Lightroom: how to update images in directory?

eoren1

I'm slowly moving to Lightroom (from C1pro) and trying to get the hang of things.
I had previously used it piecemeal and kept importing files from the 'unfiled' directory (where my downloader program automatically dumps them).
I just imported the entire photo folder and ended up with 1615 images in the 'unfiled' directory where, in fact, there are only about 250. Some of the images have been processed in LR and I don't want to lose those settings if they have not been magically transferred to the other locations of the files. Any thoughts on how to reconcile this so that only the images that actually reside in that directory show up? Without losing the previously worked on images???
Also, I had/have been using idImager for DAM including rating and keywording. I'm thinking about moving that as well but one feature I liked was 'versions'. I could process all of my shots in C1pro - save them as JPGs in the 'converted' folder and then run the 'version detection wizard' on the CR2 files in the unfiled directory to match those that were already processed. This was a nice visual clue to which files were processed already. I would like to 1) not lose this information and 2) learn how it can be done in LR. However, I wonder if this is superfluous if my RAW processor and DAM program are one and the same as in LR.
Thanks for your time,
E

dangin

perhaps you can try a workaround from luke from this post: http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=63986

i haven't really tried lightroom yet so i can't say myself. good luck!

William M Porter

eoren1 wrote:

I just imported the entire photo folder and ended up with 1615 images in the 'unfiled' directory where, in fact, there are only about 250.

Eoren,

I'm pretty good with Lightroom now, at least for the things that I do with it. But I am not familiar with the "unfiled" directory. What I do know is that it's important to set Lightroom up carefully and then stick with Lightroom's tools for managing your collections. In other words, once Lightroom knows about the images, you should make sure that you use LIghtroom to rearrange or move photos from directory to directory.

I try to keep things as simple as possible. Here's how I work. I copy my images from the SD card into a folder on the external hard drive where I store my photos. Then I launch Lightroom and import the entire folder using the option import photos at their current location. I end up with a folder in the Lightroom catalog (visible in the navigator pane on the left side of the screen in Library mode). The structure of these folders = the structure of the folders on my hard disk.

I also create "collections" of selected photos, during processing, but that's a separate step.

Some of the images have been processed in LR and I don't want to lose those settings if they have not been magically transferred to the other locations of the files. Any thoughts on how to reconcile this so that only the images that actually reside in that directory show up? Without losing the previously worked on images???

I'm not sure, but I think that the info about your edits is stored in the Lightroom file that used to be called the "library" and is now (with version 1.1) called the "catalog." If you move the images in the Windows desktop or the Mac OS X Finder directly, you are likely to cause Lightroom to lose track of the images.

If you don't want to start from scratch, you will probably find some good help in the Adobe Lightroom Users Forum. Start at adobeforums.com, then select Lightroom in the list of topics.

Also, I had/have been using idImager for DAM including rating and keywording. I'm thinking about moving that as well but one feature I liked was 'versions'. I could process all of my shots in C1pro - save them as JPGs in the 'converted' folder and then run the 'version detection wizard' on the CR2 files in the unfiled directory to match those that were already processed. This was a nice visual clue to which files were processed already. I would like to 1) not lose this information and 2) learn how it can be done in LR. However, I wonder if this is superfluous if my RAW processor and DAM program are one and the same as in LR.

Lightroom tracks the history of your edits. You can save "states" and give them names, and then you can revert to a given state if you like. I don't personally do this much. Instead, I save virtual copies. Lightroom 1.1 (released yesterday, 6-26-2007) numbers virtual copies as you create them; you can change the names of the copies if you like, but the numbers are a starting point.

As I process images, I use keyboard shortcuts to mark images as rejected or not; I also give them preliminary ranking numbers - 1 for decent, 2 for pretty good. Eventually I delete the rejects, then focus on processing the ones that I've ranked as keepers. When I'm done editing an image and its ready to publish or print, I hit the "8" key to assign it to the green label, which I have renamed "Publish." I wish that the labels were slightly more evident in the filmstrip, but I've gotten pretty good at spotting the little green border around the photo that tells me that I've finished with that photo.

Hope this helps.

Will

colourbox

eoren1 wrote:

I just imported the entire photo folder and ended up with 1615 images in the 'unfiled' directory where, in fact, there are only about 250. Some of the images have been processed in LR and I don't want to lose those settings if they have not been magically transferred to the other locations of the files. Any thoughts on how to reconcile this so that only the images that actually reside in that directory show up? Without losing the previously worked on images???

I don't know if this is a good answer, but if you are importing by reference (that is, not copying the images into Lightroom's managed folders), and you make sure you save the metadata changes back to the files or their sidecars, then the edits will always stay with the originals in the unfiled folder.

...and then run the 'version detection wizard' on the CR2 files in the unfiled directory to match those that were already processed. This was a nice visual clue to which files were processed already. I would like to 1) not lose this information and 2) learn how it can be done in LR.

Lightroom can display a badge icon over each thumbnail that indicates if it contains changes that have not been synced back to the files. You may need to turn this on in your View Options. If you have turned on XMP auto-syncing, it should push the changes back out to the files on its own.

If IDImager is using standard metadata for ratings and keywords, they should appear in Lightroom, and in fact, in any other application that reads standard metadata.

If you want to know what the changes are for each image, as William Porter said each image maintains a change history in the left panel of Develop.

In Lightroom 1.1, you can also right-click a folder to reveal a Sync command that will update the listing if the files in a folder have changed (yay).

mike_k

William M Porter wrote:

I copy my images from the SD card into a folder on the external hard drive where I store my photos. Then I launch Lightroom and import the entire folder using the option import photos at their current locatio

A little off topic - but have you thought about letting LR import your images straight from the SD card? You'd choose the option Copy photos to a new location and import. One benefit of doing it this way is that you can rename the files as you import - as well as apply metadata and keywords. You can do it all in one step. Another benefit is that you can easily select only certain images to import - e.g. if you wanted to separate images from your SD card into different folders. Just food for thought.