Table of contents

1. What is JpgKeywords

What is JpgKeywords

JpgKeywords is a desktop application for Windows designed to help you efficiently manage and edit keywords (also known as tags) in your JPG photos.

Adding keywords to your photos makes it easier to organize and later find them based on specific topics, events, locations, or any other personal criteria.

 

Key Advantages

Unlike many other tagging tools, JpgKeywords is built specifically for speed and efficiency when working with large photo collections. The most time-consuming part of keyword management is manually assigning tags to hundreds or even thousands of photos. This task is often tedious and slow — and this is exactly where JpgKeywords excels.

JpgKeywords provides a rich set of features that allow you to:

• Add, edit, and remove keywords quickly and intuitively.
• Apply the same keywords to multiple photos at once.
• Use advanced filtering and search tools to manage your photo collection with ease.
• Write keywords directly into the JPG files themselves, without relying on any local database. This ensures that your keywords stay with the files no matter where you move or send them.

In practice, tagging photos with JpgKeywords can be several times faster compared to using other programs.

 

Offline and Privacy-Focused

JpgKeywords works entirely offline and stores everything locally on your computer.

It does not require an internet connection, and no data is ever sent anywhere.

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2. Overview

 

JpgKeywords is built to help you work with photo keywords as quickly and intuitively as possible.

When you open the main window, you’ll see two main areas:

• On the left, a list of all keywords detected in your photos;
• On the right, thumbnails of the photos themselves, each labeled with its assigned keywords.

At the top, the toolbar provides quick access to essential actions:

• Open Folder lets you select a directory containing JPG files — all photos from that folder and its subfolders will appear in the thumbnails grid.
• Quick Filter and Advanced Filter help you narrow down the view to only the photos you're interested in.
• The Filter Only Selected option lets you refine filtering further when working with a large batch.

Each photo in the grid displays its keywords, timestamp, camera model, and even GPS data if available. As you add or remove keywords, these updates appear instantly — what you see is always the current state of the file.

The keyword list on the left allows you to drag and drop tags directly onto photos. Below that, you’ll find your recent keywords , making it easier to reuse frequently used terms when working with similar images.

At the bottom, the status bar shows the current count of visible keywords and photos, as well as how many are selected. This helps you keep track of your progress, especially during large tagging sessions.

All keywords are written directly into the JPG files using standard metadata — there’s no internal database, so your keywords travel with the files wherever they go.

Everything works offline, and no data ever leaves your computer.

Both the keyword list and the photo grid support right-click context menus with a variety of operations tailored to the selected items.

In addition to keyword tagging, JpgKeywords also supports editing other metadata, such as:

• Writing or removing GPS coordinates (geotagging).
• Setting or deleting the Date Taken value.

These extended features make it easier to organize your photo collection based not only on keywords, but also on time and location.

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3. How to Add Keywords to Photos

Since the main purpose of JpgKeywords is to help you tag your photos quickly, the program offers several convenient ways to add keywords.

1. Drag from the Keywords List

• Drag a keyword from the main keywords list and drop it onto a photo.
• To tag multiple photos at once, select them in the thumbnails grid and then drag and drop keywords onto any of the selected images.
• You can also select multiple keywords and drag them all at once to one or more photos.

2. Drag from the Recent Keywords List

• Enable the Recent checkbox to display the list of recently used keywords. This list is automatically updated with the latest keywords you've added.
• Just like with the main list, you can drag one or more recent keywords onto one or more selected photos.

3. Drag from Photo to Photo

• If several photos share similar content, it's often easier to copy keywords directly from one photo to another.
• Click on a photo and press F2 (or right-click and choose “Select keywords directly from image”). The photo will temporarily show only its keywords instead of the image.
• You can then drag these keywords to other photos. Multiple keywords can be selected and dragged together.

4. Copy and Paste Keywords

You can also copy all keywords from one photo and paste them into another photo — or several photos at once.

• Select the source photo and press Ctrl+C (or right-click and choose “Copy Keywords”).
• Select the destination photo(s) and press Ctrl+V to paste the keywords.
• The pasted keywords are added to the existing ones; they do not overwrite them.

Example:
Photo1.jpg has: "aaa", "bbb"
Photo2.jpg has: "ccc", "ddd"
After copying from Photo1 and pasting to Photo2, it will have: "aaa", "bbb", "ccc", "ddd"

JpgKeywords ensures that keywords within a single photo are unique . If you try to paste a keyword that already exists, it won't be duplicated.

Copy/paste works across all keyword sources, including:

• Photo to photo
• Photo to multiple photos
• Selected keywords from a photo (using F2) to others
• Keywords list or recent list to photo(s)
• Between JpgKeywords and external text editors like Notepad

Examples of Copy/Paste Operations

• Photo → Photo: Select a photo, copy its keywords, and paste into another.
• Photo → Many photos: Copy from one, select multiple, paste.
• Selected keywords from photo → Photo(s): Use F2, select only the needed keywords, copy and paste.
• Keywords list → Photo(s): Select one or more keywords in the list, copy, and paste into selected photos.
• Recent keywords list → Photo(s): Same as above, using the recent list.
• Photo → Notepad: Select photo(s), press Ctrl+C, and paste into Notepad to export the keywords.
• List → Notepad: Click on the keywords list, select keywords, press Ctrl+C, and paste into Notepad.
• Notepad → JpgKeywords: Write keywords in Notepad (one per line), copy them, then paste into the keywords list or directly into photo(s).

