exiftool_vendored 13.47.0 → 13.50.0

checksums.yaml

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 SHA256:
-  metadata.gz: 47f8feb5a44a6bb4ae7c01fc5283a6b0407be026ac355bdfd28249e5b9118d96
-  data.tar.gz: c4f5c0cc1862c2fad3dc1c79bc7c0fbd546534018ce380a8abfb2fdb16f3d48b
+  metadata.gz: 119da28d5499012533651a09438cf1c0b551bb65e4b97815bc86190c7b439beb
+  data.tar.gz: 11292b43f6d89879e7eef760270799f803ec5bc15cdcaf8eb9c57fdeb7d9f9cc
 SHA512:
-  metadata.gz: f66737b1a83f6e4c4c493a9845fb6f9eae5813fb08733fb3cda7d572ea58a0ad94c136deff3c0e73bc79e2f1b02871679b49fbd00da2d98d33986b7bf4ec8dce
-  data.tar.gz: f0f87c67bacd26a6047039f9ee95ef8a6a695fcaf9c0d3be5ed7c5130118814cf2263a374f4c598a4c10fb2b1145179a0d8cb81c3b93f3e3c17c1f0622313fa4
+  metadata.gz: 36b76bee5489e79558b03b5eabf21f0e59d9d60c4702818468f82dd50141f652caa8395a791d117d502d3e7aff95d6ceb139e741fa5351c0cf5925936331d45b
+  data.tar.gz: 39b786e84e02df42bc8021b97084fa899810a4b8207e5bb91fc92dc990e4768efb1600bfc83497f7ae0d1db2cab02677633e054cc23fe693e30490778dd09f23

data/bin/Changes

@@ -4,14 +4,44 @@ ExifTool Version History
 
 RSS feed: https://exiftool.org/rss.xml
 
-Note: The most recent production release is Version 13.44. (Other versions are
+Note: The most recent production release is Version 13.50. (Other versions are
 considered development releases, and are not uploaded to MetaCPAN.)
 
+Feb. 7, 2026 - Version 13.50 (production release)
+
+  - Added a few new Sony lenses (thanks Jos Roost)
+  - Added a couple of new Canon lenses (thanks Norbert Wasser)
+  - Decode another Samsung trailer tag
+  - Decode BlackLevels from some Canon CRW files (github #387)
+  - Updated Sony maker note decoding for the ILCE-7M5 (thanks Jos Roost)
+  - Patched potential MacOS security issue (thanks Tay Kiat Loong)
+  - Fixed -list options so reading image files beforehand doesn't add tags to
+    the output when running multiple commands using the -execute feature
+
+Feb. 3, 2026 - Version 13.49
+
+  - Decode a couple of new Samsung trailer tags
+  - Disabled decoding of MenuSettings for the Nikon Z6III firmware 2.0 until the
+    changes can be worked through in detail
+  - Fixed problem where Google Photos had problems displaying ExifTool-edited
+    HEIC MotionPhoto images.  Files written by older versions of ExifTool may be
+    repaired by re-writing with 13.49 or later
+
+Jan. 31, 2026 - Version 13.48
+
+  - Added a new Nikon LensID (github #385)
+  - Added support for quoted entries in input -geotag CSV files
+  - Fixed decoding of Nikon Z6III menu settings for firmware 2.0 update
+  - Fixed -fast2 to avoid processing maker notes in some QuickTime-based files
+  - Fixed bug introduced in version 13.46 where some tags may be associated with
+    the next fix when geotagging from GPX files
+
 Jan. 27, 2026 - Version 13.47
 
