Good to hear from you again – it’s never a bother to answer a support question. I know the documentation is more reference than tutorial and I wish I had the time and talent to produce more accessible material, like videos.
If I am reading the xmp data in your first link correctly, I believe you have the substitution sources right: [+xmp:title+] and [+xmp:description+] should work.
Looking at your second link, I see you have checked the “Enable IPTC/EXIF Mapping when adding new media” option. That should map the fields automatically when new images are added.
For your rule you need to use a Content Template, which will let you specify the source of the data and only populate the Caption when the file contains the data. Here’s the template you want:
template:([+xmp:title+])
The template: prefix distinguishes your template from an EXIF value, which is the default content in the EXIF/Template text box. The parentheses around the data source test for a non-blank value in the image file before applying the template.
You have circled the Caption rule – that’s correct. If you click the “Edit” or “Quick Edit” links (in blue under the rule name) you can create the rule you want. You will see six fields to complete along with Cancel and Update buttons. For the six fields you can enter something like this:
- Name (or Quick Edit:) – this will be “Caption”, the rule name. You can’t change it.
- IPTC Value – Leave this set to “– None (select a value) –“. The
2#120 and 2#122 values you mentioned refer to IPTC data contained in the image file; they would be a value you are mapping into the Caption from the file. You don’t use them, so you can ignore them.
- EXIF/Template Value – Enter
template:([+xmp:title+]). See above for an explanation.
- Priority – Select “EXIF”, although either choice would work in your case.
- Existing Text – Select “Replace”. WordPress sometimes creates Caption values from image metadata. You want your XMP value to be used every time it is available.
- Status – Select “Active” so the rule will be applied for uploads and other mapping actions.
When you’ve entered the values, click “Update” to record them and activate the rule. No mapping will occur at this point, you are just saving your rule for later use.
Once you define a rule you can apply it to a single item, multiple items or all items:
- To map a single item, go to the Media/Assistant submenu and click the thumbnail of the item you want (or click the “Edit” rollover action) to get the Media/Edit Media screen. You can click the “Map IPTC/EXIF metadata” link to run your rules on this item, then scroll down and look at the “Caption” meta box to inspect the results.
- To map two or more items, go to the Media/Assistant submenu and click the checkbox next to the items you want. Then, select “Edit” from the “Bulk Actions” dropdown above the checkboxes and click “Apply” to open the Bulk Edit area. Click the “Map IPTC/EXIF metadata” button to run your rules on the selected items.
- To map all of your items, stay on the Settings/Media Library Assistant IPTC/EXIF tab and click the “Execute” rollover action for the Caption rule. This may take a while.
You wrote “it says “there’s no undo” in the help“. That’s true, but you have control over when the rule is applied and how many items is affects. You can pick one image you know has the data present and then use the Media/Edit Media screen to test the rule on just that one item. When you’re confident the rule is working you can use the other two techniques to apply it to several or all items.
I appreciate the effort you’ve put in to study the Documentation and Help information and I am happy to give you more specific help as you need it. I am marking this topic resolved, but please update it if you have any problems or further questions regarding the above suggestions. Thanks for your continuing interest in the plugin.
