v1.2.4 major
MetaScope 1.2.4 (Build 27)
Controlled vocabularies with 600+ IPTC terms, vocabulary-powered keyword rules, search window upgrades, editable camera fields, and GPS date management.
MetaScope 1.2.4 (Build 27)
February 2026 - Build 27
MetaScope 1.2.4 brings professional controlled vocabularies with 600+ IPTC terms, vocabulary-powered keyword rules, major search window upgrades, editable technical camera fields, and GPS date management.
Professional Controlled Vocabularies
Manage keywords with industry-standard vocabulary terms.
What’s New
- 4 Built-in Vocabularies — 600+ terms including IPTC Media Topics (17 categories), IPTC Scene Codes, ISO 3166 Country Codes, and Common Keywords
- Vocabulary Browser — Hierarchical browser with search, language filters, and usage tracking for recent and frequently used terms
- Import/Export — Import custom vocabularies from CSV or JSON with validation for duplicates and hierarchy integrity. Export for sharing or backup.
- Finder Sync — Bidirectional sync keeps keywords synchronized with Finder tags and captions with Finder comments
- Smart Suggestions — Multi-source keyword suggestions combine recent terms, frequent terms, synonyms, and vocabulary entries
Access the vocabulary browser from Tools menu (Cmd+Opt+V), the book icon in keyword fields, or Settings > Keywords.
Vocabulary-Powered Keyword Rules
Keyword rules now integrate seamlessly with controlled vocabularies.
What’s New
- Autocomplete from Vocabularies — Type to get instant suggestions from all vocabularies
- Validation Hints — Rule editor shows when terms match vocabulary entries for consistency
- Vocabulary Badges — Rule preview displays source badges showing which vocabulary each term comes from
- Rule Suggestions — Generate new rules automatically from IPTC vocabularies
Keyword rules combined with controlled vocabularies ensure consistent, professional metadata across your entire library.
Search Window Upgrades
The standalone metadata search window has been completely overhauled.
What’s New
- Grid and List Views — Toggle between grid and list layouts with adjustable thumbnail size (64–512px)
- Density Controls — Three levels (compact/standard/detailed) control how much metadata is visible
- Inspector Panel — Mini sidebar shows detailed metadata for selected results including match context (Option-Shift-Command-I)
- Action Toolbar — Prominent toolbar with Focus in Browser, Open in Viewer, Send to Batch, and Edit Metadata buttons
- Enhanced Status Bar — Selection count, total results, page navigation, and real-time ingest progress
- List View Upgrade — Match context chips, relevance scores, and search term highlighting with hover popovers
- Collapsible Sections — All five sections can be collapsed with state persisting between sessions
- Arrow Key Navigation — Full keyboard navigation in both grid and list views
- Enhanced Context Menus — Get Info, Copy, Duplicate, Move to Trash, Send to Batch, and Export Metadata
- Single-File Drag — Drag files directly from the grid to Finder or other apps
- Folder Scoping — Search within current folder or all files with scope picker in filter overlay
The search window is now a full-featured browser with all the tools you need to work with search results.
Editable Technical Camera Fields
10 camera fields previously read-only are now fully editable.
What’s New
- Unlocked Fields — Edit Camera Model, Lens Make, Lens Model, Focal Length, Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, Exposure Program, Metering Mode, and Flash
- 9 New Fields — Camera Make, Exposure Compensation, Focal Length 35mm, Exposure Mode, Camera/Lens Serial Numbers, Owner Name, Scene Capture Type, Subject Distance Range
- 119 Total Fields — Up from 110 in previous version
- XMP Sync — All fields write to both EXIF and XMP for cross-application compatibility
- Camera Icon Indicator — Visual indicator distinguishes camera-recorded fields from editorial metadata
Perfect for photographers who need to correct camera metadata or add technical details to scanned film images.
GPS Date Management
GPS date fields are now fully integrated into the metadata editor.
What’s New
- GPS Date Display — GPSDateStamp and GPSTimeStamp shown in dates section with clear UTC labeling
- Inline Editing — Edit GPS dates with the same pattern as other date groups
- Bidirectional Sync — Copy GPS dates to EXIF DateTimeOriginal, or copy EXIF dates to GPS fields
- Smart Validation — Intelligent inconsistency detection with timezone-aware tolerance prevents false warnings
- Batch Operations — GPS date sync operations available in batch processing panel
Keep GPS timestamps in sync with your photo timestamps for accurate geotagging workflows.
Enhanced Location Tools
More control over GPS metadata in batch operations.
What’s New
- Resizable Map — Adjust map height (100–500px) for better spatial context when viewing locations
- GPS Offset — Shift coordinates by specified distance and bearing for bulk location adjustments
- Copy GPS Coordinates — Copy from one file to all selected files for consistent geotagging
- Sync GPS Metadata — Sync across EXIF and XMP standards for cross-application compatibility
Inline Filename Rename
Rename files directly in the browser without opening a modal dialog.
What’s New
- Slow-Double-Click — Click to select, wait, then click filename again to enter edit mode
- Works Everywhere — List view and thumbnail grid view both support inline rename
- Keyboard Shortcuts — Press Enter to confirm or Escape to cancel
- Modal Fallback — Rename button and keyboard shortcut remain for advanced operations
Quick renames for single files, advanced rename panel for batch operations.