   - Enhanced -fast option to avoid scanning QuickTime MediaData for metadata
     (improves performance when reading CR3 files from slow media, github #384)
     and -fast2 to avoid reading HDRP maker notes
+  - Fixed hang problem when reading HDRPMakerNotes from some Google phones
   - API Changes:
       - Added CSV support to GeoUserTag option
 

data/bin/META.json

@@ -50,6 +50,6 @@
       }
    },
    "release_status" : "stable",
-   "version" : "13.47",
+   "version" : "13.50",
    "x_serialization_backend" : "JSON::PP version 4.06"
 }

data/bin/META.yml

@@ -31,5 +31,5 @@ recommends:
   Time::HiRes: '0'
 requires:
   perl: '5.004'
-version: '13.47'
+version: '13.50'
 x_serialization_backend: 'CPAN::Meta::YAML version 0.018'

data/bin/README

@@ -111,8 +111,8 @@ your home directory, then you would type the following commands in a
 terminal window to extract and run ExifTool:
 
   cd ~/Desktop
-  gzip -dc Image-ExifTool-13.47.tar.gz | tar -xf -
-  cd Image-ExifTool-13.47
+  gzip -dc Image-ExifTool-13.50.tar.gz | tar -xf -
+  cd Image-ExifTool-13.50
   ./exiftool t/images/ExifTool.jpg
 
 Note:  These commands extract meta information from one of the test images. 

data/bin/exiftool

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ use strict;
 use warnings;
 require 5.004;
 
-my $version = '13.47';
+my $version = '13.50';
 
 $^W = 1;    # enable global warnings
 
@@ -6136,7 +6136,7 @@ with this command:
 
 produces output like this:
 
-    -- Generated by ExifTool 13.47 --
+    -- Generated by ExifTool 13.50 --
     File: a.jpg - 2003:10:31 15:44:19
     (f/5.6, 1/60s, ISO 100)
     File: b.jpg - 2006:05:23 11:57:38

data/bin/lib/Image/ExifTool/BuildTagLookup.pm

@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ use Image::ExifTool::Sony;
 use Image::ExifTool::Validate;
 use Image::ExifTool::MacOS;
 
-$VERSION = '3.64';
+$VERSION = '3.65';
 @ISA = qw(Exporter);
 
 sub NumbersFirst($$);
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ my %tweakOrder = (
     CBOR    => 'JSON',
     GeoTiff => 'GPS',
     CanonVRD=> 'CanonCustom',
+    CaptureOne => 'CanonVRD',
     DJI     => 'Casio',
     FLIR    => 'DJI',
     FujiFilm => 'FLIR',
@@ -977,7 +978,7 @@ TagID:  foreach $tagID (@keys) {
                     if ($format and $format =~ /^var_/) {
                         $datamember{$tagID} = $name;
                         unless (defined $$tagInfo{Writable} and not $$tagInfo{Writable}) {
-                            warn "Warning: Var-format tag is writable - $short $name\n"
+                            warn "Warning: Var-format tag is writable - $short $name\n";
                         }
                         # also need DATAMEMBER for tags used in length of var-sized value
                         while ($format =~ /\$val\{(.*?)\}/g) {
@@ -996,10 +997,15 @@ TagID:  foreach $tagID (@keys) {
                     if ($format and $format =~ /\$val\{/ and
                         ($$tagInfo{Writable} or not defined $$tagInfo{Writable}))
                     {
-                        warn "Warning: \$val{} used in Format of writable tag - $short $name\n"
+                        warn "Warning: \$val{} used in Format of writable tag - $short $name\n";
                     }
                 }
                 if ($$tagInfo{Hidden}) {
+                    if ($$tagInfo{Hidden} ne '2' and not $$tagInfo{Unknown} and
+                        (not $$tagInfo{RawConv} or $$tagInfo{RawConv} !~ /Unknown|undef/))
+                    {
+                        warn "Warning: $short $name is Hidden contrary to guidelines\n";
+                    }
                     if ($tagInfo == $infoArray[0]) {
                         next TagID; # hide all tags with this ID if first tag in list is hidden
                     } else {
@@ -1011,7 +1017,7 @@ TagID:  foreach $tagID (@keys) {
                     $writable = $$tagInfo{Writable};
                     # validate Writable
                     unless ($formatOK{$writable} or  ($writable =~ /(.*)\[/ and $formatOK{$1})) {
-                        warn "Warning: Unknown Writable ($writable) - $short $name\n",
+                        warn "Warning: Unknown Writable ($writable) - $short $name\n";
                     }
                 } elsif (not $$tagInfo{SubDirectory}) {
                     $writable = $$table{WRITABLE};
@@ -1021,7 +1027,7 @@ TagID:  foreach $tagID (@keys) {
                     undef $writable;
                 }
                 #if ($writable and $$tagInfo{Unknown} and $$table{GROUPS}{0} ne 'MakerNotes') {
-                #    warn "Warning: Writable Unknown tag - $short $name\n",
+                #    warn "Warning: Writable Unknown tag - $short $name\n";
                 #}
                 # validate some characteristics of obvious date/time tags
                 my @g = $et->GetGroup($tagInfo);
@@ -2096,7 +2102,7 @@ sub CloseHtmlFiles($)
         if ($htmlFile =~ /index\.html$/) {
             print HTMLFILE "'../index.html'>&lt;-- Back to ExifTool home page</a></p>\n";
         } else {
-            print HTMLFILE "'index.html'>&lt;-- ExifTool Tag Names</a></p>\n"
+            print HTMLFILE "'index.html'>&lt;-- ExifTool Tag Names</a></p>\n";
         }
         print HTMLFILE "</body>\n</html>\n" or $success = 0;
         close HTMLFILE or $success = 0;

