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6

P: loses connection with files after folder is renamed

LEGEND ,
Apr 05, 2021 Apr 05, 2021

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I've been using Lightroom for many years, and I've never experienced this problem until the last two updates to the application.

When I upload photos to Lightroom, the app creates a folder that is by default named with the date, in this format: 20210403.

I usually rename the folder, in Lightroom, with something more descriptive, just after the upload is complete. For example, 20210403_family-gathering.

Starting with the previous version of Lightroom, after I perform this action, Lightroom loses the connection with the files in the newly renamed folder. A question mark appears on the folder in the Navigation panel, and in Loupe view, every photo now displays a small exclamation mark in its upper right corner.

When I click on an exclamation mark, a dialog box appears, like the first one of three that I've uploaded.

1Lightroom_missingphoto-ccc406f0-67d4-4b3d-bff7-05c1c0834148-835634586.png1Lightroom_missingphoto-ccc406f0-67d4-4b3d-bff7-05c1c0834148-835634586.png
When I click on "Locate," another dialog box appears. For example:
2Lightroom_missingphoto_select-94760d8f-1b85-462b-b489-24b48e58a8c8-1771050602.png2Lightroom_missingphoto_select-94760d8f-1b85-462b-b489-24b48e58a8c8-1771050602.png
The first file, which is highlighted, is the one that is missing (although at this point, Lightroom has lost track of all of the files in the renamed folder). When I click the "Select" button, this dialog box appears:
3Lightroom_missingphoto_alread-79fdfacb-e016-4610-aaba-6f295e7d4035-643118839.png3Lightroom_missingphoto_alread-79fdfacb-e016-4610-aaba-6f295e7d4035-643118839.png
Lightroom is obviously confused, and the only way around this, in the current version of Lightroom, is to quit the application and re-launch Lightroom. After I relaunch Lightroom, it re-finds the files and the exclamation marks are gone. When I quit Lightroom after renaming the folder from the most recent upload, I back up the catalog. I don't know if this is necessary, but I back up the catalog whenever I quit Lightroom.
 
This is a bug, which never existed for me, until the last two updates of the app.
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correct answers 2 Correct answers

Adobe Employee , Oct 26, 2021 Oct 26, 2021

Greetings,

 

The Max 2021 Photography products updates have been released and include remedies for this topic.  The updates will be rolling out worldwide, October 26 and 27, 2021. If you do not see the updates in your Creative Cloud Desktop app, you can refresh the apps to see if the updates are available in your region.  The keyboard shortcut to refresh is [Cmd/Ctrl] + [Opt/Alt] + [ R ]. 

 

Note: iOS and Android updates may take up to a week to appear in your App Store.

 

Thank you for your pat

...
Status Fixed

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Adobe Employee , Jun 13, 2021 Jun 13, 2021

I am moving this back to in-progress and have advised the team the fix did not work for everyone. 

The Classic Team has requested a new bug which we have written. Some of them may reach out to you for additional information.

Thanks for continuing to update us. 

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137 Comments
Engaged ,
Apr 04, 2021 Apr 04, 2021

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Hello,

I always import photos into a yyyy/mm/dd based folder structure, and then rename the day-based folder to be a little more descriptive -- for example, "2021/04/04 Beach", or something.

New in version 10.2, the renamed folder and the photos within it go "missing" (dark grey icon with question mark on the folder) when I do that. I need to navigate to a different folder and then return to the folder I just renamed and then it will recover -- at least most of the time.

The photos inside the folder do remain marked as "missing" even after that though. When I quit and restart Lightroom Classic, everything is instantly back "online".

Is anyone else experiencing this problem?

System: iMac with MacOS 10.15, catalog lives on the internal SSD, photos are on an external USB3.0 hard drive. Catalog has just been checked for integrity and optimized.

