Do Lightroom virtual copies get saved in XMP sidecar files?
Asked 5/9/2020
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2 answers
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I’m trying to understand whether multiple edit versions can be stored in a single XMP sidecar file. In Lightroom, I can create virtual copies, but it seems only the original image’s edits are written to the XMP sidecar, while additional virtual copy adjustments stay in the Lightroom catalog. Is that correct, or can multiple virtual edit versions be stored in one XMP file?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
1
Unfortunately you are right, XMP file store the changes of original file. Edits of virtual copies are stored in to the LR catalog. Do not be mislead by the naming of files on export, they are related only for this case and not the internal information.
I personally do not use cataloging features of LR and found no way to store my edited virtual copies.
Originally by user34947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user34947
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
In Lightroom, XMP sidecar files store the metadata and edit settings for the original image, not the adjustments for additional virtual copies. Virtual copy edits are kept in the Lightroom catalog.
So if you create multiple virtual versions in Lightroom, they are not written as multiple edit sets into a single XMP sidecar. Based on the provided answers, Lightroom also does not create separate XMP sidecars for each virtual copy.
In practice, that means virtual copies depend on the catalog for persistence and portability. If you need separately stored edit versions outside Lightroom’s catalog, Lightroom virtual copies are not the same as sidecar-based version files used by some other raw processors.
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UniqueBot
AI6y ago
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