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louisd79464044
Inspiring
February 9, 2026
Question

Add filesize to metadata search

  • February 9, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 47 views

Lightroom Classic allows quite some opportunities to search in your photolibrary but does not allow a search oin filesize yet. Especially for optimizing your library it makes sense to delete or replace big files. Big files may be produced when making panarama's in .tiff format, or when using Photoshop to improve images. Files of more than one or two Gigabyte may be produced that way.

When search for (too) big files would be enabled in Lightroom itself (instead of using plugins to get to that point) it would be much easier to keep your library small and efficient. Big Tiff files can best be exported as DNG without loosing quality really but will be reduced to 25% of less in size.

So, I think Adobe would help it's customers to keep Lightroom work optimally by adding Filesize to the search menu in the library.

Also a warning for much large files somewhere in the settings the might be an idea. 

 

 

    3 replies

    johnrellis
    Genius
    February 10, 2026

    Moderators, ​@Rikk Flohr_Photography, please merge with this existing feature request:

     

    Rikk Flohr_Photography
    Community Manager
    Community Manager
    February 10, 2026

    Unfortunately ​@johnrellis, once a post has replies, it can no longer be merged
    (This is reported to the forum team.) 

    The only way a post can be merged is to delete all of its replies. 

    Rikk Flohr: Adobe Photography Org
    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    February 9, 2026

    Big Tiff files can best be exported as DNG without loosing quality really but will be reduced to 25% of less in size.

     

    Only if these TIFF files are not layered! DNG does not support layers, so if you export a layered TIFF as DNG you will flatten it.

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
    dj_paige
    Legend
    February 9, 2026

    So even though there are plugins to do this, you find that not acceptable? You would rather wait until Adobe adds this to LrC? (and they may choose to NEVER add it to LrC, or they may choose to not add it in the next 3 years)


    When I use any plugin, in my mind I do this in the LrC interface, so there’s really no difference to me whether it is part of LrC or it is a plugin. I choose the menu item in LrC, select the options I want, and I get the desired results.

    louisd79464044
    Inspiring
    February 9, 2026

    You may be right, but may also be too negative. I did work with the plugin today (Find_replace) but found that the file size in that plugin does show the actual file size but the filter on it does not work properly either. So, I do hope Adobe will not leave it to the plug-in makers this time. 

    And as we say in Dutch: if you do not shoot, you will always miss

    dj_paige
    Legend
    February 9, 2026

    Try the AnyFile plugin from John R. Ellis.

    https://johnrellis.com/lightroom/anyfilter.htm#sort