Keyword Filtering and Quick Search

When working with thousands of photos and hundreds of keywords, scrolling through long lists can be slow. JpgKeywords provides a powerful and fast way to find keywords by simply typing.

Method 1: Using the “Filter keywords” Field

• Located at the top of the keywords list.
• Type part of the keyword to narrow down the list, then drag and drop.

Method 2: Just Start Typing!

• Make sure the photo grid is focused (click on any photo).
• Start typing — the keywords list will automatically filter in real time.
• You don’t have to start from the beginning of the keyword. For example, to find “My uncle Bob’s birthday”, just type bob — it’s case-insensitive.
• Usually, 2–4 letters are enough to find what you need.
• Drag the filtered keyword onto the photo, then immediately start typing the next one.

This flow minimizes clicks and accelerates your tagging process.

Pattern:

1. Type a few letters
2. Drag and drop
3. Type again for the next keyword

If the keyword doesn’t exist, simply add it:

• Right-click in the keywords list and choose “Add new keyword to list” or press Ctrl+Enter .

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4. How to Delete Keywords from Photos

To remove keywords from one or more photos, select the photo(s) in the thumbnails grid and press Del,
or right-click and choose "Delete Keywords" from the context menu. This will open the Delete Keywords dialog.

 

In this dialog, you’ll see a list of all keywords found in the selected photos. From here, you have several ways to delete keywords:

1. Delete Multiple Keywords

• Use the checkboxes to select the keywords you want to delete.
• Click Delete Selected to remove them from all selected photos.

To help you manage long keyword lists, you can use the Check All and Uncheck All buttons to quickly select or deselect all items in the list.

2. Delete a Single Keyword Instantly

• If you only want to delete one keyword, just double-click it. The keyword will be immediately deleted and the dialog will close automatically.

3. Deleting from Multiple Photos

• If multiple photos are selected, the selected keywords will be deleted from all of them.

Confirmation Settings

Deleting keywords is a sensitive operation, so JpgKeywords uses a confirmation prompt — but only when it really matters:

• If you’re deleting keywords from a single photo , no confirmation is shown.
• If you’re deleting from multiple photos , a confirmation prompt will appear.

You can customize this behavior in Options, where you can choose:

• Always confirm before deleting
• Never confirm
• Confirm only when multiple photos are affected

Optional: Display Keywords in Columns

At the bottom left of the dialog, the Columns dropdown allows you to change how keywords are arranged.
This option is useful when there are many keywords — showing them in multiple columns may make the list easier to scan.
In most cases, however, the default single-column view is sufficient.

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5. How to Replace Keywords in Photos

If you need to rename or correct a keyword across multiple photos, JpgKeywords provides a fast and simple way to do it.

Replacing a Keyword

1. Select the photos you want to process in the thumbnails grid.
2. Right-click and choose "Replace Keyword...", or press Ctrl+R .
3. The Replace Keyword dialog will appear.
    

In the dialog:

• Use the "Replace " dropdown to select the keyword you want to change. This list shows all keywords found in the selected photos.
• In the "with " field, enter the new keyword you want to apply.
• Click OK to replace the keyword in all selected photos.

The old keyword will be removed, and the new one will be added in its place.

Practical Example – Replace in Bulk

Replacing keywords is most useful when you want to change a keyword in many photos at once. Here’s a typical workflow:

1. In the keywords list , find the keyword you want to replace and click it.
2. Press F3 to filter the thumbnails grid by that keyword. Only matching photos will be shown.
3. Click on the grid and press Ctrl+A to select all visible photos.
4. Press Ctrl+R to open the Replace Keyword dialog and complete the replacement.

Case Correction

Although JpgKeywords treats keywords as case-insensitive when filtering (e.g. Dog, DOG, and dog are considered equal),
it still stores keywords exactly as entered — preserving capitalization.

For example:

• If a photo contains the keyword "dog", you won’t be able to add "Dog" as a separate entry — it will be seen as a duplicate.
• To correct the case, simply replace "dog" with "Dog" using the Replace Keyword function.

This is a useful way to standardize the formatting of your tags across your entire collection.

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6. How to Filter Photos by Keywords

JpgKeywords offers multiple powerful ways to filter photos based on their assigned keywords and metadata.
This helps you quickly locate specific groups of images, even in large collections.

You can remove any active filter and show all photos again by clicking the Clear Filter button above the thumbnails grid.

1. Instant Filter

This is the simplest and fastest way to filter by a single keyword.

• Select a keyword from the keywords list on the left.
• Press F3 or right-click and choose “Filter by this keyword”.
• The thumbnails grid will instantly show only the photos that contain this keyword.

You can repeat the process with a different keyword.
To clear the filter, click Clear Filter .

