P: Ability to lock photos to prevent further editing

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I'm a relatively newbie to Lightroom and I think it is fantastic.

It does occur to me that pros who have been using Lightroom for a while understand all the issues about selections, settings, copying, pasting, synchronising etc etc.

Like many things in life the people who do things almost as second nature forget what it was like to be a beginner.

The one thing that has surprised me about lightroom is that I cannot find a way of indicating "I am happy with this - I just want to lock it to ensure I don't damage, amend or delete it" through my own incompetence.

[LR_Kevin]

That would be cool, to "lock" the photo down. If you tried to make any more edits, it could offer to make a virtual copy.

I like it.

[J453]

Do you guys think it should be merged with this topic? http://feedback.photoshop.com/photosh...

[J453]

Do you guys think it should be merged with this topic? http://feedback.photoshop.com/photosh...

[J453]

Do you guys think it should be merged with this topic? http://feedback.photoshop.com/photosh...

[ratz2]

Yeah that's a good idea too!
It might be cool to have a feature in Bridge that would keep track of all of the Final files used in a project. I do package with InDesign but maybe just a pointer to the original RAW file(s) that were used in a project? Maybe it doesn't make sense? Maybe a way within Bridge to LOCK the folder containing Final files such as right after I send a project to the printer I would LOCK those files so I know I ALWAYS have the files in the state I sent them. Then if I wanted to edit them again Bridge could offer to make a copy of them and maybe name them with a version 2 or whatever way you set to name versions in Bridge prefs.

Sort of like having "Digital Negatives" with RAW files because you would ALWAYS have the files in that state to go from.

[Ian Lyons]

Jeff,

Merging would be useful.

[WinstonInBoise]

Doesn't a Snapshot do this?

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Merging is a possibility but note that the OP just asked for a way of flagging final versions. He didn't imply locking. I use colour labels for recording the status and that works fine because I don't have a locking requirement.

So strictly speaking, the two threads had different motivations. If this thread's OP (pat d) agrees that locking would address his feature request (in which case locked photos need to stand out somehow) then merging makes sense.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

In which situations exactly did you run across the problem of accidentally changing photos?

It only happens to me when I use "Auto Sync" and forget to switch it off after I'm done. Next time when I happen to have multiple photos selected but of course only edit one in the Develop module, I sometimes don't notice the still active "Auto Sync" and then unintentionally apply changes to all selected photos.

I'm not sure whether I should just discipline myself better or if the Auto Sync button should change colour to make that mode more noticeable or whether there should be some feedback showing that "Auto Syncing" is happening. When the filmstrip is open, there is such feedback, but when it's closed I'm not aware of "Auto Syncing" going on.

Locking won't help me with this problem because I would not have locked the images I didn't want to have synced.

If anyone ran into such "Auto Sync" problems as well and thinks it is hard to discipline oneself to always switch it off after having used it then I'd be happy to make a feature request. The simplest solution would be to let "Auto Sync" automatically revert to "off" after a change of image selection but surely some would not regard that as a good idea.

[ratz2]

No I do Graphic Design work and once I get a photo to the point where it is used in a project I want to be able to LOCK it so I don't accidentally do anything more to it. If it was locked the only thing Lightroom would let me do is offer to make a copy for me that way it's like the idea of the "Digital Negative" except for my project files which would be GREAT!

[areohbee]

Yeah, in general I'm not a fan of things turning on and off automatically, but this may be a case where it is entirely appropriate - and predictable, and immediate...

Workflow:
1. select images.
2. turn on auto-sync if desired.
3. adjust images.
(rinse, and repeat...)

- I like it!

[areohbee]

Auto-sync is a biggie, but its not an only. And, having an "in-your-face" indication when its on, and maybe auto turnoff, would go a long way in alleviating the auto-sync problem.

I dont know how I do it, but another inadvertent edit I constantly make is "Exposure Matching", I dont think I'm issueing the keystrokes to do it, but it happens.

There are other keyboard initiated edits too that happen from time to time. And also, for me, there's... - sorry, I lost my train of thought. Maybe I was going to say DevAdjust - my relative preset and adjustment plugin.

Oh yeah, ratings - I use the ']' key constantly, to adjust brush size, but it increases ratings when you dont have an active brush. I realize that one would not be able to brush unless unlocked, but this points more to the ability to lock different things, which I'd also like. Maybe as coarse as Unlock/lock for:

- Develop Settings and/or
- Metadata.

Then it could be unlocked for a quick tweak to develop settings, without inadvertently changing ratings or whatever, or unlocked for a metadata change, whilst assuring no inadvertent develop setting changes.

