diff --git a/rcp/src/test/java/org/apache/hop/ui/core/widget/MetaSelectionLineFillItemsTest.java b/rcp/src/test/java/org/apache/hop/ui/core/widget/MetaSelectionLineFillItemsTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e5535712cc0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rcp/src/test/java/org/apache/hop/ui/core/widget/MetaSelectionLineFillItemsTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+ * (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+ * the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.hop.ui.core.widget;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertArrayEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assumptions.assumeFalse;
+
+import java.awt.GraphicsEnvironment;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
+import org.apache.hop.core.HopEnvironment;
+import org.apache.hop.core.variables.Variables;
+import org.apache.hop.execution.ExecutionInfoLocation;
+import org.apache.hop.metadata.serializer.memory.MemoryMetadataProvider;
+import org.apache.hop.ui.core.PropsUi;
+import org.apache.hop.ui.core.gui.GuiResource;
+import org.eclipse.swt.SWT;
+import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display;
+import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Shell;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Tag;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+/**
+ * Refreshing a metadata combo is not an edit. Run configuration editors do this when their tab is
+ * selected, and on Windows {@code CCombo.setText} notifies Modify even when the text is unchanged
+ * (issue #8758).
+ *
+ * <p>Lives in hop-ui-rcp because constructing the widget needs the desktop look-and-feel
+ * implementations ({@code TextSizeUtilFacadeImpl}, {@code ToolbarFacadeImpl}).
+ */
+@Tag("uitest")
+class MetaSelectionLineFillItemsTest {
+
+  private Display display;
+  private Shell shell;
+
+  @BeforeEach
+  void openShell() throws Exception {
+    assumeFalse(GraphicsEnvironment.isHeadless(), "No display available; skipping SWT test.");
+    HopEnvironment.init();
+    display = Display.getDefault();
+    PropsUi.getInstance();
+    GuiResource.getInstance();
+    shell = new Shell(display, SWT.NONE);
+  }
+
+  @AfterEach
+  void disposeShell() {
+    if (shell != null && !shell.isDisposed()) {
+      shell.dispose();
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void refreshingTheListDoesNotNotifyModify() throws Exception {
+    MemoryMetadataProvider provider = new MemoryMetadataProvider();
+    ExecutionInfoLocation location = new ExecutionInfoLocation();
+    location.setName("neo-location");
+    provider.getSerializer(ExecutionInfoLocation.class).save(location);
+
+    // Read-only makes setItems clear the text, so a refresh has to write it back. That write
+    // notifies Modify unless the refresh detaches listeners.
+    MetaSelectionLine<ExecutionInfoLocation> line =
+        new MetaSelectionLine<>(
+            Variables.getADefaultVariableSpace(),
+            provider,
+            ExecutionInfoLocation.class,
+            shell,
+            SWT.READ_ONLY,
+            "Location",
+            "Location tooltip");
+    line.fillItems();
+    line.setText("neo-location");
+
+    AtomicInteger modifications = new AtomicInteger();
+    AtomicInteger selections = new AtomicInteger();
+    line.getComboWidget().addListener(SWT.Modify, event -> modifications.incrementAndGet());
+    line.getComboWidget().addListener(SWT.Selection, event -> selections.incrementAndGet());
+
+    line.fillItems();
+
+    assertEquals("neo-location", line.getText());
+    assertArrayEquals(new String[] {"neo-location"}, line.getItems());
+    assertEquals(0, modifications.get());
+    assertEquals(0, selections.get());
+
+    ExecutionInfoLocation added = new ExecutionInfoLocation();
+    added.setName("file-location");
+    provider.getSerializer(ExecutionInfoLocation.class).save(added);
+    line.fillItems();
+
+    assertEquals("neo-location", line.getText());
+    assertArrayEquals(new String[] {"file-location", "neo-location"}, line.getItems());
+    assertEquals(0, modifications.get());
+    assertEquals(0, selections.get());
+
+    // Listeners are back: a real edit still marks the control changed.
+    line.setText("file-location");
+    assertEquals(1, modifications.get());
+  }
+}
diff --git a/ui/src/main/java/org/apache/hop/ui/core/widget/MetaSelectionLine.java b/ui/src/main/java/org/apache/hop/ui/core/widget/MetaSelectionLine.java
index 11143550430..b0b2d70fa96 100644
--- a/ui/src/main/java/org/apache/hop/ui/core/widget/MetaSelectionLine.java
+++ b/ui/src/main/java/org/apache/hop/ui/core/widget/MetaSelectionLine.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 
 package org.apache.hop.ui.core.widget;
 
+import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
@@ -389,18 +390,53 @@ public void fillItems() throws HopException {
     }
     repopulatingItems = true;
     try {
-      String previous = wCombo.getText();
+      CCombo combo = wCombo.getCComboWidget();
+      if (combo.isDisposed()) {
+        return;
+      }
+      String previous = Const.NVL(wCombo.getText(), "");
       List<String> elementNames = manager.getSerializer().listObjectNames();
       Collections.sort(elementNames);
-      wCombo.setItems(elementNames.toArray(new String[0]));
-      if (!wCombo.getCComboWidget().isDisposed()) {
-        wCombo.setText(Const.NVL(previous, ""));
+      String[] items = elementNames.toArray(new String[0]);
+      // Selecting a run configuration tab refreshes these lists. On Windows, CCombo.setText
+      // notifies Modify even when the string is unchanged, and the editors treat that as an
+      // unsaved edit (issue #8758). Skip the write when nothing changed, and keep listeners
+      // detached while the list is rebuilt so a read-only combo can be restored quietly.
+      if (Arrays.equals(items, wCombo.getItems()) && previous.equals(combo.getText())) {
+        return;
+      }
+      Listener[] modifyListeners = combo.getListeners(SWT.Modify);
+      Listener[] selectionListeners = combo.getListeners(SWT.Selection);
+      setListeners(combo, SWT.Modify, modifyListeners, false);
+      setListeners(combo, SWT.Selection, selectionListeners, false);
+      try {
+        wCombo.setItems(items);
+        if (!combo.isDisposed()) {
+          wCombo.setText(previous);
+        }
+      } finally {
+        setListeners(combo, SWT.Modify, modifyListeners, true);
+        setListeners(combo, SWT.Selection, selectionListeners, true);
       }
     } finally {
       repopulatingItems = false;
     }
   }
 
+  /** Adds or removes the listeners captured around a programmatic combo refresh. */
+  private static void setListeners(CCombo combo, int eventType, Listener[] listeners, boolean add) {
+    if (combo.isDisposed() || listeners == null) {
+      return;
+    }
+    for (Listener listener : listeners) {
+      if (add) {
+        combo.addListener(eventType, listener);
+      } else {
+        combo.removeListener(eventType, listener);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Load the selected element and return it. In case of errors, log them to LogChannel.UI
    *