2. Quick Filter (Cascade Filtering)

Click the Quick Filter button to open the Quick Filter window.

This feature helps you find photos that contain specific combinations of keywords — even when you're not sure what combinations exist.

The interface is organized into cascades: columns of keyword lists that update dynamically based on your previous selections.

• The first cascade displays all available keywords.
• When you select a keyword, the second cascade updates to show only the keywords that co-occur with the first one.
• When you select a keyword in the second cascade, the third cascade is filtered based on both selections, and so on.

For example: if “Cat” is selected in the first cascade, the second cascade shows only keywords that appear in at least one photo that also contains “Cat”.

You can add up to 10 cascades (minimum is 2).
Use the Add Cascade and Remove Cascade buttons to adjust their count.

Auto focus next cascade on click:

When enabled, this option lets you continue typing in the next filter box without using the mouse — making keyboard navigation faster.
When disabled, you can scroll the current cascade with arrow keys.

The top of the window displays the currently selected keywords and the number of matching photos.

To apply the filter, click OK. To cancel, click Cancel .

3. Advanced Filter

Click the Advanced Filter button to open a feature-rich filtering dialog.

You can filter photos by multiple criteria:

Keyword-based conditions:

• Must Have All — photos must contain all selected keywords (AND logic).
• Must Have Any — photos that contain at least one of the selected keywords (OR logic).
• Must NOT Have — excludes photos containing any of the selected keywords (NOT logic).
• Contains Text — filters photos that have any keyword containing the typed text fragment (case-insensitive).

Special metadata filters:

• Filter by GPS coordinates — include or exclude photos with GPS data.
• Filter by date taken — find photos that have or lack a Date Taken value.
• Filter by keywords count — set a range to include photos with a specific number of keywords.
• Filter by camera model — filter based on camera model metadata.
• Filter by mismatched years — find photos where multiple sources (filename, folder name, keywords, EXIF) suggest conflicting years.
• Filter by mismatched filename/date taken — detects inconsistencies between the date in the filename and the EXIF Date Taken.

To use these filters:

• Drag and drop keywords between lists (from "All Keywords" to the filter lists).
• Double-click a keyword to remove it from a list .
• Use Ctrl+A to select all in a list, or press Del to delete selected keywords.

Click OK to apply the filter or Cancel to discard.

4. Filter Only Selected

This filter allows you to isolate a custom selection of photos:

• Select one or more photos in the grid.
• Click the Filter Only Selected button.

Only the selected photos will remain visible — useful for focusing on a specific subset, like photos from an event or a particular range.

Example: A folder has 1,000 photos, but you want to work only with those from a birthday party (e.g., photos #200 to #300).
Just select them and apply this filter to hide everything else temporarily.

 

5. Filter from Image (via F2)

You can also filter photos directly from a photo’s own keywords.

• Select a photo and press F2, or right-click it and choose "View Keywords as List".
• Instead of the thumbnail, a list of its keywords will appear temporarily.
• Double-click any keyword from this list to apply an instant filter.

This works exactly the same as selecting that keyword from the main keywords list and pressing F3 — the thumbnails grid will be filtered to show only photos containing the selected keyword.

You can clear any filter at any time by clicking Clear Filter.

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7. How to Add GPS Coordinates to Photos

 

In addition to managing keywords, JpgKeywords also allows you to assign, view, and organize GPS coordinates for your photos — a feature useful for geotagging and location-based sorting.

Switching to Location Mode

The main list on the left side of the window can operate in two modes, selectable via the tabs at the top:

• Keywords – standard mode for working with photo tags.
• Locations – mode for working with GPS coordinates.

To switch between these modes:

• Click the corresponding tab (Keywords or Locations), or
• Press F12 to toggle between them quickly.

In Location mode:

• The left panel shows a list of saved locations with name, latitude, and longitude .
• Each photo’s thumbnail displays its assigned GPS coordinates instead of keywords.

How to Add a Location

To assign GPS coordinates to photos, follow these simple steps:

1. Open Google Maps in your web browser.
2. Find the desired location and right-click on the spot.
3. In the context menu, click the coordinates listed at the top — this copies them to your clipboard.
4. JpgKeywords automatically detects valid coordinates in the clipboard and adds them to the Locations list.

• The new location is always added at the top of the list, even if it’s sorted — so you can easily find what was just added.

Assigning GPS to Photos

Once the Locations list contains coordinates, you can assign them to photos:

• Drag and drop a location from the list onto one or more selected photo thumbnails.
• Or use copy and paste:
  • Select a location (or a photo that already has GPS) and press Ctrl+C (or right-click → Copy GPS coordinates).
  • Select one or more photo thumbnails and press Ctrl+V (or right-click → Paste GPS coordinates).

You can also:

• Double-click a location name to rename it.
• Click on a column header (e.g. "Location Name") to sort the list.

Removing GPS Coordinates

To remove GPS coordinates from one or more photos:

• Select the photo(s) in the thumbnails grid.
• Right-click and choose "Delete GPS Coordinates", or simply press the Del key.

Viewing Locations in Google Maps

To open a location in Google Maps:

• Right-click a location (or a photo with GPS) and choose "Show in Google Maps".
• Or select it and press Ctrl+G .

