enhance export dialog to improve workflow: add vitual copy instead of exported file to the catalogue

[GSpix de]

A small extension to the export dialogue could greatly simplify the entire workflow:
Instead of the exported file, it should be possible to add a new virtual copy to the catalogue and to specify the following properties of the copy in the export dialogue box
- a name for the copy
- assign a colour and/or star rating, 
- add the copy to a collection.

These three items should either be specified before each export when the template is called up, or should be carried out automatically by default.

The current export settings (date, format, size, etc.) should be stored in the metadata of the virtual copy.

This would greatly simplify recurring export tasks: Well-structured collections let me see immediately what I have sent to whom, and a glance at the folder shows me immediately which variations of an image have been exported.

Most of the exported files are shared with clients etc. and are not explicitly kept. For example, I might make ordered images available for download online for a few weeks and then move them to archive folders or share them directly via stick or file transfer. They are no longer needed in Lightroom.

[dj_paige]

A small extension to the export dialogue could greatly simplify the entire workflow:
Instead of the exported file, it should be possible to add a new virtual copy to the catalogue and to specify the following properties of the copy in the export dialogue box
- a name for the copy
- assign a colour and/or star rating,
- add the copy to a collection.

With all due respect, these three actions are not export options because they can all be done in the Library Module. I certainly object to making them the default.

[GSpix de]

Sure, they are library functions - but my thought was that if I can define these things as defaults for certain, frequently recurring export jobs, I don't have to do it individually in the library module each time.

[richardplondon]

One approach to consider may be the creating of a suitable Collection containing virtual copies, as a precursor to carrying out the export. Re-ordering the operations slightly. Your export then does not need to get involved in any non-export tasks, and can keep its conceptual clarity. 

What I have in mind is selecting the images you want; making a new Collection suitably named, with the options "add selected images" and "as virtual copies" checked - paraphrasing the names of these options. If you want to record something about the destination, specification or purpose of this export you can add that in a batch metadata update of these export-specific virtual copies (in a comments field or whatever). Then that info can show in the exported version too. Then export the contents of this Collection using the relevant export preset. 

[Conrad_C]

If what you mean is that a virtual copy is created and no actual file is created, then if Adobe did this they probably wouldn't do it in the Export dialog box. The Export dialog box is currently designed to create actual copies that can be seen on the desktop and in other applications.

If you mean you want to export a file copy and also create a virtual copy, that’s a little unusual; I don’t think anything like that exists in other photo software.

richardplondon’s idea might be a better approach: Create virtual copies first, apply the metadata to them, and let those auto-organize your exports. Apply that metadata in the Library module, then build Smart Collections that auto-collect the images needed for each job based on the metadata (client, label, rating…), and then all you have to do at export time is select a collection, select everything in it, and then export from those collections.

Note that virtual copies have a metadata field called Copy Name. You might want to take advantage of that to help distinguish which client or job the virtual copy is for. And, when you create a Smart Collection, Copy Name is metadata you can filter on to help auto-organize your export jobs.

It’s understood that these exports are not kept. That’s common. The export presets I set up for those images send them to a subfolder of a parent folder that’s only used for export for delivery to clients, so once in a while I can simply throw out all of the folders in there. It’s also possible to use separate background software that automatically empties that folder at intervals (e.g. every week).

I do see a precedent in Lightroom Classic similar to your request: Proof copies. This is a type of virtual copy where output-specific settings such as output profile and rendering intent are stored in a virtual copy; in other words, proof copies are designed to let you store multiple print scenarios per image, similar to how you want to store multiple export scenarios per image. So Adobe has already valued this type of virtual copy, for print. Maybe you could convince Adobe to extend proof copies to include the types of non-print output-specific data you want to store.

The next step would be for you to submit this type of request to the actual feature request area (Ideas) in this community, or maybe a moderator will move it there. (This thread is currently in a discussion/problem solving section, not a feature request section.) Be aware that your request will be competing with hundreds of others, and also competing with Adobe product development priorities for development time. A lot depends on whether a large number of other users need the same thing. If you can make a good case and maybe gather more upvotes than other top requests (which have hundreds of votes), maybe this request will happen.

In the meantime, maybe some of the ideas above can help you achieve much of your goal with existing features, such as combining metadata, Smart Collections, and export presets in the workflow.

[richardplondon]

On the subject of output specific virtual copies (as with proofing): I have for some time pondered how to manage multiple crops / aspects for output from the same image. Two means suggest themselves, one more straightforward than the other. One way is to differently crop different virtual copies - but if the only reason for making these was so that the output aspect ratio could vary, that seems overkill IMO not least because it multiplies the versions that would need to receive any further editing of other sorts. So making VCs for such purposes may be a double-edged sword for the user. So, one high-tech resolution could be some concept of multiple selectable crops per image, and then that would need an interface and management and would certainly add complexity.

All this arises from different crops being needed when the output aspect ratio must vary. A slight increase of sophistication in the Export settings could resolve that far mmore simply and IMO elegantly. The precedent being how images fit into their cells in the Print module. If Export could do "Zoom to Fill" as well as "Zoom to Fit", one could impose an aspect ratio of one's choice and the image would self-crop to that on the fly. If Export could also impose a Fit shape to which the image was padded (choice of background colour) that would help too. Effectively the single live working image gains some more output processing possibilities, and at a stroke all that extra function which the Catalog would have required, simply goes away.

So, what similarly lean new function might help the OP? Just riffing here - but what if the History step that is made when an Export is carried out, and also the metadata of the output file, could show a matching export ID reference? Then what if it was possible to later scan the Catalog for a chosen export ID, and create a (disposable) Collection that includes (disposable) new VCs, each reflecting the relevant History step of a relevant image? Or, if it was faster, do basically the same thing using Snapshots (though Snapshots would also need to identify which particular Master or VC was involved, since each is held in common across all instances of an image).

[Justin Hoch]

Check out the plugin Snapshot on Export by Jeffrey Friedl: https://regex.info/blog/lightroom-goodies/snapshot-on-export

It can't make a virtual copy, but you might find some of the options useful. I started using it so I could automatically add a color label and do some other things to keep a record of when I exported files, as Lightroom Classic didn't have the Exported Files metadata filter until very recently. It should be helpful in lieu of Lightroom supporting the functionality natively, which I agree would be preferable. I really like the plugin, though.