
XMP recordsdata, additionally generally known as sidecar recordsdata, are an industry-standard format for holding details about your photographs. They’ll document any edit or metadata adjustments you make to your photograph in Lightroom Traditional.
For instance, an adjustment to distinction on a photograph in Lightroom won’t alter the unique picture in your onerous drive. As a substitute, the edited distinction setting is written to your Lightroom catalog, and if enabled, to the XMP sidecar file.
XMP recordsdata can include:
- Digital camera and lens information
- Title and caption
- Edits
- Key phrases
- Labels and scores
- Face-recognition tags
- Geolocation tags
- And rather more
Why you must allow XMP recordsdata in Lightroom Traditional
Writing adjustments to XMPs in Lightroom Traditional is off by default, however there are a number of good causes to allow them:
1. Create a backup of your edits
XMP recordsdata creates a backup of your metadata and edit data exterior of your Lightroom Catalog. In case your Lightroom catalog will get corrupted, you may simply restore your edit and metadata adjustments in a brand new catalog from the XMP’s.
2. XMP recordsdata are an {industry} commonplace format
Your Lightroom Traditional catalog incorporates lots of details about your photograph, however the catalog is in a proprietary format that may solely be learn by Lightroom. XMP sidecar recordsdata may be learn by quite a lot of photograph group and enhancing instruments together with Mylio Pictures.
3. Sync edits with a number of Lightroom Catalogs
XMP recordsdata allow you to make use of Lightroom Traditional on a number of computer systems with out having to undergo the effort of merging catalogs. All you must do is import these photographs with their related XMP sidecars into your grasp Lightroom catalog.
How one can allow XMP recordsdata in Lightroom Traditional

From the highest menu bar, open the Catalog Settings.
- On macOS, go to Lightroom Traditional > Catalog Settings.
- On Home windows, go to Edit > Catalog Settings.
Select the Metadata tab, and verify the field subsequent to Routinely Write Modifications to XMP.