Lightroom Classic "No photos in selected folder"

[jonathanbliss]

Lightroom Classic 9.4

Camera Raw 12.4

Windows 10 1909

I scanned some photos into a new sub folder into a folder already in my catalogue, tried to synchronize, Lightroom hung and now my folder view seems broken.

My catalogue is showing all my photos.  I can click on all photos, search and select and find a photo.

However in folders. if I go to any folder I get "No photos in selected folder" although the files show in Windows explorer and there is a correct count of photos.

If I right click and select syncronize folder it hangs with (counting ...) after each line and the Show Missing Photos and Synchronize buttons stay greyed out.

If I uncheck everything except import new photos it gives me the synchronize button but even on small folders hangs for an hour. 

Waht si wrong and how do I fix it.  I use catalogue metadata not sidecar files, I can't afford to lose all my key wording.

[JP Hess]

Maybe I am not reading your procedure correctly. Even though you scanned the images into that subfolder, have you gone through the process of importing them into Lightroom?

[jonathanbliss]

Hi, rather than importing them via import I was using the Import into catalogue via the synchronise folder option.

[jonathanbliss]

Fixed by recovering from a catalogue backup.

[DdeGannes]

I would recommend using the normal import procedure and add to import.

[jonathanbliss]

Still doesn't work. I fixed the catalogue but import and/or folder sync don't work and re-break it.

In my windows pictures folder I have a sub-folder for camera photos and a second sub folder for scans. I also have a lot of other sub folders with other stuff, including things lightroom can't import. I only sync scans and camera sub folders.

For some reason, each time I try and import the new scans, or sync the scans subfolder, lightroom is going up the hierarchy to pictures and syncing everything.

I end up with 

-- camera -- date1

                 -- date2

 -- scans -- batch1

               -- batch2

-- pictures -- camera -- date1

                                  -- date2

                  -- scans -- batch1

                                -- batch2

                   --junk1

                    --junk2
just to confirm, there are no symbolic links that might cause this circular behaviour.

Then it hangs, possibly on not importable stuff or perhaps because it has the same folders twice in different structures. I've trashed and rebuilt a few times and get the same behaviour. I tried deleting my synced cloud library first (selected collections are synced). I've tried import from the folder and tried sync folder. I've tried deleting everything except the camera folder and rebuilding but that doesn't work.

I have fifteen years of key worded and curated photos, folders are iso date names, images are key worded and specific shoots are collections. I don't want to lose that work.

[jonathanbliss · Accepted solution]

I was wrong, somehow I had a shortcut to pictures in a sub folder which created a circular reference. Deleting that and it all works.

So both import and folder synchronize work now. 

If you get this symptom look for a shortcut or symbolic link.