Inspiring

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P: Show Parent Folders by Default

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
October 7, 2019
8 replies
4123 views

Setting up Lr on a new computer (v8.4.1) running Win10 Pro. Haven't had to set up Lr on a new computer for many years.

When I import photos, the Library only shows the folder the images are in. I can right-click and select Show Parent Folder. That's tedious. I know Lr can be set up to show parent folders by default. I just can't remember how to do it. Have done a search on here and the web and not finding anything. On my prior machine, running Win7 Pro, I had it set up that way.

Thanks.

T

thoaknek

Known Participant

I fiddled a bit more and finally got the access to dialogue box which has "Show Parent file" - everything back to normal again. I wish I knew what I did exactly.

T

thoaknek

Known Participant

I have this issue currently but cannot select "show parent file". I know the files I creat are there, but will not reveal themselves. I have 6 or 7 catalogues and terrabytes of date over a decade and not had this issue before. I set up a new catalogue like I do everytime I get a new external drive. The files were there to start with, no problem at all but simething changed and now I cannot see the parent folders only the files within those. Usually I will create new folders for the different cameras I shoot which at the moment is 4. Each camera then receives sub files of every shoot I come home with so get to see the camera Folder and underlying shoot files with dates each of those files has all the images for that shoot.

I dont know what hapened but I cannot see any of my Camera folders with the few 3 recent shoots. I can only see the files for the recent shoots and no camera or parent file.

R

RBrogen

Known Participant

I am constatntly having to click Show Parent Folder when adding new clients to my folders. This is the dumbest damn "feature" Adobe has put out. It should display the folder structure by DEFAULT and then if you wanted to show an abbreviated version then choose that.

Randy Brogen, M.Photog.M.Artists.Cr., CPP

JohanElzenga

Community Expert

I agree this can be a pain, but the best solution is actually very simple: do not use folders as your organisation tool. That is what collections and smart collection are for! In the Lightroom Classic philosophy, folders are just storage containers. You can add images to a (new or existing) collection on import.

-- Johan W. Elzenga

T

TowsonMadeUs

Participant

Did you ever find a solution?

P

PhotogCdaAuthor

Inspiring

Actually, there isn't one. It can't be set up to show the parent folder by default.

What has to be done is to put a single image in the parent folder, import that single image, then sync the parent folder which will import all the other subfolders & images.

joshuaw46364063

Participant

Thank you for confirming. It's really disappointing that Adobe left this functionality so broken. They went back and forth for a few updates years ago with this happening by default.

It's not just that you have to press show parent, and that requires refreshing the entire catalog each time, which is very slow on a bigger catalog. This is extremely tedious and expensive.

It's that it imports in a completely bizarre, random order that is not sequential in the least.

There is plenty of reason for this functionality to be supported, despite the claim made earlier. It's not just for people maintaining large catalogues of nested image folders (like myself). Even the most routine functionality:

Session A/picks

Session B/picks

Session C/picks

Session D/picks

would result in 4 completely identical folders. And that kind of organization would be pretty common for the average person.

Rob_Cullen

Community Expert

Import one photo stored in a 'Parent Folder' - then you will have the full folder hierarchy.

I needed Windows Administrative rights to store a photo on C:, but it shows-

Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .

P

PhotogCdaAuthor

Inspiring

Ah, that might well be it. That seems familiar. Will do that on next import.

Rob_Cullen

Community Expert

Follow up to suggestion-

I suggest you do not place an image on C: but rather have your {Pictures} folder as the your top-most 'Parent' folder. Lightroom cannot access (Delete) photos on C: as it does need administrative rights using File Explorer.

I have an Internal hard-drive solely for my photos so it is easy to see the full hierarchy in Lightroom - D:\Images\ YEAR\MONTH\DAY folders.

Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .

Ricky336

Community Expert

Don't quite get what you are asking. As you said, you right-click on a folder and 'Show Parent Folder' (as long as there is a folder above it - as in D:/ Pictures/Holidays/September). But there isn't a 'Default' setting as it were. It all depends on how you set it up. I've been using Lightroom since version 4, and there has never been a default version to show the parent folder. It probably explains why you can't find any information about this.

P

PhotogCdaAuthor

Inspiring

And I've been using is since v1. So we've both been using it quite a while. As noted, I've never had to right-click and select Show Parent Folder. Never. So I did something in the past, that I can't now remember.

JohanElzenga

Community Expert

More likely it is something that was changed in more recent versions. Like I said, there is no such setting.

-- Johan W. Elzenga

JohanElzenga

Community Expert

AFAIK there is no setting to show parent folders by default. There is also little reason to have such a setting. You just have to use 'Show Parent Folder' once. Lightroom won't hide the parent folders again all by itself.

BTW, it is usually not necessary to start again with a new catalog and import again. That way you lose all the work you have ever done. Use your old catalog and transfer it to the new computer:

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/how-move-lightroom-to-new-computer/

-- Johan W. Elzenga

P

PhotogCdaAuthor

Inspiring

I'm aware of the ability to migrate catalogues and am aware of how to do so, having done it a number of times in the past.

I did not ask about migrating catalogues.

There, in point of fact, is very good reason to want to show parent folders by default. It simplifies the workflow and makes it more efficient. When you are importing many images into many different folders in a session, it becomes tedious to have to do so for each parent folder. Particularly so when you have a nested folder hierarchy set up.

I never had to do this on my old computer and prior versions of Lr. Let me say that again: Never. I would import into a subfolder and both the subfolder and parent folder would be visible in the Library module. That is as it should be.

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