Feature request: .xmp file handling

I'm a photographer with many raw canon files (.cr2). When I keyword raw files in bridge, it writes the information to an .xmp file with the same name just different extension. It can takes several days before I start to keyword my images.

I can get Hazel to sort my .cr2 files into folders

Creation Year > Creation Date

The problem is getting the .xmp files to the same folders. The creation date of the .xmp files can be days after the creation date of the raw .cr2 file. This is because the creation date of the image is base on when I took the picture. The creation date of the .xmp is when I get the pictures into bridge and I start to keyword it.

Is there a way to get the .xmp files into the same folders as the .cr2 files?

Sorry if I am misunderstanding the workflow here, but I'm guessing that you are sorting the files later (after you create the xmp files)? Is it possible to have the files sorted right away? If so, will whatever program you are using to keyword the files (which would happen after the sort) save them with the cr2 files in their new sorted locations?

Also, does the xmp file have any trace of the creation date of its corresponding cr2 file anywhere in its metadata?

In the worst case, you'd have to end up writing a script but let me know about the above and maybe something can be figured out.

I can sort the images right away before the xmp files are created. Sometimes that is not possible.
If I sort it first the xmp that are generated are created in the corresponding cr2 folder.

I could not find a corresponding date in the xmp that match the cr2

found something in the xmp

<exif:DateTimeDigitized>2008-05-25T20:50:35-07:00</exif:DateTimeDigitized>

That has the date the image was captured

Is that something that is indexed by Spotlight? When selecting file attributes, when you select "Other..." and the panel pops up, see if it appears there. If so, then that may do what you need.

If that doesn't work then I think some sort of script is the way to go, unfortunately.