directing collections "looking at external hd" back to c drive

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craig_k

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how does one direct "collections" only......everything else in the folders panel ,where the same image in collections is linked to c drive just fine
all photos in collections have ?marks showing they reside on external after a copy move.....

(I "copied" my hierarchy to an external so as to operate from there but had some issues so I want to start over with that process)

in my library folders panel all image folders are properly linked but in the collections panel still thinks they are on the external... how do I get colections to relink back to my original catalog like the image folders did in folders panel?

i thought by just updating folder location on c drive would do it but it didn't .....thank you for your help
 
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Every image in a Collection in the Collection panel is located in a folder in the Folder panel. If the image shows a (?) in the grid view it is because LR has discovered that location where you originally imported the image to be different from what is represented as fact in the filesystem. In other words you moved the Image. Images do not necessarily need to exist together in folders to be included together in a collection. Collections are virtual containers where you can see images that have common attributed or were "collected" and grouped by you.

You and I live in Texas, Jim Wilde and Victoria Bampton live in England. Texas and England are the 'folders' And LightroomForums is the collection that bring us all together This is the difference between collections and folders. Now how did you move those images and where did you put them?
 
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I copied to an external to work off there....and that where LR collections says it is......on the external

I don't have any ?marks in the folders panel in grid view sir......the only ?marks are on the images that are contained in the collections portion

while in collections and click on the image with ?mark and if I select "show in library" it shows it to be on my external reflected in the folders panel

how do I direct it back to the folders panel that is on c drive and my lr catalog?
 
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There is a disconnect between what you are saying and what I am understanding. The Collections panel is found just below the folder panel in LR Every image listed in a collection in the collection panel must exist in the folder panel. If it has (?) in the collection panel then the same image in the folder panel will have a (?) too. Collections are just views of what exists in you catalog and every image in your catalog lives is a folder on your HD(s). Right click one one of the images that shows the (?) and a message box will pop up telling you the image is missing and show you the path in the filesystem where LR cataloged the image. The folder panel is just a view of the filesystem that displays all of the image locations in the LR catalog. The collections in the Collection panel are groupings of images that are in the file system and also show up in folders shown in the folder panel.

If you are having trouble matching what I am saying with your understanding of folders and collections, then maybe a screen shot of the folder panel AND the collection panel describing what you are trying to say will help both of us.
 
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here is a request for help from last night as to what I did and ran into.......I successfully relinked everything back up on c drive in my original LR catalog today except for I found in collections all images have a ?mark and when you ask to show in folder it points to the external, not the c drive folders.... let me get a screen shot for you


LR 3.6 ....i wanted to xfer everything to ext hd incl catalogs and operate from there
I "copied" my present 2012-2013 folders to another folder and added those to my external hd , that I have been backing up to all along with the intention of just using it since my internal was filling up...so as to work off it instead of c drive.
I had an issue because I failed to "open a new folder" in the library folder panel to accept the import of the 2012-2013 material...
I copied my LR folder over to the external and got it to successfully link up to the imported 2012 material but had some issues so I used the remove option to remove the external and try later.I relinked my lr original folder back to LR so as to just work off it and c drive like all along.

my present issue is I am using the original c drive lr 3.6 catalog and my 2013 folders show up and are linked.....but everything in my collections are tied\linked to the external and show ? marks on everything that's in a collection (a bunch)......it asks me if I want to merge w\another catalog in order to relink it....i declined...is that what you do? merge with another catalog? in order to have everything linked back as before in your original longtime main catalog? ..or will that cause a horrible issue?
.......hey!!! I guess I could just rename the external hd LR catalog, breaking that link, and that would allow me to revert everything back to original on c and regroup....as there was a "synchronize" event that messed a lot of stuff up like lost keywords\edits .....just break the external link all together by renaming LR cat on external and everything should be linkable back to c anyway, everything is still there ..correct?....other than have to "add" any required 2012 folders as it all successfully relinked\moved to external hd and some of 2013 too.........what a mess​
 
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Cletus...let me figure out how to make jpegs of screen shots....sorry
 
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Cletus I downsized them to 800x450 and they are small.let me redo it fullsize
 

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Cletus, here is the collections panel image showing ?marksLRcollectionspanel.jpg
 
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this isn't large enough is it....Cletus, here is the collections panel image showing ?marksView attachment 4176
 
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LRcollections showinfolder.jpg
Cletus, here is a fullsized snippet of the collections panel when you select "show folder path" option where it shows LR says its in external hd and folder
well shoot the insert image box wont show load.......lol let me close this session and reopen..........allright went to advanced and it worked
 
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here is the collections panel itself showing ?marks LRcollectionspanel redo.jpg
 
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Cletus here is the folders panel, its in c drive but showing the same image in the collections panel that has ?mark on it .the folders panel in c drive is clear of any ?marks as you can seeLRfolderspanel.jpg
 
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there are all my screen shots depicting each senerio......folders panel and same image in the collections panel where there it has ?mark ....but no ?marks in the folders panel
collections panel where it shows same image but all have ?marks
and collections panel right clicking on the image and selecting "show in folder" where it shows in the folders panel the f drive for the external is where this image is...that is where I copied it along with all of 2012-2013 folders to but im not working off the external....so why is LR folder panel showing images are linked in c drive but same image in collection panel in c drive show its a broken link and direct you to the external ?......lol.....I need to "direct\link up" my collection panel to c drive .....crazy
 