The browser will open and show the exact coordinates on Google Maps — perfect for verifying or editing locations.

Tip: You can quickly spot photos without GPS info — they are labeled with “< No GPS info >” in the thumbnails.
To filter and display only such photos, use the Advanced Filter and enable the option “Filter by GPS coordinates”.

 

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8. How to Add Date Taken to Photos

JpgKeywords allows you to view, assign, and edit the Date Taken value for your JPG photos. This is useful when the original date is missing or incorrect, and you want to organize your photo collection chronologically.

You can add or change the Date Taken in two modes:

• While working in the main window
• While viewing photos in full-screen preview mode

Opening the Date Editor

To open the Set Date Taken window:

• From the main menu, choose Edit → Set Date Taken,
• Or simply press the shortcut Ctrl+D.

This opens a floating , non-modal window — meaning it stays open while you continue selecting files or navigating through your photos.

Date Editor Overview

The date editor allows you to manually set the full date and time:

• Six input fields: Year, Month, Day, Hour, Minute, Second.
• Above each field is a + button to increase the value.
• Below each field is a – button to decrease the value.
• You can also type directly in the fields, or use the Up/Down arrow keys to adjust values.
• The valid year range is from 1000 to 9999.

Once the desired date and time are set, click Apply to save the value to all currently selected photos.

You can resize the editor window using Ctrl+Num+ and Ctrl+Num– (from the numeric keypad).

Using Date Editor in Full-Screen View

When viewing photos in full-screen mode (opened by double-clicking a photo in the main grid), you can still use Ctrl+D to open the Set Date Taken window.

In this mode, the editor includes:

• Navigation buttons < and > to switch to the previous/next photo.
• A drop-down option attached to the Apply button that allows two modes:
  • Apply and move to next file – sets the date and automatically shows the next photo.
  • Just Apply – sets the date but keeps the current photo in view.

This workflow is ideal for manually reviewing and tagging each photo one by one.

Removing the Date Taken Value

If you want to remove the Date Taken metadata from one or more photos:

1. Select the desired files in the thumbnails grid.
2. From the main menu, go to Edit → Delete Date Taken .

 

Tip: You can filter and find photos with or without a Date Taken value using the Advanced Filter .
Use the option "Filter by date taken" to locate files that are missing this information.

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9. Repeat the Last Added Keywords

JpgKeywords allows you to quickly reuse the last added keywords and apply them to new photos with a single key press.

In JpgKeywords, pressing F4 repeats the last keyword add operation — saving time when tagging similar photos.

You can activate this function in two ways:

• Press F4 on your keyboard, or
• Use the main menu: Edit → Repeat the Last Added Keywords

How It Works

Each time you add keywords to a photo — whether by dragging or pasting — JpgKeywords remembers the exact keywords used.

Then, at any moment, you can:

• Select one or more photos
• Press F4 → The remembered keywords will be added to all selected photos.

This avoids the need to drag or reselect the same keywords multiple times.

Example Use Case

Let’s say you’re tagging photos of your family and many photos feature "Uncle Bob", but not all of them.

1. Add the keyword "Uncle Bob" to one photo.
2. Now "Uncle Bob" becomes the last added keyword .
3. Scroll through your folder and:
   • Select the next photo with Uncle Bob
   • Press F4
   • "Uncle Bob" is added instantly
4. Repeat with other photos — individually or in groups.

This is much faster than dragging the keyword each time.

Multiple Keywords Are Supported

The feature remembers all keywords from the last add operation — not just one.

For example:

• You copy 10 keywords from one photo and paste them into another photo.
• That exact combination of 10 keywords is now the "last used" set.
• You can now press F4 to quickly apply all 10 keywords to additional photos — again and again.

Tip: You can combine this feature with keyboard navigation.
Use arrow keys to move through thumbnails, then press F4 on each photo that needs the repeated keywords.

 

F4 Also Works for GPS Coordinates

The F4 shortcut is context-sensitive — it works in both keyword and GPS modes.

• If the program is in keyword mode, F4 repeats the last added keywords .
• If the program is in GPS mode (i.e. the Locations tab is active), F4 repeats the last assigned GPS coordinates .

This allows you to quickly assign the same location to multiple photos in the same way — just select photos and press F4 .

 

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10. Working with Keyword List

The Keyword List is the main list located on the left side of the main window, next to the thumbnails grid.

When a folder is opened using the Open Folder button, JpgKeywords scans all JPG files in that folder and its subfolders. It reads the keywords from the metadata of each image and populates the keyword list with all keywords found.

Note: JpgKeywords does not use a local database to store keywords. Keywords are always read directly from the JPG files. If the list is empty after opening a folder, it means none of the photos currently contain any keywords.

Once populated, the Keyword List can be interacted with using a right-click context menu. The following operations are available:

1. Add Keyword to List (Ctrl+Enter)

• Opens a dialog to manually add a new keyword to the list. You can then assign it to photos.

