How to import from another catalogue WITHOUT removing the images still present

[César33347387a1s4]

Hi, I'm struggling to import photos from another catalogue, because if I do, all the images already open and edited in that catalogue disappear.

Even If I want to import just one picture from another catalogue, or import a new photo from my drive, even if I have like dozens of photos already in that catalogue, they all disapear and I'm left with the single imported image.

How can I manage this issue ?

I'm using the last version of lightroom classic perpetual license (Lightroom 6.14 on windows 10)

Thank you for your advice.

{Moved from Lightroom Cloud to Lightroom Classic Forum by Moderator} 

[Rob_Cullen]

First some questions- Why do you have multiple catalogs? Do you need multiple catalogs?

If you have ONE image in one [B] catalog  and you want it in another 'Master' [A] catalog you can (by 3 different methods)-

a) If you don't want any edits- Simply Import the image on the hard-drive to the 'Master' [A] catalog. An image file can be indexed in multiple catalogs at the same time.

b) If you want the edits to accompany-  Save Metadata to the image file in the Master catalog [A] before importing it to the [B] catalog. You preserve eht edited 'look' But you lose editing history, and few other things.

c)  Create a temporary "Temp" transfer catalog from [B] by using the [Export as a Catalog] with the selected image/s, Folders, or Collections, then do [Import from another Catalog] merging the "Temp" catalog into the [A] catalog.

Exporting and Importing a Classic Catalog - Lightroom Killer Tips

[Conrad_C]

Even If I want to import just one picture from another catalogue, or import a new photo from my drive, even if I have like dozens of photos already in that catalogue, they all disapear and I'm left with the single imported image.

By @César33347387a1s4

After you import, what is selected in the Catalog panel? Is it Previous Import? And if you then select All Photographs, do all of the other photos appear again?

Lightroom 6 and Classic automatically switch to the Previous Import collection after an import, so that you can focus on those images instead of making you look for them in potentially thousands of images. If Previous Import is selected, then of course it will show only the image(s) imported the last time you imported from storage or another catalog. If you imported only one photo, Previous Import will naturally show only one photo.

If you don’t like how that works, in the current version of Lightroom Classic you can deselect “Select Current/Previous Import Collection During Import” in the General pane of the Preferences window. However, you said you are using Lightroom 6.14, and I think the option did not exist then.

[César33347387a1s4]

Oh, thank you, I didn't see those and instead look for settings and other options, hiding in plain sight has they say.

So no matter how many pictures I import later, or from another catalogue, all the previous edited images can be accessed through that "all" bookmark ?

[Conrad_C]

Yes. Another way to understand it:

What you see in the grid or filmstrip is always filtered by the source you selected in the left panel stack. If you selected a folder, the grid/filmstrip shows only what is in that folder. If you selected a smart collection, same thing…the grid/filmstrip shows only what is in that smart collection. You probably know that, but it means you are often not seeing all the photos in the catalog.

Regardless of the source currently selected in the panel stack (folder, collection, Previous Import, Publish Service…), if you want to switch to seeing all photos and videos in the catalog, go all the way to the top and click All Photographs. So, this is not just about import, it applies at all times.