Modify metadata in the Info inspector

Modify metadata in the Info inspector and Inspector HUD

You can view or change the metadata for a selected photo in the Info inspector and the Info pane of the Inspector HUD. The selected photo’s metadata appears in text fields. You can change the metadata fields shown in the Info inspector and the Info pane of the Inspector HUD by choosing a different metadata view from the Metadata View pop-up menu. You can also modify metadata views by adding EXIF fields, IPTC fields, and other miscellaneous metadata that you specify using the Metadata Views dialog. In addition, you can use controls in the Camera Info pane to add color labels, ratings, and flags to an image selection. If a photo has an audio attachment, you use the controls in the Camera Info pane to listen to the audio as well.

Figure. Controls in the Metadata pane of the Inspector HUD.

The top portion of the Info inspector and the Info pane of the Inspector HUD displays basic camera information about a photo, if it’s available. This area is called the Camera Info pane. If a video clip is selected, the Camera Info pane displays the length of the video clip, frame size, and number of frames per second. If an audio clip is selected, the Camera Info pane displays the length of the audio clip, the bit rate, and the type of audio file. In addition to displaying basic camera information, the Camera Info pane also contains controls for applying color labels, ratings, and flags to photos, and for displaying autofocus point overlays indicating which part of the image the camera focused on.

Figure. Controls in the Camera Info pane.

Add a color label, rating, or flag to a photo

  1. In the Info Inspector or the Info pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Show Camera Info from the Metadata Action pop-up menu .

  2. In the Camera Info pane, do any of the following:

    • To add a color label to a photo: Choose a color label from the Color Label pop-up menu.

    • To assign a rating to a photo: Click the rating button corresponding to the rating you want to apply to the photo.

      The leftmost button assigns a Reject rating, and the rightmost button assigns a rating of five stars (or Select).

    • To flag a photo: Click the Flag button, or press Slash (/).

      Click the Flag button again to remove the flag from the photo.

Show autofocus point overlays

If your camera saves autofocus EXIF metadata that’s compatible with Aperture, you can have Aperture display the autofocus points over the image. The autofocus points used to focus the image appear in red.

  • In the Camera Info pane, click the Autofocus Points button (or press Option-F).

Tip: You can temporarily display the autofocus point overlays on an image by placing the pointer over the Autofocus Points button in the Camera Info pane. The autofocus points overlays disappear when you move the pointer away from the Autofocus Points button.

Change the metadata for a photo

  1. Select a photo.

  2. In the Metadata View pop-up menu, choose a metadata view that contains the metadata fields you want to change.

  3. Click in a text field to make it active, then enter the text you want.

    Note: Not all metadata fields can be edited. Most EXIF metadata fields cannot be changed.

Show and hide the Large Caption field

To quickly add caption text to all of your photos, you can set the Info inspector and the Info pane of the Inspector HUD to show an enlarged version of the Caption field by itself. Then you apply the caption text to each selected photo by entering it in this space.

  • In the Info inspector or the Info pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Large Caption from the Metadata View pop-up menu.

Listen to an audio attachment

If the photo selected in the Browser has an audio attachment, you can use the Info inspector or the Info pane of the Inspector HUD to listen to it.

  1. In the Browser, select a photo with an audio attachment.

    Figure. Image with a badge indicating that the image has an audio attachment.

  2. In the Info inspector or the Info pane of the Inspector HUD, click the Play button.

    Play button in Info Inspector

Aperture plays the audio attachment. For more information about adding attachments to photos, see Add audio attachments to image files.

View the sharing status of a photo

If you’ve shared photos with your Flickr and Facebook accounts, you can view the status of a photo using the Info inspector. If you downloaded the photo from one of your Flickr or Facebook accounts, the Info inspector displays which account the photo was downloaded from. If you published the photo from Aperture to one of your accounts online, the Info inspector displays the specific Facebook album or Flickr set the photo was published to and when it was published.

  1. In the Browser, select a photo.

  2. In the Info inspector or the Info pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Sharing from the Metadata View pop-up menu.

If the photo is shared online, the Info inspector displays either the account it was downloaded from or the specific account and album or set it was published to, along with when it was published. The Info inspector also indicates if the photo has not been shared.

View and reply to comments that friends post about your Facebook photos

If you’ve created Facebook albums in Aperture and shared photos from your Aperture library with your Facebook account, you can use the Info inspector to view comments posted about the photos by your friends. Aperture makes it easy to reply to comments that appear in the Info inspector or add your own by opening the appropriate page in your web browser.

  1. In the Browser, select a photo shared with Facebook.

  2. In the Info inspector or the Info pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Sharing from the Metadata View pop-up menu.

    Comments posted about the selected photo by your friends on Facebook appear in the Info inspector.

  3. To reply to a comment, click it.

    Your Internet browser opens to the Facebook page the photo is posted on. You can post your reply directly in your Facebook account.