P: Delete Images on Card after Import

Report · Jun 03, 2011

I would love to get an option to let LR automatically delete images from the card after they have been successfully imported. Images on the card that have not been imported, are let alone, of course.

It would serve two purposes for me:
1. It would save me deleting the images manually.
2. It would dramatically improve the experience of importing images from one card into different catalogs.

An incremental import of subsets of images on one card into a single catalog (but e.g., different folders) is well supported by the "New Photos" filter in the import dialog. However, when I switch catalogs while downloading images from a card -- because some subset of images on the card needs to go into a different catalog -- the "New Photos" filter no longer works. As a result, I have to remember and wade through a lot of images I already imported into a different catalog.

I realise that deleting images from the card is a sensitive issue. It must not happen prior to having verified that the image indeed has been copied (or converted) to a new location. Picasa supports this double checking.

As a safety net, Lightroom could offer a "restore deleted images" feature that would resurrect deleted files from cards. Users will find such a feature tremendously useful for other occasions as well.

I'd be happy with the following compromises as well:

* The option to delete images after import is available only if one activates a second backup location.

* Images are not deleted but the tracking of which images have already been imported is extended to work across catalogs. A record of what images still need to be imported could be associated with a currently inserted card.

Report · Sep 25, 2011

With all due respect, but the idea that file deletion necessarily requires card corruption is nonsense.

Maybe your users were pulling cards out of readers without properly ejecting them, I don't know.

In two years of card usage, I've never formatted the card once in the camera. I only delete files using Windows Explorer. I have, of course, never had a problem, and, of course, still have access to the full capacity of the card.

Report · Sep 25, 2011

I've recently switched to a delete-after-import workflow (using an import plugin instead of Lightroom's native import dialog box), and in my case, following a confirmation prompt, and I *really* like it. Its sorta like getting a tiny pebble out of your shoe - ya don't always realize how much its been bothering you until you get it out ;-}

I assume TK is correct - that it won't cause any technical problems.

If TK is not correct, I sure hope Adobe comments somehow somewhere: "We don't support delete-after-import due to risk of increased problems / decreased reliability...". As it stands, its hard for me to imagine any other explanation for not supporting this feature other than "we just haven't gotten around to it yet...".

Personally, I see this feature coupled with another feature: image validity checking.

Here's how I would like it to work:
- Lightroom imports files and checks validity as best it can (which in the case of some faulty cards/readers, may be less than perfect), and notifies user.
- User double-checks that all imported images are acceptable (don't have tell-tale signs of image corruption), and provides his-or-her (retractable) stamp of approval.
- Lightroom deletes all images from card that have been approved by both software and user, *and* stores check-codes for those images (in the catalog, if not DNG).
- Any image corruption in the future will be detected.

This would be optimal for me. TK probably wants the intermediate prompt to be optional. And, of course, nobody would have to use this feature if they did not want to.

-R

Report · Feb 17, 2012

Can not move from Camera during import with Lightroom 3.2. Feature? I submit that it is not! Please add this to improve workflow!

Report · Apr 08, 2012

Please. Please add this feature (which by the way used to exist until LR 2.something).

Do you consider your users too dumb to be able to decide whether they want to take the risk? And, by the way, what risk is there? I can simply cut & paste the files under Windows, has Microsoft ever considered removal of this feature because of security concerns and demanded that you copy, check each file and delete the originals manually?

This is so stupid, really!

Report · Aug 20, 2012

I agree, this feature needs to exist.
While Adobe may think it is safer to get us to manually delete or format the card, I think it is safer for Lightroom to do it. I know it is only going to delete the files it has imported (or tried to), and I can always go back to the card and recover deleted files if need be anyway.
My memory is definitely not as reliable as code, I could end up formatting a card thinking I have imported, going out and filling it up, then finding out I didn't actually ever finish clicking the Import button.
Then, the photos are gone for good and overwritten.

Report · Dec 31, 2012

We have been doing Moves (Copy and Delete) for years with traditional file managers , so why not have it in LR as well, call it "Move" ----- But Wait there is a "Move" option on the Import menu and it does just that - Except that it is disabled for external devices -

This means that LR designers purposefully did not want to give users the option of deleting from external media (most likely as a safety mechanism)

So LR designers please re-think the 'Move' option. A simple "This will delete the Imported files on the Removable Media" warning with a tick box never to show the warning again should resolve this issue.

