Inspiring

Answered

Little Question Marks Appeared after "upgrading"

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
October 29, 2022
5 replies
3252 views

I used LR Classic three weeks ago and changed nothing on my computer since then, except that I stupidly agreed to letting Adobe mess with my stored photos when I opened LRC just now. After they messed around ("upgrading" they call it in fine Orwellian fashion), I find that most of my folders have little question marks (see attachment) on them and while the photos seem ok in Library mode, they show the warning "File could not be found" in the Develop mode. What's going on?

running: Mac OS Big Sur

macOS

Correct answer Michael J. Hoffman

The question mark means that you moved your photos to a different location without Lightroom knowing about it. You'll need to put them back, or else point Lightroom to the new location where you moved the photos (right click a folder and choose "Find missing photos."

The upgrade process you mentioned was Lightroom updating its catalog to the new format associated with the new 12.0 release that just came out. Your original catalog is untouched, Lightroom upgrades a copy (typically adding "-V12" to the name of the copy).

J

JayStreetShooter

Participating Frequently

Alternate problem, self inflicted. Mac OS

I used LRCC to rename a folder "Misc Info, Maps, Charts" And it did.

But then all the folders and subfolders had the little question mark. Syncing didn't work, previews remained, et cetera.

The problem was LRCC doesn't allow ',' commas in a file path name. Duh.

So I removed the commas and voila, it found my pics that were never lost.

JohanElzenga

Community Expert

It's possible that you didn't move anything, but that the new version of Lightroom Classic did not get enough permissions from MacOS to access the folders. This is a known issue with later versions of MacOS than the Big Sur that you use, but just in case, do the following: Go to MacOS 'System Settings - Security & Privacy' and add Lightroom Classic to "Full Disk Access". Click on the lock icon to unlock the settings, then click on the plus icon to add Lightroom Classic if it isn't already listed. If it is listed, then just enable the checkbox. See also Quick Tips: How to give Full Disk Access to Lightroom Classic on macOS

-- Johan W. Elzenga

C

colleeno12572634

Participant

I don't see "find missing files" when I click the right-hand button on my mouse?

Rob_Cullen

Community Expert

[Right-Click] on the Missing FOLDER that shows the '?'

MISSING FILES AND FOLDERS-(Computer Darkroom)

A 'Parent' folder found will automatically find all 'missing' photos in sub-folders also.

To find single individual PHOTOS that are missing-

[Left-Click] on the exclamation mark on the photo border in grid view-

YOU have to locate the original (missing) file. Lr-Classic does not do this for you.

Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .

web1305Author

Inspiring

Thanks for responding. OK, yes, I'm being facecious, but can I be forgiven such a moment? It appears that none of the photos I have developed for the past few years are available to me any more and this happened immediately after an Adobe instituted change to which I had to agree. Attachment added again (title "LRC_Little_Question_Marks").

web1305Author

Inspiring

Thanks, Michael, but with respect, I simply did NOT move any photos since I last used LRC. or the time before that, or before that, etc going back a couple of years. OK, I'll try your suggested solution, thanks, but it's puzzling (to put it mildly) as to why this kind of thing happens with Adobe.

Michael J. Hoffman

Community Expert

It would be more helpful to see the full path of the Folders panel, as well as a snapshot of your Windows Explorer window showing the same location. For example, below, you can see my recent folders are on drive E:, in the path \Originals\2022\2022-10-##. This is where Lightroom thinks the pictures are. If I move them on disk, LR can no longer find them and it shows a question mark.

Michael J. Hoffman

Correct answer

Community Expert

The question mark means that you moved your photos to a different location without Lightroom knowing about it. You'll need to put them back, or else point Lightroom to the new location where you moved the photos (right click a folder and choose "Find missing photos."

The upgrade process you mentioned was Lightroom updating its catalog to the new format associated with the new 12.0 release that just came out. Your original catalog is untouched, Lightroom upgrades a copy (typically adding "-V12" to the name of the copy).

dj_paige

Legend

This, of course, has nothing to do with Adobe messing (or whatever) with your photos. There is no attachment to see what you are talking about.

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