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DevMeta Lightroom Plugin
Develop Settings Metadata allows filtering on any Develop Settings (Library Filter + Smart Collections).
Note: There is a possibility for another plugin to try and access the catalog while auto-update is using it. This will cause an error in the other plugin. If this happens too much, you may have to disable auto-update. The newest versions of DevAdjust & DevConvert do not have this problem.
Quick Links (intra-page)
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
See the readme file after downloading for usage and other notes.
ScreenShot #1 - Library Filter
ScreenShot #2 - Library Panel
(The Smart Collection Drop-down includes the same items).
ScreenShot #3 - Settings In The Plugin Manager
See Elare Plugin Framework page for settings and info common to all elare framework-based plugins
These FAQs come partly from users, and partly from my imagination. Please let me know if there are errors or omissions in this FAQ - thanks.
NOTE: The following Q&A's assume that the plugin is working as I expect... If, after your best effort, still "no go", please let me know.
Question: Why would I ever need or want such a thing as DevMeta?
Answer: If you always develop your photos from start to finish, never make mistakes, never look back, and don't care what you've done after you do it, then maybe DevMeta is not for you, but if you want to view cross-sections of your photos based on develop settings, then you need DevMeta - and there is some icing for the cake thrown in too, that might make you happy...
Question: How to use DevMeta?
Answer: After installing DevMeta, go to the Plugin Manager and configure settings. Then select one or more photos and press Alt/Opt-F,S,U (in Lightroom). i.e. File Menu -> Plugin Extras -> DevMeta -> Update. After initializing Dev-Metadata for you entire catalog, this step is only required if you've got auto-update turned off, or you've edited a block of photos (e.g. using DevAdjust, DevConvert, or Auto-Sync) and develop metadata has not had a chance to be recomputed yet for all changed photos.
Question: Will develop settings be available for library filtering and smart collections immediately after installing DevMeta?
Answer: No. - DevMeta must do an 'Update' to copy settings from Lightroom catalog to custom plugin metadata fields, which is what's being used in lib filters and smart collects - see 'How to use DevMeta' above.
Question: What does DevMeta do?
Answer: It has two modes:
Question: Why does DevMeta say it can't update some photos.
Answer: I can think of at least these possibilities:
Question: Is there a performance penalty for using DevMeta.
Answer: Although manual update with a bunch selected can take a while, auto-update when only one is selected should be very fast. If auto-update with a bunch selected is too slow, you can set it to only update the most selected automatically, then update the remaining selected manually after editing (that's what I do).
Question: I set out to update a whole bunch of photos but it looks like its stuck.
Answer: Its supposed to give an error message if it dies, but still that's one possibility. But also, it takes a long time to get started, and a long time to finish up when updating a large batch - you might have to wait several minutes at the end-points (especially at the finishing end-point), depending on Lightroom, your machine, and how many you have selected. Lightroom memory leaks can be a problem too, and if too severe you may have to divide your update into smaller chunks.
Question: Why can't I set ranges for numerical settings in smart collections? (and other numerical criteria).
Answer: Lightroom does not yet support numerical data-types in custom metadata. Unfortunately for the time being, they're being treated as strings - sorry (fingers crossed). For this reason, I tend to use Library Filters more often than Collections for viewing cross sections of photos based on Develop Settings.
Question: What does test mode do?
Answer: Now that live-edit has been discontinued, it doesn't do much. Develop metadata is updated regardless of test mode.
Question: Why would I want to disable Auto-Update?
Answer: Auto-Update is a lightweight ever-present background process. Its not supposed to get in the way of anything, but if Lightroom is behaving strangely, you may want to disable auto-update until you get things sorted out. One thing: if you run a plugin that requires catalog write access and it doesn't retry when there is contention, DevMeta may interfere with it. If you get "SomePlugin can't access catalog..." errors, try stopping auto-update.
Question: Why would I want to 'Update All Selected'?
Answer: Updating All Selected is fine if you only have a handful of photos selected, but it can really slows things down if you have very many photos selected. Although, its not as bad if you de-select "auto-write to xmp" - with that also selected, DevMeta updates all the metadata, then Lightroom re-writes all the xmp. Just be aware that without 'Update All Selected' checked, when you edit a batch of photos using auto-sync or DevAdjust, or applying a preset using the context menu, that the develop metadata is not automatically updated, so you must update manually afterward, or whenever you're ready.
Question: Why is the process version sometimes undefined?
Answer: I don't know. It seems to only happen with PV2003 files, but I can't be sure yet. If you confirm this for yourself, you may be able to treat 'Undefined' same as '2003'.
Question: Why is 'Last Update' editable?
Answer: Clearing out the last-update (date-time) field will force update develop metadata of most selected photo, assuming auto-update is enabled and healthy. This is normally not necessary, but I like having a quick way of ensuring what I'm looking at is up to date, and of checking health of auto-update without going into plugin manager.
