New to variables? Start here: Introduction to variables
- Camera or Image-Specific
- APEX Values
- Standard IPTC Fields
- Time and Date Variables
- ICC Profile Variables
- Special Variables
- GPS Variables
- User Variables
- Locations Taken
- Client Variables
- Nikon Picture Control Settings Variables
- Getty Variables
Camera or Image-Specific
actuations, act | Number of shutter actuations for the camera. |
aperture, f | Aperture setting of photo. (from the EXIF data) |
aspect, aspt | Aspect Ratio of photo |
aspectcrop, aspc | Aspect Ratio of cropped photo |
av | Apeture value in APEX units |
brightness, brit, bv | Brightness of photo in APEX units. This is exposure value minus ‘film’ sensitivity value |
bytes, byte | The uncompressed image size of the photo |
colormode, cmod | The color mode set in the camera |
colorclass, color, colr | Name of color class for photo |
colorclasscolor, clrc | HTML color value of color class for photo |
colorclassval, colorval, clrv | Numeric value of color class for photo |
comment, cmnt | The comment (written by some cameras) |
comp | Exposure compensation set by camera |
corrupt, crpt | Number of invalid extra bytes in a JPEG |
cropheight, yc | Height of a crop |
cropwidth, xc | Width of a crop |
ev | Exposure value in APEX units. This is a combination of aperture and shutter speed (or ISO and scene brightness) |
ev100 | Exposure value in APEX units, relative to ISO 100. E.g. at ISO 200, this would be {ev} - 1 |
filename, file | Filename of photo with the extension |
filenamebase, fbas | Filename of photo without the extension |
filesize, size | File size of the photo |
firmware, firm | Firmware version of camera that took photo |
flash, flsh | Flash used |
flashcomp, fcmp | Flash exposure compensation |
focusmode, focus, fmod | Focus mode of camera |
folder, fldr | The folder name for a photo (e.g. the current contact sheet) |
foldernum, fldn | The folder number for a photo (e.g. first three digits of DCIM folder) |
folderpath, fpth | The full folder path for a photo (e.g. the current contact sheet) |
frame, fnum | Frame number of photo |
frame4, fnm4 | Frame number of photo, last 4 digits |
gps | Either 1 or 0 - if a photo has both GPS latitude and longitude |
hascrop, hc | Value will be 'True' if there is a crop set for this image |
height, h, y | Height of image in pixels (prior to any rotation drawn by Photo Mechanic) |
id | Either owner (Canon) or comment (Nikon) |
iso | ISO (ASA) setting of photo |
isox | Nikon ISO expansion setting |
label, labl | IPTC label for photo |
lens | Focal length of lens in mm. This isn’t a 35mm equivalent for non-SLR cameras |
lens35, 35mm | Equivalent 35mm focal length of lens in mm (Not all cameras record this value) |
lenstype, lt | Type of lens used |
lenstypenum, ltnm | Variable to report the lens number for certain Canon and Sigma lenses. (This can be used to create a code replacement for translating a lens ID into a more descriptive string) |
lightsource, lsrc | Light source |
lock | Returns 1 if the file is locked on the memory card, and 0 if no lock is found |
make | Make of camera that took photo |
maxdem, maxd | Maximum width or height of image in pixels |
mediatype, mtyp | Media type (e.g. still, video) |
meteringmode, mmod | Metering mode set in camera |
model, modl | Model of camera that took photo. |
numstar, num* | Star rating of a photo as a number (0-5) |
>owner, ownr | Camera’s owner (if defined; same as user) |
parentfolderpath, pfpt | The full folder path to the parent folder of the folder of the photo (i.e. 2 levels up) |
path | The full path name of the photo |
pixels, pxls | Total number of pixels (width * height) for photo, displayed as an exponential multiplier (ex. 4.1M) |
prefix, prfx | First three characters of file name, excluding any leading ‘_’ character from AdobeRGB photos |
