LR Classic Keeps Changing File Metadata in Library Mode

[CanonCam]

I'm currently using backup software that looks at any changes to a file and will tag it for backup if it sees a change.  If I use LR within the Catalog tab and (for example) I click on a Keyword to limit the sort, it seems to Tag all those photos with a metadata change as they all show up as needing backup once I close LR and execute Backup Software.  

I do have "auto-write-settings-into-file" turned on.  Depending on what I'm doing, it can cause 100s of files designated for Backup.  I don't like all the overwriting that it does, as that can only cause problems at some point; and it can take 10 plus minutes to backup files that have not changed.

I can try to shut off auto save, but I thought I'd ask before experimenting.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Dan

[dj_paige]

Maybe you could be more specific about this part:

I click on a Keyword to limit the sort

I'm not really sure what you are doing here. Are you doing this in the Keyword List panel, or the Filter Bar, or in some other part of the Lightroom Classic interface?

In the Keyword List panel, if you click on the box to the left of the keyword itself, then the keyword is assigned to the selected photos, and yes the metadata will change. Are you clicking on this box to the left of the keyword?

In the Keyword List panel, if you click on the arrow to the right of the keyword itself, then this creates a filter based upon this keyword, and only keywords with this keyword should appear and no changes to the metadata should happen.

[CanonCam]

Good question.  I clicked to "sort" not to add keyword, which I understand would trigger a new file save and subsequent backup.  Perhaps this was a poor example.  Anything that I click on within the catalog and then zoom in or any similar action triggers a file change and subsequent backup.  So it is not just a keyword issue.  I can just be looking around within catalog tab.

[dj_paige]

Good question.  I clicked to "sort" not to add keyword, which I understand would trigger a new file save and subsequent backup.  Perhaps this was a poor example.  Anything that I click on within the catalog and then zoom in or any similar action triggers a file change and subsequent backup.  So it is not just a keyword issue.  I can just be looking around within catalog tab.

By @CanonCam

I don't understand "clicked to sort", I don't understand your statement. Please be extremely specific about where in the Lightroom Classic interface you are talking about. 

Just looking around the Lightroom Library and changing nothing should not change any of your files.

[CanonCam]

Please ignore the Keyword example, but I clicked to filter.  In any event, it happens when I just click on a photo to view, zoom, etc. Thanks. 

[johnrellis · Accepted solution]

"In any event, it happens when I just click on a photo to view, zoom, etc."

Did you import these photos into your catalog using version 10 or earlier of LR?  LR 11 introduced a change to the internal representation of develop settings, and that change gets applied on demand as LR re-renders photos.  So if you zoom in a photo and LR doesn't have a 100% preview stored in its preview cache, it will re-render the photo, which triggers the upgrade to its internal representation of develop settings, which triggers LR to write out the new representation back to the file (if it's non-raw) or to the .xmp sidecar (if it's raw).  

If this is what's happening in your catalog, you've got a couple of ways to cope:

- Turn off Catalog Settings > Metadata > Automatically Write Changes Into XMP. There's a range of opinions in this forum about that option -- I prefer to have it on as a belt-and-suspenders last-ditch backup in case my catalog backups fail, and to recover more easily from accidental deletion of files from the catalog.  But others have strong opinions about keeping the option off.

- Force LR to re-render all the photos in the catalog, updating their develop settings on disk all at once.  If you do this overnight (including the backup), you'll get the annoyance out of the way once and for all. Do Catalog Settings > General > Show to open File Explorer on your catalog folder. Exit LR. Delete the folder "<catalog> Previews.lrdata" (be careful not to delete anything else!). Restart LR, select all the photos, and do Library > Previews > Build Standard-Sized Previews.   Let this run overnight (including the triggered backup).

[CanonCam]

Most of the files were imported before Ver. 11, very few under the latest version.  I do recall the backups were older photos, so your analysis makes sense.  Thank you, excellent info for me to work with as I now know what's going on.