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alanterra
alanterra
Inspiring
August 11, 2011

P: Can't write metadata to some jpeg files

  • August 11, 2011
  • 30 replies
  • 1439 views

Hi

I have 6 jpeg files that cause problems for Lightroom. They all have the following characteristics.

1) They can be read by Lightroom (added to a catalog)
2) They can be read by Photoshop CS5, exiftool, and ImageVerifier (http://www.imageingester.com) without any problems
3) I cannot save metadata into these files using LR 3 for Macintosh. Upon Saving Metadata I get the exclamation point showing a metadata sync error. Lightroom says "There were unknown errors while writing metadata..."

The files were all written by a Minolta camera (that I no longer have), and have been modified by having tags added to them by exiftool (recent command line version, running on Macintosh).

I have archived these files. If you would like to look at them, contact me and I can send them to you.

The files are not causing problems for me, as I have opened them in Photoshop CS 5 and saved them as fresh copies, which cause no problems for Lightroom now.

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    30 replies

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    B
    Benjamin Warde
    Participating Frequently
    October 16, 2012
    Hi Stuart,

    The easiest thing is probably for you to upload the file to dropbox.com or yousendit.com or a similar service, and then post a link here. Other than a few very narrowly defined circumstances, saving metadata to JPEGs works fine in my testing, so it will be helpful to look at one of your files.

    Can you provide more info about what behavior you're seeing exactly? Are you getting the same error message that Alan originally posted, "There were unknown errors while writing metadata..." or are you seeing something else?

    Thanks,
    Ben
    C
    cappine
    Participating Frequently
    October 16, 2012
    Hi Ben,

    I don't think my problem is related to the linked topic, as my issue is not new since 4.2. I'd hovered around this thread from 4.0 as it seemed to describe my issue exactly. I can send you a jpg that exhibits the problem, although I will also point out that this problem seems to extend to any jpgs regardless of source (i.e. I have the same problem with direct jpg output from several cameras, as well as with jpgs that were exported from and re-imported to lightroom based on the raw files).

    How should I pass along a sample file?

    Thanks,

    Stuart
    M
    MorrocoMoleX
    Participant
    October 16, 2012
    Ben,

    Thanks for updating this thread. I can happily confirm that my issues with this bug have been resolved in LR4.2

    Thanks

    Simon
    B
    Benjamin Warde
    Participating Frequently
    October 16, 2012
    Hi All,

    The issue originally reported by Alan has been fixed in Lightroom 4.2.

    UPDATE: Actually, looking back through the comments in this thread, I see that the sample file was actually provided by Simon. So, we've fixed Simon's issue in 4.2, maybe not Alan's. :-)

    Thanks,
    Ben
    B
    Benjamin Warde
    Participating Frequently
    October 16, 2012
    Hi Stuart,

    This specific bug has been fixed in 4.2 (I've now updated this thread to reflect that.) For the benefit of the original poster, the engineer's comment was:

    "The XMP is bad because some app wrote a form of RDF that is legit in general RDF but long documented as not allowed in XMP. The Exif Software tag says "f-spot version 0.5.0.3". This is a photo app in GNOME."

    So, if you are experiencing a problem saving metadata to files from Lightroom, it's a different problem than the original issue reported in this thread. Is it possible that this is the issue that you're experiencing?

    http://feedback.photoshop.com/photosh...

    If not, can you provide more information, and ideally an example file that demonstrates the problem?

    Thanks,
    Ben
    C
    cappine
    Participating Frequently
    October 13, 2012
    I'm having the same issue with imported jpgs (now I'm working all in raw, but archive photos are jpgs). This is a biiig problem - any fix coming?? I had hoped that 4.1 or 4.2 might fix this...
    Tophee
    Tophee
    Participating Frequently
    August 6, 2012
    So is there any solution coming out of this?
    B
    Benjamin Warde
    Participating Frequently
    March 14, 2012
    Hi Simon,

    Thanks for the sample file. I am able to reproduce this problem using your file, and have entered the issue in our bug database.

    Thanks,
    Ben
    B
    Benjamin Warde
    Participating Frequently
    March 12, 2012
    Hi Simon,

    I'd like to look at a sample file that demonstrates the problem. I'll contact you privately.

    Thanks,
    Ben
    M
    MorrocoMoleX
    Participant
    March 11, 2012
    My current catalog has over 2500 jpg files with this problem... and this is just the files I have touched and there are likely to be more in my catalog that may have this issue but are untouched.

    I have used a number of tools to manage my pictures in the past before LR. But other EXIF viewers don't seem to see anything wrong with the metadata in the files.
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