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christineh55539920
Participant
March 17, 2022
Answered

Folder Structure isn't the same after import

  • March 17, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 3127 views

At the start of 2022, I created a new LR catalog. Prior to opening LR and importing my photos, I create a folder where I want the images to go.  I put everything in my Pictures folder, then a Lightroom folder, then "Clients 2021", "Name of Client," etc.  But since I created this new 2022 catalog, that folder structure doesn't show up on the left side of the screen.  Even though I import to the named folders I created, LR makes a new folder and puts my images there according to date only.  But all the folders say "2022" and then the subfolders have the month and day.  But each new import gets a new "2022" folder.  I've had to manually change the names of some of these folders as you can see, but I shouldn't have to do this.  I'm not sure what changed with the new catalog but something is off.  It's odd that the folder structure I created shows up on the right side of the screen when I import my images (and I assign them to the folder I've created) but not after they are imported.  I'm attaching two screenshots so you can see how this looks.  Any advice?  Would this have anythign to do with the location of the 2022 LR catalog?  This new catalog is still in the "Pictures" then "Lightroom" folder.  When I look at where my photos are outside of LR, they are in the folders that I created and imported them too.  But why can't I see these in LR?  Thank you!

Correct answer Jim Wilde

Jim and Richard,

Thank you for your replies.  And sorry for my delayed response.  I hadn't had the chance to explore this earlier in the week.  Yes, setting "into one folder" seems to be it.  I wonder if this had always been the default setting in the previous years and catalogs I have used Lightroom.  Because it wasn't with this new catalog.  

 

But now I am stuck.  I have been reorganizing my folders and deleting subfolders on my computer and then moving my images in LR, but LR is not fully reflecting these changes. For example, I keep all my photos under "Pictures", then a folder I named "Lightroom", then I split everything up into one of two folders: "Clients 2022" or "Personal 2022".  And then a folder for each client/event/photo shoot.  But even though I have rearranged my folders and also imported a new folder of images from my camera using the "into one folder" setting, I can't make the "Pictures" and then "Lightoom" and then "Clients 2022" or "Personal 2022"and folders visible in LR, which is tough since they are essentially the parent folders.  I'm attaching three screenshots that help explain this.  Any tips on how I can essentially get these into LR?  Because otherwise I can't stay well organized and/or minimize these folders all at once.  The folders are all on the same level.

Thanks again!

 


Right click on the top "2022" folder and select "Show Parent Folder".  The next level up in the folder hierarchy will then appear. Repeat the right-click & "Show Parent Folder" on that next level up and keep repeating until you are showing as much of the hierarchy as you want to have displayed.

1 reply

john beardsworth
Community Expert
john beardsworthCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 17, 2022

This has little or nothing to do with the catalogue or its location. You probably didn't review the Import dialog closely enough - do it every time you import.

 

The dated folders indicate that the Import dialog's Destination panel is set to Organize By Date, and you are choosing Move or Copy at the top. If you also see those photos where you expect outside LR, that would indicate Copy.

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    christineh55539920Author
    Participant
    March 21, 2022

    Hi John,

    Thank you very much for your response.  I appreciate your help.  I've been trying to figure this out.  I imported more photos and looked at the destination panel where it is organized by date.  But I don't see where I can move or copy these at the top.  I see the option to make a second copy but I never have that box checked.  When I tried to change the destination panel to organize by original folder/file vs date or one folder, I created a folder outside of LR (that I named for example  "Barry test") but then upon import LR created it's own folder "DCIM" and "100EOS5D" - camera and card.  So that's definitely not the solution.

     

    I've been importing the same way into LR for years and I've never seen this.  It's very frustrating because I have to change the names of the folders on the left, which now all say "2022" so I don't know what's what.  But if I cange the names of these, subfolders are created.  That was never the case prior.  I'm attaching two more screenshots that may help.  On the one that shows my folders outside of LR, I created the folder "Amy McNamera 2022" before I imported.  Then LR named this folder "2022".  When I changed the name of "2022" within LR to "Amy McNamera", LR created a subfolder with name.  I don't want all these sub folders or to have to rename everything.  I don't know if all this makes sense but let me know if you have any other advice.  As I said, I've been importing this way for years and have never encountered this until I created this new catalog two months ago.  Thank you!  

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    Community Expert
    richardplondonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 21, 2022

    Look again at the "Destination" panel of the Import Dialog....in particular the "Organize" box, where you have two options. You can choose to organize "Into one folder" OR you can choose to organize "By Date". Clearly you have "By Date" selected, which does exactly that and places the new imports into a dated structure specified in the "Date Format" box (which only shows when "By Date" has been selected). If you have manually created a folder into which you want all the new imports to be places, choose the "Into one folder" option then select the target folder in the folder list that appears below that "organize" box.


    Just to add: if setting Organize to "by date", the same constant folder must be always chosen as destination, so that a consistent date structure accumulates inside that. For example, the first ever import of photos taken during 2022, will be autofiled inside a newly made 2022 "year" subfolder inside this chosen destination. A subsequent import of photos from 2022 should not be targeted to the 2022 folder, it should be targeted to the same destination chosen previously. This will see the previously made 2022, and automatically use that consistently with other  imports, making one overall date scheme. 

     

    IF you want to take control over the final image-folder naming, e.g. appending some custom text describing the event (or whatever), you can let the needed filing folders be automatically made - auto named to the standard scheme - and then manually rename afterwards as appropriate, working from within the LrC Folders panel.

     

    Alternatively if you want to create the final folder yourself, as advised you could set Organize to "into single folder" which would be the chosen destination. Otherwise if (say) an event involves different stages that you want to reflect as separate subfolders under a manually defined main event folder, provided you started a fresh folder within the camera card when you moved from one stage of the event to the next, you can set Organize to automatically reflect the same subfolder arrangement that is on the camera card. Those subfolders can then be renamed suitably, inside LrC, after import is complete.

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