data/bin/lib/Image/ExifTool/Canon.pm

@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ sub ProcessCTMD($$$);
 sub ProcessExifInfo($$$);
 sub SwapWords($);
 
-$VERSION = '5.02';
+$VERSION = '5.03';
 
 # Note: Removed 'USM' from 'L' lenses since it is redundant - PH
 # (or is it?  Ref 32 shows 5 non-USM L-type lenses)
@@ -645,6 +645,8 @@ $VERSION = '5.02';
    '61182.64' => 'Canon RF 20mm F1.4 L VCM', #42
    '61182.65' => 'Canon RF 85mm F1.4 L VCM', #github350
    '61182.66' => 'Canon RF 45mm F1.2 STM', #42
+   '61182.67' => 'Canon RF 7-14mm F2.8-3.5 L FISHEYE STM', #42
+   '61182.68' => 'Canon RF 14mm F1.4 L VCM', #42
     65535 => 'n/a',
 );
 
@@ -7081,6 +7083,8 @@ my %ciMaxFocal = (
             327 => 'Canon RF 20mm F1.4 L VCM', #42
             328 => 'Canon RF 85mm F1.4 L VCM', #42/github350
             330 => 'Canon RF 45mm F1.2 STM', #42
+            331 => 'Canon RF 7-14mm F2.8-3.5 L FISHEYE STM', #42
+            332 => 'Canon RF 14mm F1.4 L VCM', #42
             # Note: add new RF lenses to %canonLensTypes with ID 61182
         },
     },
@@ -9728,6 +9732,7 @@ my %filterConv = (
     },
     0x927c => {
         Name => 'MakerNoteCanon',
+        MakerNotes => 1,
         SubDirectory => {
             TagTable => 'Image::ExifTool::Canon::Main',
             ProcessProc => \&Image::ExifTool::ProcessTIFF,

data/bin/lib/Image/ExifTool/CanonRaw.pm

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ use Image::ExifTool qw(:DataAccess :Utils);
 use Image::ExifTool::Exif;
 use Image::ExifTool::Canon;
 
-$VERSION = '1.61';
+$VERSION = '1.62';
 
 sub WriteCRW($$);
 sub ProcessCanonRaw($$$);
@@ -595,7 +595,9 @@ sub BuildMakerNotes($$$$$$);
     3 => 'WhiteSampleLeftBorder',
     4 => 'WhiteSampleTopBorder',
     5 => 'WhiteSampleBits',
-    # this is followed by the encrypted white sample values (ref 1)
+    # (followed by the encrypted white sample values, ref 1)
+    # BlackLevels seem valid for D30 and D60, but not sure about PowerShot models
+    0x37 => { Name => 'BlackLevels', Format => 'int16u[4]' }, #github387
 );
 
 #------------------------------------------------------------------------------

data/bin/lib/Image/ExifTool/CaptureOne.pm

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ use Image::ExifTool qw(:DataAccess :Utils);
 use Image::ExifTool::XMP;
 use Image::ExifTool::ZIP;
 
-$VERSION = '1.04';
+$VERSION = '1.05';
 
