Editing metadata in python

[vndep]

Are there any good tutorials/sample code for using python scrips to edit metadata (Image > Metadata > Edit Metadata)?

Thanks in advance!

[Ofnuts]

See pdb.gimp_image_get_metadata(image) and pdb.gimp_image_set_metadata(image,data). But the "data" is in XML format, so you have to use the Python XML library to alter it.

Unless you have a good reason to do that in Gimp, the tool of choice is usually ExifTool, and i you want to write a Python shell script around it, you can use the PyExifTool module.

[vndep]

(09-24-2019, 08:50 AM)Ofnuts Wrote: See pdb.gimp_image_get_metadata(image) and pdb.gimp_image_set_metadata(image,data). But the "data" is in XML format, so you have to use the Python XML library to alter it.

Unless you have a good reason to do that in Gimp, the tool of choice is usually ExifTool, and i you want to write a Python shell script around it, you can use the PyExifTool module.

Thanks.  I am not quite sure what to make of this:  "But the 'data' is in XML format, so you have to use the Python XML library to alter it."

Would you please elaborate?

Thanks!

[Ofnuts]

The returned string looks like the attached file (but what you get isn't a file, it just a huge string). This is XML data (but not very clean one), and to parse/edit this you would normally use a XML library such as xml.etree.ElementTree.

[YeboiXd]

Is there any way to only update certain fields rather than having to add the whole XML file? Also, how would you reference the XML file in the script?

[Ofnuts]

1) No, Gimp doesn't provide an API for this, but updating XML is reasonably easy with the general XML libraries.
2) See post #2

[YeboiXd]

(10-05-2021, 12:11 AM)Ofnuts Wrote: 1) No, Gimp doesn't provide an API for this, but updating XML is reasonably easy with the general XML libraries.
2) See post #2

I see. Is there any way to retrieve the metadata in the image, edit the fields I want to change and then add it back to the image? Also how is the XML library referenced in the program? Through a directory? pdb.gimp_image_set_metadata(image,[what goes here?]).

For example this is a way I am trying to add a plug-in to BIMP in order to change the metadata for a batch of images. META.txt being my XML library I set the fields to be updated, this is in the same folder as the .py file. It is not working.
 
#!/usr/bin/python

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-



from gimpfu import*



def plugin_no_meta(timg, tdrawable):



    pdb.gimp_image_set_metadata( timg, 'META.txt')

     



register(

        "python_no_meta",

        "strip",

        "for imgur or BB",

        "*",

        "*",

        "2016",

        "<Image>/Tools/no metadata...",

        "*",

        [],

        [],

        plugin_no_meta)


main()