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tombourdon's profile
tombourdon
100 Points

7 Messages

 • 

134 Points

Tue, Oct 16, 2018 9:10 AM

Lightroom Classic: Can't find any photos during import

Using Lightroom Classic CC, when I try to import any image (.cr2, .awr, .jpg) Lightroom simply doesn't show any photos as being available for import in any folder. I know the images are there as I can see them in explorer. I've tried importing from SD card, external SSD and even local drive but never get to see a photo. Also tried rebooting the machine.

Here's a video to show you what I mean https://drive.google.com/file/d/16mBEwd-uIGhr8h20OB-lvieYWPWxqtLC/view 

Any ideas what the issue might be?

Problems

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Updated 

1 d ago

2.3K

12

Responses

marco_klompalberts

110 Messages

 • 

2.1K Points

2 y ago

In your video, I'm missing a bar where you can select "All photos | New photos | Destination folders"
When "new photos" is selected, I get no photos in a certain folder, because they are already in LR.

When I have "all photos" selected, it shows all images in that folder, but they are greyed out, because I told LR "Don't import suspected duplicates"


Not sure why you don't see the bar to select "all photos" and if that really is what is causing the issue.


Have you tried dragging the photos from explorer onto LR? That would normally also start the import dialog.


Question, why do you want to import the exported photos back into LR?
That would create a lot of duplicate files, and the exported images are JPGs (in this case), so you might end up working on JPGs instead of RAW files if you are not careful.

If you really want your exported files back in LR, you can tell LR to import them when they are exported.
Check the bos "Add to this catalog"



One last tip:
Don't store your photos (or any personal documents) on your system partition (your C-drive)
If you ever need to reset your system, you might end up losing your personal documents.
It's better to have a seperate data partition and/or drive.

Beware that if you decide to move your stuff from C to another drive you have to make sure LR moves the photos that are in the catalog, or else your links to the files will be broken, and you will have to tell LR where to find the photos.

Good luck. 


8

tombourdon

7 Messages

 • 

134 Points

Thanks for the reply.

To answer your comments in turn..

These files are not already in the catalogue.

drag and drop simply opens up the directory that the files are stored in and it still can't find the images

I don't want to import the files from the exported folder it was simply a demo to show what is happening and these are the only photos I have on my c drive and I wondered if the external drive might be the issue (I answered 2 questions in one there :) )

So, unfortunately, none of your suggestions fix the issue - thanks anyway

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2 y ago

0

marco_klompalberts

110 Messages

 • 

2.1K Points

The only way I don't see photos is when "new photos" is selected, but for you that bar is missing altogether. Don't understand why.
Hope someone else will be able to help.
Good luck.

Like

2 y ago

tombourdon

7 Messages

 • 

134 Points

Thanks, I too have seen what you mention about photos already in the catalogue, but this is something completely different and I've been searching for a solution for a couple of days with no luck. In the meantime, I now have lots of photos I need to import asap. 

Like

2 y ago

0

marco_klompalberts

110 Messages

 • 

2.1K Points

No luck trying to contact Adobe tech support on the phone?

Like

2 y ago

0

tombourdon

7 Messages

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134 Points

Thanks, any idea where I can get an international number I can only find an 800 number which I can't get to work from here in Europe

Like

2 y ago

0

marco_klompalberts

110 Messages

 • 

2.1K Points

You're right.
It's very hard to find.
Where are you in Europe?
If I go to the Dutch page, select "Creative Cloud, all apps" > "photoshop" and in the next step "solve problems" I get a popup screen and if I click "show contact options" I can click on phone support.
That option is not available if you choose Lightroom, but I would give it a try on your local Adobe page.

If you're in Belgium: 02-7119-960 


Like

2 y ago

0

tombourdon

7 Messages

 • 

134 Points

Got it thanks! I'm in Greece and it seems there is no phone support. I changed the site to UK and I'll phone them.


Thanks

Like

2 y ago

0

marco_klompalberts

110 Messages

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2.1K Points

Hope they can help.
Good luck.

