Imatch is not in any case holding star rating

[lightchaser]

Had this question in the forum some time ago, but it' not resolved. When I'm finishing my images in Photoshop CC2020 I regularly do the rating of the images. Last time asking I was told PS would be the problem. But it does'nt seem to be so.
When I've finished editing 4-6 images in PS, I do the rating. Imatch takes the rating, but often, in a case that just happened about 20 minutes after that process, when Imatch refreshes the thumbnails and Metadata of the edited images, the rating data vanishes.
This is happening repeatedely, but not with the rating of all images. Sometimes more, sometimes less.
This is very frustrating, as I then have do the rating process again and often once again.
Have this problem since some months, can't tell you if this started to happen with an new Imatch-version!
Anyone having an idea?
Thanks!

[Mario]

I use Ps and Lr with IMatch and I have never experienced this.

Which file format are you using?
Did you check one of your files in the ECP to see what rating it actually contains?
If you use RAW files, maybe the file has an embedded XMP record with a rating=0 data element? Common problem with some Nikon and Canon RAW formats.
Photoshop does not see the embedded XMP record, but IMatch does.
You may end up with an XMP record produced by Ps/IMatch that competes with the embedded XMP record.

See, for example, https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=4102.msg27513#msg27513

There is a setting in Edit > Preferences > Metadata to ignore rating in embedded XMP records.

To give you a definitive answer we need to know

file format
the metadata contents of the file from the ECP
if there is an XMP sidecar file. If so, it's contents as well.
If you keep Ps running all the time. Maybe it updates the file with some delay and IMatch picks that up?
Photoshop often works in mysterious ways.

If you have not used the ECP before, see The ExifTool Command Processor

[lightchaser]

Thank you, Mario!
I am working with TIFF files 16 bit in PS after export from LR without any rating in LR. Have been using this workflow for 20 years. Never had problems until some months. Yesterday I saw the rating, given about 20 to 30 min before, vanishing, when IMatch was refreshing the image. It was there, after refreshing: gone!?

[lightchaser]

Mario, when I repeat the rating process, IMatch keeps the rating. The problem though is, that I often realise the missing rating for single images only after hours of work and that causes some special and unnecessary work again.
Franz
 

[Mario]

I don't recall a similar case. Ratings vanishing after 20 minutes...very strange.
Keep a log file in debug mode from each session until this happens again. When it happens again, secure the log file (see the help topic for how) and make a note of the time.
ZIP and post the log. Maybe we can see something.

Do you write back the TIF file after you have changed the rating?
Do you use protection for metadata (Edit > Preferences > Metadata 2)?
If not, when another application touches the file (changes the last modified timestamp) and IMatch rescans the file, your temporary rating will be wiped.