printsize, psiz | Print size in inches or cms (depends on photo) |
printsizecms, pscm | Print size in cms |
printsizeinches, psin | Print size in inches |
program, mode, prgm | Camera’s program mode for photo |
quality, qlty | Compression quality for camera JPEGs |
rating, stars, rate | Star rating of photo |
resolutioncms, rscm | Resolution is pixels per cm |
resolutioninches, rsin | Resolution in pixels per inch |
rotation, rot | Rotation drawn by Photo Mechanic |
serialnum, serial, snum | Serial number of camera that took photo |
sharpness, shrp | >Sharpness setting in camera for JPEG and TIFF files |
shutter, ss | Shutter speed setting of photo, from EXIF data |
software, soft | Software that produced the photo |
sound, snd | Sound file attached |
sv | "Film" sensitivity (ISO) in APEX units |
tonecomp, tone | Tone compensation (contrast) of photo |
tv | Shutter speed (time value) in APEX units |
type | Image type (e.g. JPEG) |
uniqueid, uniq | Unique 32 char ID written by some cameras |
user | Camera’s user (if defined; same as owner) |
width, w, x | Width of image in pixels (prior to any rotation drawn by Photo Mechanic) |
whitebalance, white, baln | White balance of photo as set by camera or host software |
whitemode, whim | White balance mode (AUTO or MANUAL) |
APEX Values
Some cameras record APEX exposure values for each photo. In cases where the APEX values for av and tv are not recorded, Photo Mechanic will calculate them from existing camera settings for exposure time and f-number if possible.
If a camera writes the {tv} and {av} and {bv} values (Exif 0x9201, 0x9202, 0x9203) then they will be displayed directly. If a camera only writes the older Exif tags for Exposure Time and F Number, then Photo Mechanic will compute the {tv}, {av}, and {bv} APEX values from the camera settings.
actuations, act | Number of shutter actuations for the camera. |
aperture, f | Aperture setting of photo. (from the EXIF data) |
aspect, aspt | Aspect Ratio of photo |
aspectcrop, aspc | Aspect Ratio of cropped photo |
brightness, brit, bv | Brightness of photo in APEX units. This is exposure value minus ‘film’ sensitivity value |
bytes, byte | The uncompressed image size of the photo |
colormode, cmod | The color mode set in the camera |
colorclass, color, colr | Name of color class for photo |
colorclasscolor, clrc | HTML color value of color class for photo |
colorclassval, colorval, clrv | Numeric value of color class for photo |
comment, cmnt | The comment (written by some cameras) |
comp | Exposure compensation set by camera |
corrupt, crpt | Number of invalid extra bytes in a JPEG |
cropheight, yc | Height of a crop |
cropwidth, xc | Width of a crop |
ev | Exposure value in APEX units. This is a combination of aperture and shutter speed (or ISO and scene brightness) |
ev100 | Exposure value in APEX units, relative to ISO 100. E.g. at ISO 200, this would be {ev} - 1 |
filename, file | Filename of photo with the extension |
filenamebase, fbas | Filename of photo without the extension |
filesize, size | File size of the photo |
firmware, firm | Firmware version of camera that took photo |
flash, flsh | Flash used |
flashcomp, fcmp | Flash exposure compensation |
focusmode, focus, fmod | Focus mode of camera |
folder, fldr | The folder name for a photo (e.g. the current contact sheet) |
foldernum, fldn | The folder number for a photo (e.g. first three digits of DCIM folder) |
folderpath, fpth | The full folder path for a photo (e.g. the current contact sheet) |
frame, fnum | Frame number of photo |
frame4, fnm4 | Frame number of photo, last 4 digits |
hascrop, hc | Value will be 'True' if there is a crop set for this image |
height, h, y | Height of image in pixels (prior to any rotation drawn by Photo Mechanic) |
