Count miss-match between 'Import' folder and images in LR catalog

[buckshot1960]

I have been struggling with this pretty much all day. I have a LR catalog that seems to be missing content that is in it's 'Import' folder. I am on a Mac and using LR Classic 14.5.1 Build [202508231203-c2638d01].

In the library module,
  - the Catalog 'All Photographs' count is 1091.
  - the Folders 'Import' count is 1091.

So far, so good. But I noticed that in the 'Import' folder there are 1354 images/files.

Not sure how to get the two to match.

I have tried to 'Synchronize' the folder and in the pop-up dialog box it says that it will import 252 files. I realized that doing so will bring the count in the Lightroom Catalog 'All Photographs' count to 1343 (the original 1091 + the new 252).Not exactly the 1354 that are in the 'Import' folder, but I would be happy to get those numbers so close.

When I clicked on the 'Synchronize' button at the botom of the 'Synchronize Folder "import" dialog box, I get a message pop-up that states, "No photos or videos were found to import".

Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated because I am baffled why it won't sync those 252 orphaned images.

Screenprints can be found here:
https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-7prjsH

Mac OS plaform:

Apple M1 Macbook Pro / Sequoia 15.71.1

[Califdan2]

I see that you have only one folder known to LrC and you have named it "Import" and it currently contains all the images known to LrC (1091).  But, Finder tells you that this folder actually contains 1354 FILES but "synchronizing" the "import" folder does not result in any new images being imported.   I can see two potential causes

1)  Some of the files in the "Import" folder are not images (or at least not image file types that LrC can deal with).  For example PDF, Txt,  or others.  It is also possible that your LrC catalog is in that folder (you didn't mention where it is located and with so few images I assume you are somewhat new to LrC and may have inadvertantly mixed your images into the folder where the catalog is.

2)  Some of the files in the "Import" folder may be duplicates of images already in the catalog, but with different file names.

[richardplondon]

Another possibility: sometimes there may be accompanying files containing metadata. For example, "xmp" files written by Lightroom or by Adobe Camera Raw when a Raw file is edited and the edits are saved out to a physical file (in addition to those edits being remembered by the Catalog itself, in the case of LrClassic).

Another aspect: sometimes a single camera exposure produces both Raw+JPG files - with matching names. When imported to the Catalog, unless LrC is set to treat these as two separate images it will treat the pairing as one thing (a "Raw+JPG") and acts the same as if there had only been a Raw file. But when the file browser looks in that folder, its count of physical files will include both members of this Raw+JPG pairing.

An "image" and a "file" are not the same thing, in other words, so the numbers may indeed not match up.

Working In the other direction, you can have multiple virtual copies (different editing treatments) inside the Catalog, all appearing within the overall count of images there, that refer to - share the use of - the same single physical file as seen in the file system. 

Finally, sometimes there is an image in the file system that we intentionally do not want to manage within the Catalog, but also do not want to delete altogether from disk.

[buckshot1960]

Sorry for the multiple replies. Want to add as much info as possible, but can you please further explain "sometimes there is an image in the file system that we intentionally do not want to manage within the Catalog, but also do not want to delete altogether from disk." Not sure I've experienced this before as I always use 'move' option when importing from a folder rather than an SD card and I've never seen LrC leave any orphans behind. I've been a LrC user for more than 10 years and what I am facing now is very unexpected as I have never experienced this ever before.

[richardplondon]

To restate that: inclusion of any given image file into the Catalog is optional. Like any library, it benefits by being selective. Certain classes of image file: derived exports, rejected images, the contributor images to a HDR merge etc may not be retained as visible inside LrC and that is perfectly OK. 

If the count of images (or, better, image versions) seen within the Catalog and associated with a certain folder, does not match the count of actual files within that folder - larger, or smaller, that may be entirely normal.

[buckshot1960]

RE: 2)  Some of the files in the "Import" folder may be duplicates of images already in the catalog, but with different file names.

I think this may be the case. Other than the actual filename itself, how does LrC determine that a file is in fact a duplicate. I've been under the assumption that the same image with a different filename is not treated as a duplicate in LrC. Metadata? Is there a way to turn this off?

I have also tried to toggle the 'Don't import suspected duplicate' to off and still LrC will not import those (presumably) duplicate images.

[buckshot1960]

Forgot to add that ALL images in the folder I was importing from are indeed images-- all JPGs.

[dj_paige]

When you synchronize a folder and the message appears "No photos or videos were found to import" (in addition to the possibility that the files are not image files) because the files have already been imported into LrC. They are just not in the folder you expect them to be in. Why? Because you accidentally imported the folders using COPY instead of ADD, so LrC only knows about the copy in a folder that you might not be aware of, not the original photo in the folder you are aware of.

To find out if this is happening search for one of the allegedly non-importable photos. You need to find these photos in Lightroom Classic. Please follow all four of these steps in the Lightroom Classic Library Module, in order.

1. Click on All Photographs (its on the left under Catalog)
2. Turn off all filters (Ctrl-L once or twice)
3. Expand All Stacks (Photo->Stacking->Expand All Stacks)
4. In the Filter Bar, search for a photo by File name

Let us know if the search finds the photo.

[buckshot1960]

I don't think that's the case. In one of the tests, I had placed all 1354 images into a new folder and imported (move) those files into a new (empty) catalog only to come up with the same 1091 images.

[dj_paige]

This happens because the files that were not imported are already in your catalog. You have to search for them as I explained above, because in LrC the folder name is something different than you see in Windows Explorer or Mac Finder. Nothing you have done so far proves that the 1354 minus 1091 files are not in the catalog, and LrC will not import or synchronize files that are in the catalog; all the evidence you are giving indicates the files are indeed somewhere in your catalog, and you have to search for them.

[richardplondon]

Just for completeness: there are cases where a given file may be simply un-importable.

For instance: a very large pano merge which exceeds the maximum pixel dimensions that LrC allows. Or a malformed or otherwise unsupported specification of image file (that usually arises with Raw, not JPG) which LrC knows it will not be able to interpret.  So it just skips that.

[dj_paige]

Adding to my previous post above — the Lightroom Classic software does NOT have to show the same number of files in a folder that your oiperating system shows. Even if the photos in the folder as seen from your operating system are ALL actual photographs that LrC can interpret, the number in LrC does not have to match the number in your operating system. Matching numbers of photos in a folder is not a feature that was designed into LrC.

[buckshot1960 · Accepted solution]

*** UPDATE *** - ISSUE FIXED

Based on the feedback I received here, spent about 1/2 day analyzing the issue, I discovered through some shell scripts I wrote delving into SQLite that I was able to identify the majority of the missing files were due to identical EXIF tag 'DateTimeOriginal'. I moved those files to a different folder; changed the value of the tag and LrC was able to import the missing files. Later I discovered that most, but not all were indeed duplicates. I had to goback and clean up the catalog (delete imported duplicates) and I am happy to report that I am now at a state where I am 99% sure that I am not missing any files on this catalog. 

Thanks, EVERYONE, for al the help and suggestions.