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hbbk
hbbk
Inspiring
February 18, 2022
Answered

How to view lightroom edits in dng files from window explorer

  • February 18, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 3643 views

Hi


As the title say, I'm wondering how to view edits I made from withing Lightroom CC from outside Lightroom (Windows explorer preferably). Is there a way to achieve that without exporting jpg versions of my edited photos ?


Thanks for any clues

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Per Berntsen

Windows Explorer cannot display raw files, so it displays the DNG's embedded jpg preview instead.

You can have the preview display your edits by selecting the image in Library, and go to Metadata > Update DNG Preview and Metadata. This command is also available when right clicking the thumbnail.

I don't know where your DNGs come from, but if they are created by the DNG converter, there are three options for Jpg preview – None, Medium and Full size. Medium is only 1024 pixels on the long side.

 

If you stop paying for Lightroom, the Develop and Map module will stop working, but you can still export.

If you change OS to Linux, I suppose you could keep a Windows computer with Lightroom installed.

1 reply

dj_paige
dj_paige
Legend
February 18, 2022

Lightroom Classic edits are not written to the image portion of original DNG files. (Lightroom Classic never writes to the image portion of your original files). So you can't view those Lightroom Classic edits in your operating system, these can only be viewed with the proper Adobe software.

 

Is there a way to achieve that without exporting jpg versions of my edited photos ?

 

Other methods are exporting TIF or exporting PSD files.

 

Which brings up the question, why do you want to do this in Windows Explorer? What is the benefit of doing this, if it did work?

    hbbk
    hbbkAuthor
    Inspiring
    February 18, 2022

    Thanks for the answer

    Yes, I can export to tiff or any non-raw format, I just took jpg as an example.

     

    Regarding your question, the answer is: if I have to stop my Lightroom usage (many reasons: lack of money, change OS to Linux...) so all my edits are lost, isn't it ?

     

    So this brings me to another question, is there a way to automatically export (or at least list) all the Lightroom edited dng files so that I can make a whole list (HUGE) export at once.

    W
    Wurlitzer-1015
    Known Participant
    November 5, 2023

    The way I read this, the issue is with uncompressed DNG, which you don't get inside any Adobe environment. Uncompressed DNGs only come from cameras that shoot DNG natively, like e.g. Leica..

     

    When these uncompressed DNGs are updated with "update DNG preview and metadata" from Lightroom, they seem to be compressed in Lightroom, with a jpeg-based compression algorithm - not the standard lossless algorithm. And so the file size halves.

     

    Adobe-native DNGs are not affected.

     

     


    Exactly, this is why I raused this question, the Leica SL2 produces lossless DNGs in camera, when imported to Lightroom they are around 87MB, after applying the Update DNG preview & Metadata option in Lightroom they are reduced to around half the size, 47MB. I can't "see" any quality loss. Something must be lost however, as Per has shown in his screen shots, jpeg compression has been applied by Lightroom (with no option available to not have it do this). Jpeg compression is lossless however, so what's be lost? I certainly can't see and on high magnification there is no signes of any dithering of pixels around high contrast areas.

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