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S
shannab71614148
Participant
June 29, 2023
Question

Color labels have disappeared in Lightroom Classic

  • June 29, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 577 views

I migrated my lrcat to a new computer (running MacOS Ventura) and my color labels have disappeared! Ack! Rebooting lightroom didn't fix it, neither did opening up an older version of the lrcat on the new device, and neither did moving the preferences file. Please help--this puts me back many, many hours of work.  

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2 replies

JohanElzenga
Community Expert
JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
Community Expert
June 29, 2023

You probably used a custom label set, which has defaulted when you moved the catalog. Select the custom set again, and if it is not available, then recreate it. https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/help/flag-label-rate-photos.html

 

-- Johan W. Elzenga
S
shannab71614148Author
Participant
June 29, 2023

Thanks. I've tried recreating the custom set but it doesn't seem to have fixed anyting. I must be missing something.

It appears that images I previously color coded are all showing up with a white label, so that's something, at least. 

JohanElzenga
Community Expert
JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
Community Expert
June 29, 2023

Dig deeper, it's definitely your label set. Lightroom saves labels as text in a special label field. The default is the name of the color, so a red label is stored as 'Red'. You can change this however, so that a red label is now called 'HDR' or 'Still needs edits', or anything you want. A white label shows up if the name of the label in the label set does not match the label text in the text field. Here's an example of what I use myself (I called my custom set 'Lightroom labels'):

 

Do note what is written in italics in this dialog!

 

-- Johan W. Elzenga
dj_paige
dj_paige
Legend
June 29, 2023

Color labels of what?

 

How did you "migrate" the Lightroom Classic catalog to the new computer? Please tell us, step-by-step, leaving nothing out. Did you import your photos on the new computer into Lightroom Classic, or not?

S
shannab71614148Author
Participant
June 29, 2023

By migrating I mean that I copy pasted the lrcat file and all of the accompanying files (Helper, Previews, Sync) as well as backup versions from my dying Drobo that was attached to a dying iMac (RIP) onto a new mac mini pro (transferred using an external HD). Once they were on the new computer, I launched Lightroom Classic and selected that most recent lrcat. All of my image files live on the NAS, so I used the "find missing folder" function in LR to reconnect them all.

I'm not sure if this is relevant, but only half of my folders actually appeared, and the missing ones wouldn't reimport, so I've had to go back to an earlier lrcat from the backups.

Does that all make sense? Thanks for your help.  

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