2. Remove Keyword from List

• Deletes selected keywords from the list. This does not remove them from the images. If the keyword still exists in any photo, it will reappear the next time the folder is opened.
• To remove keywords from the images themselves, select the thumbnails and press Del.

3. Copy Keywords (Ctrl+C)

• Copies one or more selected keywords to the clipboard. These can be pasted into photos or into an external text editor (e.g., Notepad).
• You can press Ctrl+A to select all keywords before copying.

4. Paste Keywords (Ctrl+V)

• Pastes keywords from the clipboard into the list. The copied text should contain one keyword per line.

5. Export Keywords to File

• Saves the current keyword list to a text file, with one keyword per line.

6. Import Keywords from File

• Loads keywords from a text file (one keyword per line), replacing the current list.
• Useful for preparing a custom list of keywords that may not yet exist in any photos.

7. Merge Keywords from File

• Similar to the import option, but instead of replacing the list, it adds keywords from the file to the existing list.
• Duplicate keywords are automatically avoided.

8. Merge Keywords from Images in Folder

• Scans a selected folder for JPG files and adds all discovered keywords from those images to the list.

9. Filter By This Keyword (F3)

• Quickly filter photos by a selected keyword. Select a keyword (or multiple), press F3, and the thumbnails grid will update.
• This action can be repeated easily. For advanced filtering, use the Advanced Filter feature.

The keyword list is a powerful tool that helps you manage, assign, and reuse metadata efficiently across your photo collection.

 

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11. View photos

 

 

JpgKeywords includes a full-screen photo viewer that allows you to browse your images one by one in a distraction-free interface.

You can enter the viewer by:

• Double-clicking any thumbnail in the grid

Navigation

Once a photo is opened, you can use your keyboard to navigate:

← / → arrows - Go to the previous / next photo
Home - Jump to the first photo
End - Jump to the last photo
ESC- Exit full-screen mode or close viewer
Alt + Enter  - Toggle full-screen mode on/off

If the grid was filtered, the viewer will show only the filtered photos , not all images from the folder.

At the bottom of the screen, a status bar displays your current position, for example: Image 4 of 9

Display Options (Top Panel)

At the top of the viewer are several checkboxes that control the visibility of metadata over the image:

• Show Keywords – Display assigned keywords
• Show Date Taken – Display the Date Taken
• Show Day of Week – Display the weekday next to the Date Taken.(Only works if “Show Date Taken” is enabled)
• Show GPS – Display GPS coordinates. If coordinates exist, they appear as a clickable link that opens the location in Google Maps.
• Show Camera Model – Display the camera model
• Transparent – Show overlay text without a background box, allowing the photo to remain fully visible beneath the metadata

These settings allow you to choose how much context you want to see while viewing images.

Tip: You can still use Ctrl+D inside the viewer to set Date Taken while browsing photos one by one.

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12. View Statistics

The View Statistics window provides an overview of your current photo collection, displaying useful metadata summaries and keyword usage patterns.
You can access it from the menu View → View Statistics or by clicking the corresponding toolbar button.

The window is divided into two sections:

1. Totals (Top Section)

This section displays general statistics for the currently loaded photos:

• Total Files – the number of JPG files in the folder (and subfolders)
• Total Keywords – total number of keyword assignments across all photos
• Unique Keywords – the number of distinct keywords used
• Average Keywords per File – the average number of keywords per photo

Additional metadata info:

• Files with GPS info vs. Files without GPS info
• Files with Date Taken vs. Files without Date Taken

2. Details (Bottom Section)

The lower part of the window contains three tabs with detailed breakdowns:

Keywords Tab
Displays a list of all keywords and how many times each has been used across the current set of photos.

 

 

Files Tab
Shows how photos are distributed by the number of assigned keywords.
For example, how many files have 0, 5, or 10 keywords.

 

Models Tab
Shows which camera models were used to take the photos.
Both manufacturer and model name are shown, along with how many files were taken with each.

 

Interactive Filtering

One powerful feature of the Statistics window is that it supports direct filtering:

• Double-click a row in the Keywords tab → filters photos by that keyword.
• Double-click a row in the Files tab → filters by number of keywords per photo.
• Double-click a row in the Models tab → filters by camera model.

When you double-click, the Statistics window automatically closes and the main grid is filtered accordingly .

These filters can also be created via the Advanced Filter , but this method offers a faster and more visual way to narrow your selection.

Other Features

Copy to Clipboard – copies the data from the currently active tab into text format for use in reports or spreadsheets.

 

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13. View Statistics By Date

The View Statistics By Date window provides a visual overview of your photo collection organized by calendar date .
It helps you quickly see how many photos were taken on each day of the year and filter them accordingly.

You can access this window via:

• Menu: View → View Statistics By Date
• Or from the toolbar, if it's enabled.

Calendar Heatmap Overview

The window displays a calendar grid:

• Rows represent months
• Columns represent days of the month (1–31)
• Each cell shows the number of photos taken on that day

Cells are color-coded : higher numbers are shown in deeper green, helping you spot active photo days at a glance.

Year Selection

At the top of the window is a year selector :

• You can choose a specific year from the dropdown list
• Or select "All years combined" to see the total counts for each date across all years

You can also use the Previous Year and Next Year buttons to move between years quickly.