 # CaptureOne COS XML tags
 # - tags are added dynamically when encountered
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ $VERSION = '1.04';
     GROUPS => { 0 => 'XML', 1 => 'XML', 2 => 'Image' },
     PROCESS_PROC => \&Image::ExifTool::XMP::ProcessXMP,
     VARS => { ID_FMT => 'none' },
-    ColorCorrections => { ValueConv => '\$val' }, # (long list of floating point numbers)
+    ColorCorrections => { ValueConv => '\$val', Hidden => 1 }, # (long list of floating point numbers)
 );
 
 #------------------------------------------------------------------------------

data/bin/lib/Image/ExifTool/DICOM.pm

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ use strict;
 use vars qw($VERSION %uid);
 use Image::ExifTool qw(:DataAccess :Utils);
 
-$VERSION = '1.23';
+$VERSION = '1.24';
 
 # DICOM VR (Value Representation) format conversions
 my %dicomFormat = (
@@ -3794,7 +3794,10 @@ sub ProcessDICOM($$)
             } elsif ($vr eq 'UI') {
                 # add PrintConv to translate registered UID's
                 $val =~ s/\0.*//s; # truncate at null
-                $$tagInfo{PrintConv} = \%uid if $uid{$val} and $tagInfo;
+                if ($tagInfo) {
+                    $$tagInfo{PrintConv} = \%uid if $uid{$val};
+                    $$tagInfo{Hidden} = '' unless defined $$tagInfo{Hidden}; # (don't add PrintConv to -listx output)
+                }
             } elsif ($vr =~ /^(AE|CS|DS|IS|LO|PN|SH)$/) {
                 $val =~ s/ +$//;    # leading/trailing spaces not significant
                 $val =~ s/^ +//;

data/bin/lib/Image/ExifTool/Exif.pm

@@ -2118,8 +2118,16 @@ my %opcodeInfo = (
     0x8827 => {
         Name => 'ISO',
         Notes => q{
-            called ISOSpeedRatings by EXIF 2.2, then PhotographicSensitivity by the EXIF
-            2.3 spec.
+            called ISOSpeedRatings by EXIF 2.2, then PhotographicSensitivity by EXIF
+            2.3.  This tag has a maximum value of 65535 because the brain-dead EXIF
+            specification limits it to a short integer, and while they can change the
+            name of the tag in an updated EXIF specification, they can't allow a larger
+            storage format for some reason.  For higher ISO settings, see the other
+            ISO-related tags StandardOutputSensitivity, RecommendedExposureIndex,
+            ISOSpeed, ISOSpeedLatitudeyyy and ISOSpeedLatitudezzz.  But the meanings of
+            these new tags are anyone's guess since the defining specification, ISO
+            12232, is imprisoned by the ISO organization who extort a ransom for the
+            release of this information
         },
         Writable => 'int16u',
         Count => -1,

data/bin/lib/Image/ExifTool/FlashPix.pm

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ use Image::ExifTool::Exif;
 use Image::ExifTool::ASF;   # for GetGUID()
 use Image::ExifTool::Microsoft; # for %codePage
 
-$VERSION = '1.50';
+$VERSION = '1.51';
 
 sub ProcessFPX($$);
 sub ProcessFPXR($$$);
@@ -290,12 +290,12 @@ my %fpxFileType = (
     # save these tables until after the WordDocument was processed
     '0Table' => {
         Name => 'Table0',
-        Hidden => 1, # (used only as temporary storage until table is processed)
+        Hidden => 2, # (used only as temporary storage until table is processed)
         Binary => 1,
     },
     '1Table' => {
         Name => 'Table1',
-        Hidden => 1, # (used only as temporary storage until table is processed)
+        Hidden => 2, # (used only as temporary storage until table is processed)
         Binary => 1,
     },
     Preview => {
@@ -1117,20 +1117,20 @@ my %fpxFileType = (
 #
 # tags below are used internally in intermediate steps to extract the tags above
 #
-    TableOffsets => { Hidden => 1 }, # stores offsets to extract data from document table
+    TableOffsets => { Hidden => 2 }, # stores offsets to extract data from document table
     CommentByBlock => {   # entire block of CommentBy entries
         SubDirectory => {
             TagTable => 'Image::ExifTool::FlashPix::DocTable',
             ProcessProc => \&ProcessCommentBy,
         },
-        Hidden => 1,
+        Hidden => 2,
     },
     LastSavedByBlock => {   # entire block of LastSavedBy entries
         SubDirectory => {
             TagTable => 'Image::ExifTool::FlashPix::DocTable',
             ProcessProc => \&ProcessLastSavedBy,
         },
-        Hidden => 1,
+        Hidden => 2,
     },
 );
 

