I’m running Windows 11 (10.0.26200 Build 26200) and frequently encounter drag‑and‑drop failures in Lightroom Classic. Restarting after optimizing the catalog temporarily restores functionality, but the issue quickly returns. I previously posted about this here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/drag-and-drop-in-15-0-1-stops-working-o...
After extensive testing and diagnostic traces, I believe the problem is linked to background catalog writes. The WAL file grows rapidly after each restart, from just a few kilobytes to hundreds of megabytes. In my workflow, I rely heavily on Smart Collections to refine photos into distinct groupings — particularly by dimensions based on long edge — which generates thousands of writes back to the catalog.
This workaround is necessary because the Library Filter bar does not expose the same metadata fields available in Smart Collection rules. All of this metadata is clearly accessible to Lightroom, but the filtering options are inconsistent across the application. That inconsistency forces users into Smart Collections, which in turn creates unnecessary catalog churn and performance issues.
Feature Request Please unify metadata filtering across Lightroom Classic. If a field is supported in Smart Collections, it should also be available in the Library Filter bar. Specifically:
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Expose all catalog metadata fields (e.g., long edge, megapixels, aspect ratio) in the Filter bar.
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Allow users to create and save custom filter presets (e.g., “long edge > 3000px”).
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This would eliminate the need for Smart Collection workarounds, reduce catalog churn, and streamline workflows without requiring a bug fix.
Benefit This change would make resolution‑based workflows faster, more efficient, and less error‑prone. It would also reduce background catalog writes, improving stability and performance. In short: if Lightroom can query a field in Smart Collections, it should be filterable in the Library bar.
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