[areohbee]

Partly, its an assurance thing.

Its comforting to know that if a photo is locked, it hasn't changed since it was locked, period.

I would keep all my photos locked all the time (after initial editing). Unlock to edit some more, or approve prompt to accept changes despite the lock. That way you can bump exposure in quick develop even when locked, without too much fuss... (for example). Maybe a prompt like:

"Increase exposure by .1 on 3 locked photos? - Are you sure?...

In other words, the point is to protect from inadvertent changes, but not make it inconvenient to make changes on purpose - even if photo is locked.

R

[ratz2]

Did you see my "digital negative" idea above?
It could make you a version copy of the locked file.

[areohbee]

Yes - This sounds like another good option. I wouldn't want it to replace the other options, but in addition to, it would be great!...

[areohbee]

If locking is what's being called for, then forget the rest of this reply.

But, if marking a photo as the final within a group is what's being requested, I'd like to suggest the alternative feature request for enhanced photo group handling (aka stack replacement technology) - please read down aways since the topic evolved quite a bit... In a nutshell - any set of photos could be defined as some kind of group, and one photo in the group is always elected as "representative". I would think this "representative" would be the same as "final" in this case.

[ratz2]

Maybe a way to MARK, LOCK and TAG it with the project that this final photo version was used in?
Then if you tried to open it Lightroom could offer to make a virtual copy of the final file as a version 2 to edit that way you always have the FINAL file in the state it was used in that project but could still go on from there to edit for another use.

[ratz2]

Note I said TAG not keyword. Keywords are for sorting photos for Lightroom use and I want a separate way to sort specifically for projects final files are used in.

[areohbee]

There is no concept of "project" in Lightroom that I know of, perhaps you should define what you mean by that term.

[ratz2]

I mean that I use photos outside of Lightroom in design projects but I would like to know when I am in Lightroom which photos were the Final versions used in a certain design project. Using a TAG would differentiate from Lightroom workflow.

[areohbee]

Well, from the first response given, it seems like Adobe may be thinking of this more like the "lock" idea. I mean if all you want to do is tag a photo as final for a project you can easily use a free IPTC field or custom metadata if you don't want to bastardize IPTC. I mean, you could easily define a custom metadata field, called "project", then just enter the name of the project for each final version to be included. Then you can filter all finals used in a project... Would this fall short of your desires? (you could also define project status as custom metadata...) I use custom metadata all the time to associate photos in various ways or record notes about them, without polluting the keyword space or consuming color labels...

[areohbee]

Jeffrey Tranberry said: "Do you guys think it should be merged with this topic? http://feedback.photoshop.com/photosh..."

I say: "Yes, most definitely"!

There is considerable confusion about whether "marking as final" implies locking. And, there being 2 Ideas about it makes it even more subject to question. My sense is that any-ol' metadata item can be used to "mark" any photo for any reason (hopefully custom metadata will be supported in Lr4 for this sort of thing...).

Without the "locking" aspect, what would be the value added in marking "as final" over a simple metadata assignment?

[areohbee]

I'd like to request some other options besides "Create a Virtual Copy" if user tries to edit a locked file:

- Accept change, but remain locked (allows single edits in case you just want to add one keyword, or increment temperature or exposure by .1... - I find this *very* convenient when keeping files locked via ChangeManager - avoids having to unlock, adjust one thing, then re-lock).
- Unlock - self explanatory (I almost never explicitly unlock files anymore in ChangeManager - just start editing then approve the unlock prompt).
- Revert after a few seconds (allows one to freely experiment temporarily, with the knowledge that it will return to its locked state immediately thereafter - I use this all the time in ChangeManager (via the 'Ignore' function) - also my display driver works this way ;-).

PS - Another option I like is to create a snapshot when a file is locked, so in case its unlocked for editing or whatever, one can still compare to or return to previous locked state or whatever. If a snapshot is associated with a locked photo, there should also be an option to update the snapshot if change accepted (see above), and date changed to reflect update.

PS - Please display snapshot and/or lock date-time.

Summary:
=======
The goal is to eliminate inadvertent changes, *without* impeding the ability to continue to make changes on purpose - or even to play (er, I meant "experiment").

[areohbee]

Another related topic:

New way to handle related groups of photos in Lightroom. Hint: read down a ways - this 'Idea' evolved considerably after initial conception.

In case ya didn't catch the connection:
--------------------------------------------------
One photo is always the "elected representative" in a defined group of photos (for the purpose of collapsed viewing...), so if one defined a group of photos as being "potentially final for a project" then which ever one was the elected representative would also serve to "mark" it as final in this case.

[areohbee]

Very related 'Idea': Mark a photo as final