More Improvements
ExifTool 13.50
Updated embedded ExifTool from 13.42 to 13.50 with 224 Perl module updates and new Kandao camera support.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed semaphore leak in AsyncSemaphore with proper task cancellation
- Reduced DatesSectionView complexity for improved maintainability
- Fixed term usage tracking persistence in vocabulary system
- Security hardening for vocabulary system (AppleScript injection fix, file size limits, symlink handling)
- Fixed search inspector thumbnail clipping and Photos thumbnail crash
- Fixed inline rename keyboard handling and search filter overlay layout
- Fixed overlay click-through and search UI publishing warnings
- Removed redundant file system dates from Essentials tab
- Fixed rules UI layout to expand with window
Requirements
- macOS 15.4 or later
- Apple Silicon or Intel Mac
Get MetaScope
MetaScope is available on the Mac App Store. Free tier includes 5 edits per day. MetaScope Pro unlocks unlimited edits and all professional features.
For questions, feedback, or feature requests, contact support via the MetaScope Help menu.
✨ New Features
- Controlled Vocabularies: 4 built-in vocabularies with 600+ terms — IPTC Media Topics (17 categories), IPTC Scene Codes, ISO 3166 Country Codes, and Common Keywords.
- Vocabulary Browser: Hierarchical browser with search, language filters, and usage tracking for recent and frequently used terms (Cmd+Opt+V).
- Vocabulary Import/Export: Import custom vocabularies from CSV or JSON with validation for duplicates and hierarchy integrity. Export for sharing or backup.
- Finder Metadata Sync: Bidirectional sync keeps keywords synchronized with Finder tags and captions with Finder comments.
- Smart Keyword Suggestions: Multi-source keyword suggestions combine recent terms, frequent terms, synonyms, and vocabulary entries.
- Vocabulary-Powered Keyword Rules: Autocomplete from vocabularies, validation hints, source badges in preview, and rule suggestions generated from IPTC vocabularies.
- Search Window Grid and List Views: Toggle between grid and list layouts with adjustable thumbnail size (64–512px).
- Search Density Controls: Three levels (compact/standard/detailed) control how much metadata is visible in search results.
- Search Inspector Panel: Mini sidebar shows detailed metadata for selected results including match context (Option-Shift-Command-I).
- Search Action Toolbar: Prominent toolbar with Focus in Browser, Open in Viewer, Send to Batch, and Edit Metadata buttons.
- Editable Technical Camera Fields: 10 previously read-only camera fields now fully editable — Camera Model, Lens Make, Lens Model, Focal Length, Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, Exposure Program, Metering Mode, and Flash.
- 9 New Camera Fields: Camera Make, Exposure Compensation, Focal Length 35mm, Exposure Mode, Camera/Lens Serial Numbers, Owner Name, Scene Capture Type, Subject Distance Range. 119 total fields.
- GPS Date Management: GPS date display, inline editing, bidirectional sync with EXIF dates, smart timezone-aware validation, and batch operations.
- Inline Filename Rename: Slow-double-click rename in list view and thumbnail grid with keyboard confirmation.
🔧 Improvements
- Resizable Map: Adjust map height (100–500px) for better spatial context when viewing locations.
- GPS Offset: Shift coordinates by specified distance and bearing for bulk location adjustments.
- Copy GPS Coordinates: Copy from one file to all selected files for consistent geotagging.
- Sync GPS Metadata: Sync across EXIF and XMP standards for cross-application compatibility.
- Enhanced Search Status Bar: Selection count, total results, page navigation, and real-time ingest progress.
- Search List View Upgrade: Match context chips, relevance scores, and search term highlighting with hover popovers.
- Collapsible Search Sections: All five sections can be collapsed with state persisting between sessions.
- Arrow Key Navigation: Full keyboard navigation in both grid and list search views.
- Enhanced Search Context Menus: Get Info, Copy, Duplicate, Move to Trash, Send to Batch, and Export Metadata.
- Single-File Drag: Drag files directly from the search grid to Finder or other apps.
- Folder Scoping: Search within current folder or all files with scope picker in filter overlay.
- XMP Sync: All editable camera fields write to both EXIF and XMP for cross-application compatibility.
- Camera Icon Indicator: Visual indicator distinguishes camera-recorded fields from editorial metadata.
- ExifTool 13.50: Updated from 13.42 to 13.50 with 224 Perl module updates and new Kandao camera support.
🐛 Bug Fixes
- Fixed semaphore leak in AsyncSemaphore with proper task cancellation.
- Reduced DatesSectionView complexity for improved maintainability.
- Fixed term usage tracking persistence in vocabulary system.
- Security hardening for vocabulary system (AppleScript injection fix, file size limits, symlink handling).
- Fixed search inspector thumbnail clipping and Photos thumbnail crash.
- Fixed inline rename keyboard handling and search filter overlay layout.
- Fixed overlay click-through and search UI publishing warnings.
- Removed redundant file system dates from Essentials tab.
- Fixed rules UI layout to expand with window.
📦 Download Information
File Size: ~55 MB
System Requirements:
- macOS 15.4 or later
- Apple Silicon or Intel Mac
- MetaScope Pro subscription for Controlled Vocabularies, Keyword Rules, Search Window, and Batch features