List of Photo Mechanic Variables

New to variables? Start here: Introduction to Variables

Table of Contents:

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)
artist	TIFF Artist field written by some cameras
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
description	TIFF Image Description
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
focallength	Focal length of lens in mm. This isn't a 35mm equivalent for non-SLR cameras
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
kelvin, ktmp	Kelvin color temperature for Nikon AWB
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
maxdim, 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.
numstars, 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
resolution	Resolution in pixels per inch or cm (depends on 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 (voice/audio memo) attached (This evaluates to 1 if file has an associated sound file and 0 if not)
sv	"Film" sensitivity (ISO) in APEX units
tag	Tagged state of images (evaluates to 1 if the image is tagged, and 0 if it is not)
tiffcopyright, tifc	TIFF copyright field written by some cameras
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.

The {sv} APEX value will always be computed based on ISO. (Ev = Av + Tv = Bv + Sv)

av	APEX aperture value
bv	APEX brightness value
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
sv	APEX ISO speed value (a.k.a. sensitivity value)
tv	APEX time value

Standard IPTC Fields

alttext, alt	Alt Text accessibility information
alttextalt, alta	Returns contexts of the Alt Text field if that exists, or returns the contents of the Headline field if no Alt Text is available
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
event, evnt	IPTC Event field
extendeddesc, extd	IPTC Extended Description accessibility field
genre, gene	IPTC Intellectual Genre field
headline, head	IPTC Headline field
identity, idn	Creator's Identity
instructions, inst	IPTC Special Instructions field
imagesupplierid, isid	IPTC Image Supplier ID field
imagesupplierimageid, isii	IPTC Image Supplier's Image ID field
imagesuppliername, isnm	IPTC Image Supplier Name 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
locationidtaken, litk	IPTC Location ID Taken field
mining	IPTC/PLUS Data Mining field
modelages, moda	IPTC Model Ages field
modelinfo, modi	IPTC Additional Model Info field
modelreleaseid, mrid	IPTC Model Release ID field
object, objt	IPTC Object name field
persons, prsn	IPTC Persons in image 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 Creator's Job 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
datesortdash, dtsd	Capture date of photo according to camera or file creation time. This can be used for sorting since the format is always YYYY-MM-DD
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
timesortdash, tmsd	Capture time of photo according to camera or file creation time. This can be used for sorting since the format is always HH-MM-SS
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
rand3	A 3-digit random number from 000 to 999.
rand4	A 4-digit random number from 0000 to 9999.
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)
trackref, gtrf	GPS track reference (true or magnetic)

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