here:

    http://www.adobe.com/products/xmp/main.html
  • Reply 2 of 3
    Thanks, what I don't understand, is why it is kept in a seperate file? In the preferences, I have the option of a seperate XMP file, or Camera Raw database. I guess I'm gonna have to go through the documentation to figure this one out.
  • Reply 3 of 3
    Quote:

    Originally posted by the cool gut

    Thanks, what I don't understand, is why it is kept in a seperate file? In the preferences, I have the option of a seperate XMP file, or Camera Raw database. I guess I'm gonna have to go through the documentation to figure this one out.



    It is not put directly into the Camera RAW file, because per specification, Camera RAW images are read-only, so most software designers respect that specification. The XMP is Adobe's way of keeping the data with the image without violating the specs.
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