Like

2 y ago

0

c_gjerde

13 Messages

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202 Points

2 y ago

See if you have somehow changed the filter settings on the Upper Right

2

0

tombourdon

7 Messages

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134 Points

Filter settings? on the import screen? I've been using LR for over 10 years and I've never seen that.

Like

2 y ago

0

marco_klompalberts

110 Messages

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2.1K Points

Not sure what filter settings (other than "new photos) you mean, either ...
Can you post a screen shot?

Like

2 y ago

0

sunil_bhaskaran

Adobe Administrator

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538 Messages

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9.9K Points

2 y ago

Tom,
What happens when you create a new catalog and then try to import?
Do you see the same results?

Thanks,
Sunil

3

tombourdon

7 Messages

 • 

134 Points

Yep, exactly the same :(

Like

2 y ago

0

marco_klompalberts

110 Messages

 • 

2.1K Points

:-(

Like

2 y ago

0

Kyle Stevenson

2 Messages

 • 

70 Points

@sunil_bhaskaran

Please I(we) need some help here. We are paying customers and this basic function has suddenly stopped working. 

Like

6 m ago

0

marco_klompalberts

110 Messages

 • 

2.1K Points

2 y ago

Did you already upgrade to LR8 (the update from yesterday)?
Or tried a new install?

0

0

TangCanada

211 Messages

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4.2K Points

2 y ago

Wierd issue there, usually if no files found in folder lightroom will tell you.
Reset lightroom preferences and try import again...
Thats the first thing Tech Support will tell you anyway.

0

0

am_lie_petit_jean

1 Message

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60 Points

2 y ago

Hello. Did you solve your issue? I had something similar - although using Lightroom, not classic -  and tried what's written up here to no avail. Then, I toggled off and on again the 'Destination' options in the import window, and suddenly it started to see all the photos as it normally does.

0

0

dbur

54 Messages

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1.1K Points

2 y ago

This happens to me quite often.  The whole import dialog becomes messed up and does not work worth a hoot.  Sometimes if I switch between two import sources some images start to show up but it makes no sense at all since the filter selections do not work right and only random samplings of the images show up.  I tried selecting all one time and even though no photos were shown they did import.  That's a mess though since you don't know what you are importing and will end up with a bunch of junk or duplicates in your catalog.  Just this last time I inserted the memory card after opening the import dialog and it was a mess.  What finally worked was to close LR, wait a bit, then re-insert the memory card and then re-start LR.  Everything worked properly then.  This is just typical buggy SW from adobe that their support can't even help you fix.

0

0

mary_keyworth_rather

1 Message

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60 Points

1 y ago

Did you find a solution.? I just watched your video and mine suddenly started the same thing just now

0

0

cheryl_mcintosh_beb8d9z2q2k7d

1 Message

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60 Points

1 y ago

I've had a similar issue which sometimes responds to renaming the files before importing.

0

0

eduardo_mallmann

2 Messages

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70 Points

1 y ago

Same thing here, no file is listed on import screen. 
But the card is full of CR2 and JPG files....

2

0

karsten_warlund

1 Message

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80 Points

I had the same, but be coincidence i clicked all the Dropdown menus on the right side. "File Handling"..."File Ren....." ..."Apply ..." and then the "Destination". Clicking that "Destination" menu caused all the pics to pop up again. Go figure ?!?!?! But it worked.

Like

1 y ago

eduardo_mallmann

2 Messages

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70 Points

Many Thanks Karsten!!!
It worked for me as well!!!!!
Great! I was almost giving up of trying!!!

Kind regards,
Eduardo

Like

1 y ago

0

Kyle Stevenson

2 Messages

 • 

70 Points

6 m ago

Can anyone at Adobe understand the frustration of not being able to import memory cards when the OS can plainly recognize the files yet this software that we have been using for 10 yrs won't recognize the files? We pay a monthly fee for this service and it isn't doing a very basic function. I recently updated LR Classic and now import dialogue doesn't recognize importing files. How utterly embarrassing for Adobe. Someone over there please tell us why this is happening and how to fix this.

6

0

Rikk

Adobe Administrator

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10K Messages

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135K Points

Please go to Help>System Info… and get us the exact installed version number of your software. 

I see you've posted on two older threads but I don't see any system information from you. Are you Mac? Windows? OS Version Number? 

