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regarding smart collections, what in the heck goes into the box when the export option is selected as shown in the screenshot? I also tried selection "starts with" and am confused over what it's looking to start with. I tried filename, dates, other things and always the result was an empty collection. I can find NO documentation on this.
"Exported" appears because you have a specific plug-in installed into Lightroom Classic that produces that option. It is not available to me (or anyone else without that plug-in installed).
What plug-ins do you have installed?
The point others are making is that the 'Export' item in your list is not present in their list nor is it documented. The same applies to 'Published' and 'Settings'. Therefore, the fact that the three items are listed in your copy of LrC and not other users who've responded to your original query suggests that they've been added to the list via some third party plug-in or script!
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Hopefully, you find this helpful
https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/help/photo-collections.html
warmly/j
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Thanks for trying. I appreciate your time but that article does not cover the export option and is no help. That's what I meant when I said I could find no documentation. Lots of info on the most basic stuff like stars and colors, but nothing regarding export criteria.
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I don't even see an option for "Exported"; where did you find it?
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it's one of the criteria options in the smart collection dropdown, see above screen grab
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I don't see the very first option anywhere (Exported). Hence my question.
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If one goes to the collection panel, clicks on the "+" at the top right, chooses to create a smart collection, one is presented with the create smart collection dialog. Almost midway down that box is the option to "Match" criteria. The very first dropdown box on the left has all the options for rating, pick flag, label color, etc etc and almost to the bottom is the one for "exported" which is the option I showed in my screen grab. If you still can't find it, I'm out of ammo to help.
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@Nature Light wrote:
If one goes to the collection panel, clicks on the "+" at the top right, chooses to create a smart collection, one is presented with the create smart collection dialog. Almost midway down that box is the option to "Match" criteria. The very first dropdown box on the left has all the options for rating, pick flag, label color, etc etc and almost to the bottom is the one for "exported" which is the option I showed in my screen grab. If you still can't find it, I'm out of ammo to help.
Well sorry, I can't help you as there is no such option I can find (Exported) in any menu item or fly out menu either for Smart Collections:
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I suspect you're using cloud Lightroom and not Lightroom Classic. Here is the dropdown for Lightroom Classic.
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@Nature Light wrote:
I suspect you're using cloud Lightroom and not Lightroom Classic.
Your suspicions are incorrect.
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Is exported something that you entered as any searchable text?
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If you mean literally the word "exported", no I did not as it seems redundant to put exported there when one is searching for export as chosen from the dropdown. What I am trying to learn is what criteria can be used to limit define the export smart collection.
My first puzzle is “what is or is not empty” as regards an export. I made a test smart collection and first used “export isn’t empty” as shown here
The result was 4605 images. I then changed the criteria to “export is empty” and the number went to 589,771 which is almost my whole catalog of 594,376. So I guess LR somehow knows if a file has been exported. Great except, when I activate the “isn’t empty” it gives a smart collection of 4605 and when I look at the images, the collection cannot contain all of the images I’ve exported simply because I exported some over the past week, none of which are there. So what is the trigger for exported empty or not?
Moving on from that is what led me to try and find help with the additional exported rules which have descriptions such as "contains words", "starts with", etc. What is it looking to start with or what words to contain?????
I’ve tried using the “contains words” putting in dates & file names – no luck. I tried using “starts with” using the first characters of file names – no luck. What is it looking to see what it starts with?
No matter what I put in the last field to the right, the result is zero files selected.
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"Exported" appears because you have a specific plug-in installed into Lightroom Classic that produces that option. It is not available to me (or anyone else without that plug-in installed).
What plug-ins do you have installed?
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If I understand you correctly, that's disappointing for sure and makes the "exported" option virtually useless. Adobe should somehow label or make clear that the "exported" feature ONLY applies to plug-ins. I have several plug-ins installed and fail to see how an exported search based on them would be of any use.
So, you're telling me that when I set the smart collection rule for "exported", then "isn't empty", and I get a result of 4605 images, that means that of all the images I've exported (many more than 4605), that 4605 of them had some sort of plug-in used? What then am I being told when I set the rule for "is empty" and get a result of almost my whole catalog? What good is that? I've not used plugins on my entire catalog! Seems like bottom line is I'm S.O.L for utilizing this export feature for anything useful. Not an answer I was hoping for but thanks for the help and now I can go on with other work.
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If I understand you correctly, that's disappointing for sure and makes the "exported" option virtually useless. Adobe should somehow label or make clear that the "exported" feature ONLY applies to plug-ins. I have several plug-ins installed and fail to see how an exported search based on them would be of any use.
You have misunderstood. Exported does not APPLY to plug-ins; whatever it does will apply to all of your photos regardless; it appears because you have installed a certain plug-in. What plug-ins do you have installed?
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OK, got it. Let's start over and let me tell you what I was hoping this would help me with. I am closing in on 600,000 images. I am wanting to update my website with new images and looking for a way to identify my recent "best" images. One way to do this would be to locate images I have uploaded to Facebook or Instagram. All of those images uploaded to those two sites have been "exported" from Lightroom but I have not created a specific keyword or other identifier to collect those images. Of course I've exported many others as well, but, if I could set a smart collection to collect images I've exported, I can then add additional rules such as star>4 to narrow it down. This would not only solve my problem now, but also streamline things such that I don't have to create some other identifier and then remember to use it when exporting a top image. Hope this makes sense.
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I don't consider it is within Adobe's responsibility (nor, capability) to document every possible extension which some third-party plugin may add onto the core software.
It is for Adobe to document and support the core LrC software - and Adobe's 'side' of the SDK too. And it is for the author of the plugin to provide documentation and support to its end user, so far as the specific functions added by the plugin.
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Not asking for that. This has gotten totally skewed from initial query. Forget it.
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Check with the developer of the plug-in to see if they have criterion for that filter. Obviously, Adobe doesn't have such.
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AAARRRRGGHH! I'm not interested in searching regarding any plug-in. Plug-ins entered the conversation by another explanation. I was trying to find a useful way to use this exported feature of a smart collection, that's all. Nothing whatsoever to do with plug-ins, but I gather from earlier answer that it's only useful for plug-ins which makes it totally not useful for me.
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As I said above, you have totally misunderstood. Please read my message above. https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/smart-collection-criteria/m-p/12974264#...
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The point others are making is that the 'Export' item in your list is not present in their list nor is it documented. The same applies to 'Published' and 'Settings'. Therefore, the fact that the three items are listed in your copy of LrC and not other users who've responded to your original query suggests that they've been added to the list via some third party plug-in or script!
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Are you running any special plugins? I have seen a search plugin that adds certain criteria in the smart collections panel, but I have never tried to use it (and I doubt it will work).
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Are you running any special plugins? I have seen a search plugin that adds certain criteria in the smart collections panel, but I have never tried to use it (and I doubt it will work).
By @JohanElzenga
I have plug-ins that add items to the Smart Collections panel, and they work just fine.
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again, not interested in how it applies to plug-ins. Thanks anyway and I'm done.