Develop module Image Mysteriously Disappeared

[David PZ]

Lightroom Version Number

5.7

Operating System

1. macOS 10.14 Mojave

Never thought this could happen. I was editing an image with three virtual copies from a collection. This image was also in some other collections. I never liked the delete button being next to the +button and the backslash button. It has happened time and again that when I intended to use the + or the / buttons, I would accidentally hit the delete button and the image is gone. Then I set the collection file from which it disappeared as the target collection, go into the HD, find the image and bring it back. This time I mistakenly hit the delete button and the image with all the highlighted virtual copies disappeared and all the images were nowhere to be found, not in all the other collections or the HD files. I am really puzzled.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Didn't you try Cmd-Z? That should 'undo' mistakes like removing an image from a collection. Simply hitting the Delete key does not completely remove the images from the catalog; you will always get a confirmation dialog. If they are really gone, then you must have hit 'Delete' followed by 'Enter' somehow.

 

[David PZ]

I didn't do Cmd-Z right after the images disappeared. I automatically went to the HD to get it back, the way I'd done so many times. Of course, doing Cmd-Z now just takes me back to the previous page I was on. Should I keep doing it until I am back where the loss occurred? I am kinda afraid that I might mess up things more as I had done more searches, including trying to import that image in a desktop folder, that had been prepared for printing, back into LR, which I failed. It seems that I have to resort to finding it in my backup HD or Time Machine to bring it back. But if it it's still in LR, it could be a problem too. If keeping doing Cmd-Z is safe, I am willing to try it.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

If the image(s) were really removed from Lightroom, then Cmd-Z won’t bring them back if I’m not mistaken. It’s something you can use if you remove an image from a collection by mistake. If the image is still in Lightroom it should be in ‘All Photographs’.

 

[David PZ]

Johan, I checked 'All Photographs,' it's not there, so it's gone. And I never pressed enter after hitting delete either. Of course, when you delete from a Collection, you are not asked to delete from disc or remove. The fact that it was in Collection and I edited it showed that it must be in All Photographs. Yet it's not there now. So it's a mystery. Thank you for your help.

 

[David PZ]

The problem was solved. I called my son in LA who knows a lot about computers, but no longer uses LR. He took control of my computer and found the lost image thru Finders. Then he imported it back into LR using Add, not Copy, and it's done. Of course, I must reedit it now.