Issue Loading Previous Edits

[AidanKlimenko]

Hey y'all,

For the last few months I've been encountering an irritating bug that I would love some help solving. 

I have a catalog of around 90,000 images--a mix of digital camera files as well as film scans. Running Mac OSX Sonoma 14.4.1 with Lightroom Classic 13.2 (CC, updating automatically).

The issue: In Library grid view, I see my edited images, but when I select an image, after a few seconds of "thinking", the edit dissapears and the image shows as if it just came straight from camera (unedited). This remains the same when I move into the Develop module. The edit history is still intact, so I simply have to navigate to the most recent (top line) of the edit history and select it to reload the edit. Almost like I'm reminding it that it's been edited. 

This bug only affects images from before a certain date. So if I import new images and edit them, they hold their edits just fine. But the majority of my libary is affected by this issue. It's not the end of the world because as I mentioned, the edit history is there. It's just an irritating step that I need to take. Going through and selecting the latest history for 90,000 images would take me forever. 

Is there a way of forcing Lightroom to apply the edit history as it does for my recently imported images? 

I have alreay tried building standerd previews for affected folders as well as reinstalling Lightroom. Neither have fixed the issue. 

I have also tried importing affected folders into a new catalog and some work but other folders trigger this message: "Lightroom couold not import this catalog because of and unknown error." 

Corrupred catalog maybe? What can I do about this?

Thanks!

[bcostin]

@christinef58502318Yes, I am. Just as you've described.

I've been experimenting with possible workarounds to "trick" it into highlighting the top item on the history list but I haven't had any luck so far.

I've also had an issue with images failing to display when selected in Develop mode, though this seems to have been fixed in the latest point release.

I'm not sure exactly what triggered this. My catalog is pretty large and has been updated via upgrades many times. It's only recently that I've seen any issues like this.

It seems like all the data is there but we don't have any way to remediate it automatically via the interface. It would be helpful if Adobe had some tools that could correct database issues like this once they were identified.

[christinef58502318]

Thanks for your reply @bcostin and it is interesting that you have the same issues.  Yes, wouldn't it be great if we could get a solution whereby the top step is highlighted! 

@DdeGannes - I forgot to mention in my reply to your post that I have indeed rolled back to many older catalogs, right back to v12 catalogs at the time, and the problem occurs with all of them.

@Lorenzo265338963r9j  has the same issues and we have a lengthy post on here (the issue with previews building has probably been fixed, but not with edit history):

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/lrc-14-0-1-not-generating-previews-sequ...

It has been nearly 3 months since I first asked for help here on this forum and then with Adobe Customer Care.  I am finding it extremely frustrating working with a program that doesn't behave as it should!

I have just sent a followup email to Adobe Customer Care asking for a report on progress with my case.  Fingers crossed!

[christinef58502318]

@AidanKlimenko @bcostin @AtDetroit @Kyle_H, @oakleybloke @Pixel_Hyperion  @courtneyc21216982 @amyh73281104 

Have any of you been able to resolve this problem of the top edit history step not being read/reflected in the previews?  If so, how?  I would love to have a solution to this problem!

[Kyle_H]

I either have not noticed that issue, or don't have that problem

[christinef58502318]

Sorry @Kyle_H - it's just that on Nov 18 you replied to the original post saying that you were "having the same issues".   I am just hoping that someone has worked out how to fix this problem!

With apologies, Christine. 

[oakleybloke]

Sorry Christine, I never came across a solution. I was lucky in the fact it didn't effect too many images.

All the best

[christinef58502318]

@oakleybloke thanks for getting back to me.  For me it is affecting maybe 100,000 photos!

[drtonyb]

Is anyone with this problem able to select only one example photo from their catalog and export it as a catalog, then check the single photo catalog to see if the problem transfers to the new catalog?

[christinef58502318]

Thank you @drtonyb.  I have just exported one of the images as a catalog and yes, the problem transfers to the new catalog.  You can see that there are steps in the edit history but the top step is not highlighted and the changes therefore not reflected in the preview.  The sliders also haven't moved, and there is no develop adjustment badge on the thumbnail.

[drtonyb]

@christinef58502318 

Interesting result. Are you willing to share this one-photo catalog? Only the catalog .lrcat file.

[christinef58502318]

Does the OneDrive link work for you?  I don't think I am able to attach it as a file in this post.

