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louisd79464044
louisd79464044
Inspiring
December 24, 2025
Question

Scans and Whatsapp transferred files got hidden and result in ghostwriting

  • December 24, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 963 views

ADOBE LR classic has a serious bug resulting in errorous files that creates ghostwriting on your device. Especially files sent over with whatsapp (pictures taken by friends) or scanned pictures may cause this problem in the ADOBE LR picture libraries.

 

When you import pictures from others e.g. sent via Whatsapp, or scanned pictures made by a scanner, these may result in pictures without an 'original date and time' stored in the LR classic file library. Adobe LR classic itself cannot even handle these wrongly imported files because LR cannot make proper XMP files with these picture files which are imported with the by LR classic itself corrupted EXIF/IPTC data imported.

 

On top of that the fast previews processing will fail and 'ghost copies' will start to be produced on your laptop making the device being busy all the time and slowing it down tediously.

 

In short: 

This bug results is a slow working LR classic app that acts like a dog trying to bite in its own tail!

 

You can make the corrupted files visible by using a plugin like jb.listview. The files will be listed by the plugin without the original date and time, like you see in LR classic when looking at the picture one by one.  

 

What makes it even worse is that in Adobe LR cc has another bug making impossible to search for these files, and correct these.

This makes that repairing the files with the LR classic app is almost unduable! 

 

Whilst the search function in LR classic is preventing from search on empty fields, zero fields, brackets, and probably also other symbols there is no way to trace these files and start bulk repair. 

 

This other bug has been reported a long time ago but seems to be ignorred ever since. I have reissued it (https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/filters-have-character-restrictions-on-text/m-p/15640651#M422002)!

 

So except for the bug creating ghosts and problematic XMP data I report here, cleaning up the errors is a big problem. Adobe LR classic should automatically fill the original date and time field when importing pictures.... The pictures do have a date and time but since the original date and time field is left empty at importing the EXIF /IPTC data is corrupted, and the XMP cannot be created. 

When looking at the IPTC data of the file you see something like below: a big blanc and an enormous amount of  'abracadabra rubbish' behind that. In short a corrupted IPTC (please note this is only 10% of the actual file!!!) causing more problems on my device.

 

I have now found 2401 LR files without the original date and time on my PC. And most got copied 3 times in the last month with the file dates in November, but without my knowledge... so spontaniously by LR classic.

As said, I cannot trace these with LR classic, and as they are everywhere in the picture database, and cannot be searched for by LR classic itself (you cannot search on original date and time, nor search for blancs) I have to start removing these manually, and repair the originals manually too by re-adding the date myself in the original date and time field. 

This will take me weeks!!

 

I added two examples of 'corrupted' files 

PLEASE HELP! 

Firstly, by repairing the bug, and secondly, by helping to repair the mess created by the bug!

<deleted>

2 replies

louisd79464044
louisd79464044Author
Inspiring
December 24, 2025

Sorry John, if was that simple I would not make such a fuzz.

louisd79464044_0-1766574879911.pnglouisd79464044_1-1766574939538.png

louisd79464044_2-1766575177935.pnglouisd79464044_3-1766575209608.png

 

Unknown in LRc search is not blanc..... The metadata ignore blancs. In excel you may get a zero sometimes >> 1-1-1900. But as you can see above I have 3 copies of the picture, 1 with a date in 1997 in and two with nothing in, but it counts 3 pictures with 1997. Meaning the filter looks at the 'vastlegdatum' only. It looks as if LRc has copied 2 times and has one right, in which the date is copied to the original date and time field. That should have happened during import, not after making the processor run circles. Then how to get rid of the 2 others ...I cannot search on the field 'original date and time' Thats my problem. Then if I would be able to search on that field I wonder if the blancs are recognised, because these are neither recognisedf in the title field. In short PLEASE HELP! 

 

Please realise I still have about 2000 scans to catelogize. If I open them they will be copied 2 times by LRc because the app wants to make a preview and an xml of them but comes in a loop due to the missing date......

I cannot work this way

johnrellis
johnrellis
Legend
December 24, 2025

[This post contains formatting and embedded images that don't appear in email. View the post in your Web browser.]

 

"I cannot search on the field 'original date and time' "

 

I'm trying to tease apart the multiple symptoms you're describing, one at a time. 

 

LR's handling of photos missing the industry-standard EXIF, IPTC, and XMP capture-date fields has always been a complete mess, and Adobe stopped trying to fix it over a decade ago.  See this bug report:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/p-still-inconsistent-capture-date-time-for-photos-and-videos/idi-p/12664084  

 

In LR 15.1, I'm observing that after initial import, a photo missing capture times recorded in EXIF, IPTC, and XMP will appear in the Metadata browser's Date column with the file's last-modified date (which is what LR uses in most places in the app for capture time when the EXIF, IPTC, and XMP fields are missing capture times).

