LUTs Disappearing from VS2022

[CurtisT]

This is what I see

Not sure of your point here, so forgive me if I misunderstand.

That's exactly what you should see when you import the LUTs into a Custom Folder. The problem is that sometime later, maybe hours or days, the folder and the LUTs disappear from the library.

[lata]

Yes I guess a good thing that I have been able to confirm the problem with disappearing lut folders.
So far unable to replicate to order, seems quite random.

At least you can report back to Corel Support that other users have had the same issue, point them to this post

I will keep testing and report back with any progress

[CurtisT]

Yes I guess a good thing that I have been able to confirm the problem with disappearing lut folders.
So far unable to replicate to order, seems quite random.

Not being able to reproduce the exact sequence of events that causes the LUTs to vanish is definitely frustrating.

Thanks for your assistance.

[asik1]

Yes I guess a good thing that I have been able to confirm the problem with disappearing lut folders.
So far unable to replicate to order, seems quite random.

At least you can report back to Corel Support that other users have had the same issue, point them to this post

I will keep testing and report back with any progress

today, new morning, new boot and the luts still there

[lata]

I have not paid much attention to my Lut folders over the past few days but today my 3 user defined Lut folders have gone.
No idea why as I have not used the program that much.

very strange and quite annoying

[lata]

Hi
A bit of a workround
I have located the LUT profile file (LUT.profile) that saves the user folders details
It is within the programs working folder ColorAdjust\Profile
Once you have populated your LUT files you should save the LUT.profile as a copy / backup
You should then be able to repopulate the Luts folders by replacing the LUT.profile file.

My working folder is on my D drive and not the default location within Documents.

[CurtisT]

Once you have populated your LUT files you should save the LUT.profile as a copy / backup
You should then be able to repopulate the Luts folders by replacing the LUT.profile file.

Interesting ... I might also be able to monitor that file to see when it gets modified or deleted. Still looking for the causal event on this.

Appreciate the help!

ETA: The file activity monitoring definitely showed the LUT.profile being overwritten by vstudio.exe, with the file size dropping from 27,066 bytes to 8,801 bytes, as the program was closed. It isn't happening every time the program is closed, but that narrows down the 'when' if not the 'why.' Now to see if I can find the sequence that causes it to happen

[lata]

Hi
Whatever I do I cannot see when the folders are removed, I have tried many times and whilst I am testing all works ok.
When I do not use VS for a while, returning and the folders have disappeared, but not always. Confusing to say the least, and yes I believe it may be when closing VS.

A bit of a workround…..
The default as installed .CUBE files are saved here:-
C:\Program Files\Corel\Corel VideoStudio 2022\Ulead.dat\ColorAdjust\LUT
If the program refreshes the Luts library then it will use these files to populate the library.
I have now removed all files from this folder and added 4 of my own CUBE flies
I have also created a new folder and added 8 CUBE to this folder.
Now to wait till the library resets itself, hopefully my 4 CUBE will remain
If so you can use C:\Program Files\Corel\Corel VideoStudio 2022\Ulead.dat\ColorAdjust\LUT
to store your luts, what you do with the existing default files is up to you.


Like you I am looking for when and where..........

[lata]

Annoying
this morning I ran VS to test a short video, I also looked at the Lut library, all ok.
30 minutes later I opened VS and loaded a project, checked Lut and all personal folders were gone.

the good news is that the Lut's that i placed here were still available from All
C:\Program Files\Corel\Corel VideoStudio 2022\Ulead.dat\ColorAdjust\LUT

[CurtisT]

Whatever I do I cannot see when the folders are removed, I have tried many times and whilst I am testing all works ok.

I use a utility called FIleActivityWatch, if that helps.

[CurtisT]

After some unproductive back and forth with Corel Support, I am now being told we should only use LUTs purchased from Corel as third-party LUTs may be "unstable." This, of course,is absolute nonsense and contrary to what is stated on the Corel website:

VideoStudio supports third party LUTs, so you should be able to easily import and apply your manufacturer’s LUT profile to your project.

