Tags Tab

Summary

The Tags tab is where you give a photo its identity for stock agencies, archives, and clients. Every field writes to the standard metadata blocks Adobe Bridge, Lightroom, Capture One, and the major stock platforms read. Sections run in a fixed top-to-bottom order, so the layout never shifts on you.

• Keywords

  The first content block. Drives most agency search results and most of your readiness score.

• Captions and rights

  Title, headline, description, copyright, artist, usage terms.

• Classification

  Scene codes and subject codes from the IPTC standard.

• Stock Readiness

  Live score against the agency you pick. Flags trademark matches and short descriptions in real time.

The Tags tab pulls the metadata that drives search, rights, and stock readiness into one column.

Status, triage, and progress

A thin progress bar across the header tracks how many of the agency's required fields you've filled. A small status dot next to the file name pulses indigo while edits wait to commit and turns green once you commit.

Below the header sits the Triage Row: flag, color label, star rating. Edit any of them without switching tabs.

The Triage Row is identical across the Preview and Tags tabs, so flagging or rating from either tab edits the same photo state.

See Photo Identity & Triage on the Preview tab for the keyboard shortcuts (P pick, X reject, U unflag, 6 to 9 color labels, 1 to 5 stars).

Keywords

Every keyword shows as a pill you can remove. The count badge to the right tracks your total against the active agency's target. Long lists hide behind a "show all" button so the rest of the tab stays in view.

Each pill shows the keyword plus two controls: the eye icon toggles private (catalog only, never written), and the X removes the keyword.

Four tools sit beneath the input to speed up tagging.

• Quick Suggestions

  A row of small buttons beneath the input. One click adds a likely match from words used earlier in this session.

• Tree

  A category tree picker. Add a specific keyword and Jade GT adds its parent categories automatically. Click + Branch on any category to add every keyword beneath it at once.

• Synonyms

  Map one keyword to alternates you type (dog → puppy, k9, canine). Synonyms stay local to your catalog; they never write to the file, but they show up in autocomplete and suggestions.

• Keyword Sets

  Save a curated bundle ("Detroit architecture", "Pine Bluff storefronts") and swap it in from a dropdown. Click + Save Set to capture the current photo's keywords as a new one.

Two pill behaviors worth knowing.

• Trademark flags

  A pill turns red when our trademark list flags it as a restricted brand. The flag drops your readiness score until you fix it. Click the pill or the matching warning in the Stock Readiness card to see which brand triggered it.

• Private keywords

  Mark a pill as private with the slashed-eye icon. Jade GT keeps the pill in your catalog but strips it before saving, so it never reaches the agency. Use it for personal organization (model names, location aliases, project codes).

Hierarchical keywords (Lightroom-style)

Type a vertical bar (|) between words and Jade GT stores the keyword as a hierarchy:

Travel|Iceland|Reykjavik

The pill shows the parent path as a dim breadcrumb with the leaf at full weight, like Travel › Iceland › Reykjavik. Jade GT adds every ancestor on its own, so a single typed path produces three keywords: Travel, Travel|Iceland, and Travel|Iceland|Reykjavik. Same behavior as Lightroom and Bridge when they import a tree.

When Jade GT writes the file, it stores both forms of each keyword:

• The leaf only (Reykjavik) lands in the standard, search-friendly keyword list that stock-agency indexers and search engines read.
• The full path (Travel|Iceland|Reykjavik) lands in the hierarchical-keyword field Lightroom, Bridge, Photo Mechanic, and Capture One use to rebuild the tree when you reopen the file.

The exact XMP fields, for the curious

• dc:subject carries the leaf-only list.
• lr:hierarchicalSubject carries the full pipe-separated path.

The reverse holds on import. When you open a Lightroom-tagged photo in Jade GT, both the flat list and the hierarchical paths come back in. The pill row shows the hierarchical version. Bare leaves with no parent stay as plain pills.

The Tree picker speaks the same language

The Tree button beneath the input opens a hierarchical picker built from every keyword across your loaded photos. Adding a leaf from the tree applies the full ancestor chain, same as typing the pipe path by hand.

Captions

Three short fields, in the order an editor reads them. Each shows a green vertical bar when filled and an indigo glow while a change is pending.

The Captions trio. Green bar means filled and saved; indigo bar means a pending edit; grey bar means empty.

