Inspect EXIF, XMP and IPTC in the same image

Start with one file that actually contains all three stores

Download combined.jpg below. It is a self-authored corner-chart JPEG with fictional EXIF, XMP and IPTC declarations. The values intentionally disagree, so the exercise has a checkable result. Its generated ICC profile is a separate color-management component; it is not an author record.

Use this same downloaded file in all three tools. Choosing three unrelated built-in examples would demonstrate three readers, but would not establish which records coexist in one image. Preserve the original while you inspect it; these read/export operations do not change its metadata.

• Download the self-authored three-store JPEG — A 9506-byte, 240 × 160 generated corner-chart JPEG with fictional, deliberately different EXIF, XMP and IPTC author/caption/rights declarations, plus a generated ICC profile. Combined metadata fixture v1; not a camera photograph.

Read the same JPEG three ways

1. Step 1

   Find the EXIF declarations and stable tag IDs

   Open the EXIF viewer and choose combined.jpg. Find Artist, Image description and Copyright. Their IDs are IFD0:0x013b, IFD0:0x010e and IFD0:0x8298. In this defined input their value offsets are 116, 92 and 138 respectively, under JPEG APP1 EXIF. Keep the source and every occurrence with the values.

   Read the JPEG's EXIF records

2. Step 2

   Read the XMP creator and language alternatives

   Choose the same file in the XMP viewer. The source is JPEG APP1 at byte 172: one standard 541-byte packet with three properties. Expand Namespace declarations and find dc:creator, dc:description and dc:rights under the Dublin Core namespace. The creator array has two values; the description and rights arrays carry x-default language entries.

   Inspect the same JPEG's XMP packet

3. Step 3

   Read the Photoshop IPTC resource

   Choose combined.jpg in the IPTC viewer. The source is JPEG APP13 1, Photoshop IRB 0x0404 #1, with 156 original bytes and eight datasets. Locate By-line / author (2:80), Caption / abstract (2:120), Copyright notice (2:116) and Keyword (2:25). The resource declares UTF-8. The keyword dataset occurs three times, including repeated example values; they remain separate occurrences.

   Inspect the same JPEG's IPTC IIM

Compare the actual stored declarations

This is an observed disagreement among stored strings, not a finding that one person copied another or that an image is AI-generated. The viewers do not decide which declaration is authoritative, synchronize stores or authenticate authorship. If you need a handoff decision, keep the conflict visible and ask the file's provider for context.

Save a handoff that preserves the source

1. Step 1

   Export the EXIF reading after reviewing values

   In Preview and export this reading, choose the needed field groups, leave the filename checkbox off unless it is needed, and click Preview JSON. Download JSON preserves stable IDs, raw typed values, occurrences, source offsets and read warnings. The general reader may also include raw XMP or IPTC records; use the dedicated readers for their richer structured views.

2. Step 2

   Save both the XMP properties and original packet

   In the XMP viewer click Download property JSON and Download original XMP bytes for the standard packet. The property export records namespace URIs, arrays and warnings. The original packet remains available even when a nested schema is not flattened into the property list.

3. Step 3

   Save the IIM resource and its interpreted report

   Click Download IPTC JSON, then Download original IIM resource. Check that all three keywords survived as separate datasets. The JSON also retains original bytes and offsets; review personal fields before sharing either export.

Keep missing and incomplete stores distinct

Try no XMP and Try no IPTC use a valid JPEG with neither supported store. An empty result in one viewer says nothing about the other metadata categories. In the XMP viewer, Try malformed XML instead retains available packet data with warnings. In the IPTC viewer, Try unknown encoding retains raw bytes and a labeled byte preview; it does not certify the preview's character encoding.

XMP reading supports JPEG standard/extended packets, PNG iTXt and WebP XMP. This IPTC tool supports JPEG APP13 Photoshop IIM only. General image and per-reader byte/text limits still apply; unsupported input or a limit is not a successful missing-record check. For a separate real-photo exercise, obtain the licensed P02 original and preserve its actual output rather than expecting the fictional strings above.

• P02 original photograph on Wikimedia Commons — Thomas Bresson, CC BY 2.0. Use the original-file download for an optional real-photo check. Reference reads matched 15 XMP properties and 25 raw IIM fields; this site does not mirror the original.

Sources and reproducible inputs

• Download the self-authored three-store JPEG — A 9506-byte, 240 × 160 generated corner-chart JPEG with fictional, deliberately different EXIF, XMP and IPTC author/caption/rights declarations, plus a generated ICC profile. Combined metadata fixture v1; not a camera photograph.
• Adobe XMP Part 3: Storage in Files, January 2020 — Official PDF pinned to toolkit revision 7093513bd3ca. Describes embedded XMP and reconciliation with other metadata stores.
• Adobe Dublin Core XMP property definitions — Primary definitions for creator arrays and language-alternative descriptions/rights. Documentation checked 18 October 2026.
• IPTC IIM 4.2, July 2014 — Fixed primary reference for coded character set and datasets including 2:25 Keywords, 2:80 By-line, 2:116 Copyright Notice and 2:120 Caption/Abstract.
• P02 original photograph on Wikimedia Commons — Thomas Bresson, CC BY 2.0. Use the original-file download for an optional real-photo check. Reference reads matched 15 XMP properties and 25 raw IIM fields; this site does not mirror the original.