Skip to main content
S
StanWelks
Known Participant
July 28, 2017
Answered

Recovering a deleted photo?

  • July 28, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 1565 views

I accidentally deleted some files from my Library by choosing the Delete from Disk option. My Library is on an external drive and after deleting them there was no undo option and nothing shows in my trash on my Mac. I did a quick search and there is some script that might be able to help with this, though I just want to check to see if there is anything built into LR to recover a photo that is deleted after it is done? I do have a backup, though it will be difficult to figure out which files were deleted without restoring the entire catalog and I have made some changes since the last backup.

Thanks.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer dj_paige

    StanWelks  wrote

    Thanks, but to clarify, there is nothing built into LR to recover or undo a deleted file after it is done?

    Correct.

    2 replies

    K
    Kyrazoe
    Participant
    April 14, 2020

    Hello, maybe trying a third party to recover your deleted photo is a quick and easy way. Many tools can recover deleted files as long as you have not overwritten the data. I prefer a recovery tool called Bitwar Data Recovery, which helped me a lot when data loss occurred to me. It is safe and easy to use.

    Anyway, you can have a try. Have a nice day!

    dj_paige
    dj_paige
    Legend
    July 28, 2017

    I guess the first step is to identify the photos (by name and/or by folder) that have been accidentally deleted.

    Next, you need to restore the photos from your backups to the exact same location they were in before the accidental deletion.

    Next, you need to open a backup catalog, select those photos in the backup, and then export AS A CATALOG.

    Then you can open your original catalog and import the catalog just created by following the instructions in my previous sentence.

    S
    StanWelksAuthor
    Known Participant
    July 28, 2017

    Thanks, but to clarify, there is nothing built into LR to recover or undo a deleted file after it is done?

    JP Hess
    JP Hess
    Inspiring
    July 28, 2017

    The file Lightroom opens is the catalog, which is a database. If you delete a record from the database it is gone. If you choose in Lightroom to delete an image file, you have a choice to remove it from the database or to delete it from the disk. If you choose to delete it from the disk Lightroom send it to the trash or to the recycle bin. There is no undo option to reverse that. You can recover the image from the trash if you chose that option. Then you can reimport the image. Lightroom will treat it as a newly imported image and you will have to start over on the editing.

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices