Keyworded images in Lightroom - Searched in Bridge

[march52368065]

Hi,

I have been using Lightroom as a catalogue to keyword and quickly find/view images. These keywords are only written to the catalogue and not to the actual image metadata.

I would like to be able to use Bridge to search by keyword and quickly find/view these images.

I have tried using the dropdown in Lightroom (see screenshot), this assigns the keywords to the image metadata. However, I can't search for the image by keyword in bridge until I have opened that specific folder/image in Bridge. Once opened I am able to search and view by keyword.

The issue is I have a over 10k images that are in various folders that I need to quickly access in Bridge via keywords. Is there a more time efficient way to assign the keywords from the Lightroom catalogue to the images and view in Bridge without manually opening each file in Bridge.

I hope this makes sense and appreciate any ideas.

[Lumigraphics]

Assign all the keywords and export in LR. Use View->Show items from subfolders in Bridge to display everything and wait until the Bridge cache is build anfd everything indexed.

Be aware that there are bugs between dc:subject and lr:hierarchicalSubject (where keywords are stored) so only use one app or the other to make changes to keywords. Otherwise you can end up with a huge mess.

[gary_sc]

Please, which LR are you using: Lightroom Desktop or Lightroom Classic?

[march52368065]

Classic

[gary_sc]

Hi, @march52368065, there is a setting in LRC that you need to check: Go to the LRC menu and scroll down to Catalogue Settings. From there, go to the third tab and check the following box:

 This will automatically send any Keywords to that file's XMP.  To test this, after setting this checkbox. take any file and enter a keyword. Now, rightclick on the thumbnail of that file and select Show in Finder. Display that folder (of files) in Bridge. Select the file you just entered a keyword in, and then tap Command-i. you will see that keyword in the Metadata: keywords field.

Now, I do have a question for you: if you are familiar with LRC, and you're working with over 10k files, why are you then continuing with Bridge for this project? Let me state that I use Bridge daily, but for large collections, I stay in LRC (I have about 100,000 images my LRC's Catalog). There is nothing that you can do in Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw that you can't do in LRC (plus a whole lot more). Keep in mind that LRC is ACR with a database. Thus, while in LRC, you have instant access to all the files in the Catalog, and depending on how you either keyword and/or folder store, finding files is always as fast as you are.

Obviously I do not know the nature of your files, nor what you are doing with them or plan on doing with them. But for all of my images that I need short-term access and function with, I use Bridge. But for any file that I want for long-term and or subsequent processing of, I use LRC. If you have any questions, please just ask.

[march52368065]

Hi Gary.

thanks for your reply, I'll give that a go tomorrow.

So I started using lightroom after a recommendation so that I could easily search through my image archive using keywords. I've been doing this for a few years but have encountered problems along the way. The main problem is that images are not previewing properly, they just come up grey. It has gotten so bad that I've thought that Bridge might be a better solution.

couple things to note. I need to have this access to the files instantly from home as well as the studio. Files are kept on a NAS drive at the studio. The Lightroom catalogue is saved onto i-cloud drive (used to be one drive but had to many problems). 

Thanks

Marc

[gary_sc]

Ah, that could be a problem (the NAS drive). I know that Bridge is not always reliable with NAS drives, but LRC should be. Here's a blog from Terry White on how he uses them: https://terrywhite.com/how-to-store-and-backup-your-photos-like-a-pro/#::text=Using%20Lightroom%20Cl....

Meanwhile, the fact that your images are coming up grey concerns me — they should not do that. Might you have inadvertently set one of the Profile's to grayscale? In the screenshot below, you can see that the image I've clicked on is set to use the Adobe Standard Profile. To view others, click on that grid (green arrow)

 Do any of these show up in your copy?

[Lumigraphics]

No, no, no, no. Do NOT put the catalog on iCloud drive, this is not supported and WILL blow up on you. Local catalog storage only!!!!!

[march52368065]

Haha. Well it hasn't blown up on me yet, but it isn't working well and perhaps that it. I can't think of any other way of doing it so I can access it from home though. 

[gary_sc]

Hi, @march52368065, I was focused on everything else and missed your statement of wanting to keep your catalog on your iCloud drive. Like Lumigraphics said: do not do that. 

What is your goal of accessing your files at both work and at home? Just to see them? Do you plan on continuing to enhance the images? Do you wish to use the images for other projects?

Either way, I can think of two ways to achieve that, but neither is perfect, and one of these might be better for you or neither. 

#1) Before the internet, I used to lug my Fat Mac (the 512 kb Mac, circa 1986) back and forth from work to home to work to home. Later, when I got a Mac for work, I then lugged my external hard drive back and forth. Back in those days, it was not light, but this worked. Nowadays, you can get external drives that are small and weigh nothing. Consider putting your files and catalog on an external drive and carrying that back and forth with you. I STRONGLY suggest if you use this approach that you have a (at least) 2nd external drive that you back up every day (which you should be doing anyway).

#2) If you do not need EVERY file, consider putting any necessary files in a Collection and sync that to the clouds. I do that with photos that I wish to share. When you open these files in Lightroom for Web, you can still make the same adjustments, that you can do in LRC, and those adjustments will be passed on to the same files on the primary computer. However, the web version cannot export to PS for further enhancements, you cannot download the original file, and any export of a jpg will be at a smaller size than the original (2408 x 1365). (If the file came from your phone, you can export the original DNG from that image but without any enhancements you made in LRW). Yes, this is a bit complicated. FWIW, I use Collections to share my travel photos with friends, but not much else. However, my needs are much less than yours.

I'm sure there are other options out there, but at least these give you some room for thought.

I hope this provides some ideas for you. 

[march52368065]

Gary thanks so much for taking the to help with this. 

I only need to view the images but quickly. I can download any file at home from the NAS using a VPN. But sometimes I need to reference images I've done in the past to organise shoots of the same category. 

Option 2 sounds like a good idea for me. I will give it a go when I get more time.

many thanks

Marc

[Lumigraphics]

The Lightroom Queen has a bunch of info about doing this. I'd start here:

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/classic-on-vacation/