How to stop loading RAW files in Library view

[KaRolthas]

I have a collection of about 500 photos from a trip. All shot and imported in RAW.

I would like to quickly review them, rate 1-5, delete some etc, so I need to edit only the best ones. However in the library Loupe view it takes about 6-10 seconds to switch from one photo to another as it is "loading". After that loading pictures seem to have slightly different color profile. I assume at first the lightroom shows the JPEG that is embeded within the RAW file, and after loading it shows the actual RAW photo (is it?). But I don't need to see the actual RAW to rate the photos, the JPEGs are enough. Is it possible to temporarily disable this loading and speed up scrolling?

Example:

[JohanElzenga · Accepted solution]

Your assumption is correct, Lightroom generates previews and that takes time. When you import the photos, select "Embedded & sidecar" as previews. In that case Lightroom will use the camera-generated previews for the time being, just like you asked for.

[KaRolthas]

Is it possible to apply those changes to already existing collection?

[JohanElzenga]

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@KaRolthas wrote:

Is it possible to apply those changes to already existing collection?

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No, this only works for newly imported photos.

[john beardsworth]

You might remove them from the catalogue and then re-import with that option, but take care not to delete them.

Maybe it's best to import with the embedded/sidecar option next time, then decide if it is better for you?

[KaRolthas]

Thanks for the answers. If I remove them, will it preserve my edits after re-importing? Or maybe should I create XMP files?

[john beardsworth]

"should I create XMP files?"

Correct, if you have done any work on them.

[KaRolthas]

Ok, will do. Many thanks!

[KaRolthas]

Hi, I have tested the suggested solution and it works like a charm. I created XMP files, removed pictures from library, imported them again and now it shows 'embedded picture' if it was not modified. Now it's much faster to scroll through them. Thank you.

[JohanElzenga]

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@KaRolthas wrote:

Thanks for the answers. If I remove them, will it preserve my edits after re-importing? Or maybe should I create XMP files?

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I have never tried, but I would think that "Embedded & sidecar" may not work if there are XMP files present. Lightroom will read those XMP files and then I would expect it to generate a preview (based on the edits in those files) anyway. It's worth a try, though.

[john beardsworth]

I have never tried, but I would think that "Embedded & sidecar" may not work if there are XMP files present.

It does work, Johan. In "Embedded & sidecar" the "sidecar" refers to any JPEG from a raw+JPEG pair. Titles, captions and other non-adjustment metadata are read from the XMP file.

[JohanElzenga]

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@john beardsworth wrote:

I have never tried, but I would think that "Embedded & sidecar" may not work if there are XMP files present.

It does work, Johan. In "Embedded & sidecar" the "sidecar" refers to any JPEG from a raw+JPEG pair. Titles, captions and other non-adjustment metadata are read from the XMP file.

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That's for non-adjustment metadata, but the OP is talking about 'edits' he wants to keep this way. Wouldn't Lightroom automatically replace the embedded previews when there are Lightroom edits in the XMP file? When you import an image with 'embedded & sidecar' preview settings and then make an edit in Lightroom, that preview gets replaced by a Lightroom generated preview. There is no way to stop that. For that reason I would be surprised (and even call it a bug) if you could have Lightroom edits applied to the image by reading them from an XMP file, but still see the embedded preview.

[john beardsworth]

LR always reads the xmp sidecar and updates the catalogue, but previews are controlled by the choice in Import and it uses the embedded or jpeg sidecar if "embedded & sidecar" is selected. So the OP can expect slider values to be preserved in Develop, but the Library preview will be the camera-generated image.

[JohanElzenga]

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@john beardsworth wrote:

LR always reads the xmp sidecar and updates the catalogue, but previews are controlled by the choice in Import and it uses the embedded or jpeg sidecar if "embedded & sidecar" is selected. So the OP can expect slider values to be preserved in Develop, but the Library preview will be the camera-generated image.

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That's interesting. What I would have expected is that Lightroom would import the image with the embedded preview allright, but that it would then almost immediately update that preview to reflect the edits that it read from the XMP file, even if 'Replace embedded previews during idle time' is disabled in the preferences. That's how it works if you make a manual edit after import.

I just tried it and you are correct: it does not do that. The embedded preview remains, even if you switch to the develop module and back! If I make a small extra edit in the Develop module however, the preview is updated as it should be. I would call this a bug, but in this case it's a bug that helps the OP to achieve what he wants... So maybe I should not report it?... 🙂

[john beardsworth]

I just tried it and you are correct: it does not do that. The embedded preview remains, even if you switch to the develop module and back! If I make a small extra edit in the Develop module however, the preview is updated as it should be. I would call this a bug, but in this case it's a bug that helps the OP to achieve what he wants... So maybe I should not report it?... 🙂

By @JohanElzenga

Please don't. I don't know why you see it as a bug, because I see it as perfect. E+S is supposed to copy the preview from the camera maker's image, but any Develop adjustment is like the prince waking the sleeping beauty with a kiss and breaking the spell!

[JohanElzenga]

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@john beardsworth wrote:

I just tried it and you are correct: it does not do that. The embedded preview remains, even if you switch to the develop module and back! If I make a small extra edit in the Develop module however, the preview is updated as it should be. I would call this a bug, but in this case it's a bug that helps the OP to achieve what he wants... So maybe I should not report it?... 🙂

By @JohanElzenga

Please don't. I don't know why you see it as a bug, because I see it as perfect. E+S is supposed to copy the preview from the camera maker's image, but any Develop adjustment is like the prince waking the sleeping beauty with a kiss and breaking the spell!

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Indeed. And that is why I would call it a bug. There are Develop adjustments (read from the XMP file), so the spell should have been broken but isn't.

[john beardsworth]

So the "bug" is that the preview doesn't change if you go to Develop, do nothing, then come back to Library? Why should it change when you've told Import that you want to review based on embedded JPEGs, not on whatever adjustment metadata may be in the file, and you've done nothing other than hit a keyboard shortcut that accidentally took you to Develop?

As someone who does routinely use the E&S, I find that near-perfect and can always build standard/1:1 previews if I change my mind and want to see the adjustments. But obviously E&S is mainly suitable to new images.

[JohanElzenga]

No, the bug is that Lightroom is inconsistent. If a develop adjustment has been applied, then it makes all the sense in the world that Lightroom will show this. It would be confusing if it did not. And so it does when you apply the adjustment manually. Then it only makes sense to me if it also does so when the adjustment is applied in another way, like by a preset on import or by reading an XMP that contains such adjustments. But don't worry, I am not going to file a bug report for this.

[john beardsworth]

E&S might appear inconsistent in that way, but it's consistent in displaying previews in accordance with the user's choice when importing.

As I said, I use E&S a lot - it's my default - and as you know it's most-suited to fast review of lots of new images. So one is unlikely to import large numbers of previously-adjusted files.

My own most frequent case where I encounter your "inconsistency" is when I initially import on one computer and store images and their xmp onto the network or hard drive, but then switch to another computer and reimport. I'll usually choose E&S for the reimport, then maybe build 1:1 previews for edited pictures (the more I edited previously, the less likely I am to choose E&S). Maybe there might be a fifth option, E&S except Adobe Adjustments 1:1, but in practice it strikes me as unnecessary.

I'm not too worried that Adobe will rush to fix any bug or feature request, or at least I hope that they set a higher bar than inconsistency!