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jtrausch
jtrausch
Participant
April 18, 2019
Answered

Bulk import xmp sidecars with raw

  • April 18, 2019
  • 1 reply
  • 11920 views

I have a folder of raw CR2 files along with corresponding XMP sidecar files that I can open together no problem in Lightroom Classic but would now like to import to CC.  The only way I can find to import the XMP files is as presets, which is pretty unmanageable for a large number of files.  Is there an efficient way of importing the edits alongside the images?  Would it be simpler just to convert to DNG?

In particular I'm looking for an efficient way to move folders in and out of CC as necessary--when saving photos to a local drive Lightroom CC offers RAW + XMP or JPEG as the only alternatives, so it seems reasonable to expect I should be able to import using the same paradigm.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer JohanElzenga

When you import a raw file into Lightroom CC and that raw file has an XMP sidecar file, then the edits in that sidecar file will be applied to the image after it has been imported. You don't have to import the XMP file itself, just import the raw file. You won't see the edits yet in the 'Add Photos' dialog, but once the photo has been imported you will see them. Metadata such as ratings don't seem to get imported as well.

1 reply

JohanElzenga
Community Expert
JohanElzengaCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
April 18, 2019

When you import a raw file into Lightroom CC and that raw file has an XMP sidecar file, then the edits in that sidecar file will be applied to the image after it has been imported. You don't have to import the XMP file itself, just import the raw file. You won't see the edits yet in the 'Add Photos' dialog, but once the photo has been imported you will see them. Metadata such as ratings don't seem to get imported as well.

-- Johan W. Elzenga
A
Anonymous
August 11, 2019

I know it's working and the question was answered, but there's a problem with it. If you had copies of one photo with multiple different edits, saved with sidecar files; LR will import only one pair and claim the other is a duplicate. Can't see a way around it, other than a preset... Any other clues? Thanks

JohanElzenga
Community Expert
JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 11, 2019

adam30140095  wrote

I know it's working and the question was answered, but there's a problem with it. If you had copies of one photo with multiple different edits, saved with sidecar files; LR will import only one pair and claim the other is a duplicate. Can't see a way around it, other than a preset... Any other clues? Thanks

Lightroom Classic supports the so-called ‘virtual copy’, which is an extra set of metadata that belongs to the same image. Lightroom CC does not support this (yet).

-- Johan W. Elzenga
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