Lightroom catalog: I can't see all the photos, why?

[elianoimperato]

Hello everyone,

I've two folders with same photos, one on my computer's hd and one on an eternal hd (I'll delete the folder on my computer).

I saved the photos on my external hd as a first backup and I've imported in LrC ("Add" function) just some files, but from the computer's hd, to work fast on them.

In the first screenshot I've attached here you can see the 131 photos I've imported in LrC from the computer hd.

What I don't understand is why if I'm going to see the files on the external hd LrC is showing me just the other 656.

I used the "Add" function when I've imported the files and they're from two different paths, one from my computer hd and one from the external hd.

So, when I try to copy the photos I worked on from my computer's hd to the external hd LrC is showing me a mesasge to say they're already there, like they're already in the catalog...

[dj_paige]

What I don't understand is why if I'm going to see the files on the external hd LrC is showing me just the other 656

I don't see how the math adds up. However, importing photos from one disk will not decrease the number of photos elsewhere in your Lightroom Classic. Furthermore, the numbers in the folder panel in LrC show what has been imported, and not what is in the folder in your operating system. So, the number in the folder panel does not have to match any specific number obtained from your operating system.

Additional comments: you say the external HD is a backup, but then you are going to delete the photos from the internal disk, and once you do that, the external HD is NOT a backup. It is NOT a backup because you don't have two identical copies of your images any more. You are fooling yourself by calling it a backup.

I've imported in LrC ("Add" function) just some files, but from the computer's hd, to work fast on them.

You cannot work any faster with photos on the internal HD than on the external HD, other than a trivial amount that you will never notice.

[elianoimperato]

First, hank you for the attention dj_paige. I worte what I'll do in the future after all the backups so yes, for now I shouldn't written that, not necessary for the topic.

Anyway, I'll try to explain in a more simple way: I've two folders with same photos inside, on on an exterlan hd and one on my computer. I've imported the files from the external hd (using the "Add" option) as I'm doing always to have my complete catalog in LrC, and I've imported just some photos from the folder on the computer's hd (using the "Add option) to work on them.

Now, why I can't see all the 787 photos from the external hd LrC folders section? I can see just 656 photos because the other 131 are showed in the Macintosh HD LrC folders section.

[dj_paige]

You have only imported 656 photos from the external HD. You have not imported the rest in that folder on the external HD.

[elianoimperato]

I've imported all the photos.

[dj_paige]

Lightroom thinks you have only imported 656 photos from that folder. You may have (accidentally) imported some of the photos using COPY instead of ADD, and so LrC knows about the copies and not about the originals. Go to the Library Module, click on All Photographs, and search by filename in LrC for one of these photos that you can't see.

[elianoimperato]

I copied (added) all the photos. If I'm selecting the 131 photos from the Macintosh HD folder and I'm trying to move them into the external hd folder LrC gave me this message:

[dj_paige]

Importing the photos again is not the solution. Please do the search that I described in my previous message.

[elianoimperato]

I did it and I can find the photos by this way. But still I can see just 656 photos if I'm selecting the external hd folder and 131 photos if I'm selecting the Macintosh hd folder. But I've all 787 photos in both folders if I'm checking with the Finder.

[dj_paige]

As I stated previously, the Finder numbers and the LrC Folder Panel numbers do not have to match.

So your photos are in LrC, but not in the folder you think they should be in. Once you have found the photos, you can (if you want) move them to the desired folder. Let me know if you want to do this, I will provide instructions.

[elianoimperato]

As you can see both folders have the same number of files.

Now I've removed the external hd-LrC folder and I tried to copy it again:

 As you can see I can't select the 131 photos I've in the Macintosh HD-Lrc folder.

I'm very confuse because we're talking about same photos but from two folders from two different hard drives.

[dj_paige]

Lightroom Classic is not a file browser. It is a database, it only knows about the photos you have imported and where the database thinks they are located. LrC does not have to match the results from Mac Finder. If LrC thinks the photos have been previously imported, then it does not let you import again.

As I said, Importing will not solve this problem. It can only make it worse.

So ... I said earlier "Once you have found the photos, you can (if you want) move them to the desired folder. Let me know if you want to do this, I will provide instructions" but you haven't replied to this.

[elianoimperato]

So ... I said earlier "Once you have found the photos, you can (if you want) move them to the desired folder. Let me know if you want to do this, I will provide instructions" but you haven't replied to this.

By dj_paige

Once I've found the photos... what's the meaning? I know where the photos are, from the Finder or inside LrC. Anyway I deleted the external hd-Lrc folder. So, how can I do now?

[dj_paige]

The answer depends on where Lightroom Classic thinks the photos are located. If you can find them in All Photographs, then right-click on one of these photos and select Show in Finder. A finder window will appear, make a note of the exact folder where LrC thinks the photos are located.

Is this folder on the external HD that you said you just deleted? Or is it somewhere else? Where is this folder?

As a side note, doing things on your own that has not been requested (like deleting a folder) at this point probably doesn't help anything, and may make the problem worse. Please just do what I suggest and report what happens.

[elianoimperato]

I deleted the external hd from the LrC folders, then I've overwritten the 131 files from the Macintosh HD in the external hd and I've imported again in LrC the external hd folder.

[dj_paige]

As I have said, importing is the wrong thing to do. By importing, you have lost edit sequence history, virtual copies, collection membership and a few other things; and possibly you have lost all the edits and all the user-provided metadata.

[elianoimperato]

So, what's the right way?

[GoldingD]

perhaps see:

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/capitalization-catalog-error/

[FSt0p]

Maybe I don't get something, but as I understand it you have two folders with same photos in them, imported some of them from one folder and can't import same photos from the other.

Is this correct?

And the question is why?

Well, because you have "Don't import suspected duplicates" checked in the import dialog.

Hope this helps.

[elianoimperato]

Maybe I don't get something, but as I understand it you have two folders with same photos in them, imported some of them from one folder and can't import same photos from the other.

Is this correct?

Correct.

And the question is why?

Because I saved the files at the same time on my Mac and on an external hd for a fast backup. Then I worked on some photos from my Mac (just to be more fast and because the external hd was disconnected at the time I was caring about this work) and at the end I wanted to update the modified files on the external hd (backup).

Well, because you have "Don't import suspected duplicates" checked in the import dialog.

Hope this helps.

If I'll be in the same situation I'll check this option, I think this is the reason.

By FSt0p

Thank you!