Report · Jan 02, 2013

I just realised that maybe one of my earlier points wasn't as clearly formulated as it should have been.

If one has camera-specific RAW files in a catalog one has the option of letting LR convert these RAW files into DNG files and -- wait for it -- big double gasp -- with the option of deleting the originals after "successful conversion".

How's that reconcilable with the (allegedly existing) notion that a users originals must not be touched? How thorough is the test that the conversion was indeed "successful"?

Guess what, I'm happy to accept responsibility to chose that option, If I'm concerned, I can make a backup of the originals first.

AFAIC, there is no difference between deleting a users original RAW files (which are known in some cases to contain more information than the converted DNG files) and deleting already imported files from a card.

P.S.: Deleted files on a card are completely recoverable by simply restoring directory entries (as long one does not write to the card, but why would one?). The same can probably not be said about the deleted original RAW files on a hard drive as subsequent hard drive activity will likely reuse the space that was used for the files.

Report · Jan 02, 2013

Hitting Delete also deletes your originals, as does Ctrl+Backspace / Cmf+Delete with rejects etc. So how are these methods "reconcilable with the (allegedly existing) notion that a users originals must not be touched?"

It's not exactly muddled thinking or even sheer hypocrisy, but some means of deliberate destruction of original files are needed in any system and other types are judged unnecessary and unacceptably risky. DNG conversion falls one side, wiping cards on the other. You may as well attempt to reconcile a donkey and a camel, and you would probably have a greater chance of success....

Report · Jan 02, 2013

We can debate a lot here about these arguments, but I believe this is futile as Adobe does not seem t o care at all for it.

At least there hasn't been any reaction yet from an Adobe employee. I would really appreciate it if Adobe could at least
* acknowledge that this is meant as a feature and not a bug
* if a feature, provide the reasoning behind it (e. g. why moving a file using Lightroom should have a higher risk of data loss than moving a file with e.g. Windows Explorer)
* if a bug, that and when it will be fixed

Report · Apr 19, 2013

I too have not had problems. I almost never format my cards, and I shoot a lot (900,000 photos in my catalog). I always move my files off my card using windows explorer, and there is no reduction in card capacity or file system issues.

Report · Apr 03, 2015

I have a slightly different suggestion. This thread is focused on "delete after import". While I see value in that, what I am looking for is the ability to delete from my camera file under my control from within Lightroom. Putting this another way, I want to manage my photos from camera to completion with Lightroom and what is missing is the ability to delete pictures from the camera once I have completed my work with them and confirmed I have the appropriate backups in place.

I don't think I would use an automatic delete function but within the library function I do want to be able to select pictures on my camera and delete them. I rarely want to erase my entire card so the format option has no value for me.

Why can there not be an option in the "preferences" secton?
a) Never allow deletions from camera through lightroom
b) Allow manual deletions from camera through lightroom
c) Automatically delete from camera after successful import

I read a lot about how Lightroom is supposed to be positioned as an "end to end" processing solution for photos but without the ability to manage the source information the product does not provide end-to-end support.

I will continue to use the camera-supplied product to manage movement of files from the camera to my computer. I think forcing me to use two products shows an immaturity in the Lightroom product that hopefully Adobe will look at in the future. Why use two products when one can do the job as well or better?

Report · Aug 04, 2015

Hmm, faulting module unknown usually means something was unloaded before being accessed (like a codec or driver).

The Bridge team will have to see if they can reproduce the problem. (but so far I don't recall anyone hitting this while testing Win 10 betas)

Report · Aug 04, 2015

Most of the issues I've seen have been permissions related. Have you tried running Bridge as Administrator? Does the problem go away?

Report · Aug 04, 2015

Hello Jeffrey,
I have just tried to run Bridge as an administrator and same result. The program crashed..

Report · Aug 04, 2015

Tried running as an administrator and same thing happens.. program crashes.. Should I uninstall Bridge then reinstall?

Report · Aug 04, 2015

Installed Windows 10 and when Deleting image file from within Bridge it crashed and closes.

Report · Aug 04, 2015

Okay Jeffrey, so Running as Admin fixed the Deleting issue.. However as i open a file from within Bridge to Photoshop CC 2015; Bridge is (Not Responding) and Photoshop does not open..