Only photos that have a valid Date Taken value are included in this view.
You can see how many such files exist in the "View Statistics" window, under “Files with Date Taken”.

Filtering by Date

This form is not just informative — it's interactive.

• Double-click any cell (a specific date) → the window will close and the main photo grid will be filtered to show only the photos taken on that date.
  • If "All years combined" is selected → filters by day and month (e.g. all photos taken on February 14).
  • If a specific year is selected → filters by exact date (e.g. February 14, 2023).

Right-Click Menu: Per-Date Breakdown

When you right-click a cell (a specific date), a popup menu appears showing:

• A breakdown by year – each year in which that date has photos
• The number of files for each year
• A total count at the bottom

You can use this list not only for viewing, but also for filtering:

• Click any year in the list → the Statistics window will close and the main grid will be filtered to show photos taken on that specific day and year .

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14. Sorting

JpgKeywords allows you to sort the photos in the grid using a variety of criteria.
You can access sorting options from the main menu: Sort.

Sorting helps you control the order in which thumbnails appear, making it easier to navigate and organize your collection.

Sort Criteria

The following options are available under the Sort menu:

File Name with Path
Sorts files by their full path , including folder and file name.
Useful when organizing images by directory structure.

File Name
Sorts files by file name only , ignoring folder paths.
Useful when you're working with photos from different locations that have similar naming schemes.

Date Taken
Sorts files by the Date Taken.
Photos without Date Taken are always placed at the end, regardless of sort order.

Count of Keywords
Sorts files based on the number of keywords assigned to each photo.

Similarity to the Selected Image by Keywords
Sorts photos based on their keyword similarity to a selected reference photo .

How it works:

• Select one photo in the grid as the reference.
• Then choose this sort option.
• The selected image stays at the top.
• Other images are sorted by how many keywords they have in common with it:
  • Exact matches first
  • Then images with slight variations (missing or extra keywords)

This is useful for grouping visually or thematically related images.

Distance from Selected Image by GPS Coordinates
Sorts photos based on geographic distance from a selected reference photo (with valid GPS coordinates).

How it works:

• Select one photo in the grid (must contain GPS coordinates)
• Choose this sort option
• The selected image stays first
• Other images are sorted by distance from it in kilometers

In this mode, the thumbnails will also display the distance next to each GPS value (in the Locations tab).

Camera Model
Sorts photos by the camera model.
Useful for separating images taken with different devices.

Random
Sorts the photos into a random order. Every time you choose this option, a new random sequence is generated.

Sort Direction

At the bottom of the Sort menu are two mutually exclusive options:

• Ascending Order
• Descending Order

These determine the direction of sorting for all criteria (except "Random").

You can toggle between them to quickly change how items are displayed — for example, oldest to newest or newest to oldest.

Default Sorting

When JpgKeywords starts, the default sorting mode is:

• File Name with Path
• Ascending Order

You can change it at any time using the Sort menu.

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15. Copy/move photos

JpgKeywords allows you to copy or move selected photos to another folder.
This is particularly useful after filtering — for example, when organizing photos by keywords, camera model, or date.

You can access this feature via the right-click context menu:

• Copy to Folder...
• Move to Folder...

 

Typical Workflow

1. Filter the photos you want
2. Press Ctrl+A to select all visible photos in the grid
3. Right-click and choose Copy to Folder... or Move to Folder...
4. The Copy / Move dialog will appear

 

Using the Copy / Move Dialog

The dialog allows you to:

• Choose a destination folder using the Browse button
• Or select a folder from the list of recently used folders shown below
• Click Copy or Move to execute the operation

Only the currently selected files will be copied or moved — not all visible files in the grid.
Use Ctrl+A if you want to select all visible files before proceeding.

If needed, you can clear the list of recent folders using the Clear List button.

 

Tip: Use filtering to narrow down the set of photos before copying or moving — for example, by keyword, camera model, or Date Taken.

 

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16. Metadata in JpgKeywords

JPG image files can contain embedded metadata that describes various properties of the photo.
There are three main metadata standards:

• EXIF – used mainly by digital cameras to store technical information like date and time, camera model, orientation, GPS, etc.
• IPTC – an older standard for descriptive information, now less commonly used in JPG files.
• XMP – a modern, XML-based format that supports keyword tagging and other metadata in a structured form.

JpgKeywords works with selected fields from the EXIF and XMP standards. It does not use IPTC metadata, and does not modify any fields other than those described below.

Metadata written by JpgKeywords

When you edit photos using JpgKeywords, the program writes metadata directly into the JPG file . The fields it modifies are:

• GPSLatitude – this is the photo’s latitude coordinate. In the program, it is simply shown as "Latitude".
• GPSLongitude – this is the longitude coordinate, shown as "Longitude".
• DateTimeOriginal – the date and time when the photo was originally taken. This is labeled as "Date Taken" in the program. It is an EXIF field with tag ID 0x9003.
• dc:Subject – a field in the XMP section used to store the photo’s keywords. This is the field updated when you assign or edit keywords in JpgKeywords.