Question: What logger where why?
Answer: The logging stuff applies only to the manual updates - nothing gets logged by the auto-update task. The logger is in the root of your documents folder, and is named {something}.log while the update is running, and {something}.txt after completion.
Question: What if I have problems?
Answer: Try turning on log-verbose - not only is more stuff logged but it enables some debug code as well that may help. Try and figure it out for yourself, and if you can't then report a problem and send me the verbose log file.
Question: DevMeta is too cool for words, how can I express my gratitude non-verbally?
Answer: Send Money $$$ - thanks.
Question: DevMeta is too cool for words, but not cool enough for money - now what?
Answer: Just tell me what you think - thanks.
Question: What are some of DevMeta's limitations and what are your plans for the future of DevMeta?
Answer:
- Updated for Lr4b compatibility - does not support new develop settings of PV2012, but otherwise seems to be working OK.
- Lr4 platform warning can be dismissed permanently.
- Added stack-count metadata.
- Also reverted stack-pos handling to original: stack-pos = 1 if top-of-stack or not
in a stack. Stack-count can be used to distinquish. Stack-pos will no longer be "Not Stacked" to make that distinction.
- Changed targeting: if no photos are selected, user is asked whether he/she wants to do whole catalog (including those buried in collapsed stacks), or just visible photos in filmstrip.
- Manual update now done in 1000 photo chunks - alleviates problem at least one person was having that the update would not make it to the end, due to abnormal consumption of memory.
- Added button to plugin manager, for updating the plugin, and uninstall.
- Fixed bug in plugin preference handling.
- Migrated code to 'Elare Plugin Object Framework'.
- New features are added by the framework, but also:
- Added option for auto-update
of all-selected photos, and whole-catalog, leisurely, in the background.
- Backward compatible with previous DevMeta versions (meaning metadata should not need to be re-updated).
- Changed stack-position to "Not Stacked" instead of "0" if not in stack (since its being handled as a text string anyway).
- Fixed bug in handling of consolidated point curve metadata.
- Enhanced stack-position handling to be zero if not in stack.
- Includes some other minor bug fixes in common
code too.
- If any errors, error count displayed in progress indicator.
- Cancel via progress indicator (for any reason), instead of prompt upon error.
- Fixed bug induced in v1.7.0 - was having error if width or height not present in dimensions. Mostly affect videos.
- Added progress indicator to upper left hand corner.
- Made metadata fields read-only (in right-hand library panelii) to emphasize they are not editable/writable.
-
Clearing out the last-update (date-time) field will force develop metadata (of most selected photo) to be updated again, assuming auto-update is enabled and healthy.
- Added deprecation warning when enabling 'Update All Selected'. Enabling this function is problematic if not used judiciously.
- Added cropped width/height metadata.
- Targets must be selected - i.e. it will no longer target all photos in the filmstrip when nothing is selected.
- Added Pixel Count & Aspect Ratio metadata items.
- Critical bug fix, the last release caused errors.
- Uses normal progress scope (upper left corner) when auto-startup enabled.
- Adds 'Stack Position' metadata. (not technically
develop metadata, but keeps me from having to write another plugin...) - Example usage: define collections that do not include items buried in a stack.
- Added change detection: metadata is updated only if changed, and last-update date-time has been added to metadata so you can tell when the last update was. This keeps the photo from seeming to have been "edited" just because of a metadata update.
- Reworked the error handling a smidge.
- Added a "Default Log File" button to the plugin manager.
Note: ExifMeta was updated too to handle RC Metadata Tagsets that include the last-update and stack-position items.
- Robustened a tad, error-handling-wise.
- Changed auto-update to not occupy an 'Undo' step. Since live-update feature has been revoked, its unnecessary and annoying.
- Fixed a bug whereby auto-update would silently terminate when selected photos were suddenly deselected, such as when being deleted or upon import...
- Live edit has been discontinued. Although not very often, once in a while, it would inadvertently change develop settings erroneously, and I don't know why or how to fix that yet. So until further notice, its retracted. Auto-update still works though.
- Added additional develop-settings metadata fields:
- Aesthetic enhancement to edit-history naming.
- Live-Edit has been restored - bug fixed.
- Live-Edit has been disabled temporarily - pending bug fix.
- Fixed a potential problem with catalog contention between auto-update/live-edit and other plugins that access the catalog.
Initial release.
Please come back after trying DevMeta and let me know what you think of DevMeta, or report bugs in DevMeta, if encountered (but please identify the plugin!) - I need the name, or I have no way of knowing which plugin!!!
acceptance of Download Terms & Conditions will be required
DevMeta 2.3 - Latest & greatest - this is the one to download.
DevMeta 2.2 - for fallback in case of problem with latest release, in which case please tell me.
| Static content updated 2010-07-14 | Copyright 2007 - robcole.com - all rights reserved. | Dynamic content updated 02:44:30 AM |