Report · Aug 12, 2015

Same here, upgraded to Windows 10 today, now Adobe Bridge crashes each time I try to open it :-(
Not to mention that it disappeared from my list of installed apps, I can only see it through the creative cloud launcher. Come on Microsoft! ..

Report · Aug 24, 2015

Same for me. Crashing after installing it on windows 10.

Report · Oct 07, 2015

Lightroom, Issue !! I have a Issue every time I transfer all my pictures from my Nikon D800 to My library in LightRoom , I understand the philosophy that LR has But this option it must select by US , example I use bridge to transfer the pictures, bridge has the option to errase after download, them open LR to Upload the pictures to this app, is the waste time ever ! or delete manually from the camera !! Sorry for my english!!

Report · Oct 13, 2015

It's crashing every time I try and open it and I'm on Windows 7

Report · Oct 17, 2015

Same problem here after installing Windows 10. Getting crash on startup with BridgeCC (64 bit), Bridge CS6 (64 bit) and Bridge CS6.

Tried reinstalling Bridge CC. Problem still there.

Tried updating On1. Problem still there. But at least after that the ON1 uninstall works..

Tried removing On1. Problem still there. but leaving ON1 off the system until Bridge is fixed.

I can not consider upgrading my other two PCs to Windows 10 until I can find a fix for Bridge.

Does this mean I have to do a complete system rebuild? Or maybe revert to Windows 7 until I hear of a fix? I hope not.

Report · Dec 14, 2017

Deleting files from SD card after import works quite fine with Bride and its "Photo Dowloader". BUT: The Photo Downloader is - sorry - a piece of crap, no filter options for doing an efficient import selection - e.g. sort and stack by capture date and time - nothing. Scrolling behaviour is MOST terrible: this probably Windows specific fine, but it is HORRIBLE on Mac. Adobe still didn't learn, how to use the 1000x more performant macOS APIs. But it still can get worse: auto generation of folders doing import by Photo Downloader, supports only a format YYYYMMDD (can not be user changed), where Lightroom uses YYYY-MM-DD, time to check compliance at Adobe: left hand in software department does not know what the right one does 😞 Such ugly things could easily be avoided. Yahoo, it still can get worse (ok this is Photoshop related, but I don't care): For sport photos editing super important Radial and Zoom filter has still no Preview and - related to how it looks like - is still a code from 1989 or so... If you check Ps forums in internet, this is complained for at least 10 years. Back to Lr: Drag and drop from files directly into a Lightroom library folder does not work. Lr just imports into folder selected under "To:" in the importer tool. If you forget to select the folder you want to import manually, you'll get a messy import to a random folder. That's really HORRIBLE Look and Feel. But that's Adobe, to big to listen to customers. 😞 Same as Sony: this are the both companies with the worst customer awareness ever, directly followed by Apple. Please have a nice day... And: Honi soit qui mal y pense: please apologize some of the ugly words used, was written at an emotional moment. But this does not change mentioned content. 😉

Report · Jun 09, 2018

When selecting "import" and if the source is a memory card, the Move option is not available.

I
found pointers to a previous discussion on this forum. The
recommendation was to reformat the memory card after every import with
Copy.

I don't find that to be a suitable recommendation. I keep
other files on the card such as video files that I don't want to import
in Lightroom.

If I
import files from the card with "Copy", and then delete the bad pictures
from the catalog, and don't format the card, at the next import, these
pictures that were deleted from the catalog now will be selected for
import again. Really inconvenient.

I'm
looking for a simple workflow where the pictures are copied and removed
from the card at the same time. I feel it is unintuitive and
time-wasting to have to perform a separate action to either format the
card, or manually delete the file.

I
realize some have concerns about reliability and possibility of picture
loss. IMO, this concern applies equally to removable and non-removable
sources. The user should be able to choose what works for them. Put a
warning in the UI - every time, if need be. Or perform a verification
after copy before deleting the file from the original source. Just don't
grey out the option altogether.

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112TB NAS

Report · Jun 10, 2018

The other comments you received, prior to your discussion being moved, summed it up correctly.
LR Restricts the use of the Move option so if anything goes wrong with the import the original image files are still on the memory card.
Your only option is to use the File Manager for your OS to Delete those recently imported image files from the card. If you uncheck the option to Auto Eject the card after import has finished then all you have to do is open the File Manager program for your OS and delete the files. Then Eject the card.