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Known Participant
November 13, 2019

P: Deleting a keyword from the keyword list doesn't remove it from auto complete

  • November 13, 2019
  • 38 replies
  • 2842 views

If someone has already reported this I apologize. I did try to search for it but couldn't find anything with the keywords I was using.

If I enter a misspelled keyword accidentally it continues to show up in "Autocomplete" even though I delete it from the Keyword List.

I've never had this happen before. I recently upgraded to the 9.0 release.

My specific example of this behavior is when I go through to keyword basketball photos one of my keywords is Dribble. In the past I could type in dri and hit enter and it would autocomplete Dribble. I accidentally entered dri9 (the 9 is above the right side of the I key) and when I hit RightArrow to move to the next photo it entered dri9 into the keyword list. On the next dribbling photo when I typed dri it showed dri9 as the top option in autocomplete. I went into the keyword list and deleted the dri9 keyword. That removed it from the photo and from the keyword list but it still shows up in autocomplete.

I tried to see if I could remove it by entering dri9 in a different photo. This added it back to the keyword list. I went into the list and deleted the dri9 keyword again. That removed it from the photo and autocomplete again but then when I tried to enter dribble I noticed that I now had two instances of dri9 in the autocomplete popup. I continued to try exiting lightroom and backing up/optimizing the catalog and entering and deleting the keyword. Nothing worked although I now have four instances of dri9 in the autocomplete popup. There is also another keyword that it has happened on although I can't remember what it is now.

One other thing I did try using the Filter Keywords box in the keywords list and can't find dri9 anywhere.

This topic has been closed for replies.

38 replies

johnrellis
Legend
January 1, 2020
Two workarounds:

- See this post for deleting Helper.lrdata: 
https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/deleting-a-keyword-from-the-keyword-list-does...

- Do Catalog Settings > Metadata > Clear All Suggestion Lists.

You'll have to do this each time a misspelled or deleted keyword gets into the suggested-keyword list.
Participant
January 1, 2020


I have multiple key words using Lightroom Classic that are misspelled or just incorrect, and they appear on the drop down when choosing a new key word for an image.  They have been corrected in the Key Word History module but they continue to show up in the suggested drop down lists.  This makes my OCD go crazy!  Is there anyway to get at these incorrect Key words and erase them off the face of the Earth?!  I am currently key wording thousands of images and it's an issue for me to get the correct Key word applied while trying to avoid incorrect Key words.

I have begun to use the custom Key word set feature and like that.  Too bad you only have Nine Key words per set.
john beardsworth
Community Expert
Community Expert
December 10, 2019
And since that helper.db is a recent addition, that would explain a change. Recent suggestions were capped at 10 items.
Lauca
Participating Frequently
December 10, 2019
The delete keyword process forget to detete it from the helper.db (where the suggested list is stored) database as well.
Until a fix is available, a workaround is to delete the helper.db file.
Inspiring
December 10, 2019
Unfortunately the problem still persists with 9.1

john beardsworth
Community Expert
Community Expert
December 10, 2019
I don't think so, but try that Catalog Setting.
Known Participant
December 10, 2019
In the previous versions when you purged unused keywords it also deleted unused suggestions
john beardsworth
Community Expert
Community Expert
December 10, 2019
I don't think it did delete them. You probably need to go to Catalog Settings / Metadata and clear the suggestions.
Known Participant
December 10, 2019


I am using the most recent version of Lightroom Classic (Version 9.0).  I misspelled a keyword and then I corrected the spelling and purged unused keywords.  When I look at the keyword list they have been purged but then when I start typing to add a keyword the misspelled and previously purged unused keyword is coming up as a keyword suggestion.  The older versions deleted unused keywords from the suggestions as well.  please fix this.
Califdan2
Inspiring
November 20, 2019
Also, be aware that if you have collapsed stacks, and you select all images the KW may not show up as being associated with any of the selected images but it may still be associated with images buried in collapsed stacks.