Copying Multiple Tags from One Image to a Group of Others ???

I have tried to get this figured from several different angles with no success. I often have a particular group of tags (keyword tags) that I want to duplicate onto another group of images, maybe the same day or maybe years later.

I did manage to copy the tags all at once via the Properties dialogue, but the heirachy didn’t make the ride.

All of my tags are heirarchical (spelling) and I want to retain this.

Is it even possible to copy the tags I need from an already tagged image and apply them to a whole group of images in one fell swoop ?

I have dozens of software programs; surely one or more of what I have can do this.

Is there an EXIFTool command that will do this ?

I hope I explained my question so that it is understandable. Thanks for reading and all help is appreciated.

This exiftool command will copy the keyword tags from a source file to a destination file.

exiftool.exe -tagsFromFile SOURCEFILE.jpg -Subject DESTINATIONFILE(S)

I work with Lightroom, so the following vocabulary comes from that.

The SOURCEFILE needs to be an exported file (jpg, etc.). LR doesn't change raw files, including exif data. Keyword tags get added on export.

The DESTINATIONFILE can be an export or a raw file. exiftool will write to either.

To get to your specific question, the DESTINATIONFILE can have wildcards. So if you want your source list to be copied to, say, all the .CR2 files in a directory, the command would be:

exiftool.exe -tagsFromFile SOURCEFILE.jpg -Subject DIRECTORYPATH\*.CR2

As with all command-line stuff, directory paths to your image files need to be spelled out for everything.

Quick note on the command. The -Subject option is actually specifying the exif tag you're looking for. That exif tag contains a comma-separated list of your keyword tags.

Subject : !Published, 01_Instagram, 01_Washington, 2021, Bridges, Columbia River, Industry, Infrastructure, Mountains, Nature, Othello, Roads, Snow, Transportation, Trucking, W.01-15, Week08, West

I was about to say that your list will come over exactly how it looks in the source image and that your hierarchy would be fine. But now that I look at that list above, it's in alphabetical order. That must be the way LR spits them out. Don't know if that would be a problem for you.

There's also a command to write exif tags from a text file to image data. You might use that to rejigger your list order to accommodate your hierarchy then write that edited list to your target image files with a separate command.

drsilver wrote in post #19275797
There's also a command to write exif tags from a text file to image data. You might use that to rejigger your list order to accommodate your hierarchy then write that edited list to your target image files with a separate command.

Thanks so much; would you happen to know that command ?

I am thinking that, with a text file, I could include the parent and sub-tags like so:

tags/animal/bear/grizz​ly bear/grizzly bear with man's arm in mouth

: and I could create different text files for different tag groups to always have on hand.


It is sad; but, whenever it gets any more complicated than "copy/paste this in a command line" , I get that deer in the headlights feeling, but I am determined to conquer it some day.

It was a life changing event when I discovered that EXIFToolGUI could write everything into my RAW files.


I intend to test the information you have already provided on a bunch of jpegs that were destined for deleting anyway.

By the way, I do have a copy of LightRoom, but I never use it.

It's a little convoluted, but pretty easy once you get set up. Stuff in red is stuff you need to change to work with your personal files. The name of the editable text file is completely arbitrary. You can name it anything your want and, as you mentioned, save it off for future use and have several for different purposes.

I'm playing with this on Canon CR2/CR3 source files exported from Lightroom. Keyword tags come across in the "Subject" exif tag. I'd suggest looking at the exif data from your particular setup before you get started to make sure your files use that same exif tag. If not, change the -Subject option in the commands below to match whatever exif tag your system uses.

And remember, all file names, including exiftool.exe, need full directory paths in the commands.

Step 1: Pull a list of keyword tags from a source file

exiftool.exe -Subject -args -G1 --filename --directory A_WEB-7664.jpg > TAGLIST_1.txt

Produces a text file called TAGLIST_1.txt that looks something like this:

-XMP-dc:Subject=TAG1, TAG2, TAG3

*** Instead of doing Step 1, you could just copy the line above out of this post, save it as a text file, then modify that and use it as your first tag file.

Once you get one text file set up you can just copy it to a new name and edit the tag values. Step 1 is only used to produce the first text file.

Step2: Edit and save your text file to include tag modifications:

TAGLIST_1.txt:

-XMP-dc:Subject=TAG1, TAG2, SUBTAG2, TAG3, SUBTAG3, TAG4

Only modify stuff to the right of the = sign

Step 3: Run command A or B to update new image files from your tag list

A: (for a single file)
exiftool.exe -@ TAGLIST_1.txt -sep ", " IMG_7664.CR2
B: (for all .CR2 files)
exiftool.exe -@ TAGLIST_1.txt -sep ", " *.CR2

Personally, I would throw all this into a shell script or batch file but I don't know how comfortable you'd be with that.

drsilver wrote in post #19275949
It's a little convoluted, but pretty easy once you get set up.

Thank you SO MUCH !
This is going to be a huge help.

Maybe I had better get my training wheels off first, but I do want to learn all that stuff once I get this other under my belt.