How to get rid of XMP files?

Anyone know what I have to do to get rid of these darn things? I get one with every image I convert using the CS3 RAW converter. I've searched through the settings, but couldn't find anything.

...Or do I have to just live with them

Well, they're pretty damned important - why on earth do you want to get rid of them?

gary88 wrote in post #5647763
Anyone know what I have to do to get rid of these darn things? I get one with every image I convert using the CS3 RAW converter. I've searched through the settings, but couldn't find anything.

...Or do I have to just live with them

The delete key!. If you don't want them just delete them. They are nothing more than a sidecar file for your raw conversion which stores whatever adjustments you made to the specific raw file. However, if you delete these xmp files, you will have to convert your raw files again. REPEAT -- if you delete the xmp files you will lose whatever adjustments you made to the specific raw file which will require you to re-convert your raw files.

They're essential, don't delete them. Why do you care if there are xmp files? I use bridge for everything and don't even notice them.

dfindr wrote in post #5647883
However, if you delete these xmp files, you will have to convert your raw files again. REPEAT -- if you delete the xmp files you will lose whatever adjustments you made to the specific raw file which will require you to re-convert your raw files.

This is incorrectly stated. It should read, "If in the future you want to convert your RAW files again, you will have to re-edit them." You don't have to re-convert them unless you want to.

If you you think it unlikely that you will ever want to convert the archived RAWs again and/or you don't mind starting the editing again from the beginning (or you never do any editing beyond the program defaults), there is no reason not to delete them.

You could convert to DNG...

I prefer the raw edits being stored in the XMP files. It makes my nightly backups MUCH quicker. Rather than re-copying over EVERY DNG file I worked on that day, I just need to grab the changed XMP files. I also prefer that the original CR2 file is UNTOUCHED.

This is one of the reasons I don't use DPP, as the RAW adjustments are stored in the CR2 instead of a sidecar file (or at least a seperate database). Bridge/ACR/CS3 works for me!

Not 100% positive, but I think in DPP you can choose to have it written out to a seperate file as well.

davidcrebelxt wrote in post #5648975
Not 100% positive, but I think in DPP you can choose to have it written out to a seperate file as well.

Not AFAIK.
You can save a recipy however.

Originally Posted by davidcrebelxt

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Not 100% positive, but I think in DPP you can choose to have it written out to a seperate file as well.

René Damkot wrote in post #5649038
Not AFAIK.
You can save a recipy however.

That is the same thing. It contains all the editing (except cloning) but it is not linked to the .CR2 and has to be loaded manually.

I usually just delete them after I convert the RAW file to a high quality JPEG. Then if I need to make adjustments to the image, I just work off the JPEG, but save it as a separate file, keeping the original.

I suppose I could just keep the XMPs from now on. Thanks for the comments.

Converting to DNG does not modify the original raw file in any way. It simply wraps it inside the Adobe format, which, quite nicely, includes all the XMP data. No more sidecars! It is another step in your workflow, but with an image ingesting program (I use the aptly named Image Ingester), it's just a part of the automation.
You still have the original raw files in any case, that you can archive separately if you'd like.

gary88 wrote in post #5649959
I usually just delete them after I convert the RAW file to a high quality JPEG. Then if I need to make adjustments to the image, I just work off the JPEG, but save it as a separate file, keeping the original.

I suppose I could just keep the XMPs from now on. Thanks for the comments.

My own personal comments on this are:

1. Every time you work and save on a JPEG (no matter how high the quality), you will lose quality. This happens even the first time.

2. XMP (sidecar files) are so tiny (the largest I can find is 13 KB compared to a typical RAW that is 8,000 KB) that I wouldn't worry about them taking up space (if that's the issue).