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global search for file names

New Here ,
Feb 19, 2022 Feb 19, 2022

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Is it possible to use the search/find function in lightroom 5.2 to search for files by file name in a drive. I saw this performed in a youtube video but it was on a mac. It appears to me that lightroom in windows requires that one search within a folder. The files have no keywords so I guess the "find" function will not work in this case. Thanks.

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LEGEND ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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Lightroom does not require that you search within a folder. Click on "All Photographs" (it's on the left under "Catalog") and then do your search.

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New Here ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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Perhaps I'm missing something. I have tried this several times with
multiple files, before and after reading this reply. In all cases the
search turns up a thumbnail of the missing file in Library and when moving
to Develop, the file is indicated as Missing. Using Explorer, the file
location can be found. I'm using LIghtroom Classic 5.3. Below are three
screen shots.

1. SEARCH TURNS UP THUMBNAIL IN LIBRARY
2. CLICKING ON THUMBNAIL ENLARGES IMAGE
3. MOVING TO DEVELOP SHOWS FILE NOT FOUND

FILE CAN BE FOUND IN EXPLORER BY DRILLING DOWN INTO THE FOLDER IT IS IN AND
THEN AND WILL OPEN IN DEVELOP

Any idea where this is going wrong? Thanks.

[image: lr prob.png]


[image: lr prob2.png]

[image: lr prob3.png]


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LEGEND ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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I can't see your screen captures.

 

The file is not in the folder that Lightroom thinks it is in. It does not matter that you can find it using explorer, because Lightroom thinks it is supposed to be in a different folder.

 

To fix this, use https://www.computer-darkroom.com/lr2_find_folder/find-folder.htm

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Community Expert ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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@jkjack47 wrote I'm using Lightroom Classic 5.3.

No such beast!!

Start again, and tell us exactly what you are using. Post a screen-clip from MENU: Help > System Info...

 

There is Lightroom (Perpetual) versions 1 - 6.

Lightroom (Mobile & Desktops) now at v5.2

Lightroom-Classic  (Starting from v7.0) now at v11.2

 

 

Regards. My System: Lightroom-Classic 13.2 Photoshop 25.5, ACR 16.2, Lightroom 7.2, Lr-iOS 9.0.1, Bridge 14.0.2, Windows-11.

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New Here ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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Here is the info. My desktop is running Windows 10, latest update. Although
the search for folder is helping, I still cannot search globally in a drive
for a file as I saw done in a youtube video.

Lightroom version: 5.3 [938183]
Operating system: Windows 8 Home Premium Edition
Version: 6.2 [9200]



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Community Expert ,
Feb 21, 2022 Feb 21, 2022

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Further to this: once a thumbnail is found when you search in Library, right-click on that and choose "go to Folder in Library". That will reveal what drive reference and folder path the Catalog's records have for this image - where it is currently looking for that image, in other words.

 

In Windows some issues that may cause a divergence to arise include:

  • your images are within your user files and your username has changed - especially an issue with capital/lower case letters - which duly changes the actual full folder path
  • your images are within your My Pictures folder - and the real folder location of this has changed. One culprit is turning on OneDrive sync for your Pictures, which physically moves their storage in a way the Lightroom Catalog will not have been informed about
  • your images are stored on an external drive and its currently assigned drive letter is not the same as it was before

 

It will have previously succeeded with that addressing whatever it was. But something has changed since, and the Catalog's internal records and the reality as seen in Explorer have now diverged. That is resolved EITHER by correcting the Catalog's internal records to correspond with the disk storage reality as it now is (using 'Find Missing Folder' inside LrC), OR by putting back the drive letter and folder path reality (using Explorer outside LrC) to again correspond with the Catalog's internal records of where everything lives. If this is the drive letter changing, you will need to do both: assign in Disk Management  the drive a fixed and persisting drive letter further through the alphabet, which will no longer conflict with any other USB devices, and then tell the Catalog about this change by using Find Missing Folder. 

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New Here ,
Feb 21, 2022 Feb 21, 2022

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I don't have a subscription and have been using this version of LR for a few years. I have never paid for a subscription so I don't believe it's cloud based. Am I wrong here? Thanks.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 21, 2022 Feb 21, 2022

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Lightroom Desktop can't be installed on Windows 8, so this has to be the old Lightroom 5 from 2013.

To attach images and videos, you have to post using a web browser. It cannot be done when replying by email.

Use the Insert Photos button in the toolbar, or the Insert video button next to it.

 

Insert-photos.png

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Community Expert ,
Feb 21, 2022 Feb 21, 2022

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Sorry for the confusion. You are right. Lightroom desktop is at 5.2, so that is also a reason why this must be the ancient Lightroom 5.3 from 2013.

 

-- Johan W. Elzenga

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Community Expert ,
Feb 21, 2022 Feb 21, 2022

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@jkjack47 wrote:
Here is the info. My desktop is running Windows 10, latest update. Although
the search for folder is helping, I still cannot search globally in a drive
for a file as I saw done in a youtube video.

Lightroom version: 5.3 [938183]
Operating system: Windows 8 Home Premium Edition
Version: 6.2 [9200]

 

You are running Lightroom desktop. Lightroom desktop stores its images in the cloud, so it has no use for searching a local drive. The video you watched was about what is now called Lightroom Classic.

