I lost my color labels and virtual copies restoring my catalogue

Other people have already addressed the other problems, so let me explain why all your labels are white. While Lightroom shows you a label color, it doesn't really save that color anywhere. What it does is save the label text, and then it connects colors to this text. That is how you can change the name of a color, so a red label is not called 'Red', but anything you like, for example "HDR" or "Still needs edits". You do that by creating a custom label set. And that is what got disconnected. You probably did use a custom label set, but now Lightroom uses the default set again. So you either have to simply select your custom label set again, or you have to recreate it.

I recently reverted to one of my Lightroom Classic backup catalogues. The problem I have is all my color labels, virtual copies, presets, collections, smugmug plugin, it's all gone. The images that were color labeled now all, regardless of there original color, are colored white.

 

I back up my catalogue to my NAS and it is a compressed file. So when I extract it there is only one file. Is this one file supposed to have all my personal lightroom settings such as the ones I have lost? Are there other files that need to be backed up to ensure I can restore all my orginal personized settings? What are these files?

 

Thank you in advance for any help you can offer. 🙂

By @Keith Blott

What was the name of the one file inside this compressed file? Was it something that ended with .LRCAT?

Once you extracted this file, what did you do? Please explain step-by-step, leaving nothing out.

First check to see if your original Lightroom Classic folder is in your Pictures folder. Then check to see if your plugins are in the Lightroom Setting folders. If they are then replace the .lrcat file with the recently unzipped restored file that you are working with now.

For future reference if you choose to check this box in your Settings>Presets tab you will avoid this problem the next time you find yourself in a similar situation.

@Keith Blott 

Did you enable the option "Store Presets with Catalog" in your original Catalog?

If not then you have to manually copy the other folders next to the Catalog your restored.

This should get your develop settings, presets and so on back.

You need to copy also the folders that contain your collections next to the catalog...also your helper file and so on.

No need to copy the Previews folder LrC will regenerate them

Your Plug-in data is stored in the preferences so you need to replace the new preferences with the older ones where you had your data...otherwise you need to add all Plug-ins anew including codes.

Adobe has questionably decided to put Plug-ins data in the catalog preferences rather in a separate Plug-ins preferences file.

As for flag and labels it's strange that the catalog had them but now doesn't have them anymore.

I can't explain that.

For the future I suggest to create keywords for rating and labels (e.g. 5 stars, 4 stars, blue label, red label, flag, etc...)

They will be saved into the XMP in you files and you can easily re-apply the exact ratings form any other catalog or in other applications.

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