Known Participant

Question

Thumbnails not reflecting edits; History panel blank for photos which have been edited.

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
October 9, 2024
4 replies
7204 views

Hi, this is a post I put up on the Lightroom Queen forum - topic "Thumbnails not reflecting edits (and more!) - I am not able to add the link unfortunately.

My issues haven't been resolved so I am posting here instead! I have added a note to that effect on the Lightroom Queen post.

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Original post

Lightroom Version Number 13.5.1 Operating System Windows 11

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Initially I thought there was a problem with Virtual Copies not showing edits, that is, the virtual copy looks exactly the same as the original in the thumbnails. Even looking at them in loupe view doesn't reflect the changes.

But I have now realised that the thumbnails for all my earlier photos (years' worth) are not showing edits! (However, edits done in the last few days do show correctly in the thumbnails.) These earlier thumbnails are showing the photographs as imported. If I go to the History panel, no step is highlighted (the top step is highlighted for more recently edited photos). Also, the 'Photo has Develop adjustments' icon is not showing on the thumbnail for these earlier photos, even though there are development steps in the History panel.

I think this has happened since the update to v.13.5 or possibly earlier. I have closed and restarted LR several times over the last few days (the issue with virtual copies was noticed several days ago), rebooted the computer, reset preferences, to no avail. The catalog was optimized, integrity checked and backed up 2 days ago.

I have just discovered that it's worse! I have just randomly checked some of the earlier photos which I know had development adjustments made (even virtual copies made), and they are not showing anything at all in the History panel, not even the Import step. I am starting to panic! I hope there is a simple solution which I have overlooked!

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My follow-up post:

Update - in my last post I said that my recent edits were OK, but now I notice that any changes have not even been saved and the only thing showing in the History panel is the Import date, despite me having eg. edited a photo and then created a Virtual Copy. Even the thumbnails for my recently created virtual copies have been lost. I do understand the non-destructive nature of LR Classic and that develop adjustments are in the catalog only.

As background, I have had all sorts of trouble with LR after the v13 update, whereas in the past (since 2011) I haven't had much trouble at all.

Initially the preview file didn't come across/get converted when updating to v.13 (possibly I didn't click on something re previews?). I have since generated the previews using Library>Previews>Build standard-sized previews. I had to do this because the previews did not generate as I scrolled. The thumbnail for the first photo appeared in grid view, then nothing as I scrolled down, and all the other thumbnails remained grey no matter how long I waited. This is still the case for some thumbnails which I may not have previously generated. It also happens on a second computer so I don't think it is an issue with the Lightroom software.

This is similar to the issue in a previous post:

"Lightroom Classic V13 not loading previews or showing any edits" on 20 Jan 2024 (it won't let me add the link)

Since v.13.5 (I think) I have had the issues as in my post above, which have still not resolved.

I have tried an older catalog and the History panel is still blank, and there is no 'develop adjustment' icon on the thumbnails - for thousands of photos!

Many thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.

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One answer:

I'm afraid I'm no Lightroom expert. But I have often seen in threads that resetting Lightroom preferences can solve weird problems. See this article but read it all through before deciding whether you want to try it or not.

Maybe someone who knows more about these things may weigh in too and say whether it wqould be worth a try.

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My reply:

Thank you for your reply David689. I had previously reset preferences to no avail. I have also just uninstalled (removing preferences) and reinstalled LR Classic but the problems persist. I am mystified!

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Please, is anyone able to help? I know that my post is a bit convoluted! It sort of evolved as I investigated further.

Basically the thumbnails are not showing any develop edits, there is no icon/badge saying that a photo has had develop adjustments even when I know it has been edited, the History panel is blank, going into loupe view doesn't make any difference - for thousands of photos!

(I have noticed that some photos do have the edits in the History panel but that no step is highlighted, the thumbnail appears as unchanged, but when I move the cursor over the steps in the History panel the image does change to reflect the edits!).

I have investigated earlier catalogs from my backups and the issues are the same. Is it a software issue? I have reinstalled LR Classic today but these issues remain.

I am sorry this post is so long and do hope that someone has a solution!

Windows

C

christinef58502318Author

Known Participant

I have problems with edit history disappearing or being there but not being reflected in the previews, the previews not showing develop badges and more, and previews not building on demand. I know that some users have experienced this since the update to v14, but my issues go back before that, to v13. There are also other posts both on this forum and on the Lightroom Queen forum mentioning these issues pre-14, so I think it is a bigger issue than just the update to v14.