data/bin/lib/Image/ExifTool/GM.pm

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ use vars qw($VERSION);
 use Image::ExifTool qw(:DataAccess :Utils);
 use Image::ExifTool::GPS;
 
-$VERSION = '1.01';
+$VERSION = '1.02';
 
 sub Process_marl($$$);
 sub Process_mrld($$$);
@@ -344,7 +344,7 @@ sub Process_mrld($$$)
 
     $et->VerboseDir('mrld', undef, $dirLen);
     require 'Image/ExifTool/XMPStruct.pl';
-    Image::ExifTool::XMP::AddFlattenedTags($tagTablePtr);
+    Image::ExifTool::XMP::AddFlattenedTags($tagTablePtr, undef, undef, 1);
     $csv = [ ] if $et->Options('PrintCSV');
 
     for ($pos=0; $pos+448<=$dirLen; $pos+=448) {
@@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ sub Process_mrld($$$)
         my $hash = { map { $channel[$_] => $a[$_] } 1..$#a };
         unless ($tagInfo) {
             $tagInfo = AddTagToTable($tagTablePtr, $tag, { Name => $tag, Struct => \%channelStruct });
-            Image::ExifTool::XMP::AddFlattenedTags($tagTablePtr, $tag);
+            Image::ExifTool::XMP::AddFlattenedTags($tagTablePtr, $tag, undef, 1);
         }
         # extract channel structure if specified
         if ($struct) {

data/bin/lib/Image/ExifTool/Geotag.pm

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ use vars qw($VERSION);
 use Image::ExifTool qw(:Public);
 use Image::ExifTool::GPS;
 
-$VERSION = '1.86';
+$VERSION = '1.87';
 
 sub JITTER() { return 2 }       # maximum time jitter
 
@@ -137,6 +137,31 @@ my %otherConv = (
 
 my $secPerDay = 24 * 3600;  # a useful constant
 
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Split a line of CSV
+# Inputs: 0) line to split, 1) delimiter
+# Returns: list of items
+sub SplitCSV($$)
+{
+    my ($line, $delim) = @_;
+    my @toks = split /\Q$delim/, $line;
+    my (@vals, $v);
+    while (@toks) {
+        ($v = shift @toks) =~ s/^ +//;  # remove leading spaces
+        if ($v =~ s/^"//) {
+            # quoted value must end in an odd number of quotes
+            while ($v !~ /("+)\s*$/ or not length($1) & 1) {
+                last unless @toks;
+                $v .= $delim . shift @toks;
+            }
+            $v =~ s/"\s*$//;    # remove trailing quote and whitespace
+            $v =~ s/""/"/g;     # un-escape quotes
+        }
+        push @vals, $v;
+    }
+    return @vals;
+}
+
 #------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Load GPS track log file
 # Inputs: 0) ExifTool ref, 1) track log data or file name
@@ -281,7 +306,7 @@ sub LoadTrackLog($$;$)
                 $format = 'Bramor';
             } elsif (((/\b(GPS)?Date/i and /\b(GPS)?(Date)?Time/i) or /\bTime\(seconds\)/i) and /\Q$csvDelim/) {
                 chomp;
-                @csvHeadings = split /\Q$csvDelim/;
+                @csvHeadings = SplitCSV($_, $csvDelim);
                 my $isColumbus = ($csvHeadings[0] and $csvHeadings[0] eq 'INDEX'); # (Columbus GPS logger)
                 $format = 'CSV';
                 # convert recognized headings to our parameter names
@@ -382,7 +407,8 @@ sub LoadTrackLog($$;$)
                 # parse attributes (eg. GPX 'lat' and 'lon')
                 # (note: ignore namespace prefixes if they exist)
                 if ($arg =~ /^(\w+:)?(\w+)=(['"])(.*?)\3/g) {
-                    my $tag = $xmlTag{lc $2} || $userTag{lc $2};
+                    my $tag = $xmlTag{lc $2};
+                    $tag = $userTag{lc $2} unless defined $tag;
                     if ($tag) {
                         $$fix{$tag} = $4;
                         if ($keyCategory{$tag}) {
@@ -399,7 +425,8 @@ sub LoadTrackLog($$;$)
                 # loop through XML elements
                 while ($arg =~ m{([^<>]*)<(/)?(\w+:)?(\w+)(>|$)}g) {
                     $tok = lc $4;
-                    my $tag = $xmlTag{$tok} || $userTag{$tok};
+                    my $tag = $xmlTag{$tok};
+                    $tag = $userTag{$tok} unless defined $tag;
                     # parse as a simple property if this element has a value
                     if (defined $tag and not $tag) {
                         # a containing property was opened or closed
@@ -530,7 +557,7 @@ DoneFix:    $isDate = 1;
             goto DoneFix;   # save this fix
         } elsif ($format eq 'CSV') {
             chomp;
-            my @vals = split /\Q$csvDelim/;
+            my @vals = SplitCSV($_, $csvDelim);
 #
 # CSV format output of GPS/IMU POS system
 #   Date*           - date in DD/MM/YYYY format
@@ -1557,8 +1584,7 @@ sub ConvertGeosync($$)
 # Returns: UTC time string with fractional seconds
 sub PrintFixTime($)
 {
-    my $time = $_[0] + 0.0005;  # round off to nearest ms
-    my $fsec = int(($time - int($time)) * 1000);
+    my $time = shift;
     return Image::ExifTool::ConvertUnixTime($time, undef, 3) . ' UTC';
 }
 

