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Thibaud R
Known Participant
October 12, 2022
Question

Lightroom Classic: How to quickly isolate missing files in a large selection of images?

  • October 12, 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 306 views

Hello,

I have to export a large quantity of raw files (in original copy mode) and while I want to launch this export, Lightroom tells me that some files are missing. I could look for the missing files but on the quantity (4000 files) I will already lose time just to find these files by looking at the corresponding symbol in the grid which is not very convenient.
Is there a way to display things with a filter or to use a search possibilité that allows me somehow to find the missing files of my selection in a rather automatic way?
Sincerely

Thibaud

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2 replies

Jim Wilde
Community Expert
Jim WildeCommunity Expert
Community Expert
October 12, 2022

"Find All Missing Photos" is in the Library Menu. But it applies to the complete library, i.e. it cannot be used on a smaller subset of the library, such as your 4000 files that you're trying to export.

 

What you could do, however, is run the command which creates a special "Missing Photographs" collection in the Catalog  Panel, then click on that collection so now only all your missing photos are in the grid. Then you could do Ctrl+A to select them all, then apply a unique identifier to all those images (e.g. an unused colour label, or even a "Missing File" keyword).

 

Once that's be done, switch to your 4000 image set of images and use the filter bar to filter on that unique identifier, that will then show in the grid only those images in that 4k collection which are flagged as "missing".  

    T
    Thibaud RAuthor
    Known Participant
    October 12, 2022

    Very good idea Jim Wilde, I hadn't thought of that. Thank you very much.

    dj_paige
    dj_paige
    Legend
    October 12, 2022

    In one of the menus, there is the command Find Missing Photos. I don't remember exactly which menu it is in, and I am work so I can't look in Lightroom Classic to find out, but you can!

      johnrellis
      johnrellis
      Legend
      October 12, 2022

      To build on dj_paige's reply, the command is the menu item Library > Find All Missing Photos. It searches all of your catalog. If you want to restrict its search results to a subset of photos, e.g. to the ones you're trying to export, then you have to do a little song-and-dance:

       

      1. Put the selected photos into a new collection.

       

      2. Do Library > Find All Missing Photos.

       

      3. Select all the displayed photos.

       

      4. In the Collections panel, click on the collection from step 1.  The photos that remain selected are those that are missing and in the collection.

       

      5. Add the selected photos to the Quick Collection or another new collection.

        T
        Thibaud RAuthor
        Known Participant
        October 12, 2022

        Thanls a lot johnrellis for your precisions, it was helpfull ! 🙂

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