id | Either owner (Canon) or comment (Nikon) |
iso | ISO (ASA) setting of photo |
lens | Focal length of lens in mm. This isn’t a 35mm equivalent for non-SLR cameras |
lens35, 35mm | Equivalent 35mm focal length of lens in mm (Not all cameras record this value) |
lenstype, lt | Type of lens used |
lenstypenum, ltnm | Variable to report the lens number for certain Canon and Sigma lenses. (This can be used to create a code replacement for translating a lens ID into a more descriptive string) |
lightsource, lsrc | Light source |
lock | Returns 1 if the file is locked on the memory card, and 0 if no lock is found |
make | Make of camera that took photo |
mediatype, mtyp | Media type (e.g. still, video) |
meteringmode, mmod | Metering mode set in camera |
model, modl | Model of camera that took photo. |
owner, ownr | Camera’s owner (if defined; same as user) |
parentfolderpath, pfpt | The full folder path to the parent folder of the folder of the photo (i.e. 2 levels up) |
path | The full path name of the photo |
pixels, pxls | Total number of pixels (width * height) for photo, displayed as an exponential multiplier (ex. 4.1M) |
prefix, prfx | First three characters of file name, excluding any leading ‘_’ character from AdobeRGB photos |
printsize, psiz | Print size in inches or cms (depends on photo) |
printsizecms, pscm | Print size in cms |
printsizeinches, psin | Print size in inches |
program, mode, prgm | Camera’s program mode for photo |
quality, qlty | Compression quality for camera JPEGs |
rating, stars, rate | Star rating of photo |
rawplusjpeg, r+j | If photo is part of a RAW+JPEG pair then the result is 1, otherwise it is 0. |
resolution, res | Resolution of file |
resolutioncms, rscm | Resolution is pixels per cm |
resolutioninches, rsin | Resolution in pixels per inch |
rotation, rot | Rotation drawn by Photo Mechanic |
serialnum, serial, snum | Serial number of camera that took photo |
sharpness, shrp | Sharpness setting in camera for JPEG and TIFF files |
shutter, ss | Shutter speed setting of photo, from EXIF data |
software, soft | Software that produced the photo |
sound, snd | Sound file attached |
tag | Tagged state of image (either 1 or 0) |
tonecomp, tone | Tone compensation (contrast) of photo |
type | Image type (e.g. JPEG) |
uniqueid, uniq | Unique 32 char ID written by some cameras |
user | Camera’s user (if defined; same as owner) |
width, w, x | Width of image in pixels (prior to any rotation drawn by Photo Mechanic) |
whitebalance, white, baln | White balance of photo as set by camera or host software |
whitemode, whim | White balance mode (AUTO or MANUAL) |
avAPEX aperture valuebvAPEX brightness valueevExposure value in APEX units. This is a combination of aperture and shutter speed (or ISO and scene brightness)ev100Exposure value in APEX units, relative to ISO 100. E.g. at ISO 200, this would be {ev} - 1svAPEX ISO speed value (a.k.a. sensitivity value)tvAPEX time value (shutter speed)
Standard IPTC Fields
assignment, assn JobMinder assignment number (if defined) byline, name IPTC Byline (Photographer) field caption, capt IPTC Caption field captionwriter, cwrt IPTC Caption Writer field category, cat IPTC Category field city IPTC City field citytaken, cttk IPTC City where the image was taken from field contactaddress, ciad Contact Info Address contactcity, cicy Contact Info City contactstate, cist Contact Info State contactzip, cizp Contact Info ZIP Code contactcountry, cicn Contact Info Country contactemail, ciem Contact Info Email contactphone, ciph Contact Info Phone contactweb, ciwb Contact Info Web URL copyright, copy IPTC Copyright field copyrighturl, curl IPTC URL field country, cnty IPTC Country field countrytaken, cntk IPTC Country taken countrycode, ccod IPTC Country Code field countrycodetaken, cctk IPTC Country Code taken credit, cred IPTC Credit field editstatus, edit IPTC Edit Status field genre, gene IPTC Intellectual Genre field headline, head IPTC Headline field instructions, inst IPTC Special Instructions field iptcampm, iap IPTC day half (AM or PM) iptcdate, idat IPTC Date field (YYYYMMDD) iptcday, iday IPTC day (1, 2, 3 .. 