P: Export with 'Add to Catalog option' duplicates images in catalog

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

my new Lightroom Classic does not work classic while exporting:
In the export process (of course with the option "Add to this catalog")
the exported files do not appear until the "work bar" has already disappeared long ago. So very, very slowly and sometimes not completely.
If I redo the export process (with the identical settings) and the confirmed request to overwrite existing data, LR creates duplicates in the export folder. This is obviously a database error, because in the folder the exported data exist physically only once ...

Have I described this complicated enough? :-))

And yes, I have tried it with my existing (for LR Classic updated) catalog, as well as with a freshly produced new catalog. Always the same mistake.

Thanks for any Help, Kai

[SatishT]

Hi Herb,

Would it be possible for you to share a screen recording for your workflow? This would help us to reproduce and debug this issue 🙂

Thanks
Satish

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

sorry, i don ́t know how to record a screencast 😞

But one more little thing:
I have this issue with lightroom classic on my Windows 10 machine.
But I just reproduced this bug on my brandnew macbook pro.

[SatishT]

You can follow https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/how-record-screen-on-your-mac-3527168/ to do a screen recording with quicktime player on mac.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

OK, here i ́ve recorded a little screencast to demonstrage my problem:

https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/f8912c5c-7fa5-4fa3-6be0-8f0b6f02f379

[ericw92588751]

I can confirm this bug in the most recent LR CC Classic

I have the "Ask what to do" option set in my Export profile for existing file.

(1) export an image
(2) re-export the same image
      A dialogue appears asking to Overwrite/Skip/Unique Name
(3) Select Overwrite

Result:
  Single file exists on the filesystem - however two images are shown by LR in the catalogue view.

If I delete (from LR) one of the copies, both disappear.
Note it is not necessary to modify the file before re-exporting.

[SatishT]

Herb,
Thanks for sharing the recording, the issue is clear now. I will be logging a bug for this to be addressed in the future release.

[TAlexanderPhoto]

Last post for the night. I am having an issue with the export function since I upgraded to Classic. When I export an image into a jpg for use on the web, it works fine unless I am doing a re-edit and overwrte of an existing file. I end up with two exact images in the folder I am exporting to, with exactly the same file name - there is no added number indicating one may be a duplicate. If I try to delete one of the images, they both delete. I am exporting to a dropbox folder. Classic is running on a Macbook Pro. I used the same process with the previous version of Lightroom and this problem never occured.

[Samoreen]

Hi,

The problem is easy to reproduce :

- Export any RAW to a JPEG file into the same folder as the RAW file. Make sure the "Add to this catalog" option is checked.
- Export again "... with Previous".
- Chose the Overwrite option.

The previous JPEG is overwritten but you get 2 JPEG thumbnails with the same name. Sometimes, the RAW thumbnail may also be doubled.

If you remove one of the JPEG thumbnail from the catalog, both thumbnails are removed.

I can't imagine it's a feature.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I'm wondering if the behavior I'm seeing, which has some similarities, could be the same bug.  My situation only happens when exporting a jpg file to a new jpg file. 

Lets say I have a parent folder and then a subfolder called "Imports". If there is a jpg in "Imports" and I make adjustments and then export as a jpg into the parent folder, Lightroom correctly creates an adjusted jpg in the parent folder as confirmed using Windows File Explorer.  

However, in Library mode it shows the new jpg alongside the original jpg in the "Imports" folder when I'm in Loupe or Grid view. Library mode does not show the new photo in the parent folder (an yes, I select "add to catalog" in the exports dialogue box).  An example: if I start with 5 jpg photos in the parent folder and 1 in the subfolder, then export the photo in the subfolder to the parent folder, Explorer will show 6 photos in the parent and 1 in the subfolder.  Inside LR, Library mode shows 5 in the parent and 2 in the subfolder.

Still weirder, if I try to synchronize folders, it adds yet another thumbnail to the subfolder and nothing new to the parent.  Synchronize again and yet another thumbnail shows in subfolder and nothing new in parent. Finally, if I delete the subfolder in Explorer, Library then correctly shows it as "missing". I can click "remove" and then synchronize the parent folder and the new photo finally shows up.

[lbphoto_pdx]

I've noticed a new phenomena in Lightroom CC Classic (7.0) where when you export a TIF into a folder and then try to overwrite that TIF with a new version, it keeps both versions in the Lightroom, but only one version in finder. The file is shown twice, not as a virtual copy, but as a double. Here's a screen shot. 

[ericw92588751]

Possible work-around:

Do not enable "Add to Catalog" when exporting

After exporting, try Syncing the folder option for the containing folder. I am still experimenting, but this seems to avoid creating multiple entries in the database.

[Arizona Bev]

Lightroom Classic version: 7.0.1 is duplicating the thumbnails of exported photos when I choose to overwrite the existing version.  The filmstrip (in both Library and Develop module) and grid view (in Library module) show the duplicates with the same file name.  

When I view the folder using Windows Explorer, there's only one file (no duplicates).

Lightroom creates a duplicate thumbnail each time I choose to overwrite the existing file on export.

[Stillwater Frank]

I consistently have the same problem, with LR CC Classic constantly duplicating (in the LR catalog and shown on the Grid view) photos I export, whether they are jpg, tiff, or dng files.  They are not in actuality duplicated on the drive, because Windows (10) Explorer does not show them there.  It is a real hassle trying to keep his straightened out in LR CC-Classic with having to manually remove them from the LR catalog and then re-add (import) them from the hard drive.  I hope that Adobe developers get this taken care of and issues a fixed update quickly.

[TangCanada]

Why is there even an option to add to this catalog when exporting?
Pardon my stupidity, but its already in the catalog and being exported, what reason could there be to add it back to the catalog, i always saw the option but never used it simply because it seemed like some dumb azz merry go round just from the name alone.

[johnrellis]

I use Add To This Catalog two ways:

- I manage tens of thousands of scans.  I scan in TIFF, do sometimes extensive editing, convert to high-quality JPEG by exporting with Add To This Catalog, and then delete the TIFFs to save space.

- Sometimes I want to run a Photoshop droplet over a batch of scanned TIFFs. It's most convenient and reliable to do it by exporting, using the droplet as a post-processing action, and then adding the result to the catalog stacked above the original.

[TAlexanderPhoto]

I shoot and process my images in raw format and save the work with the raw settings as a digital negative. That way I can always go back to the original. Then I export a reduced size jpg of the image for use in website and social media activity, or for use in file submissions where there are strict file size limitations - trying to load a 20+ meg image file to a website is a waste of bandwidth so the smaller image works fine. By adding it back to the catalog I can quickly do the uploads to my website using the publishing function of Lightroom. Hope this helps.

[TangCanada]

I see... however for me I prefer to have my site as a complete entity in one folder and upload using FTP... this way I can pick it up and copy to a portable drive and not have to bother about images being spread all over.

[TAlexanderPhoto]

I export the images into one specific folder for my website so it does remain organized. I just find the LR publisher module more convenient to use than an ftp to upload files. - one less computer program to deal with.