Lookup Tables (LUTS) are, by nature, neither stable nor unstable. They are simply ASCII files containing an array (or table) of numbers in a standardized format that transform color input values to the desired output values. Bad values in any table will simply produce bad results—nothing more.

I realize that the fact that VideoStudio sometimes glitches and deletes the LUT catalog upon closing is a niche issue affecting only a tiny percentage of users, but I would have preferred Corel to say they are unable to reproduce the error or aren't willing to invest the time to fix it rather than invent absurd excuses like this.

Fortunately, I've found a way to make my LUTs more "stable" for now by the setting the "LUT.profile" file as read-only.

Hat tip to Trevor (@lata) for the assist.

[lata]

Seems like Corel are avoiding the problem
The lut files I used in my tests were copies of the luts installed by Video Studio here.
C:\Program Files\Corel\Corel VideoStudio 2022\Ulead.dat\ColorAdjust\LUT
Besides it was not a lut file issue it is a user created folder issue, a library issue, the library being reset or refreshed back to “as installed”. I had created folders with no lut files yet eventually they simply disappeared. The luts library just seems unstable.

Can you provide your corel ticket number

[CurtisT]

Interesting that you used Corel LUTs for your test ... I really wish I'd thought of that.

BTW, if I wasn't quite clear before, the file monitor I use specifies vstudio.exe as the process that is rewriting LUT.profile at closing. I mention this only because Corel asked for extensive amounts of data about my setup, software, etc. I somewhat reluctantly provided that data, knowing they were (quite reasonably) looking for an outside culprit, only to have them come back and question whether I was using "external" LUTs and advise me to instead use "stable" ones from the Corel program store.

I'll PM you the ticket number if you think somehow it would help. For now, the "read-only" option I mentioned above is working, but I can't be sure that this won't cause issues with other library files when this particular step of VideoStudio's closing process is interrupted.

[lata]

I have had a reply from Corel, unfortunately so far they have not been able to replicate the disappearing Luts folders but will keep checking.
But they did comment
“For the issue that imported LUTs didn't show in the folder, in my testing, if the LUTs has existed in another folder, then it can't be shown unless you switch out and back to refresh. I have asked Dev to fix this. -- and if there is further information to help reproduce the issues, just don't hesitate to let me know.”

So I ran another test creating 2 luts folders for them to disappear within the hour, again I do not know what I did to cause that as I cannot replicate to order.

[CurtisT]

Thanks for the update. As it happens, I have an update of my own to share, as based on testing I did yesterday, I can now reliably replicate this behavior with these steps.

• 1. Open VS and add your custom LUTs to the Library
  2. Close VS
  3. Open VS (take no action, do NOT open the color tab or the LUT library)
  4. Close VS
  5. Open VS & Check Library. (For me, at this point, the LUTs are gone)

Similarly, the custom LUT library is NOT deleted when these steps are followed.

• 1. Open VS and add your custom LUTs to the Library
  2. Close VS
  3. Open VS, open the Color Tab, and view your custom LUTs
  4. Close VS
  5. Open VS & Check Library. (For me, at this point, the LUTs are still there)

Here is what I believe is happening based on my observations of all file activity related to LUT.profile while opening, closing and operating VS.

• 1. When VS is opened, it does NOT read LUT.profile into memory unless and until the Color Tab is opened and the “LUT Profile” button is clicked.
  2. If LUT.profile is never read into memory, VS writes an empty version of that file back to disk upon closing.
  3. If LUT.profile is read into memory, VS writes that same data back to LUT.profile (+ or – a couple of bytes) upon closing, which preserves the custom library.

One note: all my testing was done fairly quickly. The time between opening and closing VS with the above steps was rarely more than a couple of minutes. I have yet to test these same steps over a longer period of time with interceding operations, but hopefully you will be able to reproduce my results and share them to the appropriate people.

Thanks.