Reversed text in Photos on iMac

It's rare, but it's happened more than once. Unfortunately, I don't remember what fixed it. I think one of these steps either fixed it or gave us a clue:

• Restart the computer (of course)
• Re-start in Safe Mode. This bypasses certain potentially disruptive processes, and it often helps. Safe Mode is different for different computers, so see this: 

           Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support 

• Use another library if you have one, or make a small test Library with a few pictures in it and see if the same thing happens. You can create a new Library by closing Photos and then option-clicking on the Photos icon.
• Make a new user and see if the same problem recurs with it.  This is a bit harder, because a new user can't access a different user's stuff. You would need to move your Library out of your own user's folder up to the general "Users" folder. 
• You don't say if you are using iCloud Photos. If not, then try this. (If you are, then it may take a long time to re-sync, so put it off.) Rebuild your Photos Library--close Photos and re-launch by option-command-clicking the app icon.

The idea is to find out if the problem is with the Library, with your account, or with caches and login items, and stuff like that. One of these steps may fix the problem, but their failure to work also helps figure out what's happening.

Let us know what happens…

Aroundtheworldin80days wrote:…The only login items I have are the mounting of my NAS drives

And I am hoping that the Photos Library isn't on the NAS drives-- that causes no end of problems.

… prefer not to go into the direction of creating a new user account and moving / copying stuff.

I get that. It may not have had a fix-- the issue may have just faded away, or it may have disappeared with an update. I'm sure that keeping fingers crossed will help

You should remind Apple that this issue exists at ]

Feedback - Photos - Apple

You can put the files, like the Library, in a neutral place where it can be accessed by all users. You could put it in the folder, Users, which holds al the user's accounts. Then you can copy from there to the new user.

The best thing is to figure out what it is about your user account that's messed up. Check your Login Items, for instance, for crazy things. I have nothing in my Login Items-- the perfect number.

Do you have VPNs? Have you used "file cleaning" apps? Do you have any other suspicious apps?