Lightroom Classic: incorrect catalog location for photo import
There have been a number of posts about importing issues but I can't find anything matching my particular situation. Recently -- very likely after the update to LR 10 but I'm not sure of the exact timing -- I've had the following behaviour when importing photos from card.
I generally import photos to Pictures\RAW files\2020 (or sometimes a sub-folder thereof). The import copies the files to the correct location. However, they are catalogued to a new folder which LR creates with the name of the lowest level folder name -- ie 2020 in this case -- at the root level of the Folders structure and they are not visible in the location where they actually are physically present. If I remove the imported files from this newly created catalogue folder and then synchronise the folder where they were actually physically imported then everything is fine. But of course I don't want to have to do this and I'm wondering if changes to the way import works with the new version have a bug.
Question
•
Updated
a month ago
• Edited
89
7
0
Helpful Widget
How can we improve?
Tags
No tags available
Responses
jeffgo
103 Messages
•
1.6K Points
2 months ago
I have had this issues for several years but got no traction with Adobe.
0
0
Just_Shoot_Me
636 Messages
•
9.6K Points
2 months ago
Show us a screen shot of the import dialog window.
More than likely it is a setting you have enabled and or not checked that is causing this.
Make up a import preset and always Check Every Setting/Option in the Import dialog window Before you Click the Import button.
0
0
JohanElzenga
Champion
•
3.3K Messages
•
58.1K Points
2 months ago
This sounds like you are a victim of the 'Capitalisation problem'. Basically, what happens is that you have two different folders, one called ‘XXXX’ and the other one called ‘xxxx’. In other words, the names are the same, except for the capitalisation. Because MacOS and Windows are case-insensitive, your OS sees those two folders as one and the same folder and so it deals with this without you even being aware of it. You will only see one version. But Lightroom is case-sensitive, so Lightroom does see two different folders. In your case the problem folder may be 'RAW files' or 'Pictures'. Hover your cursor over the incorrect folder to make Lightroom show you the path.
Here's how to fix the problem. Let's assume that 'XXXX' is the folder name you see on the hard drive, and 'xxxx' is the (extra) folder you see in Lightroom:
1. Backup your catalog.
2. Create a folder directly on the root of your internal hard drive, call it whatever you want, say "Capitals Fix". Note: do this in Windows Explorer/Macintosh Finder, not in Lightroom.
3. Right-click on the “xxxx” folder in the Lightroom Folders Panel and select "Update Folder Location". In the file browser that then opens, browse to and select the "Capitals Fix" folder.
4. Don't be alarmed as the ‘xxxx’ folder will disappear from the Folders Panel, "Capitals Fix" will appear but all the sub-folders that were listed under ‘xxxx’ will now have "?" marks.
5. Now right-click on "Capitals Fix" in the Folders Panel, and again choose “Update Folder Location". This time browse to and select the “XXXX” folder. You may get a "Merge" dialog box, select "Merge" and everything should resolve itself.
Johan W. Elzenga,
http://www.johanfoto.com
0
Victoria_Bampton_Lightroom_Queen
Champion
•
6.1K Messages
•
106.1K Points
2 months ago
My guess is you've hit the capitalisation issue: How do I correct duplicate folders with the same name in my catalog?
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.
0
jeffgo
103 Messages
•
1.6K Points
2 months ago
I ran into this likely because I replaced a drive and the old one had a Pictures folder but the new one I used pictures. On the next drive replacement, I made sure to use Pictures but that didn't improve Lightroom's attitude. Previous attempts to run your process didn't fix it but I will try again.
0
0
dko22
5 Messages
•
110 Points
2 months ago
Indeed I have hit the capitalisation issue and it seems to be as in the suggested fix that the user folder "david" in Windows is "David" in Lightroom -- perhaps because like jeffgo, I had to replace a drive fairly recently. This means in effect that the entire catalog tree is wrong. What could have been made more clear in the documentation is that you must change at the level where discrepancy occurs which means in my case and likely most other users will need to perform this procedure for the entire catalog from the Pictures folder downwards.
But it does seem the fix works once performed correctly and for this I'm very grateful to the users who suggested it and the other contributors as well.
7
0
james_bodkin
7 Messages
•
206 Points
2 months ago
I am currently running Lightroom Classic 10.0 on a Mac with a separate internal hard drive to store my images using a date-based LR folder system (on the Left Panel). I recently had to upgrade my storage drive from 8TB to 10TB. To do so, I moved all of the images to the new 10TB drive and renamed the new drive with the same name as the old 8TB so that all of the existing images now show up as connected in the Lightroom Folders list panel on the new 10TB drive. Both the LR app and the Mac system are operating normally.
My problem is that if I import a NEW image into LR and direct it to the new drive (with the same original name), LR creates a NEW duplicate instance of the drive folder with the same name and adds the image to the new folder rather that the desired existing folder. Thus, the existing drive folder shows all of the previously imported images, and the new drive folder shows only those which were imported since the hard drive upgrade.
If I try to move the images within LR by dragging an image/date from the new drive folder into the proper location on the existing drive folder, I get a message that "the photo already exists at that location". Since both drive folders reference the SAME physical hard drive, they both have the entire library of images in a 'year' then 'Year-Month-Day' format.
My desire is to have ALL previously imported images AND new images in the same drive folder.
Is there a way to ‘Bless’ the drive or instance so that the new images will go to the same drive folder as the existing images?
2
0