How to View EXIF Data with XnViewMP

EXIF data and IPTC data aren't interchangeable, though

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XnView MP is a rather powerdul tool that gives you a look at all of the metadata associated with an image.
by Sue Chastain
A graphics software authority with web design and print publishing credentials.
Updated July 14, 2019

EXIF stands for EXchangeable Image File Format. It's the collection of information that your camera stores within certain types of photos. This information is known as "metadata" and can include things like the date and time the shot was taken, camera settings like shutter speed and focal length, and copyright information.

Metadata Viewing Tools

Different applications can display varying degrees of EXIF data. Windows Explorer and macOS Finder, for example, both reveal some EXIF data within the operating system. Specialized image-editing software, like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Bridge, support both the viewing and the editing of some metadata.

Some metadata, by its very nature, cannot be edited. For example, attributes about the photo's aperature cannot be edited, because the image depends on the accuracy of this information to render correctly. However, other bits of metadata — including geotagged coordinates — may be removed.

For light-duty image-management work, though, the XnView MP application — free for personal use and available for Windows, Mac, and Linux — reveals all EXIF data and supports the removal of some EXIF data.

How to View EXIF Data in XnView MP

XnView MP with EXIF data exposed

To view EXIF data, simply open an image. The lower left pane reveals metadata about the image. The EXIF section, or the EXIFtool section, of that pane reveals all the metadata encoded within the image.

XnView MP supports editing of IPTC information. The International Press Telecommunications Council has set authoritative standards about photo metadata that are widely accepted.

To modify IPTC information, select an image then click Tools > Metadata > Edit IPTC/XMP. In the pop-up window, you'll be presented with all available IPTC metadata, to which you're free to edit, add, or delete.

IPTC and EXIF aren't the same thing. Both standards are forms of metadata, but EXIF relates to technical camera-specific information captured at the time of the photograph was taken, whereas IPTC can apply to all image types and deals with different types of information, like copyrights and keywords.