31) iptcday0, idy0 IPTC day zero padded (01, 02, 03 .. 31) iptcdow, idow IPTC day of week (Sunday, Monday, etc) iptcdow3, idw3 IPTC day of week abbreviated (Sun, Mon, etc) iptchour, ihr IPTC 12 hour format (1, 2, 3 .. 12) iptchour0, ihr0 IPTC 12 hour format zero padded (01, 02, 03 .. 12) iptchour24, ih24 IPTC 24 hour format zero padded (01, 02, 03 .. 23) iptcminute, imin IPTC minute (00 .. 59) iptcmonth, imn IPTC month (1, 2, 3 .. 12) iptcmonth0, imn0 IPTC month zero padded (01, 02, 03 .. 12) iptcmonthname, imnn IPTC month name ( January, February, etc) iptcmonthname3 IPTC month name abbreviated ( Jan, Feb, etc) iptcmonthnameap IPTC month name abbreviated for AP ( Jan., Feb., etc) iptcsecond, isec IPTC second (00 .. 59) iptctime, itim IPTC Time field (HHMMSS+0800) iptcyear2, iyr2 IPTC year (2 digits) iptcyear4, iyr4 IPTC year (4 digits) keywords, keyw IPTC Keywords field location, loc IPTC Sublocation field locationtaken, lctk IPTC sublocation taken field object, objt IPTC Object name field photog, phtg IPTC Byline field province, prov IPTC State / Province field scene, scen IPTC Scene field slug IPTC Object name field source, srce IPTC Source field sourcetype, srct Digital source type state, stat IPTC State / Province field statetaken, sttk IPTC State where the image was taken from field subject, subj IPTC Subject field suppcat1, sup1 IPTC Supplemental category field 1 suppcat2, sup2 IPTC Supplemental category field 2 suppcat3, sup3 IPTC Supplemental category field 3 title, titl IPTC Byline Title field transref, tref IPTC Transmission Reference field urgency, urgc IPTC Urgency field usage, usag IPTC Rights Usage field worldregiontaken, wrtk World region taken
Time and Date Variables
ampm Capture day half (AM or PM) date, shot Capture date of photo according to camera or file creation time. The format is the same as the Date & Time control panel’s ‘short date’ setting datemil, datm Capture date of photo according to camera or file creation time in military format (ddMONyy datesort, dats Capture date of photo according to camera or file creation time. This can be used for sorting since the format is always YYYYMMDD day Capture day of photo according to camera or file creation time (1, 2, 3 .. 31) day0 Capture day zero padded of photo according to camera or file creation time (01, 02, 03 .. 31) dow Capture day of week of photo according to camera or file creation time (Sunday, Monday, etc) dow3 Capture day of week (abbreviated) of photo according to camera or file creation time (Sun, Mon, etc) hour Capture 12 hour format (1, 2, 3 .. 12) hour0, hr0 Capture 12 hour format zero padded (01, 02, 03 .. 12) hour24, h24 Capture 24 hour format zero padded (01, 02, 03 .. 23) minute, min Capture minute (00 .. 59) moddate, mdat Modification date modtime, mtim Modification time moddatesort, mdts Modification date for sorting (YYYYMMDD) modtimesort, mtms Modification time for sorting (HHMMSS) month, mn Capture month according to camera or file creation time (1, 2, 3 .. 12) month0, mn0 Capture month zero padded according to camera or file creation time (01, 02, 03 .. 12 monthname, mnn Capture month name ( January, February, etc) monthname3, mnn3 Capture month name abbreviated ( Jan, Feb, etc) monthnameap, mnap Capture month name abbreviated for AP (Jan., Feb., etc) now Current time. See the Date & Time control panel for formatting nowampm, nap Current day half (AM or PM) nowhour, nhr Current 12 hour format (1, 2, 3 .. 