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Participant ,
Apr 05, 2021 Apr 05, 2021

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This can happen if the catalog already contains files with the same names. The folder name does not provide uniqueness in this case. However if you first copy the files into a folder within your image structure and then import from that folder, it usually works. But if importing from a camera or memory card then it looks for absolute file name uniqueness. At least on Windows, it has always worked this way for me.

 

The technique I use is to rename files after importing to something meaningful such as Fall_Color_CO_yyyy_mm_nnnn. Then the camera generated names import without issues.

  

  

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LEGEND ,
Apr 05, 2021 Apr 05, 2021

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Are you renaming the folder in the Finder, or LR? If the Finder you can't expect LR to know about it, that's why they are lost. You HAVE to do everything inside LR after an import. BTW, it NEVER creates a folder for me, because I create all the folders first (or if I need a new one, right before the import), then select that location to import to (i.e., BotGarden21) and choose to add the next number in that series (so I check the last number that's in that folder, and pick one higher for the new import). Also, ALWAYS rename your files during importing, so you don't get the issue Bill is talking about. Your camera, after 99,999 in some cameras, will revert to 01, and that will conflict with the previous 01.

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LEGEND ,
Apr 06, 2021 Apr 06, 2021

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I always rename the folder in LR, and I always rename files during import into LR. I have been doing this since LR v3, and have never had a problem in the past. There are no files already in the catalog with the same names as the ones I've just imported.

The current LR behavior I've described in my original post is a bug.

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Adobe Employee ,
Apr 06, 2021 Apr 06, 2021

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Are you renaming the folder before the import is complete?

Rikk Flohr - Customer Advocacy: Adobe Photography Products

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LEGEND ,
Apr 06, 2021 Apr 06, 2021

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Never. As I stated in my original post:

"I usually rename the folder with something more descriptive, just after the upload is complete. For example, 20210403_family-gathering."

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Adobe Employee ,
Apr 06, 2021 Apr 06, 2021

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I am not able to replicate your issue. 

Information about your system might be helpful

Mac or Windows?

OS version?

Location of Catalog?

Location of folder where files reside?

As the Lightroom Classic Import dialog will allow you to custom name a folder for the import, I have to ask if you have a reason for bypassing this and doing an after the fact rename. 

Rikk Flohr - Customer Advocacy: Adobe Photography Products

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LEGEND ,
Apr 06, 2021 Apr 06, 2021

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Mac OS 10.14.6

I use a 2018 MacBook Pro, plus two external hard drives. One of the drives contains the Lightroom catalog. The other drive contains my "photo library" — all of the image files I've imported into Lightroom.

As for why I rename a folder after importing, the simple reason is that's the way I've always done it. Sometimes I don't decide on a custom name until after I've browsed through the images. Would it be possible for me to choose a custom folder name prior to importing the files? Yes, but why should I have to?

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Adobe Employee ,
Apr 06, 2021 Apr 06, 2021

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Without additional information regarding step-by-step instructions for reproducing, I am not able to replicate the behavior and, by extension, unable to identify this as a bug. 

I would recommend your resetting your preference file to see if some cruft has accumulated on your local machine and is causing this behavior. 

Reset Procedure:

1. Close Lightroom.

2. Hold down [Alt/Opt]+[Shift] while restarting Lightroom.

3. Overwrite the Preferences when prompted by the dialog.

4. Close Lightroom.

5. Restart Lightroom.

Rikk Flohr - Customer Advocacy: Adobe Photography Products

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LEGEND ,
Apr 06, 2021 Apr 06, 2021

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LEGEND ,
Apr 07, 2021 Apr 07, 2021

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I followed your reset procedure, and the problem I originally described persists. As Alexander noted, if I navigate away from the renamed, problem folder by clicking on another, previously imported folder, and then return to the renamed folder, the question mark disappears and it appears that Lightroom has "found" the renamed folder. But each and every file in the renamed folder still displays an exclamation mark, and if I attempt to edit any of them, in Develop mode, the Histogram panel reports that the photo is missing. If I quit Lightroom and relaunch, all of the missing photos in the renamed folder are now found. None of them display exclamation marks, and I can edit them in Develop mode, as usual.

