P: Autosync/Multiple-Target indication

was bitten once again!! 100 images selected an image,made the changes....looking great!! noticed an earlier image (part of the 100 selected) that needed a different crop. clicked on it,made the correction.....Yikes all 100 were synced with wrong crop,,,,Please Help!!! so that does not happen...its to easy to forget to turn off once images are selected.

I hate Auto Sync. I used to use from time to time, but now I taught myself to not keep toggling it on on off, but use Sync instead. Forgetting it on can make a big mess.

Anyway, a long while ago I have proposed to make a Auto Sync indication really visible in this way:


What do you think?

Am I the only one who makes image changes, only to find out later, "select all" &
"auto-sync" was active. OMG, there is no simple undo all that. Yikes, 200 images
each one has to be undone in history. Or "reset all" and all your individual previous
work is erased. Selected images need to be in flashing RED NEON !!

I like the idea of letting the "AutoSync" button flash while changes are applied to images in a set. It would serve a double purpose:

a) as a crude "progress indicator" and, more importantly,
b) as a visual alert that one is currently affecting more than one image, which may or may not be intended.

I agree that the "AutoSync" button name is a little cryptic. Maybe it could be a switch labelled "single | multiple", with the active option bright and the other option dimmed? Great idea for it to pulse or flash every time it applies changes across multiple images, acting as a little eye-catching reminder. RP

The Auto Sync is a double-edged sword. It's great for making quick adjustments to a group of images with instant visual feedback but if you leave it on, you can really jack up a huge number of images. It would be great if LR would give a visual indication that Auto Sync was ON such as changing the highlight color (showing the selected group) in the film strip from gray to red. Or flashing the "Auto Sync" text on the button each time you make a change to the group.

Good points, John.

I wish Adobe had made Auto Sync the default - and only - way of working, so that LR would simply assume that the user knows what they're doing when multiple items are selected. However, as things are, I coach people to leave it switched on all the time, and only drop out of it when needed, then switch it back on. The key is to use AutoSync all the time, or only use it by exception.

So although I approach from the opposite direction, I agree with Rob's request - I've probably asked for it a few times before. The bezel should include text such as "x items being updated"

I agree the Sync / AutoSync button is pretty ugly too. Just as IMHO smaller brighter text would help the LHS and RHS panels (@TK vertical space issues), so it would make space for three buttons at the bottom of each panel - in this case Sync, AutoSync, Reset.

A related problem here is language. "Auto Sync"? I suspect a lot of people ask "WTF is that?" and are frightened off making the mental leap from what they assume the Sync button must do. "Update all" would be more obvious, or make the button text also show the number of items selected.

John

I've been bitten by inadvertedly leaving on "Auto-Sync". It would be good to have some visual feedback when one edits more than one image. Visual feedback is available through the filmstrip but I don't always have it active.

Alternatively, "Auto-Sync" could automatically turn itself off, after one changes the image selection. That would mean that sometimes one has to manually re-activate it but that seems justifiable, given the work reduction it provides.

The workflow (courtesy by Rob) would be:
1. select images.
2. turn on auto-sync if desired.
3. adjust images.
(rinse, and repeat...)

I've repeatedly suggested changing the mouse cursor, possibly with a superscript or subscript to indicate the number of images that will be affected if that number is more than 1. I think this would also enable functionality not available now, such as multi-application on the grid in the second monitor and other times the main grid is not visible.