How the heck do I import EDITED RAW files with edits?

GadgetRick

Been trying to figure this out for days. Can't find out how to do this. I have a bunch of RAW files and a bunch of XMP files. How do I make LR import the RAW files and look at the XMP files for the edits???

jfriend

If the images (and XMPs) have already been imported into LR, then you just Export as JPEG. LR will bake the edits into the exported JPEG which you then upload to Smugmug.

If the images (and XMPs) haven't already been imported into LR, you need to first import them into LR.

colourbox

If what you want to do is see the existing edits in Lightroom (before exporting, and to build upon those edits), and your XMP files are still the same names as the raw files they go with, then select all the files and do:
Metadata/Read Metadata from File

The command isn't clearly worded, but it will read back the edits in the associated XMP file. Just as "Metadata/Save Metadata to File" writes out your Lightroom edits to the XMP so Camera Raw can read 'em and use them.

arodney

Raw files are read only in Adobe apps. XMP describe the edits you wish to make WHEN you render the raw data (tell LR or ACR to build you a JPEG, TIFF, PSD etc). If you want raw+XMP, you convert DNG, then Adobe will embed the XMP instructions into the DNG (its read and write). The reason you have sidecar files is Adobe will not write them to proprietary raw data. They have no issues doing this with the non proprietary, open DNG. Until you tell the app to back the edits and raw data into colored pixels, you’ve got raw data (proprietary or open) with sets of metadata instructions.

GadgetRick

colourbox wrote: »

If what you want to do is see the existing edits in Lightroom (before exporting, and to build upon those edits), and your XMP files are still the same names as the raw files they go with, then select all the files and do:
Metadata/Read Metadata from File

The command isn't clearly worded, but it will read back the edits in the associated XMP file. Just as "Metadata/Save Metadata to File" writes out your Lightroom edits to the XMP so Camera Raw can read 'em and use them.

This worked like a charm.

Thanks.