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Library module Meta data super slow to display when clicking between photos in Grid view

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rctneil

Active Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2012
Messages
248
Location
Cheshire
Lightroom Experience
Intermediate
Lightroom Version Number
14.4
Operating System
  1. macOS 15 Sequoia
Hi,

I've imported some photos and i'm finding that when i click from photo to photo, the metadata is super slow to update in the panel.

Not sure what aspect is causing this. Some bits of information. Photos are .heic. Metadata is set to show "Exif and IPTC".

I click on a new photo and it doesn't start changing for a while and then i see a loading spinner, and eventually the update filename an other meta fills in.

Very annoying and i've not experienced this before.

Any suggestions?
 
Do you need to show both Exif and IPTC for them? This will slow it down (as it has to read them).

Quickest is to set to Default, and add fields in if needed.
 
Do you need to show both Exif and IPTC for them? This will slow it down (as it has to read them).

Quickest is to set to Default, and add fields in if needed.
Well I wanted to add a Title to those specific photos. Can I add title to default? How do you do that?

Is it the loading of both exit and iptc causing the issue?
 
I've just discovered the Default > Customise feature. Thats really nice, I've customised it to add Title, just clckig between photos is STILL super slow. I can tell as I watch the filename, i click a new photo and the filename doesnt change to the new one for quite some time.

Any ideas?
 
This is my default setting... Title and Sublocation are my most used metadata fields to edit.

Also... using the Filename field you can easily rename images. I use this sometimes for my final exported jpgs.. so that if I email them to anyone the filename describes the content.....

1751027672886.png


I would check that you are NOT saving xmp data to file ... unless you can define (in writing) a specific reason you wish to do so...

I would also use Library / Previews and build standard previews for your folder of images and wait for this to finish.

Finally I would save your catalog selecting the option to optimise your catalog.

There might be a million reasons why performance might be sub optimal... but these are a few options to start and hopefully clear your problem.
 
Hmmm ok.

So I disabled all fields in the Default preset apart from some of those under "Basic", and this didn;t speed anything up.

The catalog was optimised yesterday. Standard sized previews already exist for these images. I've disabled "Write changes into XMP"
 
How big is your catalog (ie the .lrcat file) in terms of Gigabytes.
What folder is the catalog stored… full folder url.
What is the size of your system drive.
What free space is available on your system drive.
What free space is on the drive with the images.

Is your catalog or images in folders which are subject to cloud synch services, such as Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, etc.
 
How big is your catalog (ie the .lrcat file) in terms of Gigabytes.
What folder is the catalog stored… full folder url.
What is the size of your system drive.
What free space is available on your system drive.
What free space is on the drive with the images.

Is your catalog or images in folders which are subject to cloud synch services, such as Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, etc.


How big is your catalog (ie the .lrcat file) in terms of Gigabytes.
2.52Gb

What folder is the catalog stored… full folder url.
/users/neil/Pictures/Lightroom Classic/

What is the size of your system drive.
1Tb

What free space is available on your system drive.
398Gb

What free space is on the drive with the images.
Images are stored on a local Unraid server with a 7Tb array. It has 46% usage.

Is your catalog or images in folders which are subject to cloud synch services, such as Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, etc.
No, catalog file and Lightroom preference files are local and not synced. Images are on an Unraid server which is also not synced. Both are backed up. Local via Backblaze, Unraid via Duplicati to Backblaze B2.
 
Suggestion.
Optional… Use the recent feature to rename your current catalog to a name that you will instantly recognise and is not an amalgam of previous version updates. Mine is called MoB-MainCatalog25Mar2025. I add the date to signify when that catalog was created (or upgraded from a previous version of Lr, etc)..

Take a screen grab of the name and location of your current live catalog (eg screen grab of Catalog Preferences). This is to ensure you can go back to yo7r current catalog with ease and no confusion.

Create a new catalog in a new folder, separate from your existing catalog.. Call it something like XxxTest27Jun2025.

Add a few of your test image to this catalog.

Now do your normal edits in this test environment.

Do these tests have a similar performance problem.

Remember to reopen your current live catalog (ie open using the recent catalogs option).
 
Suggestion.
Optional… Use the recent feature to rename your current catalog to a name that you will instantly recognise and is not an amalgam of previous version updates. Mine is called MoB-MainCatalog25Mar2025. I add the date to signify when that catalog was created (or upgraded from a previous version of Lr, etc)..

Take a screen grab of the name and location of your current live catalog (eg screen grab of Catalog Preferences). This is to ensure you can go back to yo7r current catalog with ease and no confusion.

Create a new catalog in a new folder, separate from your existing catalog.. Call it something like XxxTest27Jun2025.

Add a few of your test image to this catalog.

Now do your normal edits in this test environment.

Do these tests have a similar performance problem.

Remember to reopen your current live catalog (ie open using the recent catalogs option).
I'll give this a go later and report back. Thankyou!
 
I've imported some photos and i'm finding that when i click from photo to photo, the metadata is super slow to update in the panel.
When was the last time you backed up and optimized your catalogue?
 
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