Photo greyed out, cannot copy.

[Tomoday]

I am trying to copy photos to a new external hard drive. The photos are greyed out. In some cases the entire file is greyed out and in other cases only some photos are greyed out. these are files and photos that are not in the new hard drive. What am I doing wrong?

[dj_paige]

What software are you using? What version NUMBER?

How are you doing this copy? Please be specific and detailed. Are you doing this copy in your operating system or some other software?

Where are the photos greyed out? Please be specific. If possible show us a screen capture and include the screen capture in your reply by using the "Insert Photos" icon; do not attach files.

[Tomoday]

I am doing it in LR Classic. When I hit import many images are "greyed out." Some images appear normal right beside other images which I cannot copy to my external hard drive. I am using Windows 10. I copied some images correctly but then this problem occured. For some reason I cannot provide a screenshot. This problem involves all formats, jpeg, dng. tiff, mov, etc. In some files all shots are "greyed out" and in some files some are affescted and others not. ?.

[dj_paige]

I am doing it in LR Classic. When I hit import many images are "greyed out." Some images appear normal right beside other images which I cannot copy to my external hard drive. I am using Windows 10. I copied some images correctly but then this problem occured. For some reason I cannot provide a screenshot. This problem involves all formats, jpeg, dng. tiff, mov, etc. In some files all shots are "greyed out" and in some files some are affescted and others not. ?.

By @Tomoday

Greyed images in the import dialog box indicates the photo has previously been imported into LrC and should NOT be imported again. Just go to the Library Module, search for the desired photos, and then you can work with them (since they have already been imported).

[dj_paige]

Adding: you don't use the Import dialog box to move photos that have already been imported. You can move the photos to a different drive , see Part 2 — Updating Folder Location in this document: http://www.computer-darkroom.com/lr2_find_folder/find-folder.htm

[Tomoday]

I am confused by this reply. I am trying to copy The photos to an external
hard drive. Obviously they were already imported to my Y or Z internal dive
as they are there. How do I copy them to the external drive? Additionally
some photos are greyed out and others are not, but all were previously
imported. How will going to the library module change my situation? Whether
I try to copy, move add or copy as DNG, my result is the same.

[dj_paige]

If you want photos on Y or Z to be copied to the external drive, you use your operating system to copy them. Then you follow the instructions in the link I gave (scroll down to "Part 2 — Updating Folder Location") to tell LrC to use the copies on the external drive.

As stated, you do not use the Import dialog box MOVE COPY ADD to move or copy photos that have already been imported into LrC. There is no Importing in this process. Do not click on IMPORT.

[Tomoday]

This was not helpful. Many of the files are not greyed out and I am able to copy them to my externan hard drive by using import and copy. Obviously these files have also been imported to LR. Others are greyed out. Again I ask, how can I copy files to my external hard drive within LR Classic?

[dj_paige]

Again I ask, how can I copy files to my external hard drive within LR Classic?

Use your operating system to copy files, and then follow the instructions at the link above. There is no COPY within LrC, only MOVE.

[Bill Sprague]

This was not helpful. Many of the files are not greyed out and I am able to copy them to my

externan hard drive by using import and copy. Obviously these files have also been imported to LR. Others are greyed out. Again I ask, how can I copy files to my external hard drive within LR Classic?

By @Tomoday

Are you making duplicate copies on an external drive?  Or are you moving image files to an external drive?   In both cases, Lightroom Classic won't do that in the Import dialog.  

My way of making identical copies is to use the Export dialog and select "Original" as the file type.  If you want to preserve your catalog recorded editing adjustments in your copy, you need to use a different file type because your Develop work is stored in the catalog, not with the photo file.

My way of moving files from one disc to another is to use the drag and drop technique in the Folders section of the Library module.  I use that frequently to regain usable space on my primary drive.  An alternate that could be a little faster is to use the operating system to move the files but Lightroom won't know where you put them.   There is an additional procedure that will reindex the file locations.