12) nowhour0, nhr0 Current 12 hour format zero padded (01, 02, 03 .. 12) nowhour24, nh24 Current 24 hour format zero padded (01, 02, 03 .. 23) nowminute, nmin Current minute (00 .. 59) nowsecond, nsec Current second (00 .. 59) nowsort, nows Current time. This can be used for sorting since the format is always HHMMSS in 24-hour format nowsortlong, nwsl Current time including 1/100 of a second. This can be used for sorting since the format is always HHMMSSss in 24-hour format nowsubsecond, nsub Current subsecond (00 .. 99) second, sec Capture second (00 .. 59) subsecond, ssec Capture sub-second (for cameras that support this) time Capture time of photo according to camera or file creation time timesort, tims Capture time of photo according to camera timesortlong, tmsl Capture time of photo according to camera (long format) today, tday Current date. The format is the same as the Date & Time control panel’s ‘short date’ setting todayday, tdy Current day (1, 2, 3 .. 31) todayday0, tdy0 Current day zero padded (01, 02, 03 .. 31) todaydow, tdow Current day of week (Sunday, Monday, etc) todaydow3, tdw3 Current day of week abbreviated (Sun, Mon, etc) todaymil, tdym Current date in military format (ddMONyy) todaymonth, tmn Current month (1, 2, 3 .. 12) todaymonth0, tmn0 Current zero padded month (01, 02, 03 .. 12) todaymonthname, tmnn Current month name ( January, February, etc) todaymonthname3, tmn3 Current month name abbreviated ( Jan, Feb, etc) todaymonthnameap, tmap Current month name abbreviated for AP (Jan., Feb., etc) todaysort, tdys Current date. This can be used for sorting since the format is always YYYYMMD todayyear2, tyr2 Current two digit year (e.g. 97, 04) todayyear4, tyr4 Current four digit year (e.g 1997, 2004) tomorrow, tmrw Tomorrow’s date. The format is the same as the Date & Time control panel’s ‘short date’ setting wiredate, wdat Evaluates to {iptcdow}, {iptcmonthnameap} {iptcday}, {iptcyear4} year2, yr2 Capture year (2 digits) according to camera or file creation time year4, yr4 Capture year (4 digits) according to camera or file creation time yesterday, ystd Yesterday’s date. The format is the same as the Date &Time control panel’s ‘short date’ setting
ICC Profile Variables
gamma, gama
The gamma of the photo
icc
The name of the ICC profile for a photo
prrx
The red x coordinate of the primaries
prry
The red y coordinate of the primaries
prgx
The green x coordinate of the primaries
prgy
The green y coordinate of the primaries
prbx
The blue x coordinate of the primaries
prby
The blue y coordinate of the primaries
wpx
The x coordinate of the white point
wpy
The y coordinate of the white point
Special Variables
index, indx
Index of the photo being processed
ingestseq, iseq
Current value of ingest sequence number. This is incremented for each disk being ingested
nl
Inserts a new-line (CR) character
page
Current page number during printing or exporting of HTML
pagecount
Total number of pages during printing or exporting of HTML
rand10
A random number from 01 to 10
rand100
A random number from 001 to 100
rand1000
A random number from 0001 to 1000
sequence, seqn, auto
Current value of sequence variable. This will automatically be incremented for the next photo
tab
Inserts a tab character
total, totl
Total number of photos being processed
gamma, gama
The gamma of the photo
icc
The name of the ICC profile for a photo
prrx
The red x coordinate of the primaries
prry
The red y coordinate of the primaries
prgx
The green x coordinate of the primaries
prgy
The green y coordinate of the primaries
prbx
The blue x coordinate of the primaries
prby
The blue y coordinate of the primaries
wpx
The x coordinate of the white point
wpy
The y coordinate of the white point
index, indx
Index of the photo being processed
ingestseq, iseq
