GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 689906
Lost Legends and false IPTC Records on copied files
Last modified: 2013-01-21 17:15:27 UTC
Hello, I regularly use GIMP to improve my photos and I also use Picasa to post slide shows .One advantage of Picasa is that we can add a legend to every photo which can be displayed or not during the slide show according to the user choice. In order to carry out those slide shows on various computers I clearly need to copy my photos files. In 2011 I processed my photos with GIMP 2.6.11 and copies were perfectly made without any problem. Today, I use GIMP 2.8.2 and several photos do not copy out completely, in particular 9 times over 10 the legend created under Picasa 3.9 is not copied out. It seems that in that case the copy of the ITPC data associated with the photo is not correctly made. All my photos are in .JPG format and I am using Windows XP. Thanks for any comment.
*** Bug 689908 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Created attachment 231092 [details] First example, photo which ”does not work” A photo modified with GIMP 2.8.2. If you copy this photo the legend Grotta Azzura will be transformed into x-default.
Created attachment 231094 [details] Second example, photo which ” works” A photo modified with Picasa 3.9 from the same original. If you copy this photo the legend Grotta Azzura will be correctly maintained
(In reply to comment #2) > Created an attachment (id=231092) [details] > First example, photo which ”does not work” > > A photo modified with GIMP 2.8.2. If you copy this photo the legend Grotta > Azzura will be transformed into x-default. I have just registered (using ”register under”) the associated photo to comment N°2 , amazingly enough it appears on my computer with the legend ”x-default” though the photo I joined was with the legend ”Grotta Azzura”. It simply means, of course, that the ”joining process” implies a copy.
This is about The Gimp no? Reassigning.
(In reply to comment #5) > This is about The Gimp no? Reassigning. I am not sure to understand this comment. Let me add a few more details. First of all I am not a developer but a simple user. Then I was puzzled when I was asked in the reporting process to assign my declared bug to a specific GIMP module. No other choice but try to guess. A fact is absolutely sure. The problem did not exist with GIMP 2.6.11 and does appear with GIMP 2.8.2. One major difference between the two releases is when you want to record a modified photo by overwriting (replacing) the initial picture, I mean in .JPG format. Under GIMP 2.6.11 we could use either “register” or “register under”. Under GIMP 2.8.2. we must use “export”. Isn’t that a track to follow?
What is this about about? About loss of IPTC data, or about the fact that you now have to use "export" to JPEG?
IPTC data is apparently still being dropped by GIMP (with the exception of the PSD plug-in maybe, but that was just a cursory inspection). LEFEVRE, can you describe what exactly you see? What I have understood: 1. you use GIMP to modify (JPEG) image files 2. later, you assign IPTC data to these files with Picasa 3. if you then copy the files in a file manager, the data is somehow lost or replaced GIMP is only invovled in step 1. so it would seem strange that it affects this at all. Have you reported this problem to Picasa as well? What is the result of their analysis of the files?
Thank you for your comment, despite my poor English (my native language is French and I should have written “save” or “save under” instead of “register” or “register under”) you have very clearly understood what I am doing. In order to give you a maximum of information I will try to describe what happens when I copy a complete folder of 632 pictures. 181 of them have been provided with a legend under Picasa (your step 2) 176 come from my camera modified with GIMP. IPTC data (Software) = Nikon Transfer 1.1.W, (Artist) = none or Picasa for 26 of them. IPTC data (Software) = GIMP 2.8.2, (Artist) = none for the other 150. 4 come from Wikipedia or Google Earth (Using ”save as“) IPTC data (Software) = Picasa, (Artist) = none for all of them 1 comes from Wikipedia (Using ”save as“) IPTC data (Software) = Adobe Photoshop CS4 Macintosh, (Artist) none The legend is lost only when (Software) = GIMP 2.8.2 then 150 times over 181! I totally agree that neither GIMP nor Picasa is involved in the copying process. Effectively, I sent first a message on the Picasa forum before I join your debug site. The single answer I got is that they would not see this bug as possible since legend is part of ITPC data! I got the feeling that this forum is only visited by users but not in relation with Picasa development team. Then investigating further, I discovered that legend disappears only when the software IPTC data field contains the value GIMP 2.8.2. It looks like very often Picasa cannot process correctly the data provided by GIMP, even if (and that is very strange) the legend does appear properly when I enter it (Step 2). Is it Picasa which does not accept a valuable ITPC record or GIMP which provided it with an incorrect format?
Are you sure this is IPTC data? One of the known bugs of GIMP is that IPTC data is being dropped, and only Exif is retained so far. Is there any place where one can file a proper bug report against Picasa, to enable the Picasa developers to evaluate whether this is a problem of Exif handling in Picasa or in GIMP?
Thanks to your comments I just posted again a new question to the Picasa Help Forum .This time I joined the English site and wrote the mail in English. I don’t know much of IPTC or Exif. The data fields I quote are viewed under Picasa with the general name of “properties”. I also made just now a new test with a previous folder of 652 JPEG files I had built in 2011 following the same process. The copy is perfect even for most of the files which show a “properties software field” equal to GIMP 2.6.11.
Please provide a link to the Picasa forum here, and make sure to include a link to this bug in the forum thread if you haven't done so already.
(In reply to comment #12) > Please provide a link to the Picasa forum here, and make sure to include a link > to this bug in the forum thread if you haven't done so already. Link to my new question in English http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!search/Lost$20legends/picasa/tV6LQh_bK2Q/hpVU0qWDg_AJ Link to the first discussion I initiate in French https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/picasa-fr/fw7QXneSQ4k/O0TV2dHOCxIJ Up to now it doesn’t get anybody’s attention! Thank you for your help.
Dear Michael, if you go to https://groups.google.com/a/googleproductforums.com/d/msg/picasa/-/afZnKPsUB0YJ. You could see that I got a few interesting suggestions on the Picasa Forum. Finally I checked all the suggested saving methods under Picasa 3.9.0 Build 136.09, regarding individual files as well as complete folders with exactly the same result: lost legends. Again I tried to find a site on which a real bug reporting, directly assigned to a Picasa support team would be possible. One can see on the forum that I am not the first to look for such a site and no one found an answer. Merry Christmas
The thread in the Picasa forum seems to focus on a potential usage problem on your side. I'm not able to tell from your comments there if you use Picasa as intended, and maybe the people there can't, either.
I read your posting at [1]. In the three steps you describe in your initial posting there GIMP is only involved in the first step, but the error obviously occurs in the second step. The legend you entered is not written to the file in Picasa, so it's not a GIMP bug. Besides I added an answer in the Picasa product forum. [1] https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/picasa/tV6LQh_bK2Q/afZnKPsUB0YJ
HI Sven, thank you for your last comment. Excuse me for my too short answer on Picasa forum. I realize I got a lot of sympathetic attention from GIMP team. I agree totally with you the problem comes from Picasa. According to Earl’s recommendation I have downloaded the last available Picasa Build 136.09. It works better than (I should say differently from) the previous version. I have checked several methods: Export files under Picasa, as well as save files directly with Windows. All methods worked with a small folder containing 10 photos, 6 of them including a legend. With a folder containing 55 photos, 16 of them including a legend the result was rather funny. Lost legends, previously cancelled legends appearing again and even one modified in “LLL“! Clearly nowadays Picasa isn’t a reliable product.