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Question

Moving a photo from one folder to another

Forum|Forum|10 months ago
April 3, 2025
6 replies
4572 views

I realized I wasn't the only one having trouble moving photos from one folder to another.

After much experimentation, I found that this happened with color photos, not those converted to black and white.

How can I fix this problem ?

Windows

D

drtonyb

Legend

@R. K.-B.

This looks like an OS issue to me. You indicate that you are using Windows.

Try moving one photo using Windows File Explorer to check that it will do it outside of LrC.

R. K.-B.Author

Known Participant

By default, I have no choice, while it would be so easy to do it in LightRoom . . .

dj_paige

Legend

What happens when you try to move a photo from one folder to another? Please describe in detail. If there is an error message, please quote the exact complete unedited error message.

R. K.-B.Author

Known Participant

As shown in the screenshots,
1_ File hierarchy
2_ Uploading an image to the 000_Season+ folder
3_ Move permission
4_ Error message

dj_paige

Legend

As shown in the screenshots,

2_ Uploading an image to the 000_Season+ folder

By @R. K.-B.

What does uploading mean in the context of Lightroom Classic?

D

drtonyb

Legend

Can you provide a screenshot to show what you are experiencing?

R. K.-B.Author

Known Participant

As shown in the screenshots,
1_ File hierarchy
2_ Uploading an image to the 000_Season+ folder
3_ Move permission
4_ Error message

As shown in the screenshots,
1_ File hierarchy
2_ Uploading an image to the 000_Season+ folder
3_ Move permission
4_ Error message

R

richardplondon

Community Expert

Say (for example) your workflow was to make a virtual copy from each colour photo, and then convert this virtual copy to black and white. So now you see (at least) two different treatments holding in common - sharing in - one source file.

It would be possible to move the colour photo (as a master copy) into a different folder, but it follows that the other photo version (its virtual copy) must move also.

A virtual copy has got no independent file or folder location of its own. So it is not possible to move just the virtual copy into a different folder.

If you want to use folders to manage your workflow, the common advice is to seek more virtual sorts of organisation instead (metadata based, within the Catalog) which do not require files to physically move around. These LrC methods carry fewer logical and practical constraints, compared with the traditional files-and-folders paradigm. The question of virtual copies being just one such.

R. K.-B.Author

Known Participant

In this case, it's not a virtual copy, but a real photo, exported to PHotoSHop and then saved under a different name in LightRoom.
And it's this new copy that can't be moved.

R

richardplondon

Community Expert

Thanks, it is good to narrow possibilities down. In this circumstance, is Photoshop still running at the moment when you try to move the file within LrC? Or, might you be curently viewing this file using any other kind of utility - for example when you are clicked to highlight a particular file in your OS file browser, and when the browser is displaying that as a preview, that file can be accordingly considered "in use" so far as the OS is concerned - and therefore unable to participate in other file operations.

Also, is there any actual difference of behaviour because of the image being black-and-white / colour, or is that just incidental?

Ian Lyons

Community Expert

I've revised the thread title to show 'folder' rather than 'file'

R. K.-B.Author

Known Participant

👍

R. K.-B.Author

Known Participant

I realized I wasn't the only one having trouble moving photos from one folder to another.

After much experimentation, I found that this happened with color photos, not those converted to black and white.

How can I fix this problem ?

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