cfml_utils

ImageMetadata CFC

A ColdFusion Component (CFC) that extends ColdFusion’s built-in image metadata functions to provide comprehensive read and write access to XMP, EXIF, and IPTC image metadata.

ColdFusion 8 introduced imageGetIPTCMetadata() and imageGetExifMetadata(), both built on Drew Noakes’ metadata-extractor library. These functions return only a subset of available metadata and provide no way to write it back. ImageMetadata.cfc fills both gaps by wrapping Phil Harvey’s ExifTool command-line utility.

What It Does

• Reads all XMP, EXIF, and IPTC metadata tags from an image file
• Reads a single tag by name
• Writes one or more XMP tags to an image file — something ColdFusion has never supported natively
• Merges results from ExifTool and ColdFusion’s native functions for maximum tag coverage
• Handles namespace conflicts between ExifTool and ColdFusion with a configurable resolution strategy
• Concurrency-safe (named exclusive locks keyed per image file path)
• Cross-platform: auto-detects ExifTool path for Windows and Mac

Requirements

• Adobe ColdFusion 8 or later. Last tested on Adobe ColdFusion 2025 (mac OS)
• ExifTool installed on the ColdFusion server host OS

History

Originally developed in March 2011 and published on talkingtree.com. Hosted on RIAForge where it received 665 downloads and 11,348 views. Updated in 2026 and confirmed working on ColdFusion 2025 with ExifTool 12.x.

Source & Documentation

• Repository
• README — installation, usage, and API reference

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