Auto Sync not functioning properly after Auto Tone

Question

Auto Sync is functioning as expected, unless I choose Auto Tone first.
I have about 1000 Images that I wish to apply a Preset to. When I created the Preset using New Develop Preset, I left all of the options checked except Exposure.
I want to use Auto Tone to set the exposure for each image automatically, and then apply my preset to all images, leaving their exposures unchanged. If I apply the Preset to all of the images before selecting Auto Tone, everyting works as expected. If I choose Auto Tone first, a small portion of the selected images will be updated, but most will not. The preset will change all settings except those in the Basic Tone area. It's as if Auto Tone has somehow become "sticky" and will not allow itself to be overridden. Even if I choose a single image, apply my new settings to it, and then manually select Sync, it doesn't work for all images. It also won't work if I have have Auto Sync selected, and then make manual changes to individual sliders. It will work for some images near the ones I see in the filmstrip on the bottom, but not all of the images selected.
This is extremely frustrating. Again, everything works exactly as expected, unless I choose Auto Tone first.

Answer 1

kbarre wrote:
Auto Sync is functioning as expected, unless I choose Auto Tone first.
If I choose Auto Tone first, a small portion of the selected images will be updated, but most will not.
Lightroom's handling of auto-tone leaves something to be desired - I have a lot of experience with it, trying to make reliable develop-setting plugins which include auto-toning. Those plugins have a bewildering amount of logic - something like this: initiate auto-toning, check back to see if it has properly settled, issue the auto-toning again if it never seems to be properly settling... - usually it works out after a while, but even sometimes it never does, and generates an error: can't get auto-toning to settle across all photos.
The point of all this is that there are bugs in Lr's handling of auto-toning, as you are growing aware.
Try this:
* do the auto-toning, then let it percolate for a while.
* then visit each photo at 1:1 (to force Lr to finalize settings...), and confirm auto-toning has settled...
Then try auto-syncing that preset (make sure process versions are all the same, and preset does NOT include auto-toning - I would leave process version OUT of your presets).
Better?
I don't expect this is a workflow you'll want to do all the time, but as a test it might help shed some light on the problem.
Rob