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raphaels28255986
Inspiring
March 31, 2025
Answered

Many are called, but few are chosen

  • March 31, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 1288 views

Hi guys,

When I use Control+A to select all images in my "Francis" collection in Lightroom, I expect to find them all highlighted when I go to the All Pictures folder. Not so: some are and some are not. That's disturbing. Am I missing something?

Thanks a lot.

    Correct answer JohanElzenga

    YES, I used the wrong name for the Command key, and for the folder All Photographs due to verbal similarities - ie Command-and-Control. and Pictures vs Photographs.
    But "confused about Lightroom in general"? Nah, think again.

     


    Well, if you are talking about the 'A'll Photograhs' collection (not folder) after all, then the answer is what has been given several times by several people already: The selection you made by pressing Cmd-A in your 'Francis' collection should remain when you switch to 'All Photographs'. One caveat: make sure images are not stacked in 'All Photographs' and make sure you do not have some active filter that filters out certain images. 

     

    2 replies

    D
    davidminehart
    Inspiring
    March 31, 2025
    Sounds like you are on a PC (control-A), but using which version of
    Lightroom? And is this a new problem you’d not had before a recent upgrade?
    R
    raphaels28255986Author
    Inspiring
    April 8, 2025

    I am in fact an Apple Macbook user.

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 8, 2025

    On a Mac, you use Cmd+A instead of Ctrl+A. Everything else is the same. The statement "When you press Control+A in a collection, it selects all images *within that specific collection*. However, this selection does not persist when switching to the "All Pictures" folder because the selection is context-specific and tied to the current view or module[1][3][7]." is not correct. Providing you do not have different active filters in place, switching from a collection or a folder to 'All Photographs' (there is no 'All Pictures' folder unless you created such a folder) will keep all the selected images selected.

     

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
    R
    Community Expert
    richardplondonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 31, 2025

    One possibility is Stacking: if some images are currently invisible within the Collection (because collapsed out of view) the Filmstrip reports it is showing (say) "22 of 27 photos". Ctrl+A will duly highlight those 22 in this circumstance, not all 27.

     

    Another possibility is that your collection is filtered in some way so that not all photos currently show up there. For this reason also, the Filmstrip will report that it is currently displaying only "XXXX of YYYY" photos.

     

    And all the same applies for what you see when looking at the "All Photographs" collection.

    R
    raphaels28255986Author
    Inspiring
    April 1, 2025

    Thnak you Richard.
    I found the following response to this problem and I found it super useful, which is the reason I am sharing it here.

     

    1. **Control+A Behavior**:
    - When you press Control+A in a collection, it selects all images *within that specific collection*. However, this selection does not persist when switching to the "All Pictures" folder because the selection is context-specific and tied to the current view or module[1][3][7].

    2. **Grid View Requirement**:
    - Ensure you are in Grid View (Photo Grid or Square Grid) when using Control+A. Selection shortcuts like Control+A only work properly in Grid View, not other views like Loupe or Compare mode[7].

    3. **Collection vs Folder**:
    - Collections are virtual groupings of images and do not correspond directly to physical folders like "All Pictures." If some images from the "Francis" collection are not physically located in the "All Pictures" folder, they won't be visible there even if selected[1][3].

    4. **Possible Technical Issues**:
    - If selections are behaving inconsistently, it could be due to a software glitch or corrupted preferences. Resetting Lightroom's preferences may help resolve unexpected behavior[6].

     

    R
    Community Expert
    richardplondonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 2, 2025

    There are several statements there, which I advise people to take cautiously and to verify for themselves. At least in my software (UK localised) there is no "All Pictures" option presented, there is only an "All Photographs" option (which is definitely a - special, built-in - Collection and not a Folder). By definition All Photographs does begin with ALL images present in the Catalog including virtual copies, regardless of where their source files live, though can be filtered to show only a subset of those. It is true that by default images may be imported from / into a user folder named "Pictures" or "My Pictures" or some such - but images may also live elsewhere. In fact I feel it is better that they should live elsewhere than the user's 'Pictures' location.

     

    Also in my experience current selections do not cancel when switching to a different view (collection based, or folder based). While in a view where not all the currently highlighted images are presented, naturally some of those will therefore not be visible - but can remain selected even so.

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