You may not be able to identify this as a bug, but as far as I'm concerned it's a bug.

My current workaround is to edit any newly imported photos before renaming the folder, and then rename the folder just before I quit Lightroom.  

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Participant ,
Apr 07, 2021 Apr 07, 2021

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While much less frequent today, Lightroom has historically "lost" files and folders that were rediscovered with a restart. On Windows I've not had this happen on any V10 release.

So they have been steadily fixing it.

 

You are probably right that it's a bug.

  

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Adobe Employee ,
Apr 07, 2021 Apr 07, 2021

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I have attempted this 3 more times on Mac 10.15.7 and LrC 10.2. It performed as expected each time. 

I tried Copy and Copy as DNG and both worked with no issues. 

Perhaps more detailed step-by-step instructions are necessary since I cannot duplicate the issue?

Rikk Flohr - Customer Advocacy: Adobe Photography Products

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LEGEND ,
Apr 07, 2021 Apr 07, 2021

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Here are the steps I currently follow to import image files from a camera memory card (Sandisk SDXC - 64GB).

  1. Launch Lightroom 10.2 Release, Build [202103041821-226a1211]
  2. Remove card from camera and insert into IOGEAR SD card reader USB stick.
  3. Insert IOGEAR SD card reader USB stick into an Anker USB hub, which is connected to a CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 Dock, which is connected to a Thunderbolt 3 port on my 2018 MacBook Pro, running Mac OS 10.14.6. 
  4. Lightroom recognizes the memory card and automatically opens an import window. I have "Copy as DNG" selected as my default.
  5. Rename the files, choosing "Custom Name - Original File Number" from the Template drop-down menu. ("Extensions:" Leave as is)
  6. Add keywords.
  7. In the Destination panel, "Into Subfolder" is not checked. In the Organize drop-down menu, "By date" is selected. The Date Format is 20210407.
  8. Image files are imported into my "Photo Library" external drive, and folders are organized chronologically by Year>Month>Day. So, for example, the 2020 folder contains 12 "month" folders, from January through December, and each month's folder contains individual folders for each date that corresponds to a photo shoot.
  9. After the image files are fully imported, I usually browse through the images in the folder before renaming it to something more descriptive, although if time is short, I rename the folder just after import, and I always rename it in Lightroom, never in the Mac Finder.
  10. If circumstances require it, I'll edit photos in this session. Otherwise I may just cull and rate photos to prepare for a future post-processing session.

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Adobe Employee ,
Apr 08, 2021 Apr 08, 2021

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I've followed these instructions as precisely as possible and still get the same result. Folder is intact, images are intact, nothing needs to be repointed/found/located.

In your step 8 - if you substitute your local drive for the external drive does the issue happen there also?

Rikk Flohr - Customer Advocacy: Adobe Photography Products

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LEGEND ,
Apr 08, 2021 Apr 08, 2021

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I just imported 10 image files to a folder on my computer's internal, SSD drive. After the import was complete, I renamed the folder, in Lightroom, and the image files did not go missing. The issue I originally described did not manifest.

However, this is not my standard workflow, and I will not be importing images to my laptop's internal drive, renaming the folder, and then dragging it to my preferred location on my external drive, just so that I can avoid this annoying issue.

Prior to the last two releases of Lightroom, I have always been able to follow the steps I listed, above, without issue. Again, as far as I'm concerned, this issue is a bug.

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Adobe Employee ,
Apr 09, 2021 Apr 09, 2021

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At this point, I've checked multiple times on a single 10.15.7 machine. I've also checked an M1 with Big Sur and a Windows 10 machine. I cannot reproduce this on any of the machines. 

Given the test you just ran for me, I would start checking settings for your EHD in Mac OS.