• Title

  A short headline (IPTC Title). Jade GT often auto-fills it from the filename; rewrite it from there.

• Headline

  The editorial caption (IPTC Headline). A wire service or stock buyer uses this as the lede.

• Date Created

  The editorial date (IPTC DateCreated). Distinct from EXIF DateTimeOriginal. Use it when the capture date and the publish date differ, like a re-released archive shot or an embargoed release.

Description

A larger field with a live character counter set to the active agency's recommended length (for example 0 / 200 chars for Alamy). An issue badge shows when the description is too short or missing. Click the badge to jump to the field.

The character counter tracks against the active agency's target. The badge in the header appears when the description is too short.

Rights

Who owns the photo and how others can use it. Three fields, all in the file's rights metadata.

The Rights trio. Click "+ Editorial fields" to reveal Credit, Source, and Notes / Instructions.

• Copyright

  The standard rights line every stock agency reads. Typically © 2026 Your Name.

• Artist

  The byline. Stock agencies show this on the photo's profile page.

• Usage

  The licensing line that travels with the file.

Usage Terms in practice

Wedding-client example: Personal use only. No redistribution. Commercial example: Licensed for editorial use in Client X 2026 brochure only. Whatever you type travels with the file, including the sidecar file Jade GT writes next to a RAW.

A + Editorial Fields toggle reveals three more rights fields used by news and editorial workflows: Credit, Source, and Notes / Instructions. Click to expand or hide.

Classification (Scene and Subject)

Two toolbar buttons in the Rights group open standard code pickers. Both write to the IPTC NewsCodes list, so the values travel cleanly into Adobe Bridge, Photo Mechanic, Getty's ingest, and wire-service systems.

The two Classification buttons. Each opens a picker; the button label updates with the chosen Scene code or a Subject count.

• Scene Codes

  IPTC Scene Codes describe how the shot is framed: headshot, panoramic view, aerial view, and so on. One Scene per photo.

• Subject Codes

  8-digit IPTC Subject NewsCodes describe what the photo is about: Environment > Climate Change, Sport > Soccer. Pick as many as apply.

Scene picker

Click Scene to open the picker. The picker lists every IPTC Scene Code grouped by category (Composition, Perspective, Genre, Theme, and so on). Click a card and the picker closes; the Scene button now shows that code's name.

The Scene picker. Click a card to set the photo's Scene code in one click.

• Search

  Type in the search box and the grid narrows to matches across name, definition, and category. The Composition / Perspective headings hide when nothing in them matches.

• Recently Used

  The five most recent picks sit in a "Recently Used" row at the top of the picker when the search is empty. Each carries a small Recent badge.

• One click selects

  The Scene picker is single-select. Click a card and the picker closes. The value stages right away.

• Backdrop or X to cancel

  Click outside the card or press the X to close without picking. The Scene field keeps its current value.

Where the value lands

The picker writes to the IPTC Scene Code field (the code like 010100) and shows the label on the Tags-tab button. Bridge, Photo Mechanic, and Getty's ingest all read this field directly. The full vocabulary lives at cv.iptc.org/newscodes/scene.

Subject picker

Click Subjects to open the picker. Subject codes live in a hierarchical tree of 1,300+ topics. The picker opens at the top level (Arts, Conflict, Economy, Environment, Health, Sport, and so on). Click a folder to drill in; click a leaf to select it.

The Subject picker on first open. Folders drill in; the checkbox on the right selects the category as a leaf tag.

Subjects are multi-select. Each row carries a checkbox on the right. Tick it to include the category, or drill into it to pick more specific sub-topics. The Apply (N) button in the header counts your selections. Nothing applies to the photo until you click it.

Drilled in, two subjects ticked. Selected subjects sit in the blue pill bar at the top so you can confirm what's queued without scrolling. The Back button climbs one level up the tree.

• Folders drill, leaves toggle

  A row with an orange folder icon (like Environment) navigates deeper when you click the row body. A row without children toggles selection when you click anywhere on it.

• The right-edge checkbox always selects

  Even on a folder row, clicking the checkbox on the far right selects that category itself as a tag. Useful when you want Environment as a topic without picking a sub-topic.

• Back climbs one level

  The Back button moves up one step in the tree. Clicking outside the picker or pressing the X closes it without saving.

• Apply commits

  The big Apply (N) button in the header stages every ticked subject, then closes the picker.

