Lightroom Metadata Presets

This week we continue our Adobe Lightroom 3 journey with a quick look at the Metadata Presets option in the Library Module.


The Metadata Presets option allows you to write critical contact information into the EXIF data of your image so that no matter where your image goes, your contact information goes with it. Lightroom 3 makes this process incredibly easy by allowing you to create and apply a template of this information for reuse as a preset. From the Library Module, locate the "Preset" option at the top of the Metadata Panel. Click the double-headed arrow to the right of the "Preset" text box for a list of options which includes the ability to "Edit Presets…". By selecting this option you will now be presented with the Metadata Presets dialog window.

From the screen shot you can see that there are a series of data elements which you can populate. To the right of each item is a check box which indicates whether or not that data element is applied to the image when this preset is applied. Once you've set the data you'd like applied, you'll give the preset a name and simply select this preset to automatically update the values on the image from this template.


In the spirit of "set it and forget it", Lightroom also provides you the option to select a Metadata Preset at the time of import. Like the other import features, once you set this value, Lightroom automatically remembers it for future imports so you need not worry about it again. How cool is that? Now no matter where your electronic images go, you'll always go with them!

Until next week, keep click'n.
-Ken