Metadata that is read (but not written)

JpgKeywords also reads some additional metadata fields, but does not modify them. These are used to improve the display of thumbnails or to enable filtering:

• Orientation – used to auto-rotate thumbnails according to the photo’s EXIF rotation data. This can be enabled or disabled via the setting: “Rotate image according to EXIF orientation (if available)”.
• Make and Model – these fields represent the camera manufacturer and model, and are displayed in the thumbnail view. They can also be used to filter photos.

No other EXIF, IPTC, or XMP fields are read or processed by the program.

What happens to other metadata?

JpgKeywords is careful not to disturb any metadata fields it doesn’t use.
When you edit a file (e.g. by adding keywords, assigning GPS coordinates, or setting the date), only the relevant fields listed above are updated. All other metadata remains unchanged.

The program does not rely on a database to store this information. Instead, changes are applied immediately and permanently to the image files themselves.

Metadata Handling Engine

JpgKeywords uses the powerful tool ExifTool by Phil Harvey to handle reading and writing metadata.

• ExifTool is a widely respected, high-precision command-line utility
• For more information, visit: https://exiftool.org

 

Tip: Any changes you make to metadata in JpgKeywords take effect immediately.
There is no need to manually save or export – the file is updated in place.

 

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17. Hotkeys

JpgKeywords supports a wide range of keyboard shortcuts to speed up navigation and editing. Below is a list of available hotkeys, grouped by context.

Navigation in the Thumbnails Grid

• Arrows – Move the selection up/down/left/right in the grid.
• Page Up / Page Down – Scroll one screen up or down.
• Ctrl+Home – Jump to the first photo.
• Ctrl+End – Jump to the last photo.
• Ctrl+Click – Add or remove a photo from the current selection (multi-select).
• Shift+Click / Shift+Arrows – Select a range of photos between two points.
• Ctrl+A – Select all photos in the current view.
• F5 – Refresh all thumbnails (recreate them from files).

Viewing Photos (Full-Screen View)

• Double-click thumbnail / Alt+Enter – Open the photo in full-screen view.
• Left / Right Arrows – Navigate to the previous or next photo.
• Home / End – Jump to the first or last photo in the current filtered list.
• Alt+Enter – Toggle full-screen mode on or off.
• ESC – Exit full-screen mode or close the viewer.

Keyword and Metadata Editing

• Ctrl+Enter – Add a new keyword to the keywords list.
• Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V – Copy and paste keywords or GPS coordinates between photos or lists.
• Del – Delete selected keywords or GPS coordinates from selected photos.
• Ctrl+R – Replace keywords in selected photos.
• F2 – View keywords for a photo as a list. Double-click a keyword to filter by it.
• F3 – Filter photos by a keyword selected from the main keywords list.
• F4 – Repeat the last added keywords or GPS coordinates on the selected photos.
• F12 – Toggle between Keywords and Locations mode.

Date and GPS Tools

• Ctrl+D – Open the “Set Date Taken” dialog.
• Ctrl+G – Show selected location or photo coordinates in Google Maps.

File and Info Tools

• Alt+Enter – When in grid mode, open the photo in the default JPG editor.
• Ctrl+I – Show file details for selected photos.
• F1 – Open the Help file.

Tip : Many actions also have equivalents in the menus or context menus, but using hotkeys can make your workflow significantly faster.

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18. Snapshots

Metadata Snapshots (*.kw_snapshot files)

JpgKeywords supports loading and saving snapshot files — special JSON-based files with the .kw_snapshot extension — to speed up working with large, already-tagged photo folders.

What Is a Snapshot?

A snapshot is a file that stores:

• The folder path
• The list of JPG files in that folder
• All associated metadata (keywords, GPS coordinates, Date Taken, camera model, etc.)

Opening a snapshot allows you to browse and filter photos without re-scanning the files on disk.

Why Use Snapshots?

When JpgKeywords opens a folder normally (via Select Folder), it must:

1. Generate thumbnails for all JPG files (only needed once per folder).
2. Extract metadata (keywords, GPS, date) from each file.
3. Populate the keyword list and display thumbnails.

Even though JpgKeywords is optimized for speed and uses all CPU cores, this process can take time — especially for large folders.

How Snapshots Help

Snapshots let you bypass the scanning process. Once you save a snapshot for a folder, you can reopen it instantly, regardless of how many photos it contains.

Snapshots are ideal for:

• Quickly reopening large folders already tagged with metadata.
• Performing repeated searches and filters without reloading files.
• Archiving the state of a folder for future reference.

Note : Snapshots should only be used for folders that are already tagged. You can open a snapshot and view metadata, but editing metadata from snapshots is discouraged — instead, use Select Folder.

How to Use Snapshots

To save a snapshot:

• Open a folder normally with Select Folder.
• From the menu, choose File → Save Snapshot...
• Save the file with the .kw_snapshot extension.

To open a snapshot:

From the menu, choose File → Open Snapshot...

Select a previously saved .kw_snapshot file. Alternatively, you can open a .kw_snapshot file directly from Windows File Explorer,
if the option “Add ‘Open with JpgKeywords’ to context menu in Windows Explorer” is enabled in the program settings.

