Lightroom -- where are keywords stored?

[Deleted member 68495]

When I add keywords (tags) to a photograph, where are they stored? Are they actually added to (in my case) the NEF RAW file, added to the sidecar file or just retained in the LR catalog?

The reason I ask is that I am starting on the mammoth task of tagging my photographs and worry that a simple mistake could erase the lot and waste all my time. I have already noticed that if I tag a picture then delete the tag name in LR it tells me that all pictures with that tag will lose their tagging for that word and that concerns me.

 

[Bob_a]

From what I can tell. for jpegs and TIFs keywords and titles are added to the file, however for RAWs any keywords and titles you add are only to a record in the LR database or to the XMP sidecar file (if under Edit -> Catalog Settings you have Automatically write changes into XMP checked). After making a mistake and deleting a large number of images without the XMP option checked, and therefore losing ALL of my edits, I now always save changes into XMP. It supposedly slows LR down a bit, however with a fast enough computer it's not noticeable.

You can test this out yourself by adding keywords to a RAW file and to a jpeg then going into Windows Explorer (or Mac OS equivalent) and viewing the properties for the image file (for Windows: Properties -> Details tab).

 

[Brian G]

When I add keywords (tags) to a photograph, where are they stored? Are they actually added to (in my case) the NEF RAW file, added to the sidecar file or just retained in the LR catalog?

I can't speak for NEF files, but the tags and Keywords for my Canon CR2 raw files are stored in the XMP sidecar, so they can be read by any program.

The reason I ask is that I am starting on the mammoth task of tagging my photographs and worry that a simple mistake could erase the lot and waste all my time. I have already noticed that if I tag a picture then delete the tag name in LR it tells me that all pictures with that tag will lose their tagging for that word and that concerns me.

If you delete the tag from an individual photo, it will not affect any other photos using that same tag.
If you delete the tag from the "Keyword List" then it will delete the tag from ALL photos that are tagged with it.

The keyword database is actually stored with the Lightroom Catalog.