The following is a summary of the questions that I and quite a few others have been asking regarding edit history and previews:

Why is the edit history completely disappearing for quite a few users (in my case it happened in v13)? Sometimes there is a down arrow in the History tab but the panel is empty, not even an import date.

When the edit history is actually there, why are some previews not reflecting the edits? This means that you can't tell by looking at the thumbnail whether an image has been edited or not, or see how it looks with the edits.

When the edit history is there, why is the top step in the history in the History panel not highlighted?

Why is the 'develop adjustment' badge missing in the thumbnail?

Why are the develop sliders in the develop panel not moved when there are clearly steps in the edit history?

On a separate problem (possibly), why are some of us having trouble with previews not generating automatically when scrolling but are having to be done manually (and only a limited number at a time)? There are other posts about this issue too, so it is not just happening to me.

Why are so many problems being caused when updating a catalog (especially v13 and 14)?

Corrupt catalogs - I know that these problems are possibly caused by corrupt catalogs, but why are the catalogs becoming corrupted? Different users are having the same problems, so does this mean that different users are getting the same corruption, and is that possible?

User mistake - also being suggested as a reason, but how can different users be making the same mistakes?

I have tried everything suggested (re-installing LR Classic, re-building previews, re-setting preferences, permissions, anti-virus issues, exporting/importing into a new catalog etc. etc), to no avail, and this post probably reflects my disappointment that nothing has worked! Are there any more suggestions?

Can this be looked into by Adobe (if that step has not already been taken), especially as it is not just an issue with the v14 update, but goes back to v13? There were numerous structural (?) changes in v13 and its updates, could these be the problem?

It would be great if edit history, previews, and preview generation were all working as they should!

(This is my original post, which explains all of the issues I encountered, and I posted this before the v14 update:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/thumbnails-not-reflecting-edits-history-panel-blank-for-photos-which-have-been-edited/td-p/14905960). All my v13 backups had the same issues so I had to revert to a v12 catalog, seemingly successfully until I noticed that thousands of my older images still had the same problems! I have been trying to solve it ever since.)

C.Cella

Inspiring

@christinef58502318

•"Why is the edit history completely disappearing for quite a few users (in my case it happened in v13)? Sometimes there is a down arrow in the History tab but the panel is empty, not even an import date."

User might have deleted history.

•"When the edit history is actually there, why are some previews not reflecting the edits? This means that you can't tell by looking at the thumbnail whether an image has been edited or not, or see how it looks with the edits. "

Sometimes it takes long time for the newest thumbnail preview to replace the old(er) one...ergo why the image in library looks different compared to develop.

•"When the edit history is there, why is the top step in the history in the History panel not highlighted?"

It depends.
(A) You might have selected another step, prior to the last one.
(B) UI sometimes fails to highlight the correct selected step...its rare but it happens and mostly happens after "Clearing History Above this Step"

(C) If you hold the Ctrl/Cmd modifier and click history the step is deselected and un-highlighted.

This is a know bug I reported log ago but was never fixed.
It might be that.

• "Why is the 'develop adjustment' badge missing in the thumbnail?"

Definitely a bug that I can't reproduce
The badge should appear (if you have enabled it in the options)

• Why are the develop sliders in the develop panel not moved when there are clearly steps in the edit history?

Another bug that I can't reproduce.
Usually the sliders reflect the history step.

I personally experienced loss of history only after updating my catalog to LrC14 and I have reported any issue with History I have ever encountered.

.

C

christinef58502318Author

Known Participant

Thank you so much for your reply C.Cella and I apologise for the delay in my reply but I have been trying to investigate further to solve this problem, or at least to narrow it down.

In response to your comments:

Edit history missing- the edit history has completely disappeared (the History panel tab has a down arrow but is completely blank) for many, many images, so it is not because of accidental deletion of the history.

Previews not reflecting edits - this issue is affecting thousands of images and is not to do with a delay in reflecting changes as they don't change no matter how long the preview remains. Plus the previews have all been re-built and the issues are the same as before.

Top step in History panel - again, an issue with thousands of images, not just accidental selection, and although I do use "Clearing History above this step" occasionally, I wouldn't have done it with thousands of images!

Develop adjustment badge missing and develop sliders not moved - I am pleased that at least some of the issues are being recognised as bugs!

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Windows 11, LrC v.14.0.1 (I haven't changed the name of the catalog yet!)

I have been systematically working back through my folders in LrC to see where the problems lie, and fortunately all previews from now back to mid-2017 are behaving as they should, i.e. without the above problems. However, prior to mid-2017 everything is weird!