Other things to try: 


  • Are you plugged into power or on battery when this happens? 
  • Is the drive set to sleep?
  • Have you tried using a different EHD?

At this point, there are no other reports of this behavior that I've seen and I cannot reproduce. That leads me to believe it is system-specific to your machine. 

You might try a clean reinstall to see if your system was in a bad state when you did the previous update.

Clean Lightroom Install Procedure

  1. Close Lightroom
  2. Restart the computer
  3. Use the Adobe Creative Cloud App to uninstall Lightroom
  4. Restart the computer
  5. Install Lightroom via the Creative Cloud App without launching any other programs.
  6. Restart the computer
  7. Launch Lightroom
  8. Wait 5 minutes

Rikk Flohr - Customer Advocacy: Adobe Photography Products

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Community Beginner ,
Apr 09, 2021 Apr 09, 2021

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I have a similar problem.  I am on a iMac 10.14 with the photos on a NAS.  The NAS turns off at night and starts back in the morning.  I am using LrC 10.2.  I did not install the earlier version of Lr 10. The folder I have selected at night, before the NAS goes off, shows the photos and works normally.  In the morning, after the NAS is reconnected, all the folders show connected in the folders panel.  The same folder that was selected at night is still selected and either in grid or loupe view, but the photos have the missing flag.  Here is the strange thing - only the raw files(NEF) are missing, photoshop files are found.  All the other folders are fine.  I can select any of them and none are missing.  If I go back to the original selected file it is still missing.  Quitting Lr and a restart fixes the problem.

Disconnecting the NAS shows all the folders missing.  Reconnect and all the folders show connected.  The parent  and 3 subfolders(one subfolder was the one that shows missing in the morning) show connected but now two of the subfolders show missing raw files.  PSD files are not missing but all NEF files are. This only started with LrC ver 10.

David

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LEGEND ,
Apr 09, 2021 Apr 09, 2021

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  • My laptop is always plugged into power when I'm using Lightroom.
  • In my Energy Saver preferences, the "Put hard disks to sleep when possible" option is unchecked.
  • I don't have a different EHD.

There is at least one other report (which was merged into this conversation) at the top of this conversation, in which another Lightroom user, Alexander, claims to have what sounds like a nearly identical issue. And a new post from David, below, describes a similar problem.

I will consider a clean install of Lightroom, when I have the time.

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LEGEND ,
Apr 09, 2021 Apr 09, 2021

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Don't enable a "Power Schedule" in your Synology Control Panel/Hardware & Power/Power Schedule. This way it won't turn off ever.

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Participant ,
Apr 09, 2021 Apr 09, 2021

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  • In my Energy Saver preferences, the "Put hard disks to sleep when possible" option is unchecked.

For some hard drives, this is built into the drive and they will go to sleep independent of commands from the OS. Drove me nuts until I discovered what was going on. You'll need to research the specific brand/model. For the drives that are doing that on my system, this feature cannot be disabled. 

  

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Participant ,
Apr 09, 2021 Apr 09, 2021

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Carlos, if drives have sleep enabled in the drive, it cannot be disabled. It's hardware. Drove me nuts until I figured out what was going on. I wouldn't think that NAS drives are built this way but it is common for normal desktop drives. Some people try to save money by using desktop drives in their NAS, perhaps that's not a good idea?

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LEGEND ,
Apr 12, 2021 Apr 12, 2021

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I am having this exact same problem.  I'm on a Macbook Pro, running Catalina version 10.15.7.  Photos are on an EHD.

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Community Beginner ,
Apr 12, 2021 Apr 12, 2021

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A little more information.  LrC finds jpeg's and psd's, just can't find the raw files(NEF).  Only with the current folder that was selected before the power went off the previous day.  Quitting and a restart of LrC fixes the problem.  I think this is a bug that was introduced in V10, before that it did not occur.

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Engaged ,
Apr 12, 2021 Apr 12, 2021

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For me it's only like that since v10.2.

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