The folder's thumbnails and metadata will be loaded instantly.

Snapshots assume that the cached thumbnails still exist. If the cache is deleted, images may not appear until regenerated.

Limitations

Snapshot files are static — they do not update automatically. If any of the following occurs after the snapshot was created:

• JPG files are renamed or deleted
• Keywords or metadata are edited
• Thumbnails are deleted from the cache folder

…then the snapshot may no longer reflect the actual state of the folder. In such cases, simply delete the outdated snapshot and save a new one.

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19. Register program

JpgKeywords can be used either in registered mode or as an unregistered (demo) version.

The unregistered version is fully functional, but with one limitation:
You can assign no more than 5 keywords per photo.

After registering the program, this limitation is removed, and you can freely assign as many keywords as needed.

How to register

To register the program, enter your license key using the main menu:

Help → Register Program...

A dialog will appear where you can enter your registration key. Once the key is verified, the program will switch to the fully registered mode, and the keyword limit will be lifted.

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20. Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Where does JpgKeywords store keywords?
A: JpgKeywords stores keywords directly in the metadata of JPG files, specifically in the XMP-dc:Subject field. Keywords are saved immediately to the files as they are added.

Q: Does JpgKeywords use a database?
A: No. JpgKeywords writes keywords directly and immediately into the JPG files.
There’s no need to import or export photos, and no need to synchronize anything.
The JPG files themselves act as the database. Once a photo is tagged, it can be renamed or moved to another folder or computer — the keywords remain embedded in the photo.

Q: How many keywords can be stored in a single JPG file?
A: There is no limit.
Note: The unregistered (demo) version of JpgKeywords has a limit of 5 keywords per file. After registration, this limit is removed.

Q: What characters are allowed in keywords?
A: Any characters in any language are allowed. A keyword doesn’t have to be a single word — it can be a phrase. For example: "My vacation at sea" or "My uncle Bob's birthday".

Q: Can other software recognize keywords added by JpgKeywords?
A: Yes. The XMP-dc:Subject field is a widely supported metadata standard and is recognized by all major photo management software.
JpgKeywords simplifies the most difficult and time-consuming part of working with photos: tagging.

Q: Does JpgKeywords support structured (hierarchical) keywords?
A: No. JpgKeywords uses a flat keyword list.
Supporting structured keywords would require a local keyword database to store the hierarchy. However, this would limit compatibility, as each software product handles keyword hierarchies differently. Once a file is moved or emailed, the hierarchy could be lost.
JpgKeywords aims to avoid locking users into a proprietary system — the keywords it writes are portable and compatible with any other software.

Q: Why is the keyword list empty after opening a folder?
A: This means that none of the JPG files in the folder currently contain any keywords.

Q: Does JpgKeywords require an internet connection?
A: No. JpgKeywords works entirely offline, locally on your computer. All you need are your photos.

Q: Does JpgKeywords reduce image quality?
A: No. JpgKeywords never modifies the photo data itself — only the metadata is changed.

Q: What about other metadata in JPG files?
A: JpgKeywords can write to the following metadata fields:

• GPSLatitude
• GPSLongitude
• DateTimeOriginal
• XMP-dc:Subject

All other existing metadata (EXIF, IPTC, XMP) is preserved and remains unchanged.

Q: Why use JpgKeywords instead of other photo tagging software?
A: The key advantage of JpgKeywords is the speed and efficiency of tagging.
Its primary goal is to simplify the most difficult task in photo organization — manually tagging thousands of photos with hundreds of personal keywords — and to make this process significantly faster than in other tagging programs.

Q: What is exiftool.exe in the JpgKeywords installation folder?
A: exiftool.exe is a command-line tool used to read and write metadata. JpgKeywords uses ExifTool to edit photo metadata.
ExifTool is an excellent and powerful utility created by Phil Harvey. Learn more at: https://exiftool.org/

 

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21. Install/Uninstall JpgKeywords

JpgKeywords is distributed in two formats:

• A standard installer (.exe) for users who prefer a traditional installation process
• A portable version (.zip) that requires no installation and can run from any folder

Installing JpgKeywords

Installer Version (.exe)

1. Download the installer file.
2. Run it and follow the setup wizard.
3. By default, the program will be installed in: C:\Program Files\JpgKeywords
   You can change the install location during setup if needed.
   

Portable Version (.zip)

1. Download the ZIP archive.
2. Unzip it to any folder you prefer. Run JpgKeywords.exe directly from that folder.
3. Optionally, create a shortcut on your Desktop or in the Start Menu for easier access.

 

Uninstalling JpgKeywords

Installer Version
Use the standard Windows uninstallation process:

1. Open Settings → Apps (or Add/Remove Programs on older versions of Windows)
2. Locate JpgKeywords
3. Click Uninstall

 

Portable Version
Simply delete the folder where you unzipped the program.

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22. Update/Contact

The latest version of JpgKeywords can be downloaded from the official website: https://eedsoft.com/

For questions or support, you can contact the author (EedSoft) by email at: support@eedsoft.com

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