COS file documentation

So,

After beating my head against the broken Cataloging system in the Windows version of Capture One, I exported all my images using the File->Export Images->Originals function and abandoned catalogs. You win C1.

This worked reasonably well as I have a well defined folder structure and metadata practices which allowed me to merge the resulting exported files (XMP files) to the original folders. Unfortunately, C1 stores very little info in the XMP files that other applications could make use of.

I have created an omnibus Session to work under, but I don't import any images, I simply browse to the appropriate folder and begin my editing.

The first time a folder is opened in C1, image previews are created in a subfolder and also a folder full of files with a COS appendix, where all all the post processing info is stored.

The COS are text files, and looking through them, everything is well labelled. The info is XMP-ish without being XML if that makes any sense.

I'm thinking of crafting a tool to read the COS files and then add whatever information which isn't into the XMP file to it.

Before I spend a lot of diagnostic efforts trying to discern all the various entities in the COS files I wanted to see a if there is a published COS file spec out there that I could use.

My biggest worry is my diagnostic efforts would not produce a complete listing of all the various bits and pieces in the COS files.

Thanks in advance

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