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bobw1952
Participating Frequently
April 13, 2019
Answered

Lightroom CC Import Issue: Can't Select Source

  • April 13, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 3221 views

80% of the time I try to import, the "Source" column doesn't appear on the left side. The "import photos & videos" progress bar appears on the upper left corner and the middle pane says "Please select a source". The only way  to back out of the import process (cuz you're stuck in this mode) is to quit Lightroom. The first popup box asks if you want to cancel the import, then it continues with the usual shutdown process.

When I restart Lightroom, 90% of the time, the import process will work right away. 10% of the time I have to quit Lightroom again. I've not found rebooting my Mac to have an impact.

My setup:

MacBook Pro

MacOS 10.14.4

Lightroom & Photoshop are current (this issue has been plaguing me for awhile)

Lightroom catalog is stored on my Mac

Photos are stored on a Synology NAS

NAS shared folder is connected to my Mac via AFP, not SMB. (The issue happens regardless of the connection method. I have to connect via AFP because Photoshop has an issue with SMB.)

This is what I see when the import process doesn't work. The left hand column is showing the "Library" view.

This is what the window SHOULD look like:

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer johnrellis

You may be tripping over this bug: Lightroom Classic: Side panels erratically overlay import dialog (latest macos) | Photoshop Family Customer Community

Try these workaround steps:

1. Do the menu command Help > System Info and verify you are indeed on LR 8.2.1. The CC desktop app is unreliable and fools many people into thinking they're on "the latest".

2. Drop out of Full Screen mode by doing the menu command Window > Full Screen > Normal before clicking Import.

2 replies

GoldingD
GoldingD
Brainiac
April 13, 2019

Your first screenshot is clearly the normal library mode with an import going on, it is not the import screen, none of it. so, did you click on the import button?

And is that how your copy of LR starts? with a perhaps stalled import going on?

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bobw1952Author
Participating Frequently
April 14, 2019

Thanks, David, for the reply. Yes, that IS the screen that comes up when I hit import. It's a known bug. johnrellis (see above in this thread) pointed me to it along with a workaround. Lightroom Classic: Side panels erratically overlay import dialog (latest macos) | Photoshop Family Customer Community

johnrellis
johnrellisCorrect answer
Brainiac
April 13, 2019

You may be tripping over this bug: Lightroom Classic: Side panels erratically overlay import dialog (latest macos) | Photoshop Family Customer Community

Try these workaround steps:

1. Do the menu command Help > System Info and verify you are indeed on LR 8.2.1. The CC desktop app is unreliable and fools many people into thinking they're on "the latest".

2. Drop out of Full Screen mode by doing the menu command Window > Full Screen > Normal before clicking Import.

B
bobw1952Author
Participating Frequently
April 13, 2019

Thanks for the info. I believe this is indeed the bug I'm butting heads with.

After 5 minutes of playing around with your suggestion, I'm able to avoid the issue. I tried to do more extensive testing, but now I can't get the import option to misbehave! Stay iTuned for my followup. Until then, I'll consider this workaround will suffice until Adobe fixes the issue.

I forgot to mention that I'm using a 27" external monitor when I have this issue. If I recall, when I was working in the field last January, the issue didn't occur when working with my MacBook Pro 15" monitor, even in full screen mode.

johnrellis
johnrellis
Brainiac
April 13, 2019

Be sure to visit that bug report and click Me Too and Follow in the upper-right corner: Lightroom Classic: Side panels erratically overlay import dialog (latest macos) | Photoshop Family Customer Community . That will make it a little more likely Adobe will prioritize a fix, and you'll be notified when they do.

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