Help Needed with Photoshop CS3 and Bridge

[jamie allan]

I'm looking for some help. Over the last 3 and a bit years I've moved from an E-410 to an E-600 and now an E-3. I use PS CS3 and Bridge.
Most of my E-410 images were jpegs though I'm sure I tried raw for a while. When I got the E-600 I moved to raw but as PS CS3 didn't recognise the E-600 I converted them first using Adobe DNG. Now I have the E-3 PS CS3 recognises the raw images without the need for DNG conversion. However I've noticed that every time I use Bridge to open an image I create a new file suffix .xmp. I understand what an xmp file is having researched it on the internet. What I don't understand is
1. why I never got them with the E-600 - is it the DNG conversion that stopped this happening.
2. do I need them as it increases the number of files on my hard disk by a factor of two - yes I know they are small (approx 7kB) but it still leads to disk inefficiency.
3. how do I stop them being created in the first instance.
Any help would be appreciated.

[snaarman]

Re: Help Needed with Photoshop CS3 and Bridge

I am also mystified by this. I use the E600 via DNG into CS3 but without Bridge.

If I open a random DNG from the past I find that ACR automatically picks up the settings (exposure etc) that I last used for this file. I always thought that these were saved in the appropriate .xmp file, so there must be hundreds of them lurking by now. However a search of my disks only reveals those few ACR presets I created myself.. no sign of loads of image xmp files.

So, my question is, where does ACR hold the image by image tweaks history, if not in xmp files...?

Sorry, not a lot of help

Pete

[Daveart]

Re: Help Needed with Photoshop CS3 and Bridge

Hi I believe DNG inbeds the data within the file themselves and not in seperate files as ACR and other raw converters do.

Dave

[Bikie John]

Re: Help Needed with Photoshop CS3 and Bridge

I think that for DNGs, Photoshop will store the metadata (exposure adjustments, crops, white balance etc.) in the DNG file itself. For camera raw files it will generally store the same info in what it calls a "sidecar file", whic is the .xmp file. It can do it with DNGs because DNG is Adobe's own format (which it would like to become a de facto standard), but for manufacturers' own format files it dare not muck about with them in case it upsets the makers' own editing programs.

I have a vague memory that there might be an option somewhere to tell it whether to use sidecar files or save the metadata in the file itself. But I wouldn't be surprised if that only applies to DNGs so it won't help get rid of your .xmp's.

Bridge will sometimes create other files as well. For example, if I have a bit of finger trouble while browsing and tagging, it will sometimes decide I want to sort the display maually and will create a file called .Bridgesort.

Hope this helps ... John