 

johnrellis_0-1766603151182.png

 

But if you select the photos and do Metadata > Read Metadata From File, they show up as Unknown:

 

johnrellis_1-1766603160689.png

 

I think this behavior changed at some point -- I vaguely recall the Date column used to consistently show Unknown immediately after import, but I could be wrong.

 

You can reliably find photos missing the metadata field EXIF:DateTimeOriginal using the Any Filter plugin:

 

johnrellis_2-1766603493847.png

 

 

 

 

 

louisd79464044
louisd79464044Author
Inspiring
December 28, 2025

Hi John, 

Thanks for your analyses and tips.

You mention:  

LR's handling of photos missing the industry-standard EXIF, IPTC, and XMP capture-date fields has always been a complete mess, and Adobe stopped trying to fix it over a decade ago.  See this bug report:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/p-still-inconsistent-capture-date-time-for-pho... 

 

By which you show that this problem is ignorred again after being flagged up 7 year ago. Pictures made with camera's and scanners may even be more abundant in picture databases than those made with camera's, and looking at the number of people using telephone as camera device (i.e. looking at the dominance of social media and devices nowadays) you actually state that Adobe has never adapted to that really.

I conclude from the above that the LR import program can to be repaired simply by adding one line in the import program lines actually meaning there are 2 ways to fix the bug in LRc:

 

 

Repair 1. Include the line "If DateTimeOriginal is missing"  'DateTime Original' = "DateTime" in the import procedure program lines of LRc (and/or CameraRaw). That to prevent from (corrupted) pictures with DateTimeOrigin missing even appearing in the library.

 

Repair 2. Include DateTimeOriginal in the Metadata search library in LRc. This to enable management of corrupted pictures (already) present in the library.  

 

My feeling tells me both are needed actually, because without Repair 1  the LRc processing will continue to 'automatically repair' the files with missing DateTimeOriginal data by reproducing these with corrected files, but retain the original files with the DateTimeOriginal field missing. The latter need to be killed off in the library to avoid LRc from unneeded loopings slowing down the program and the Windows/MAC device too.

 

Repair 2 only, would be sufficient to clean up libraries 'polluted' by pictures with a missing DateTimeOriginal field, but that feels like putting the horse behind the cart to me. It would not solve the looping process problem in LRc.

 

By filling the DateTimeOriginal field at least the impact of the bug in the LRc processing is fixed. 

 

I realise that this will not help in fixing the date really (the date may actually be wrong, but appearantly "DateTime" is already wrong too due to the fact that EXIF is not used the same way in Professional Camera's and the Camera's of the 'actual modern world' which are merely Smartphones and Scanners (running with Windows, Apple, Linux,  Android or other digital device software).

Adobe cannot make dates not present/delivered by the origin, but should keep the Adobe Software at least insensible (ignorant) to missing data actually needed to keep LRc processing properly, and efficient.

 

To me it is clear now that it is proven that a missing 'DateTimeOrigin' field in a picture produces processing problems in LRc when it is left open at import.  That's priority 1. 

 

It looks fixable to me. That it may result in 'DateTimeOrigin' data that are not correct may eventually also got fixed, but Adobe should ignore that (for at least the moment). Especially when It prevents from keeping the LRc processing 'clean'.

 

Then about your answer above more specifically John: Many thanks for being in this discussion so intense.

Indeed searching for the pictures is possible using Any Filter Plugin like tracing the files is possible with the ListView plugin, but I am sorry to say that it does not solve the problem I addressed.

It is clear to me now that the main BUG is Adobe LRc cannot handle the files with DateTimeOriginal empty but imports these without bothering about it. Although the program is bothered by it and the libraries got polluted/corrupted by it too.  

 

These imported files indeed need to be removed, and made visible, but primairally not be allowed to even come into the library anyway. 

Adobe cannot leave this to Plugin makers whilst it is a BUG in the import process actually corrupting the LRc program, and it has impact on the functioning of the users devices too. 

Adobe LRc needs realistic and up-to-date security at the gate and should enable using all pictures currently common and thus serve all different users ! 

 

Cheers, and a Happy Bug free new year to you all.

 

Louis

 

johnrellis
johnrellis
Legend
December 24, 2025

[This post contains formatting and embedded images that don't appear in email. View the post in your Web browser.]

 

You can search for photos that are missing the industry-standard EXIF, IPTC, and XMP fields that record capture time by using the Date column of the Metadata browser in the Library Filter bar:

 

johnrellis_0-1766566685803.png

 

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