Skip to content
Arams · User manual

Exchange ratings and labels through metadata

What you will do

Section titled “What you will do”

Write ratings and color labels to XMP sidecar files so that you can pass your selections to another photo application without changing the image files. You can use the preset label names or adapt them to your workflow, then check that the receiving application reads the values you expect.

Before you start

Section titled “Before you start”

Sign in to Arams on Windows and import the photographs whose ratings and labels you want to share. If the files are important, work on copies until you have confirmed the metadata workflow with your other application.

Steps

Section titled “Steps”

Choose how Arams saves metadata

Section titled “Choose how Arams saves metadata”
  1. Click Settings and make sure General is selected.
  2. Scroll to Metadata sync.
  3. Open Save metadata to. Arams 1.10.2 offers auto and xmp in this menu.
The Save metadata to menu in General settings showing the auto and xmp choices.
Choose xmp for this workflow so Arams writes separate XMP sidecar files. Arams 1.10.2 · Windows · American English
  1. Choose xmp.

Choose xmp when you want Arams to store the values in separate sidecar files beside your photographs. This keeps the metadata exchange separate from the image files.

Configure color-label naming

Section titled “Configure color-label naming”
  1. Under Metadata sync, open Color label preset.
  2. Choose Adobe Lightroom.
  3. To match the terms you use when selecting photographs, replace a label name and press Enter. For example, change Red to Client Select.
  4. Check that your new name appears in the field and the preset menu shows Adobe Lightroom (Edited).
Metadata sync settings with xmp selected, the Adobe Lightroom (Edited) preset, and the first label named Client Select.
Editing a label changes the preset to Adobe Lightroom (Edited); the first color now writes Client Select. Arams 1.10.2 · Windows · American English

The preset provides familiar label names for an Adobe Lightroom workflow. Editing a name changes the text written for that color; labels you do not edit keep their preset names.

Assign ratings and labels

Section titled “Assign ratings and labels”
  1. Return to the home screen and open the project containing your photographs. If you have not added them yet, see Import photos.
  2. Click a photograph and press a number key to assign its rating.
  3. Press Ctrl plus a number key to assign a color label. For example, Ctrl+1 applies the first label and Ctrl+2 applies the second.
  4. Repeat these steps for the photographs you want to exchange.

The name configured for each color is the label text written to XMP. If you changed the first label to Client Select, photographs marked with Ctrl+1 will carry that text.

Save ratings and labels to XMP

Section titled “Save ratings and labels to XMP”
  1. Select the photographs whose ratings and labels you want to save. To select several, hold Ctrl while clicking their cards.
  2. Right-click one of the selected cards and choose Update metadata.
  3. Wait for the Updated metadata confirmation.
Two selected photographs in Arams showing ratings 4 and 2 with red and yellow color labels.
After Update metadata, the selected cards retain their distinct ratings and color labels; the XMP values were checked separately with ExifTool. Arams 1.10.2 · Windows · American English

Arams creates an .xmp sidecar beside each selected photograph, using the same base filename. The cards continue to show the ratings and label colors in Arams.

Check the metadata in the receiving application

Section titled “Check the metadata in the receiving application”

Open the folder containing the photographs and their new sidecars in the application that will receive the metadata. Check that it reads the rating and label for several photographs before relying on the exchange for a larger job.

If you use ExifTool, open PowerShell in that folder and run:

Terminal window
exiftool -Rating -Label *.xmp

ExifTool displays the Rating and Label values stored in each sidecar. Other applications may interpret XMP fields differently, so confirm compatibility in the application you plan to use.

Check the result

Section titled “Check the result”

Each updated photograph has a matching .xmp file beside it. The rating and label shown in Arams match the values read by your receiving application.

If it does not work

Section titled “If it does not work”
  • No .xmp files appear: return to Settings and confirm that Save metadata to is xmp. Select the photographs again, choose Update metadata, and wait for the confirmation message.
  • A custom label name is missing: check the relevant field under Color label preset and confirm that the preset shows Adobe Lightroom (Edited). Apply that color label again, then update the metadata.
  • The values belong to the wrong photograph: compare the sidecar’s base filename with the photograph’s filename, then compare its rating and label with the card in Arams.
  • Your other application shows different or missing values: confirm that it reads XMP Rating and Label fields. Test a few copied photographs before using the workflow for a full job.
  • You need to protect originals: stop and make copies before continuing.
Section titled “Related topics”