There is a connection between the previews not loading (but getting stuck on the first thumbnail and then not building unless forced), and problems with the previews not showing history edits etc. Both of these things are happening in the same folders. That is, in the same folder (and there are many folders!), if the previews don't appear on scrolling the history is also stuffed up. Why? In the more recent folders, the previews generate as they should on scrolling and there are no problems with the history etc.

I should mention that up until the date of my first post here (Oct 9th) I had not experienced any of these issues, and I use LR often, frequently looking back at these older photos, so would have noticed if there had been a problem earlier. Why would this be happening to images prior to mid-2017 and not appeared until now?

Here is an example of one of the weird happenings:

The virtual copies are showing edits but the original images are not (and no develop badge):

The original image and History panel showing the edits done, but no sliders have moved, no edits made, and the top step not highlighted:

The virtual copy, showing the edits (which should be on the original) and moved sliders (the only extra changes to the virtual copy being cropping, sharpening and clarity):

Also, in the folder if no virtual copy was made, any single image has all the usual problems. And this is the situation in many, many folders (I have been using LrC since 2011).

I think that there is some disconnect between the catalog/previews/images and I am not tech-savvy enough to know what that would be. Hence appealing to the experts!

GoldingD

Legend

Does this issue show up in a new catalog?

And you may want to create a new catalog, and import from the old to the new to test.

C

christinef58502318Author

Known Participant

Thank you so much for your help. The issues are not happening for my most recent edits so a new catalog might not show them, but I will try both suggestions. Are there any tricks I need to be aware of when importing into a new catalog?

R

richardplondon

Community Expert

importing prior work into a new catalog can be done in one of two ways:

(what I think was NOT meant) conventionally importing the photos again from disk - 'as if for the first time': except that if edits had been at any time written out to file, those edits will get found and used for the initial appearance of the photo - but that will show no prior History steps, no Collection membership, none of its Virtual Copies (if any) will be present, etc

OR

(what I think was meant): using the "import from another Catalog" command. This transfers (merges) in from the other chosen Catalog not only a record of the importation of each image, not only latest edits but also its full editing History, Collection memberships etc as well as those of any Virtual Copies you may have made in the context of that other Catalog.

GoldingD

Legend

 this is a post I put up on the Lightroom Queen forum - topic "Thumbnails not reflecting edits (and more!) - I am not able to add the link unfortunately.

This link?

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/community/threads/thumbnails-not-reflecting-edits-and-more.51249/

C

christinef58502318Author

Known Participant

Yes, that is the link. I tried to add it to my post here but received a notification that I couldn't, don't know why!

On another note, I ticked the box on my post saying to email me when someone replies, but I haven't receive any emails about your replies, just curious!

D

dj_paige

Legend

in my last post I said that my recent edits were OK, but now I notice that any changes have not even been saved and the only thing showing in the History panel is the Import date, despite me having eg. edited a photo and then created a Virtual Copy. Even the thumbnails for my recently created virtual copies have been lost.

Strong likelihood that you have (accidentally) imported the photos twice; you made edits to one copy, and no edits were made to the other copy (so History Panel shows nothing and the image appears unedited).

To solve this problem, you need to find both copies of these photos in Lightroom Classic. Please follow all four of these steps in order:

1. In the Lightroom Classic Library Module, on the left, under Catalog, click on All Photographs
2. Turn off all filters (Ctrl-L once or twice)
3. Turn off all stacking (Photo->Stacking->Expand All Stacks)
4. Search for at least one of these photos by file name using the Lightroom Classic Filter Bar

Side comment: some people almost refuse to do the search I describe, I don't know why, they keep trying other things, as if I had said nothing. But this search works for a lot of people.

C

christinef58502318Author

Known Participant

Thank you so much for your reply. I have undertaken the steps you mention for several photos and there are no duplicates - which is unfortunate, as this would have been a simple solution!

I am still trying to solve these issues:

Badges - photos edited more recently have the develop and cropped badges (e.g. the blue silk photo and the cathedral façade photo), but those photos edited a while ago don't.

Virtual copies - final edits are not reflected in the thumbnails (e.g. the male statue should show two different crops)

History panel - sometimes it is completely blank (not even the Import step), sometimes the steps are there but no step is highlighted and the thumbnail shows the photo as it was when imported. If the steps are in the History panel, moving the cursor upwards from the Import step changes the image appropriately.

D

dj_paige

Legend

I can't view your (or anyone's) file attachment. Please include your screen capture by clicking on the "Insert Photos" icon.

Also, I'd like to see a screen capture of the entire screen of the Lightroom Classic Library Module after you perform all four steps of the search I suggested.

My issues haven't been resolved so I am posting here instead! I have added a note to that effect on the Lightroom Queen post.

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