Search inside the Subject picker and results show as a flat list. A small breadcrumb above each row places the topic in the tree. Tick the checkbox on any result to add it without leaving search.

Search inside the Subject picker flattens the tree. The small breadcrumb above each result shows the topic's place in the hierarchy, so "Climate Change" reads as ENVIRONMENT without having to drill in.

Where the values land

Each ticked subject writes its 8-digit Subject NewsCode to IPTC SubjectCode. The Tags-tab button shows a count (Subjects: 3 codes) and a tooltip lists every code by name. The Subject NewsCodes vocabulary lives at cv.iptc.org/newscodes/subjectcode.

Pick what helps the search, not every possible tag

More Subject codes is not always better. Editors and stock platforms weight relevance, so two well-chosen codes (Environment > Climate Change plus Weather > Weather Phenomena for a storm photo) beat ten loosely related ones.

Location (IPTC)

A collapsible section near the bottom of the tab. Its five fields match the IPTC location fields. The section header sums up what's filled (Pine Bluff, United States · 5 fields) so you can leave it collapsed unless you need to edit.

The Location (IPTC) section expanded. Green bars mark GPS-derived fills; type any value to override the placeholder.

• Sublocation

  A specific landmark or venue (for example, Murphy Theatre).

• City, State, Country

  The familiar three-line postal block.

• ISO Code

  The two-letter country code (US, GB, JP). Stock agencies use it for region filters.

When the photo has GPS, Jade GT looks up the address from the coordinates and fills these fields as placeholders. Type any value to override the placeholder. Clear the field to bring the placeholder back.

Pull from a phone capture

Need the IPTC location block from a stand-in phone photo? Phone Metadata pulls city, sublocation, country, and country code straight from a phone library pick and writes them into these fields.

Stock Readiness dashboard

A live health check at the bottom of the tab. The numbers update as you edit, so you always know how close the photo is to meeting the active agency's rules.

The Agency Readiness gauge weights keyword count, description length, trademark hits, and editorial completeness against the rules for the agency you've picked.

Pick an agency profile at the top of the dashboard. Each one loads its own rules, targets, and Smart Assistant hints.

Adobe Stock Shutterstock Getty General

Adobe Stock's title and description targets, keyword count, and the concept-plus-factual keyword mix Adobe favors.

Shutterstock's rules: shorter description, higher keyword density, stricter subject-code coverage.

Getty's rules: editorial-leaning descriptions and broader subject codes for newsroom workflows.

A neutral profile useful for archives and clients that don't run on a specific platform.

• Compliance Target

  A strip of pills showing the active rules (Min Tags: 7, Target: 15, Desc 5+ words).

• Automated Trademark Audit

  Scans Title, Description, and Keywords for restricted brand mentions and flags any matches as you type.

• Smart Assistant Findings

  Live warnings for short descriptions, missing technical data, or composition suggestions. Each carries a "Go to..." link that jumps straight to the field that triggered it.

What stays on your device

Jade GT downloads the trademark dictionary, built from Adobe, Getty, and Shutterstock policies. Only that dictionary travels over the network. Your photos and metadata never leave your device. Click the book icon in the dashboard to browse the active list.

Metadata templates

Templates save every Tags field (keywords, captions, rights, classification, location) under a name you choose. Controls live in the sticky action bar at the bottom of the tab.

Save Load Apply Default

Select a single photo, click Save in the action bar, and give the template a name. Jade GT stores every populated field; empty fields stay empty.

Opens the Metadata Templates window. Each template lists its name, a few preview values, and a keyword count.

When you apply a template, each field in the window asks for a rule: Skip, Fill if empty (writes only when the photo's current value is blank), or Overwrite (always writes). These per-field rules let one template apply safely across mixed photos.

Mark a template as the default in the window. Jade GT applies it to every photo as it loads. Perfect for boilerplate you re-type every shoot.

Tokens you can use inside template values

Tokens resolve per photo at apply time, so a copyright of © {YEAR} Your Name stays correct year after year.

Token	Resolves to
{YEAR}	Capture year (2026).
{MONTH}	Capture month (05).
{DAY}	Capture day (12).
{DATE}	Full ISO date (2026-05-12).
{ARTIST}	The photo's Artist field.
{CITY}	IPTC City.
{STATE}	IPTC State / Province.
{COUNTRY}	IPTC Country.
{FILENAME}	The original filename, no extension.
{EXT}	The file extension (jpg, cr3, etc.).