Current value of ingest sequence number. This is incremented for each disk being ingested
nl
Inserts a new-line (CR) character
page
Current page number during printing or exporting of HTML
pagecount
Total number of pages during printing or exporting of HTML
rand10
A random number from 01 to 10
rand100
A random number from 001 to 100
rand1000
A random number from 0001 to 1000
sequence, seqn, auto
Current value of sequence variable. This will automatically be incremented for the next photo
tab
Inserts a tab character
total, totl
Total number of photos being processed
GPS Variables
altitude, galt | GPS altitude in meters |
bearingfrom, bfrm | Bearing from photo to home in degrees |
bearingto, brto | Bearing to photo from home in degrees |
distance, dist | Distance from photo to home in user’s units |
gpsdate, gdat | GPS date (UTC) as YYYY:MM:DD |
gpsdatum, gdtm | GPS map datum |
gpsdif, gdif | GPS differential correction applied (no or yes) |
gpsdir, gdir | GPS image direction (0-359 degrees) |
gpddirref, gdrf | GPS image direction reference (true or magnetic) |
gpsdop, gdop | GPS degree of data precision |
gpsmode, gmod | GPS dimension mode (2 or 3) |
gpsstatus, gsta | GPS status (A=acquiring, V=valid) |
gpstime, gtim | GPS time (UTC) as HH:MM:SS |
gpsversion, gver | GPS version |
latitude, glat | GPS latitude |
longitude, glon | GPS longitude |
satellites, gsat | GPS satellites |
speed, gspd | GPS speed |
track, gtrk | GPS track (0-359 degrees) |
User Variables
jobname, job | Current Job name |
username, urna | User name |
usercompany, urco | User Company/Name |
useraddress, ura1 | User Street Address |
useraddress2, ura2 | User Secondary Address |
usercity, urcy | User City |
userstate,urst | User State |
userzip, urzip | User zip Code |
usercountry, urcn | User Country |
userphone, urph | User Phone Number |
usermobile, urmb | User Mobile Number |
userweb, urwb | User Website URL |
useremail, urem | User Email address |
usercustom1, urc1 | User Custom Field 1 |
usercustom2, urc2 | User Custom Field 2 |
usercustom3, urc3 | User Custom Field 3 |
Locations Taken
locationtaken, lctk | Sublocation taken |
citytaken, cttk | City the image was taken in |
statetaken, sttk | State the image was taken in |
countrytaken, cntk | Country the image was taken in |
countrycodetaken, cctk | Country Code taken in |
worldregiontaken, wrtk | World region the image was taken in |
Client Variables
clientname, clna | Client name |
clientcompany, clco | Client Company/Name |
clientaddress, cla1 | Client Street Address |
clientaddress2, cla2 | Client Secondary Address |
clientcity, clcy | Client City |
clientstate,clst | Client State |
clientzip, clzip | Client zip Code |
clientcountry, uscn | Client Country |
clientphone, clph | Client Phone Number |
clientmobile, clmb | Client Mobile Number |
clientweb, clwb | Clients Website URL |
clientemail, clem | Client Email address |
clientcustom1, clc1 | Client Custom Field 1 |
clientcustom2, clc2 | Client Custom Field 2 |
clientcustom3, clc3 | Client Custom Field 3 |
Nikon Picture Control Settings Variables
pcnm | Picture Control Name |
pcad | Picture Control Adjustment |
pcqa | Picture Control Quick Adjust |
pcsh | Picture Control Sharpness |
pccn | Picture Control Contrast |
pcbr | Picture Control Brightness |
pcsa | Picture Control Saturation |
pchu | Picture Control Hue Adjustment |
pcfe | Picture Control Filter Effect |
pcte | Picture Control Toning Effect |
pcts | Picture Control Toning Saturation |
Getty Variables
callforimage, gcfi | Getty Call for image |
composition, gcmp | Getty Composition |
exclusivecov, gexc | Getty Exclusive Coverage |
imagerank, grnk | Getty Image Rank |
personality, gprs | Getty Personality |
routingdest, grtd | Getty Routing Destinations |
routingexcl, gexl | Getty Routing Exclusions |