Test export one photo.lrcat

[drtonyb]

@christinef58502318 

Thanks, I have got it, but I am going out. My time zone is UTC+8, so I will be back tomorrow.

[christinef58502318]

No worries, thank you.  I am UTC+10.30!  

[drtonyb]

@christinef58502318 

Hi, I see that you are in SA, which makes it a bit easier to communicate from WA.

I've had a look at your exported one-photo catalog and can see at least two, possibly three, problems (corruption), but there could be more. I have repaired two of those, so the History highlights now and the Edit badge shows.

I'm sending the 'repaired' catalog back for you to open and check. You can put this catalog in the same folder as the one you originally sent, just open it as if it were another catalog - double click on it; LrC will create the other folders and files it needs.

Download from here

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gtgk1dzoyln3uspaic84m/Test-export-one-photo-REPAIR.lrcat?rlkey=iz4zuf... 

I've named it "Test export one photo - REPAIR.lrcat"

I simulated the problem by creating my own test catalog and adding one photo, then removed two entries in the catalog to produce the problem. However, I used a NEF file and some other information might differ when using a jpeg. I will need to check using a jpeg.

See what happens with the "repaired" test catalog.

[christinef58502318]

Yes, wildy differing time zones do make communication rather slow!  And yes, SA is home for me.

The repaired catalog worked!  When I first went into Develop the top edit step was highlighted but the thumbnail still showed as imported.  I then, probably unfortunately, clicked on the top step and of course it changed to that step (which would have happened anyway).  I definitely had the edit badge in the thumbnail before I clicked that top step, and the sliders have moved, so I presume that means all is OK.  Wow!  And you were able to reproduce the problem, that's amazing!  Thank you!

So what is the next step?  Import some more photos as a catalog and see how they go?  Or is there a better way to test some more?

Many thanks!

[drtonyb]

I'm a little stuck without the example photo, so if you could share the jpg it would help me dig a bit further. I'm not happy that the preview you saw was incorrect or that the 'repair' fixed all that is necessary. Previews are identified by a develop id in the history steps (within the catalog database). I wasn't able to reproduce the preview/thumbnail issue on my catalog, so I'm missing something.

I've been reading through your original post and see that you also have photos where the entire edit history has gone missing. It would also be useful to see a one-photo example catalog of that problem too.

[christinef58502318]

Thank you so much @drtonyb for taking the time to help, which is very much appreciated.

I have attached the jpeg.  It will take me a little longer to find one without any edit history, as I can't tell which ones they are!

Thank you again!

[drtonyb]

@christinef58502318 

Ok, I have found there is quite a bit of damage to the Develop related parts of the catalog and it is difficult to repair outside of LrC. As a test, here is what you can do on the original one-photo test catalog "Test export one photo.lrcat" that you first sent me so you can check that it works:

1. Open the "Test export one photo.lrcat" in LrC, but don't click anything yet, just switch to Develop.
2. In the History, click to select the second step from the top.
3. Now redo the top step (Temp -5) manually by adjusting the Temperature slider to -5.
4. Close LrC and reopen the test catalog; it should be normal again in the Library and Develop.

This is not a good solution because it is so manual. As @C.Cella mentioned in your own topic, the SDK (Software Development Kit) provided for plugin developers does not have any methods for interacting with the History. This is disappointing to say the least. You could do this process on an "as required basis", but it might take a long time with a lot of photos having this problem.

As to why this happened, I have no answers. I may discuss the problem with @C.Cella since he also experienced it and we regularly converse over plugin development.

What I can tell you for the example photo you sent is the catalog database's develop record lost its link to its history record and lost its current develop settings. Adobe has compressed the develop settings held by each history step in a non-standard way, so usual database tools can't be easily used to extract the settings from the top history step and restore it in the develop record. @johnrellis had a solution to this for a plugin, but it was complicated. All this might be too technical, but the manual process above sort of does this with LrC, making sure everything that was lost is restored.

However, it doesn't help when a photo has lost all its history, which you have said you have many cases.

[christinef58502318]

​Oh dear - "damage to the Develop related parts of the catalog" sounds scary!  I wonder if this will be problematic going forward?

I can't thank you enough @drtonyb for taking the time to help.  I carried out your test and it worked as expected.  I am not so worried about the photos with no edit history and I will just have to start again with those.  However, the vast majority of my photos have edit steps which are not being reflected in the previews.  So, when trying to choose images for a project I can't see what a final image, or a virtual copy, looks like when I scroll, and indeed, can't even tell if it has been edited.  I can click on the top step for every photo, but would have to do this manual process for thousands of photos.  