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OK, I'm not able to clearly see anything on your screen shots. Let's take one of mine/ I'm using LR5 where the {?} has been replaced by a {!}, but the process is the same. I created a collection and placed one image in it. I them renamed the image file outside of LR so that the file by that name no longer exists and LR throws a {!} (a {?} in LR3). When I double click on the {?} of one of the images in my "Craig" collection, I get a message saying that the file could not be found and gives me a path to the last known location that LR had recorded for the image file. Note that the last folder in the path is "11-16" It is also happens to be the last folder that shows in my folder panel that is seen just above the Collection panel. I can repeat the screen shot of the same image in the view from the folder panel and get exactly the same message.
First part
If you repeat what I just described on one of your missing images, what path shows up when LR pops up the same message? Can you open Windows explorer and find that folder on your computer? Can you look in the folder panel just above the Collection panel and navigate to that same folder? Do any of your folders in the folder panel show a {?} beside the folder icon?

Next part. Do you understand the difference between folders (that exist on your HD and show up in your LR folder panel) and Collections that don't exist on your Hard Drive and only show up in the Collection panel of LR? It is important that you do comprehend this because it has a lot to do with solving your issue. You have missing image files. They are no longer in the path (folder) where they were when LR cataloged them. This is why you get the {?} beside each missing image in the Grid view.

Last part.
If you navigate to the Menu item {Library} and open the submenu, there is a submenu item labeled {Find All Missing Photos}. When you click on that, a special collection will be generated in the Catalog panel and labeled {Missing Photographs}. There will be a number to the right of that listing that indicates all of the photos in the LR catalog that are not found at the location where they were catalog to be. Also a grid view of these missing images will be displayed in the middle panel. how many images are we trying to resolve a location for on your HD?
LRScreen109.jpg
 
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im here hold on...
 
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Cletus, i plugged in one of my external hd's in order that i could get to it through explorer......i guess i need to plug in second 2nd external because that's the path it shows to follow......i had both of them plugged into my pc in order i could have 2 copies of backups........ive been here 14 hours just today trying to sort this out and im a little frustrated ...let me plug it in and sign off as i have to retrieve it offsite.....get some rest and ill go through this tomorrow fresh, i appreciate your assistance sir i really do...ok?
 
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or can i follow the same path but on just the one external? its showing drive e instead of f where it shows to go to?

i am missing about 10000+ photos it says but they all are on the external's that are not hooked up
I just stuck a small pocket hd I use for my laptop and its drive f now so I as long as I have it plugged in, that will make my larger externals d ,the path im being directed to........that'll help during this process .......thanks, ill see someone tomorrow....
 
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craig_k said:
or can i follow the same path but on just the one external? its showing drive e instead of f where it shows to go to?

i am missing about 6000 photos it says but they all are on drive f the external that's not hooked up
Click to expand...
This then is probably your problem. If the path to an image file is not reachable (i.e. drive is not connected) then LR will report the image file as missing. In the folder panel on the left end of each Drive (Volume) Name will be a litt green square. This indicates the drive is connected and active. If it and the name are dark, then the drive is off line Nothing to be concerned as long as being offline in your intention. Your images can not be worked upon if that is the case.
There is another problem the can occur with removable drives and the way Windows designated the drives with letters. Lightroom has paths to each image file cataloged with the Drive letter ( E:\..\.. or F:\..\.. ) Windows does not always assign the same drive letter to each removable device when it is connected to the PC. If What LR has cataloged as drive F:\ gets assigned as Drive G:\ then there is again a mismatch in LR and LR is unable to find your master original. To understand how to correct that when it happens take a look at this thread:
http://www.lightroomqueen.com/commu...-Letter-on-Windows-(XP-Vista-Windows-7-and-8)
 
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ok Cletus.........in regard to your questions...I believe if I get the external hooked up we can get this resolved.........I can answer yes to the 3 questions part 1-2-3 you put forth,....I understand that images have to be online to work on them and I get the green lite indicator, I appreciate your patience sir
 
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LR folder panel screenshot.jpg test screenshot for assistance purposes
 
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here is my folder panel today 3-1.....LR folder panel screenshot.jpg I need to relink to drive E above current F....obviously these are EHDs ...2 days ago I was backing up to my second EHD and inadvertently disconnected them not in proper order so the everyday EHDi work off of windows 7 and LR had a re-assignment .......I attempted to point LR by r click on top parent folder but instead of connecting on preferred EHD that the drive letters got recently inverted, it moved the folder down the the connected one and populated it it there...if I clicked find photo it ask to " combine and then merge" as it was recoginised in 2 places, I refused so as not to have duplicates images.........if I can get the drive letter to flip back to E instead of F as it now shows ill be in business cant you somehow do that with reassigning drive letters thru disc management? thanks for directions on how to ... I connected both EHDs back to pc so LR sees them both ... if I select the option to update the folder location it says "selected folder or 1 of the subfolders is already in LR...do you want to combine these folders...merge ....I declined the action as I was afraid it would duplicate all the images although in this particular incident that named folder shows 0 in the drive I wish to refresh as I guess I moved it down to the other EHD using LR panel to get them where I could see them yesterday ,,but just only 4 specific folders in order to see them once I saw the inverted drive letter situation

LR panel 2.jpg
 
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