Good candidates for a template

Anything you re-type on every shoot: your standard © {YEAR} Your Name, the agency boilerplate caption line, a recurring-client keyword bundle, or a venue-specific keyword set. Mark the most-used one as the default and let Jade GT apply it automatically.

Templates live in your browser

Jade GT stores templates in this browser. They survive page reloads on the same browser and device, but they don't sync across devices. Cross-device sync is on the roadmap.

Re-read, Undo, and Reset

Three buttons in the sticky action bar handle recovery.

The sticky action bar. Save and Load drive Metadata Templates; Re-read, Undo, and Reset cover the recovery cases.

• Re-read

  Pulls EXIF and IPTC back from disk and drops every pending Tags edit on the selected photo. Use it after you've edited the file in Lightroom or another editor with Jade GT still open.

• Undo (Ctrl+Z)

  The same 50-step before-save undo history the rest of the app uses. A count badge on the button tells you how many edits you can undo.

• Reset

  Rolls every Tags-tab field back to its value when the photo loaded. Use it when you've over-edited and want a clean slate.

Re-read can't be undone

Jade GT asks for confirmation before Re-read runs, because the dropped edits are gone for good. Undo does not cover Re-read.

Batch tags view

Batch Tags view. Per-field Apply buttons replace direct typing, so a change never writes to a photo without an explicit confirmation.

Select two or more photos and the Tags tab switches to confirm-each-field mode. Typing a value never applies it alone. You confirm each field with its own button.

• Mixed placeholders

  When the selected photos disagree, the field shows <mixed across N photos> with a MIXED label on the right.

• Per-field Apply buttons

  Every editable field has its own Apply button. Click to write the typed value to every selected photo.

• Keyword pills with frequency counters

  Each pill shows the fraction of selected photos that already carry the keyword (AFTERNOON 1/4 means one of four). Adding a new keyword writes it to all selected photos.

• Apply Description to Selection

  A full-width button at the bottom for the description field, since it has no inline Apply button of its own.

• Paste banner

  When you've copied metadata from another photo (right-click on a pill, or use the action menu), a banner near the top of the tab offers Paste to apply the clipboard to every selected photo, or Clear Clipboard to drop it.

The Triage Row works the same way as in single-photo mode, with a Mixed badge in any cell where the photos currently disagree.

Troubleshooting

A keyword keeps coming back as red (trademark)

The trademark list flagged the word as a restricted brand mention. Either remove it, swap it for a generic equivalent (coffee shop instead of Starbucks), or open the list with the book icon in the Stock Readiness dashboard to see the exact entry that triggered the match.

I typed a keyword but no pill appeared

The input adds the keyword on Enter or when you click Add. Autocomplete holds what you type until then. If you pressed Tab or clicked away, the word still sits in the input. Click back, press Enter, and it lands as a pill.

The Date Created field is empty after loading a RAW

Date Created is the editorial publish date, separate from the camera's capture date. Cameras don't write it, so Jade GT leaves it blank by default. Set it when you need a publish date that differs from the capture date.

Stock Readiness shows zero even though all my fields are filled

The score weights agency-specific rules. Switch the agency profile at the top of the dashboard and you may see a different score for the same metadata. The Smart Assistant Findings list below the gauge breaks down which rules dropped points.

Template fields aren't writing on apply

The per-field rules in the Templates window default to Fill if empty. If the photo already has a value for that field, the template skips it. Set the row to Overwrite to force the change.

The keyword input goes away in batch mode

Batch mode uses a separate keyword input. Look for it under the Keywords header at the top of the batch tab. Each pill in batch mode carries a frequency counter (1/4) instead of the eye icon.

Related guides

• Pull in phone metadata

  Use Phone Metadata to send the IPTC block (city, headline, caption, keywords) from a phone library pick straight onto your desktop selection.

• Fix capture times first

  If your camera clock drifted, run Shift Time on the EXIF Info tab before you edit Date Created here. Date Created is editorial; the Shift Time tool corrects EXIF.

• Commit through Review

  Tags-tab edits stay pending until you write them out through the Review Hub. The Hub lets you uncheck the Tags category to keep edits on a single photo or commit them all in one batch.