What does exporting IPTC as XMP do?

If you’ve used the “Export Unmodified Original” option in the Photos app on your Mac to export images or videos from the Photos or iCloud Photos app, you’ve likely noticed an additional toggle to turn it on labeled “Export IPTC as XMP.”And if you’re like a lot of Mac users, you’re probably wondering what the hell IPTC as XMP means, and if you should be using it.Let’s dive in and see what this feature does and you can decide if you want to use it or not.

What does “Export IPTC as XMP” actually do in Photos for Mac?

When you select “Export IPTC as XMP”, you allow metadata to be exported as well as a single XMP document.

This is useful if you have added additional metadata to your exported photos and want to import those photos with that metadata into another photo manager or application.

As long as the .xmp files are stored in the same directory as the image files, they will be imported together and restored even in another Photo Library or iCloud Photo Library or even in another product like Google Photos.

Try it yourself, use the “Export unmodified originals” option, and then click to enable “Export IPTC as XMP” and you will find that there is an accompanying .xmp file for every image file you export.

Should I use “IPTC as XMP” when exporting photos?

Whether or not you should use Export IPTC as XMP when exporting images from photos is up to you and whether you use metadata and whether you want to save or restore that metadata for images.

If you’ve added additional metadata to photos, such as manually adding location, keywords, captions, and other information to Photos, and want to save all that metadata in the most widely compatible format possible, you’ll probably want to use the Export IPTC option. as XMP” when exporting photos.

Just be sure to keep the .xmp files in the same directory as the original photos you exported so that when you import them into another application (or another photo library), the metadata is with the metadata and the .xmp metadata is ancillary.the repository accompanies the original image files.And yes, it can create directory clutter, but then again, if you’re just porting libraries, this should be a temporary annoyance.

If you save all your photos from iCloud Photos on Mac and want to keep all metadata in the most compatible form for use in another cloud service or photo app, you’ll almost certainly want to use this feature.