Filter or Sort Images by File Size

[AndyR00]

Hi

I have just imported 11,000 scans (which are all either .jpg, .png or .pdf files) of old photographic images into Lightroom Classic on my Mac.

I want to be able to filter / sort / create a collection based on file sizes (e.g. restrict it just to high res images). For example select only those which are >1MB in size. Or in some way to only select those which are in effect of a decent resoultion. It seems that there is no filter by size option in Lightroom but is there another way to do this or via another Adobe product. I guess I could select the files by size from outside Lightroom and then reimport but seems a little crazy to do that.

Any ideas?

Best

Andy

[TheDigitalDog]

You can make Smart Collections but they are based on megapixels so it's not going to be as 'accurate' as having the ability to do so per size in MB etc. Better than nothing. 

The issue with size in MB etc is that it doesn't tell you that much about the image. For example, if you have 1000x1000 pixels, it's twice the size on your drive in 16-bit vs. 8-bit per color. Hence LR works with pixels which do tell you more about the real size of images. 

[AndyR00]

This is helpful. I basically want to just filter down to decent resolution images which for example could be used as a hero image on a website not for printing for example of something 40"x30". Any suggestions?

Best

Andy

[TheDigitalDog]

40x30 is meaningless. 40 at how many pixels per inch? LR works with pixels. 40x100PPI is vastly different than 40X300PPI. Figure out the number of pixels, then you can filter that way with a Smart Collection. 

[Sally.Wright]

no need to call this person's comment meaningless.  I have the same question - I want to filter for images of high resolution.  It's not a bad thing to write in shorthand "print at 40 inches" since of course I want to print at better than 100 dpi. Yes, when I filter I will have to pick a number of pixels (not inches), but we can discuss in terms of inches if we want

[TheDigitalDog]

no need to call this person's comment meaningless. 

By @Sally.Wright

But it is. If you ask me how far I live from Los Angeles and I wrote "1000," it is meaningless. Is that miles, Kilometers, or meters? Without a scale, 40x30 is meaningless. 40 at how many pixels per inch? Or CM per inch, or for a billboard, feet per inch. Now 40x30 HAS a meaning. 40x100PPI is vastly different than 40X300PPI.

This very, very old primer on resolution still seems necessary to post, this may help some in understanding what the request clearly doesn't:
http://digitaldog.net/files/Resolution.pdf

[johnrellis]

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"some way to only select those which are in effect of a decent resoultion."

As Thedigitaldog mentioned, the best way to do this is to use a smart collection that searches on megapixels, e.g.

(Megapixels = width in pixels x height in pixels / 1,000,000.)

If you really want to filter or sort by the file size in bytes, you'd need the Any Filter plugin, e.g.

[Use the reply button under the first post to ensure replies sort properly.]

[imontv08]

I'm pretty surprised that basic functionality like "Sort by File Size" and "Filter by File Size" (in Smart Collections) is still not available in Lightroom Classic. This needs to be fixed.

[dj_paige]

I'm pretty surprised that basic functionality like "Sort by File Size" and "Filter by File Size" (in Smart Collections) is still not available in Lightroom Classic. This needs to be fixed.

By @imontv08

I'm in favor of not fixing this. I don't see how file size has any meaning here, it certainly does not tell you anything about quality. Better, sort or filter by image size (not file size) would be useful, that tells you about the image resolution, and you can filter by image size using Smart Collections.

[imontv08]

I don't get it. Why are you against adding a feature others may need? Adding it wouldn't hurt you in any way. You don't have to use it.

If I want to sort/filter by file size it's certainly not about quality but more about tasks like freeing disk space.

[alexandre-daltro]

From what I have searched, it can be done only with this plugin: https://johnrellis.com/lightroom/anyfilter.htm

[imontv08]

Thanks, but as much as I appreciate the efforts by third parties, as a paying Lightroom subscriber I expect such really basic functionality to be included in the main software.

[alexandre-daltro]

I agree! But anyways you can use the 30 day trial for now.
I did it only to find the biggest files I have right now and free up space.

I hope adobe takes care of this! Such a simple addition.

[davids84228917]

Yes. There is a way, though not as inuitive and immediate as in Adobe Bridge as an example. Essentially you should select all the photos you wish to sort through (it may well be everything), then create a Smart Collection based on Match "all of the following rules": width/height "is less/more than":

A Smart Selection is then made based on any set dimension.

[alexandre-daltro]

David, actually they mean Filesize, like Mega Bytes. Not image size (Dimensions in pixels).