data/bin/lib/Image/ExifTool/MacOS.pm

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ use strict;
 use vars qw($VERSION);
 use Image::ExifTool qw(:DataAccess :Utils);
 
-$VERSION = '1.14';
+$VERSION = '1.15';
 
 sub MDItemLocalTime($);
 sub ProcessATTR($$$);
@@ -364,6 +364,23 @@ sub MDItemLocalTime($)
     return $val;
 }
 
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Call system command, redirecting all I/O to /dev/null
+# Inputs: system arguments
+# Returns: system return code
+sub System
+{
+    my ($oldout, $olderr);
+    open($oldout, ">&STDOUT");
+    open($olderr, ">&STDERR");
+    open(STDOUT, '>', '/dev/null');
+    open(STDERR, '>', '/dev/null');
+    my $result = system(@_);
+    open(STDOUT, ">&", $oldout);
+    open(STDERR, ">&", $olderr);
+    return $result;
+}
+
 #------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Set MacOS MDItem and XAttr tags from new tag values
 # Inputs: 0) ExifTool ref, 1) file name, 2) list of tags to set
@@ -376,7 +393,7 @@ sub SetMacOSTags($$$)
     my $tag;
 
     foreach $tag (@$setTags) {
-        my ($nvHash, $f, $v, $attr, $cmd, $err, $silentErr);
+        my ($nvHash, $attr, @cmd, $err, $silentErr);
         my $val = $et->GetNewValue($tag, \$nvHash);
         next unless $nvHash;
         my $overwrite = $et->IsOverwriting($nvHash);
@@ -389,7 +406,6 @@ sub SetMacOSTags($$$)
             }
         }
         if ($tag eq 'MDItemFSCreationDate' or $tag eq 'FileCreateDate') {
-            ($f = $file) =~ s/'/'\\''/g;
             # convert to local time if value has a time zone
             if ($val =~ /[-+Z]/) {
                 my $time = Image::ExifTool::GetUnixTime($val, 1);
@@ -397,17 +413,15 @@ sub SetMacOSTags($$$)
                 $val =~ s/[-+].*//; # remove time zone
             }
             $val =~ s{(\d{4}):(\d{2}):(\d{2})}{$2/$3/$1};   # reformat for setfile
-            $cmd = "/usr/bin/setfile -d '${val}' '${f}'";
+            push @cmd, '/usr/bin/setfile', '-d', $val, $file;
         } elsif ($tag eq 'MDItemUserTags') {
             # (tested with "tag" version 0.9.0)
-            ($f = $file) =~ s/'/'\\''/g;
             my @vals = $et->GetNewValue($nvHash);
             if ($overwrite < 0 and @{$$nvHash{DelValue}}) {
                 # delete specified tags
                 my @dels = @{$$nvHash{DelValue}};
-                s/'/'\\''/g foreach @dels;
                 my $del = join ',', @dels;
-                $err = system "/usr/local/bin/tag -r '${del}' '${f}'>/dev/null 2>&1";
+                $err = System('/usr/local/bin/tag', '-r', $del, $file);
                 unless ($err) {
                     $et->VerboseValue("- $tag", $del);
                     $result = 1;
@@ -416,43 +430,39 @@ sub SetMacOSTags($$$)
             }
             unless (defined $err) {
                 # add new tags, or overwrite or delete existing tags
-                s/'/'\\''/g foreach @vals;
