Finding images needing metadata writeback

[rolandgifford]

I have several images which show with the pen icon in the file window but I have zero images in the Pending Metadata Write-back collection

All of these images appear to have the same write-back error 'Error reading OtherImageStart data in IFD0'
I can easily fix this by loading the image in Affinity and saving it with no changes. It would be good if there is a simpler way.

How do I search for and find these images?

[Mario]

What happens when you click the pen?
Which tags are listed in the in pen's tooltip?
Does IMatch mark the file as "failed" with a yellow warning icon?

When ExifTool fails to write to a file, sometimes a file may remain in a pending state although IMatch considers it written, because of the way the re-imported after the failed write-back works. It's so rare, I don't bother spending time to find a fix. I cannot spend time on every fringe case or attempts to handle metadata broken by other devices or software.

I don't know how the images were created or where the invalid metadata ExifTool encounters come from.
Affinity will just rewrite the image, stripping out everything they don't know or support, including all maker notes, secondary IFDs and so on. This explains why the problem is "gone" afterwards.

Did you try the corresponding File Properties filter? Or the filter in the Quick Filter ribbon?
If there is a warning icon, you can filter for the ExtraError tag as explained in the help system.

[rolandgifford]

If I click the pen I'm told that there was an error because the file is read-only or offline - it isn't

If I do a forced reload the error marker disappears but the pen remains. If I click the pen, the error returns

I'm not asking for IMatch to fix these files
I'm asking how to find them all as they are flagged as needing write-back in the file window but aren't in the collection that I assume (from the name) should include them

[Mario]

Did you try my 3 suggestions? No yellow warning icon?

[rolandgifford]

Did you try my 3 suggestions? No yellow warning icon?

Nothing pops up if I hover over the pen icon
Yes the files have a yellow warning icon as well as the pen

I answered what happens when clicking the pen, plus what happens after a rescan

[Mario]

See The Warning Icon to learn how to filter for files with the yellow warning icon.

[Tveloso]

Nothing pops up if I hover over the pen icon

Files marked as Pending Writeback, for which there is nothing to write back, is one of the conditions that the Database Diagnostics will correct.  If you run a Diagnostics, it should identify all the files with that condition.

I've seen that warning in the past here as well (but it's been a while since I've seen it).  I'm thinking that in my case, the cause was something different though.

[rolandgifford]

Nothing pops up if I hover over the pen icon

Files marked as Pending Writeback, for which there is nothing to write back, is one of the conditions that the Database Diagnostics will correct.  If you run a Diagnostics, it should identify all the files with that condition.

I also see it regularly from Database Diagnostics, for some unknown reason other than this one. There seems to be some half-way pending writeback which shows the pen icon but not added to the pending write-back category. I don't worry about it at all. These particular ones should be flagged for write-back as write-back fails.

I get warnings about images which don't exist as a matter of routine as well. Not reported as I don't know which they are/were and therefore no way of establishing how that problem arose.