Library module Collection Set folders have disappeared--but not the subfolders they contained.

[Richard Behan]

Lightroom Version Number

6.14

Operating System

1. macOS 10.14 Mojave

In 2013 I began organizing my downloaded images (stored in a My Book external hard drive) into annual folders. Below is a screen shot.

I followed this scheme with my collections of saved prints as well, setting up annual Collection Sets for each year. So the first year in each listing should be 2013, and it always has been. But today when I opened Lightroom, the first Collection Set was 2017. (See screen shot below.) What happened to the first four years?

Well, the Collection Set folders are gone, but the Collections of saved prints are not. They now appear in alphabetical order below the 2020 Collection Set, dozens and dozens of them. It seems the Collection Set folders just dumped all their contents on the floor, so to speak. Can anyone explain how/why that happened?

I suppose I can create new Collection-sets for 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 and drag the subfolders back into these new ones. But hey, is there an easier way?

Suggestions will be immensely appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

I can't give you an explanation, but you seem to be a bit confused about the terminology, which makes it more difficult to understand what might be going on. There is no such thing as a 'collection set folder'. There are folders and subfolders in your Folders panel (these represent real folders on disk) and there are collections and collection sets in the collections panel. Everything shown in the Collections panel screenshot is a collection set, meaning that there are collections inside them. "2020" is a collection set, but "Barbara, miscellany" is also a collection set, not a collection. The icons tell you what it is:

Collection sets can be nested, so "Barabara, miscellany" could well be inside another collection set called "2013". Collections cannot be nested.
As for the problem: all I can think of is user error. I have never seen and never heard that collection sets can spontaneously disappear. And rearranging things manually again seems to be the only solution, I'm afraid.

 

[Richard Behan]

Johan, I'm confused about a whole lot in Lightroom, and recognize it operates with an intellect far greater then mine. "User error?" Very likely, but do you have ANY idea what error I committed? If I do construct new Collection Sets for 2013 ff, and drag all those collections back into them, I can I be sure not to commit the same error again? (And by the way, how do you activate those red identifying icons? I've never seen them.)

Thanks for your savvy and your patience.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Johan, I'm confused about a whole lot in Lightroom, and recognize it operates with an intellect far greater then mine. "User error?" Very likely, but do you have ANY idea what error I committed? If I do construct new Collection Sets for 2013 ff, and drag all those collections back into them, I can I be sure not to commit the same error again? (And by the way, how do you activate those red identifying icons? I've never seen them.)

Thanks for your savvy and your patience.

The red is text I added myself to the screenshot to show you what each icon stands for. I have no idea what happened, but creating a new collection set and dragging the other sets inside it should not cause any problems.

 

[clee01l]

Your screen shot shows collection sets. You can compare the icons on your Collection Sets with Johan's "Africa" Collection set. The various Icons in Johan's screen shot show the difference between Collection Set, Static Collection and a Smart Collection.

The right pointing triangle in your screen shot indicates that the Collection set is collapsed. If you click on the right pointing triangle, it becomes a down pointing triangle and the collections contained inside are exposed in a dropdown tree.