Impossible to specify export order

[winbiz]

It's nice to finally be able to modify export settings in Lightroom CC but as I export them, the photos are always suddenly sorted in a very strange order (not by name, date or anything obvious).

It'd be nice to be able to export them in the same order as the one used to edit them or even be able to choose in which order to export them !

[kylem78372290]

I'm having the exact same issue today.  Except it's only with one gallery.  My galleries, in the past, have always exported in the order that I have them displayed in the edit module.  

[99jon]

I’m not seeing this problem. When I go to the named folder I saved the exports to I can use all the operating system tools e.g. to sort by: name, date, file type, tags, rating etc. Admittedly it’s easier on Windows than Mac.

[winbiz]

Thanks for the reply.

I will try to be as precise as possible.

As I edit my pictures in Lightroom CC, I sort them by "Capture Date" (because I use different cameras).

When I'm done editing them, I need to export them in the same order there were sorted.

So I select all the pictures, then right click and export.

As the Export window opens (still in Lightroom), the photos are suddenly sorted in a random order (not by name, size, date or anything).

And once you're in the Export window, it's impossible to sort them.

So when I'm done exporting my pictures, they are sorted in this very messy way.

I've tried it both with a Mac and a PC and the problem remains the same, although the pictures' order is different from one machine to another, which is also very strange and makes me believe that the order Lightroom has put the pictures in is completely random.

[Jim Wilde]

Can you explain a bit more about this? Files don't exist on your hard drive in any natural "order", they are scattered at random by the file system. As such, we are dependant upon whichever app we are using to display or list those files in a specific order, and a more robust app will allow them to be displayed/listed in various different ways. The most common way would be in file-name order, but there are plenty of other different tokens which are available to be used, but again that depends on the capabilities of the app.

So, what app are you using to list/display the exported files? And if you use the operating systems default file manager (Finder or File Explorer), and ensure that you are using filename as the primary sort field, does that not correct things?

I understand that if you have the files in Lightroom sorted in a custom order, those files will not (cannot) be listed by the file system in that same custom order unless you ensure that you rename the images during export to preserve the custom order, e.g. by using the "Custom Name" option with a sequence number, so that the default filename display order corresponds with the custom order set in Lightroom.

[winbiz]

Thanks for the reply.

I will try to be as precise as possible.

As I edit my pictures in Lightroom CC, I sort them by "Capture Date" (because I use different cameras).

When I'm done editing them, I need to export them in the same order there were sorted.

So I select all the pictures, then right click and export.

As the Export window opens (still in Lightroom), the photos are suddenly sorted in a random order (not by name, size, date or anything).

And once you're in the Export window, it's impossible to sort them.

So when I'm done exporting my pictures, they are sorted in this very messy way.

I've tried it both with a Mac and a PC and the problem remains the same, although the pictures' order is different from one machine to another, which is also very strange and makes me believe that the order Lightroom has put the pictures in is completely random.

[Jim Wilde]

OK, please confirm the application name that you are using. There is no longer a "Lightroom CC", there is either plain "Lightroom" (the cloud version) or there is "Lightroom Classic" (the traditional desktop version). I need to know which you are using so that I can try to visualise what you are reporting, and the two apps react differently to a right-click>Export command. I've checked using both apps on both Windows and MacOS and I do not see any sudden reordering of the images in the grid or filmstrip in either app after initiating an export.

Also, please let me know if you are renaming the files during the export process to include a sequence number, and also let me know what application you are using to view the exported files.

[winbiz]

I'm using Lightroom (cloud version). I am renaming the pictures to include a sequence number but that apparently doesn't change anything since the pictures are already in a strange order before I do that. Same thing for the app I'm using to visualize the exported pictures... it doesn't matter since the reordering of the files happens within Lightroom when I go from the edit module to the export module. Thanks again for your help. 

[Jim Wilde · Accepted solution]

OK, I've done some further testing and I think you've come across a bug in Lightroom, which I'll report.

There are basically 4 ways to implement the Export process in Lightroom: Using File menu>Export, Using keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+E, using the Share Icon at the top right of the window, or using the right-click>Export option. The first 3 work correctly, but the last one does indeed seem to mix-up the images in the Filmstrip into a random order.

So try one of the other options to initiate the export to see if that works for you.

[winbiz]

It is indeed working when I use the other ways to export...

I'm angry at myself for not having tried that before !

Thanksfor your help !

[kik41776797]

Hello

I am not sure if there is more recent thread about the issue I am describing, but it's the same issue as this one you are responding so let me illutrate here.

I am using Lightroom app on my android phone. So this is not a PC nor Mac. That means there is no File option or anything similar.

When the edited files are exported, they are indeed in messy random order like the original person reported.

I "believe" it's because the export process is multi-threaded and just spit out whatever file that's completed first. So the exported file creation time is now all random and independent from the capture time. (I could be wrong about this theory but the end result is still wrong no matter how.)

Here, what's important is that the exported files don't need to be sorted by the photo capture time. The exported files just have to be "created" in the same order as the original order(photo capture time). 

All the typical photo viewers sort by file creation time. Lightroom just needs to export files in the same order.

I wish Lightroom team look into this issue. More and more people use phones or tablets editing photos nowdays. Onordered output files is just unuseable.

Thanks

[Monta32632376sikr]

I use Lightroom on my Samsung tablet and still has this issue with exporting files. In sport photography I really need this sequence but Lightroom make everything worse. Really sad.

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

You’ve posted to an ancient thread. It is highly unlikely that the issue described in this thread, though not impossible, is the same one you are currently experiencing. Rather than resurrect an old thread that is seemingly similar, you are better off posting to a new thread with fresh, complete information, including system information, a complete description of the problem, and step-by-step instructions for reproduction. 

If the issue is the same, we will merge you back into the appropriate location. 

Thank you!