Can I Export from a previous step in History without loosing later steps in History?

[runswithsizzers]

Working with a RAW file in Lightroom Classic, I would like to go back to an earlier step in my History, make a crop, and then Export that crop. Problem is, that seems to remove all steps in my History after the selected-and-cropped history state. How do I work with a previous history state AND also keep all my edits?

thank you, -gw

[Bob Somrak]

1 Select wanted step in History

2  Create Virtual copy    VC will be selected

3 Reselect Original

4 Reselect top step in History     

5 Edit VC all you want and export

[Sean McCormack]

You can also use Snapshots to create various stages in an edit. The advantage over Virtual Copies is Snapshots are stored in XMP. Of course VC's are great to there side by side. 

[Rob_Cullen · Accepted solution]

You could select the earlier step in History and make a Virtual Copy. [Ctrl+ ' ]

Crop only the Virtual Copy.  Although the VC will not have any History whatsoever! but it achieves your goal of leaving the 'original' History complete..

[runswithsizzers]

Thanks! That works.

And thanks to Bob and Sean as well!

I don't suppose there is any way to get my History back for the 3 or 4 photos I cropped before I learned the right way to do it? I do have backups of my LR Catalog. But, 1. I have never tried to restore from a Backup and, 2. can I restore only a few selected photos or is it all or none?

[Conrad_C]

The other way to do this is to simply choose Edit > Undo twice after exporting. The first undo backs out of the Export history state, and the second undo backs out of the Crop history state, and that restores the earlier history steps.

But you have to remember to undo right after exporting so that you don’t continue editing from the Crop state, because if you do, there will be no way to go back after the Undo stack is discarded like at the end of the session. So although a virtual copy or snapshot take more steps, they are much safer, and they’re also better if you want to save your variation for later.

By the way, it isn’t the export that erases the history steps, it’s the crop. Going to an earlier History state and doing the crop is an action that must add a Crop history state at that point, and that is what wipes out all the History states that used to be there from that point forward. (That could change if Lightroom ever adds the Non-Linear History option that Photoshop has had for many years.)

[Bob Somrak]

@runswithsizzers 

Here are a couple ways to restore the edits from your Backup Catalogs

1   Open up a backup catalog and select the 4 photos and "File/Export as Catalog" only exporting those 4 photos.  Close the backup and then open the working catalog and "File/Import from another Catalog".  This will preserve your history steps.

2. Open the backup catalog and select the 4 photos and write to the XMP data.   Close and then open the working catalog and select the 4 photos and Read from the XMP data.  This will lose your History but preserve your edits

[Rob_Cullen]

Here is a blog article from the Lightroom Queen about doing a Restore of selected photos only- to expand on the reply from @Bob Somrak 

RESTORE PARTIAL from backup catalog?