Could Lightroom reopen a __previously__ edited file? Instead of saying: "previously added".

Question

It is incredibly annoying that you can not drag-drop a __previously__ edited file and just re-edit it immediately. All that happens is a message: "Previously added". As if the point of Lightroom is to add files, instead of edit them.

This same problem occurs if you try to reopen a __previously__ edited file by any means. File->Open. Double-click in Bridge. You simply can not just reopen a __previously__ edited file.

What you have to do is

1) Figure out what date the file is from, and this might be by inspecting the image metadata.

2) Navigate in the Lightroom Library to that date.

3) Paw through the day's images. There can be hundreds.

It typically takes 4-5 minutes to reopen a __previously__ edited file. And Lightroom KNOWS WHERE THE FILE IS in the library.

Just open the file so it can be redited again.

JohanElzenga · Answer

Lightroom is a non-destructive editor. That means that the pixels of an 'edited' file aren't changed. The edits are stored as metadata in its library. Consequently you'll have to find the image in the library to make any further edits, you can't open it again from disk. Lightroom has many options to find an image much more quickly than you describe, however. It supports labels, ratings, flags, keywords. So invest some time in learning how to use these, and setting up a workflow using these.

Could Lightroom reopen a previously edited file? Instead of saying: "previously added".

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