A screenshot of your import dialog would help as well. Can you provide this in addition to the information requested above? 

Adobe Photography Products

Quality Engineering - Customer Advocacy

Like

6 m ago

0

Tony Brown

2 Messages

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70 Points

I have this problem, and is now not showing any images to import, at all...tried all the above mentioned tips with no luck. Starting to get the feeling this is intentional from Adobe to push us to the online online suite. There is no other reason so many people would experience the same problem.

Like

5 m ago

0

Victoria_Bampton_Lightroom_Queen

Champion

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6.5K Messages

 • 

109.4K Points

Which operating system are you using Tony? And which Lightroom version number? And where are you trying to import from?

Victoria Bampton a.k.a. The Lightroom Queen

www.lightroomqueen.com

Author of Adobe Lightroom Classic - The Missing FAQ and Adobe Lightroom - Edit Like a Pro books.

Like

5 m ago

0

Tony Brown

2 Messages

 • 

70 Points

Hi, I’m using Mac OS Catalina 10.15. Tried importing from SD card and from a file on hard drive. Been an ongoing issue for while. But funnily enough, after having tried renaming on import, creating a new catalogue etc, I wrote this post (a bit frustrated as you can see!), it then suddenly decides to work! Typical. I’ll see how it goes from now on. Thanks for reaching out.

Like

5 m ago

0

amanda_brooker

6 Messages

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120 Points

For what it's worth, I have solved my version of this problem.  I picked up on a clue in the thread referring to videos.  I very seldom make videos, let alone attempt to import them into LR, but it so happens things started going wrong for me yesterday when I imported some iPhone files as well as camera files into the same folder.  I had already imported camera files from that same folder with no issues.

iPhone's "live" feature means that every .JPG has an associated .MOV and it would seem that even if you have ONE single .MOV in a folder, LR will no longer see anything.  I solved the problem by simply creating a subfolder and moving the camera images I was trying to import into that. Viola!

Good luck!

Like

3 m ago

0

CharlieBeer

1 Message

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60 Points

Finally something worked! I've tried a million things but it turns out the video files were the problem!

I tried importing them from my external hard drive, (with video files removed from the folder), which didn't work. So I ended up removing the video files from my CF card into a separate folder on the desktop. Only then did all the photos show up as previews and fully import. (previously it only imported around 150 of 244 images).

Thanks Amanda, you saved me throwing my laptop at the wall haha

Like

7 d ago

0

elizawhite

1 Message

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60 Points

7 d ago

I am having the exact same issue - using Lightroom Classic and Catalina, and I can't get any photos to show up in the Import box (despite finder showing plenty of Canon raw and jpeg files in there). NB I have checked and don't have any .mov files in the folder or already in Lightroom (I'm trying to add to a catalogue I made in Feb). Please can someone suggest some troubleshooting tips?! It's utterly frustrating as I've used Lightroom for years without the slightest problem, and now its useless!

4

0

JonathanK

3 Messages

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80 Points

I am having the same problem as of today! Using Lightroom for over 10 years and suddenly I cannot see any files on import! I have a subscription and have the latest version of LRCC. It worked this morning but not this evening. In the interim I had added iPhone files to the external drive but not to the catalog. Now, I can't see anything in any folder when trying to import. This is very frustrating.

Like

2 d ago

0

JonathanK

3 Messages

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80 Points

I am running the latest Big Sur, 11.2.3, and like I said in my previous post have had no problem until this evening. 

Like

2 d ago

0

JonathanK

3 Messages

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80 Points

I deleted the preferences file in ~Library. Okay, so I lost some presets. That is not a huge problem. At least everything is working again.

Like

2 d ago

0

Rikk

Adobe Administrator

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10K Messages

 • 

135K Points

Presets should not be lost during a Preference Reset. 

The preferred method for resetting is

Reset Procedure:

1. Close Lightroom.

2. Hold down [Alt/Opt]+[Shift] while restarting Lightroom.

3. Overwrite the Preferences when prompted by the dialog.

4. Close Lightroom.

5. Restart Lightroom.

Adobe Photography Products

Quality Engineering - Customer Advocacy

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1 d ago

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