# How to add custom properties to image file? **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [July 30, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-add-custom-properties-to-image-file/110714 "2007-07-30T04:18:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chamnap](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@chamnap](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/chamnap)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-add-custom-properties-to-image-file/110714/1 "2007-07-30T04:18:56Z")
Hello, I want to add custom properties to image files using RMagick, and these properties will embed into the image file directly. And later, I can retrieve those information back. Any idea, appreciate… Thanks ---
**Author:** ![chamnap](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@chamnap](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/chamnap)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 6:45am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-add-custom-properties-to-image-file/110714/2 "2007-07-30T06:45:42Z")
Chamnap wrote: > Hello, > > I want to add custom properties to image files using RMagick, and > these properties will embed into the image file directly. And later, I > can retrieve those information back. Any idea, appreciate… Could you elaborate on this more? Do you mean EXIF data? Robby – Robby R. [http://www.robbyonrails.com/](http://www.robbyonrails.com/) > **[Planet Argon](https://www.planetargon.com/)** > > Planet Argon is a Ruby on Rails development agency specializing in maintenance and support for existing Rails apps. Based in Portland, OR, Planet Argon has been a member of the Rails community since 2004. ---
**Author:** ![chamnap](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@chamnap](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/chamnap)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 6:49am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-add-custom-properties-to-image-file/110714/3 "2007-07-30T06:49:44Z")
I want to store some custom properties like copyright… and some other useful information that I want to show other people this image file is mine. EXIF data could be. And, I don’t want other people modified this information. Chamnap ---
**Author:** ![chamnap](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@chamnap](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/chamnap)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 8:18am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-add-custom-properties-to-image-file/110714/4 "2007-07-30T08:18:03Z")
You are not talking about EXIF data. More likely, you mean IPTC. EXIF is almost exclusively used for digital image acquisition devices to record image data like camera manufacturer, lens, shutter speed, dimensions, and so on. IPTC is where you store captions, descriptions, location, keywords, etc. If you’re bored, [IPTC Standard - IPTC](http://www.iptc.org/IPTC4XMP/) gives you the nuts and bolts of IPTC. This is a Wikipedia article about EXIF: http:// [Exif - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exif). A word of caution: Be very careful when you store anything in an image file, as they are quite brittle and one inadvertent overwrite could render the file completely unusable. ---
**Author:** ![chamnap](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@chamnap](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/chamnap)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 9:10am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-add-custom-properties-to-image-file/110714/5 "2007-07-30T09:10:42Z")
Thanks s.ross. Maybe you’re right. But do you how to set those copyrights information? And I don’t allow any other people to change that copyright information. Chamnap ---
**Author:** ![chamnap](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@chamnap](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/chamnap)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-add-custom-properties-to-image-file/110714/6 "2007-07-30T19:05:16Z")
You’re fighting an uphill battle. It is possible to change or remove metadata, which is the problem that people who hold copyrights to intellectual property face. If you are the sole contributor, embed the information prior to upload and hope for the best. The problem you face – especially with RAW images – is that the metadata is seldom in the same place among the different vendors’ file formats. That’s why Adobe and other image processing software vendors are in a constant chase to keep up with it. One other slightly blunter instrument you can use is to deface any publicly-viewable image using a watermark, and only provide unblemished images to those who qualify for permission to use the copyright information. Also, post your policy prominently _in text_ on each page that displays an image. G’luck. Nobody else is doing very well with this problem. This discussion (also) should be taken off-list. -s