Skip to main content
Barbara van der Woerd
Barbara van der Woerd
Participating Frequently
January 17, 2017
Answered

Renaming files then losing the catalog that renamed them

  • January 17, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 1388 views

I am so dissappointed that you can't rename photos on import anymore!!!

This has given me a huge problem...

I renamed thousands of images several days AFTER importing them (and AFTER working on them- BIG MISTAKE!). This renamed the physical files on my external HD. Then LR failed to save the catalog and I had to revert to another one that I'd saved the day before, which had the old names.

Now LR cannot find the photo files on my HD and I can't sync them easily.

I can sync files individually one by one, but because I have also lost the thumbnail images in LR (I don't know why) I can't see which photo is which!!

Having to sync files one by one is also not great.

I have tried reimporting the files with their new names so they come up side by side with the 'old' ones when I sort them in capture time order. I then try to rename the 'old' one to its new name but that won't work because the 'new' one has that filename already! 

This does not make it easy and I can't possibly do this for thousands of images.

I've also tried syncing the settings (of my changes) from an 'old' file onto the 'new' one but this won't work either, it comes up with a message that says 'cannot sync settings because cannot find the original file'.

When reimporting the 'new' files LR knew which folder to import them into, it didn't give me an option of WHERE to import them. (So I just hit 'import' anyway and they came up in the right place). Some 'new' files retained their star rating so that must be imbedded in the physical file somehow, but this did not work for all of them. The changes I'd made were also not imbedded in the physical files.

I think my only solution is to delete the 'old' files, lose all my changes and start again.

I'm using Mac OS Sierra. I don't know why the catalog failed to save, and LR is behaving strangle at times this past week. For this reason I am backing up the catalog on an external HD every time I exit, and several times it has failed to save and I have lost a days work. The catalog only has 12,500 files in it so not that big. I have freed up storage on my Mac so it has plenty of room (120GB free out of 250GB), so almost 50% of memory is available. I have moved the scratch disc for Photoshop and ON1 software to a huge External HD, but cannot seem to do this for LR. In any case that shouldn't matter as the mac has plenty of room.

Any ideas of where to go from here will be appreciated. Thanks!

iMac (27-inch, Late 2013)

Processor: 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5

Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M 1024 MB

Hardware Overview:

  Model Name: iMac

  Model Identifier: iMac14,2

  Processor Name: Intel Core i5

  Processor Speed: 3.2 GHz

  Number of Processors: 1

  Total Number of Cores: 4

  L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

  L3 Cache: 6 MB

  Memory: 8 GB

  Boot ROM Version: IM142.0118.B13

  SMC Version (system): 2.15f7

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Just Shoot Me

OK.... I just thanked you so much for fixing my import screen to show 'renaming'. Look at this screenshot, it has reverted to how it was before. Damn, it wasn't my imagination.

What I've found is that some of the panel headers on the right of the import screen disappear when I choose "Add" (Top middle of screen), but reappear when choosing "Copy as DNG", "Copy" or "Move". So if you want to keep your images in the same location but rename them when adding to the catalog this is not possible? It may just be mine thats like that? Thanks, hope this helps some people!


The pop up menu list is dependent on the option you have selected at the top. Selecting Add removes the options for Destination and renaming.

2 replies

dj_paige
dj_paige
Legend
January 17, 2017

I am so dissappointed that you can't rename photos on import anymore!!!

This has given me a huge problem...

But of course you can rename photos at Import.

Then LR failed to save the catalog and I had to revert to another one that I'd saved the day before, which had the old names.

I don't know what you mean here, when you make any changes to anything using Lightroom, your changes are saved almost instantly. Are you sure you don't have the catalog file that has the re-names?

To solve your larger problem, you almost have to find the catalog file you used when you did the renaming. Use your computer's operating system to search all of your hard disks for files whose name ends with .LRCAT and double-click on each one to open it in Lightroom, you can probably tell which one is the one you want by the date on your file.

Barbara van der Woerd
Barbara van der WoerdAuthor
Participating Frequently
January 18, 2017

Hi Thanks for your replies.

firstly: "but of course you can rename photos at Import"

Perhaps the latest version of LR has fixed this? I'm using Lightroom CC 2015.6 Release (Camera Raw 9.6)

I used to be able to rename the files during import and I can't see where to do that with this import screen. I thought I researched this at the time this version came out and was convinced that I had to rename files AFTER importing, alot of peopIe were complaining about it at the time... but I may be wrong. I don't know if this screenshot helps at all but I really can't see where to do this.

Top middle of screen I choose 'Copy as DNG', top right has destination, right side has 'File Handling' and 'Apply During Import' but none of these have renaming options. Am I missing something?

Secondly: I have used Lightroom since its first BETA days, am no expert but I do know what the .LRCAT file is and where to find it. I keep seperate catalogs for different needs so they don't get too big. eg 'Travel' photos are on seperate catalog to 'Weddings'. Once a catalog has over 30,000 images things can get problematic (or so I learned years ago, maybe this has changed too?).

I rename photos to include the date so that I never get the same name twice. Anyway... lets move on...

Third: Yes Lightroom does make changes to your catalog instantly, usually. However i asked it to backup the catalog on exit, and this failed right at the end of the process. It asked to try again or save in a different location, so I chose a different location and it did the same thing. I gave up after several attempts. Both locations had plenty of free space so I don't understand why it did not work, and why the 'instant' changes were lost.

Usually when you open Lightroom it goes to the catalog you used last, with all your latest edits/changes/renames intact. This did not happen, otherwise I wouldn't have a problem

I have been saving catalogs every day, with copies on external drives because this is a busy time and I don't want to lose anything if a HD crashes (one has in the past and thank goodness i had a copy!). Therefore I could see clearly using the date on the .LRCAT catalog folder which was my most recent one, and that was from the day before.

So by asking it to backup, and when that went wrong, I lost my days work including the renaming of files.

Rob_Cullen
Community Expert
Rob_CullenCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 18, 2017

Renaming-

Your screen-clip indicates that some panels are hidden.

Right-click the mouse on one of the visible panel headers (eg. File Handling) and place a check mark beside each panel name-

Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.3, Photoshop 27.5, ACR 18.3, Lightroom 9.3, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.3 .
    Just Shoot Me
    Just Shoot Me
    Legend
    January 17, 2017

    What do you mean by "Lightroom failed to save the catalog"? There is no saving of the catalog. It is one single file with an extension of .LRCAT. It is being updated in Real Time as you work in LR.

    For what reason, be specific, did you have to open a older backup of your catalog file?

    Please do a search of your hard drive for all files that end in .lrcat and open each one to find your original catalog.

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices