P: Changes to Metadata Panel for targeting one or many images

[wanderer]

In LR 11.0, MacOS 11.6.

I select several images in the grid view. Edit the location info in the Image section. The metadata is only set on the 'most" selected image. It used to correctly set the data on all selected images.

This is a real problem for me. If I go out and shoot a few hundred images, now I have to edit each one individually. Unacceptable.

I did not check to see if any other fields exhibit the same behavior. This was enough for me.

Is there another (reasonable) way to set the location os a set of images?

[johnrellis]

See the Correct Answer at the top of this thread:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/p-changes-to-metadata-panel-for-targeti... 

A bug in the LR 11 upgrade failed to copy over your previous setting for this option.

[Geert21798070jklb]

Ik heb versie 10.0.1

In vorige versies kon ik een bijschrift of een sublocatie toevoegen in één beweging.

Nu kan dit slechts foto per foto.

Is dit een bug ?

Wordt dit opgelost ?

[Ged_Traynor]

Hi

Version 10.0.1 of which Adobe application?

[Geert21798070jklb]

Lightroom classic

[Ged_Traynor]

Thanks, I'll move thread to the correct forum

[johnrellis]

@Geert21798070jklb, see the Correct Answer at the top of this thread:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/p-changes-to-metadata-panel-for-targeti... 

A bug in the LR 11 upgrade failed to copy over your previous setting for this option

[scotta44076321]

LR Classic 11.01 Windows 10. I just noticed that if I select all files in a folder and edit the Sublocation, City and State the only photo that gets updated is the dominant highlighted file (i.e. the first one selected before I hit Ctrl A). Keywords ARE updated across all files. I went back through my recent uploads and noticed that this first started in my November 2021 uploads. I do this process with every upload and it has been working up through the end of October 2021.I don't remember the date when I updated to v. 11. Copyright info is added at import and this is working properly. I also add GPS data using Jeffrey Friedl's plug-in by selecting all and running that plug-in and it IS working across all files. I tried changing the Caption and Title, as well, and they DO NOT change except on the dominant highlighted photo.

[johnrellis]

See the Correct Answer at the top of this thread for how to use the new feature in the Metadata panel:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/p-changes-to-metadata-panel-for-targeti... 

[rayv56912865]

Something has changed in the newest version of LR classic.

In Grid view: Previously if you selected several photos and copied a GPS location into the GPS field in the metadata tab.  Two things would happen - you got a message asking if you wanted to change the metadata for multiple photos and if you relied yes, the GPS data was inserted into the selected photos and .  Now the only thing that happens is that only the most selected photo gets the GPS data copied (and no message).

Similarly, if multiple photos were selected with different GPS locations and you looked at the metadata tab it would show "mixed".  Now it shows the GPS location of the most selected photo.  And this later thing happens for all metadata information - ie when multiple photos are selected in grid view the metadata tab shows the metadata for the most selected photo where previously it showed the metadata for all the selected photos - where it varied across photos it would show "mixed" in the field.

[JohanElzenga]

The metadata panel has been changed. Choose 'Selected Photos'.

[johnrellis]

It's true that the Metadata panel has added a visual indication of a setting that's been in LR all along (Metadata > Show Metadata For Target Only).  But that's not what's causing all the confusion -- rather, Adobe botched the implementation and didn't carry over the user's previous setting and they changed the default setting.   This is the cause of all the reports here.

[Lumigraphics]

This has been controlled by the auto-sync setting for how long?

[Zylenia]

I've been having the same problem while adding keywords, and found this discussion, clicked on selected photos and yet the problem is still persisting.

Does anyone know if there is a different section where I have to also change a setting so that it works with keywords too?

thank you

[Zylenia]

Actually... I just found the solution to my own problem, and I thought I would share just in case:

So, if you are trying to add keywords to multiple images, you must make sure that the view mode is in GRID mode and not LOUPE mode.

For some reason even if you select multiple images but your view mode is in loupe, then the keywords will not apply to all but just to the main image selected.

Hope it helps!

[wanderer]

Glad you worked it out! Yes, I falso igured this out the hard way long ago. It still bites me sometimes when I forget. In my oinion, it would seem more consistent to tag all selected photos regardless of which view you are currnetly looking at. But I'm not one of the "experts" at Adobe. If there is a use model where this is an advantage I would like to hear it. 

All I can come up with is, if you have multiple images selected and you want to set metadata uniquely on 1 without disturbing the selection set, this is a way to do it. If this is the thinking, it seems kind of convoluted. It is a behavior to have to learn to accomodate an edge case.

[johnrellis]

"if you are trying to add keywords to multiple images, you must make sure that the view mode is in GRID mode"

Alternatively, you could do Metadata > Enable Auto Sync (when more than one photo is selected). Then metadata changes (including keywords) made to the current photo are copied to all other selected photos, even in Loupe.

[johnrellis]

Many have long complained about the default behavior of selections in Loupe.  While received wisdom says there's a simple rule -- commands affect just the most-selected photo -- in fact, LR's rules are complicated and inconsistent:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-ideas/consistent-behavior-when-multiple-photos-sele...

The common argument is that when in Loupe (with the filmstrip hidden), it's too easy to forget that multiple photos are selected, and rating, flagging, or other metadata changes will affect all the photos.  The Auto Sync option lets you override the default behavior.

[Zylenia]

Thank you, that makes sense!

[rayv56912865]

Problem solved.  At the top of the Metadata panel, when multiple photos are seleceted in grid view, two buttons become active ie "Target Photo" and "Selected Photo".  The update to LR11 set this to "Target Photo".  

[LAtterbury]

I just started editing a huge job, and I cannot copy and paste a caption or title to an entire gallery. I have to copy each field individually. This is a simple function that has worked just fine until this week. Help!!

[johnrellis]

In the Metadata panel, click on Selected Photos:

When Target Photo is highlighted with multiple photos selected, changes to metadata fields will only be made to the current (most-selected photo).

This option has always been present in LR but was hidden in a menu item.  When Adobe added Target Photo | Selected Photos to the Metadata panel, they botched the implementation and forgot to carry over the user's previous setting.

[johnrellis]

Moderators, @Rikk Flohr: Photography, please merge with this similar thread:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/p-changes-to-metadata-panel-for-targeti... 

[defaultmd5w5nrzq067]

Greetings! Is there a way to apply the same title to multiple photographs? I take bird photos and will end up with many of the same species. So far I haven't found a way to apply the species name to all of the photos of that bird. The spray can doesn't work for titles, for instance. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Jao vdL]

What version of Lightroom are you referring to? The reference to spray can means it  might be Classic. There is n o spray can I think in what Adobe now calls Ligtroom which is the cloud oriented version of Lightroom. Anyway. giving the same title to multiple images works the same in both Lightroom Classic and Lightroom Cloud. You simply select multiple images in the grid view and type the title in the title metadata field. It will assign this same title to all selected images.

[defaultmd5w5nrzq067]

It is, indeed Lightroom Classic v10.2 that I'm using. It certainly makes
sense that selecting multiple images and then typing in a title would
result in that title being applied to all of the selected images. But it
doesn't work that way, at least not for me. Only the first of the selected
images receives the title; the title of the other selected images remains
blank.