Image order is scrambled when sending images from Lightroom to SmugMug via LRC plug-in.

[RedLinda]

1.  Lightroom Classic 12.4, and the SmugMug Official Lightroom Plug-in (version 3.5.1.0)

2.  I use an iMAC with OS Monterey 12.6.7.

3.  Basic Steps to reproduce the problem:

    1.  In LRC set up a group of images of a trip somewhere.  

    2.  Arrange them in my preferred order.

    3.  Save the images in LRC.

    4.  Select all the images and send them to my SmugMug site using the SmugMug Official Lightroom Plug-in (version 3.5.1.0)

4.  Expected result:  images appear in SmugMug in the order that I set up in LRC.

      Actual result:  images are all mixed up.  They are not even in chronological order.  

[Conrad_C · Accepted solution]

There are a few things I’ve noticed about the Smugmug Publish Service, in case they help with this.

If the suggestions below don’t help, also contact Smugmug Help about it, because the Smugmug Publish Service plug-in is not written by Adobe, it’s by Smugmug. I have not had to contact Smugmug Help lately, but they have traditionally been helpful.

It is possible for the Lightroom Classic sort order to not match what is set for the gallery in Smugmug. I am not sure if the Lightroom sort order is supposed to change it in Smugmug; I won’t be surprised if it doesn’t, because the sort order options in Smugmug are different than the list of sort options in Lightroom Classic. Anyway, you should compare the Sort By option for the gallery in the Smugmug plug-in (in the Appearance tab) to the Sort option in Lightroom Classic, and make sure those line up, as shown below. In your case, it sounds like Lightroom Classic Sort option is set to Custom Order (for your preferred order), so in the Smugmug plug-in or website, the Sort By option should be set to Position.

In my example below, you can see two problems: Both the sort order and sort direction are different. Lightroom Classic is set to A to Z (ascending), Custom Order; but the Smugmug plug-in settings for the same gallery are Date Taken, Descending. So I would want to change the settings on the Smugmug side to Position, Ascending. (If you think those should be set automatically to follow Lightroom Classic, I suspect that is a request for Smugmug, not Adobe.)

Now, on the Smugmug side, I think changes you make in the Edit Gallery dialog box in the Smugmug Publish Service do sync with the Gallery Settings on the Smugmug web site, since that is all within their own system.

Another thing I have noticed is that if changes on the Lightroom Classic side don’t seem to be applying on the Smugmug website, try this: Right-click the gallery and choose Publish Now. (If right-click is not enabled on your Mac, Control-click the gallery to see the context menu.) Additionally, you might also have to reload the gallery web page in your web browser.

[RedLinda]

Hello Conrad C,

You have solved my problem!

By making sure that the sort parameters matched in LRC and SmugMug, the
plug-in correctly published the sort order. I could hardly believe my eyes
when I just now published a small gallery of 12 images, and they were all
lined up in order.

I sent a message to SmugMug before contacting Adobe Support. I agree with
you that normally they are very capable of helping people. Here is the
response I received from SmugMug:

*"We do not have a way to keep the uploads in the same order they are on
Lightroom when uploaded to SmugMug. They will have to be re-arranged after
upload."*

Thank you so much for thinking outside the box and for exploring all
possibilities.

Redlinda