Microsoft has begun rolling out free licenses for Expression Media to registered users of iView MediaPro. Some things broke in the transition so for now it’s best to stick with MediaPro. At this stage hold off using Expression Media especially on Windows. There is a hotfix coming soon for Mac and Windows with a service pack to follow Q3 2007.
* The XMP namespaces have been renamed to Expression Media tags. This means features like iView Sets which can be embedded into files invisible to Expression Media.
* Export to XML is switched off. Probably so Microsoft can fix or rename all the iView XMP tags. Hopefully it’s the the former.
* “Union of Field Hierarchies” on Windows doesn’t allow you to view sibling directories. Ironically Mac users are OK.
* iView plugins including user scripts are not migrated and/or working.
* Export to HTML truncates filenames to ISO 9660 8.3 short filename (last seen in DOS) c/- John Beardsworth (archived version).
From the Expression Media discussion list:
* Light Table displays wrong filename
* Sync annotations ignores IPTC Description
From Microsoft’s own Release Notes:
* The Import from XML/Export to XML feature has been disabled in this version. These commands will still be visible in the File menu, but they will not be active.
* You can view dates only in short format.
iView MediaPro 3 is no longer available for purchase online but some stores may still have copies.