Specifications

Supported file formats
The following table lists the embedded metadata capabilities for the supported file formats.
Image data
synchr.
EXIF & IPTC
synchr.
XMP packet
handling
Metadata accessFile format
For readingFor reading and
writing (*)
Smart read and
write (*)
Read and write (*)JPEG, TIFF
NoneFor reading and
writing (*)
Smart read and
write (*)
Read and write (*)Photoshop
For readingNoneSmart read and
write (*)
Read and write (*)PNG
NoneNoneSmart read and
write (*)
Read and write (*)PDF
NoneNoneSmart read-onlyRead-onlyInDesign,
PostScript
NoneNoneGeneric read-onlyRead-onlyOther formats
(*) Write access is available only through scripting in PowerSwitch
XMP packet handling
There are two distinct methods to locate XMP packets embedded in a file:
• Scan the complete file for the magic markers at the head and tail of a packet: this works for
any file format, but may possibly locate the wrong packet in case a composite document
contains multiple packets.
• Interpret the file format’s structure to track down the packet: this guarantees that the correct
packet has been located and it is usually much faster, but it requires a specific algorithm for
each distinct file format.
As indicated in the table, Switch offers three levels of support for embedded XMP packets
depending on the file format:
• Smart read and write: interprets the file format to allow reading, updating and inserting an
XMP packet.
• Smart read-only: interprets the file format to locate the appropriate document-level XMP
packet but does not allow changes.
• Generic read-only: uses generic packet scanning to locate one of the XMP packets in the
document; does not allow changes.
EXIF and IPTC synchronization
As indicated in the table, for some file formats Switch performs two-way synchronization between
binary EXIF and IPTC tags on the one hand and XMP properties on the other hand, similar to the
behavior of the Adobe Creative Suite applications.
For supported file formats, when creating the embedded dataset for a job, Switch performs these
steps:
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