 

-- Johan W. Elzenga

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New Here ,
Feb 21, 2022 Feb 21, 2022

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Thanks. Not sure if this video will attach. If so, this inquiry has come as
a result of trying to discover a method to search for a missing image
globally in a drive. It seems to me that this fellow searches in "This Mac"
and finds the missing file in another folder. I've have been unable to do
that in Windows 10. Is it impossible? Also, I have tried to search for a
file in a folder by using global search in Freecommander and after finding
the file, try to connect that to the missing thumbnail. I get a message
that the name of the file I have found is different from the thumbnail for
the missing file and asking me if I wish to proceed. On choosing Yes, the
missing file is stil missing. Was hoping to discover where my folders have
been moved but no luck. Any idea what's going on? Thanks.
Lightroom Power Tip - Easily Find Lost Folders ...



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LEGEND ,
Feb 21, 2022 Feb 21, 2022

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To include videos in your reply, click on the "Insert Videos" icon.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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Lightroom can use many types of search, as well as inspecting image attributes such as camera metadata or flags and keywords. One form of search is to look within the filenames. If you show the filter bar when in Library ( \  key), click for a Text search, you can opt there to only search within filenames, rather than across all image attributes.

 

That filter will work on whatever subset of images you are currently displaying (or, all the Catalog's images if you are viewing the "All Photographs" special Collection).

 

One kind of subset might be a particular subfolder. It might be a particular Collection or Smart Collection. It might be a Collection Set, and show all images within all Collections inside this Set.

 

Similarly for Folders, you can opt to show just the direct contents of a folder / the contents of all subfolders of a given folder, as well as its direct contents. Uncheck / check (respectively) the option "Show Photos in Subfolders". That's in the Library menu, or else in the drop-down menu of the + icon next to the title of the Folders panel.

 

So the question also was, how to limit your search to only the photos within a given drive, assuming there are other drives' contents also imported to your Library - that you don't now want to search within. Of course you will only be searching through the photos within that drive that are imported to this Catalog.

 

TO do that you need the top folder that encloses all of the desired photos, to be visible in the Folders panel. If that it is not already showing, right-click on current top level folder and choose "Show Parent Folder" until that does show. It is likely not necessary to go all the way up to the root folder of the drive, although you can.

 

So click on that parent folder for all your imported images within this drive. Ensure 'show photos in subfolders'. Filter this set down to show only those that meet your filename search.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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"search/find function in lightroom 5.2 to search for files by file name in a drive."

Me Confused!  v5.2 your photos are stored in the Adobe Cloud. Why would you be searching a "drive"?

 

 

Regards. My System: Lightroom-Classic 13.2 Photoshop 25.5, ACR 16.2, Lightroom 7.2, Lr-iOS 9.0.1, Bridge 14.0.2, Windows-11.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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Perhaps this was a query about Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.2, and not about Adobe Lightroom Desktop 5.2?

 

Two completely different animals, as should be immediately obvious to... well... nobody really...!

 

the OP's references to searching in a folder did suggest the former option, to me.

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New Here ,
Feb 21, 2022 Feb 21, 2022

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At 3:28, he performs the global search that I have been unable to perform in LR 5.3 on Windows 10. If this is impossible I will proceed with the extremely more complicated steps suggested. Thanks.

 

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LEGEND ,
Feb 22, 2022 Feb 22, 2022

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You have not followed the instructions to show us the video of interest. We can't see the video. We don't know what happens at 3:28.

 

Nevertheless, we suspect you do not have the right software. We're still not sure what software you are using. Is it brand new software? Or is it 10 year old software?

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Community Expert ,
Feb 22, 2022 Feb 22, 2022

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The video is embedded, so I'm not sure why you can't see it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biGj5EqHB0o

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LEGEND ,
Feb 22, 2022 Feb 22, 2022

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Hello @jkjack47 Now that @Per Berntsen has pointed me to the video, what happens at about 3:28 in the video has nothing to do with your original question: "Is it possible to use the search/find function in lightroom 5.2 to search for files by file name in a drive."

 

Yes, it is possible to use Lightroom Classic (or the old Lightroom 5.2) to find any file in the catalog regardless of what folder it is in, this has already been discussed. Lightroom Classic (or the old Lightroom 5.2) will not find files anywhere on the disk, unless the files have been imported. The new Lightroom 5.2 will not do this.


We have spent a lot of time talking about a lot of things, and apparently have gotten nowhere. And frankly, we're still guessing about what you are talking about, what software you are using, and what the possible solution is. Perhaps you should start over, start a new thread, explain the whole thing again, carefully, clearly, completely, with screen captures (use the "Insert Photos" icon, do not attach files), and maybe we will get somewhere.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 22, 2022 Feb 22, 2022

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The more times I read the posts from @jkjack47  I am believing that it is the Windows 'File Search' that is causing grief.

The LrC [Find Missing Photos] function only reports the files that the Catalog has lost.

It does not tell you 'Where' to find the missing original files. That is for you (the LrC user) to know, and if you don't know 'where' - a 'Search' function must be employed. Finding the location of 'missing' files is not a Lightroom-Classic function.

The Window-10 File Search is ofter useless! It finds all sorts of 'stuff' and not the file you are looking for (unless you understand complicated search syntax) or it complicates the list of possible results of a search.

The OP might find that a different Search App like "Everything" will assist in finding the stored location of 'missing' files. (IF they do actually exist in the system of connected hard-drives!)

https://www.voidtools.com/

 

 

 

Regards. My System: Lightroom-Classic 13.2 Photoshop 25.5, ACR 16.2, Lightroom 7.2, Lr-iOS 9.0.1, Bridge 14.0.2, Windows-11.

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