                 my $opt = $overwrite > 0 ? '-s' : '-a';
                 $val = @vals ? join(',', @vals) : '';
-                $cmd = "/usr/local/bin/tag $opt '${val}' '${f}'";
+                push @cmd, '/usr/local/bin/tag', $opt, $val, $file;
                 $et->VPrint(1,"    - $tag = (all)\n") if $overwrite > 0;
                 undef $val if $val eq '';
             }
         } elsif ($delXAttr{$tag}) {
-            ($f = $file) =~ s/'/'\\''/g;
-            $cmd = "/usr/bin/xattr -d $delXAttr{$tag} '${f}'";
+            push @cmd, '/usr/bin/xattr', '-d', $delXAttr{$tag}, $file;
             $silentErr = 256;   # (will get this error if attribute doesn't exist)
         } else {
-            ($f = $file) =~ s/(["\\])/\\$1/g;   # escape necessary characters for script
-            $f =~ s/'/'"'"'/g;
+            my ($f, $v);
+            ($f = $file) =~ s/([\\"])/\\$1/g;   # escape backslashes and quotes for AppleScript
             if ($tag eq 'MDItemFinderComment') {
                 # (write finder comment using osascript instead of xattr
                 # because it is more work to construct the necessary bplist)
                 $val = '' unless defined $val;  # set to empty string instead of deleting
                 $v = $et->Encode($val, 'UTF8');
-                $v =~ s/(["\\])/\\$1/g;
-                $v =~ s/'/'"'"'/g;
+                $v =~ s/([\\"])/\\$1/g;
                 $attr = 'comment';
             } else { # $tag eq 'MDItemFSLabel'
                 $v = $val ? 8 - $val : 0;       # convert from label to label index (0 for no label)
                 $attr = 'label index';
             }
-            $cmd = qq(/usr/bin/osascript -e 'set fp to POSIX file "$f" as alias' -e \\
-                'tell application "Finder" to set $attr of file fp to "$v"');
-        }
-        if (defined $cmd) {
-            $err = system $cmd . '>/dev/null 2>&1'; # (pipe all output to /dev/null)
+            push @cmd, '/usr/bin/osascript', '-e', qq(set fp to POSIX file "$f" as alias),
+                '-e', qq(tell application "Finder" to set $attr of file fp to "$v");
         }
+        $err = System(@cmd) if @cmd;
         if (not $err) {
             $et->VerboseValue("+ $tag", $val) if defined $val;
             $result = 1;
         } elsif (not $silentErr or $err != $silentErr) {
-            $cmd =~ s/ .*//s;
+            my $cmd = $cmd[0] || 'tag';
+            $cmd =~ s(.*/)();
             $et->Warn(qq{Error $err running "$cmd" to set $tag});
             $result = -1 unless $result;
         }
@@ -498,6 +508,7 @@ sub ExtractMDItemTags($$)
             $_ = '' if $_ eq '(null)';
             s/^"// and s/"$//;  # remove quotes if they exist
             s/\\"/"/g;          # un-escape quotes
+            s/\\\\/\\/g;        # un-escape backslashes
             $_ = $et->Decode($_, 'UTF8');
             push @$val, $_;
             next;