What I would like to know is the bigger picture​. 

I would love Adobe to look at the root cause of why this corruption is happening in the first place. 

I know it is not happening for many people, but it IS happening.  And why is the same corruption happening to different people​?

And why did some people have the same problem as soon as they upgraded to v14​ (including  @C.Cella )?  What happened during the upgrade process to cause this​?  Does this give some clue as to what is causing this corruption​?  This surely implies that something is​/was amiss​, as it has been acknowledged that it was happening when upgrading to v14.

There have ​also been issues in the past with edit/preview correlation when syncing/'copy and pasting'.  This was​ acknowledged and ​presumably solved.  Does that solution offer any clues ?

Indeed, why are corruptions happening when upgrading​?​  This seems to have happened quite a bit with the different v13 upgrades​ (as in my case, and for others), especially the upgrade to v13.3.  When this happens, ​LrC says that it has to quit and will repair the catalog, which​, at the time, we duly trust ​h​as happen​ed properly, especially as there appeared to be no further issues at the time.​  However, I noticed the problem in very early October last year (initially because my virtual copies looked the same as the originals in the thumbnails), and this has been an ongoing issue ever since.

I love LrC, but can I trust it?

[drtonyb]

@christinef58502318 

I sent you a private message/note.

[mattw9932]

In many places throughout my Lightroom Classic library, no history step is selected in the Develop module. When this happens, the main image window shows the original, unedited photo, even though multiple edits are listed in the History panel.

This causes several problems:

• The Develop sliders all appear reset, as if the photo has never been edited.

• If I export from this state (e.g. from a folder or smart collection), the exported image is the original, not the final edited version.

• Lightroom logs the export step in the History and selects it — but it’s still referencing the unedited photo.

• Hovering over earlier steps in History shows previews of the actual edits, but unless I manually click a specific step, Lightroom keeps displaying the original.

This is affecting many thousands of photos across my catalog. Manually going through and clicking the final edit in History for each one is not feasible.

Note that the issue is impacting whole folders, but not the entire catalogue. I have had some corrupt catalogues that have had to be rebuilt.

Is there a way to force Lightroom to select the latest item in the History for every photo, or some other workaround to ensure the displayed Develop state matches the final edit?

See the screenshot showing edits in history, and no step in the history selected. Then, the temprature and tone are all still at zero.

[Moved from ‘Bugs’ to ‘Discussions’ by moderator, according to forum rules.]

[Aleke]

Hi @mattw9932! Thanks so much for reaching out.

Could you let us know which version of Lightroom Classic you're using, what operating system you're on, and where your catalog is stored? That’ll help us get a clearer picture.

I’ve moved your post to an existing thread that seems to describe a similar issue—when you get a chance, could you take a look and let us know if it sounds familiar or if you’ve noticed any patterns?

This info will really help us dig deeper and find the best solution for you.

Thanks again!
Alek

[mattw9932]

Hello @Aleke . Thanks for reaching out.

Here's the additional information you requested:

• System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home
• Version: 14.3.1
• The photos and catelogue are stored on the same USB SSD

Also, I have the following additional observations:

• The issue is occuring on only specific photos withing a group of folders.
• Re-launcing the backups show that the issue first started for these phtos sometime between 31 Jan 2024 and 28 April 2024.
• During this period I was adding the photos to a collection and working on a photo book.

Finally, I tried to force LR to select the latest step in the history by applying a preset. I created a preset that did not change the photo (Callibration setting). When applied, it added to the history and selected it, but it showed the original photo and appeared to skip all the change in-between.

Thanks for helping with this issue and let me know if I can provide further information.

Matt

[drtonyb]

@mattw9932 

This issue is a corruption of your catalog.

For every photo in the catalog, a setting to the top most step in History is kept. For those photos in your catalog that are not highlighting the top step in the History edit stack, this setting is missing, so LrC has no 'idea' what the last edit step was and can't apply any edits.

LrC has no way to fix this other than for you to go though every photo and click the top step in History, which restores the setting. However, this is generally not practical when large numbers of photos are involved.

How many photos are in your catalog?

[mattw9932]

Hello @drtonyb

I have 135,000 photos in the catelogue, but fortunately, only 4900 have edit status. Not all of those are impacted, but I would have to go through them to find out.