Metadata and Compatibility
Seula saves star ratings, color labels, flags, and orientation as standard XMP metadata.
Where metadata is stored
| File type | Storage location |
|---|---|
| JPEG / JPG | The file's XMP block. Orientation is also written to EXIF so Finder, Preview, and Photos show the rotation correctly. |
| RAW, TIFF, HEIC, PSD, and other formats | An .xmp sidecar next to the photo. |
| JPEG+RAW pair | A shared XMP sidecar. The JPEG's embedded XMP is updated too. |
Seula does not change image pixels or recompress JPEGs. It writes through a temporary file so an interrupted write cannot leave a partial file.
XMP sidecar files
A RAW file named IMG_0421.CR2 has a sidecar named IMG_0421.xmp in the same folder.
Always move or copy the sidecar with its photo. When you open a folder, Seula reads existing sidecars and shows their ratings.
Fields Seula writes
| Mark | Field | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Star rating | xmp:Rating | 0–5 |
| Color label | xmp:Label | Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple |
| Pick / reject | xmpDM:pick (and xmpDM:good) | 1 = pick, −1 = reject, 0 = no flag |
| Rotation | tiff:Orientation (and EXIF orientation for JPEGs) | 1–8 |
These Adobe XMP fields can be read by Lightroom and other XMP-aware apps.
Read your work in Lightroom
- Cull and rate in Seula.
- Import the same folder in Lightroom. If the photos are already imported, select them and choose Metadata ▸ Read Metadata from File.
- Lightroom reads the stars, color labels, and flags.
The marks are in the photo file or its XMP sidecar, not in a private Seula database.
Lightroom matches color labels by text. Seula writes Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple. If your Lightroom catalog has custom names, change them to match. See Color labels.
Rotation
When you rotate a photo, Seula updates orientation metadata instead of re-encoding the image. JPEG orientation is saved to EXIF and XMP; other formats use the XMP sidecar.