Import issue- only can import to desktop

[itsrixter]

Glad I found this forum! New member & first post.
Previously I could import photos directly to my e:/ drive. Now I can only load/import them into my desktop. In the copy to my choose button only allows the desktop.
I can't seem to find any preferences or settings to change this. If I select import photo from drive LR allows me to browse all drives..so I don't think this is a permissions issue.
Any suggestions?

 

[Kiwigeoff]

Hello and sorry no one has answered yet. I have no idea as I use Macs but I'm sure a Windows person will chip in shortly with a solution!!

 

[dj_paige]

Here's my guess ... Windows sometimes sets the permissions for a given folder/hard drive to be read-only; you need to go into Windows and check the permissions for the desired output location, and change it to write-access, if necessary.

 

[itsrixter]

I checked the e:/ drive and it is shared (with read& write perm). In my history I had the path to other folders within my e:/ drive. So something changed, it had access to the drive previously.

 

[tjpeter]

I too am a new member - and I joined because I have the same problem. Perhaps if I go through what I have tried it will eliminate some things. I have reinstalled (twice). I am using version 2.6 and I have gone backwards to 2.3 & 2.5 and both have the same problem. I have tried running the program as administrator. I have tried putting a folder on the desktop with a shortcut in it to the external drive where I want the files to go. I think that the problem may be that Windows 7 uses libraries (going into windows explorer shows the libraries on the left). The library that Lightroom has connected to only has the desktop in it. I do not know how to connect to the 'right' library - i.e. I don't know which one and how to do it. I cannot find anywhere that Lightroom shows this.

I have just created a new user on my machine - and given him a trial of Lightroom 2.6 - and he does not have the problem - he can see the whole machine!

 

[sizzlingbadger]

You need to check permissions on all the folders you want to see not just the drive. Pick the top folder you want to access and then set all the permissions to underlying folders & files to read/write. NFS will allow you to set file permissions on a file by file basis.

 

[tjpeter]

I have managed to solve the problem on my machine.
1. Lightroom stores your preferences in a file at c:\\ users\username\Appdata\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom\Preferences\Lightroom2preferences.agprefs
2. Open this file with notepad and edit the section where it stores where to import files , to include the drive where your images are, then save it. (I have attached a screen shot of the section where I have edited the new drive in using the same style)
3. Import in lightroom as normal and where it says choose, there is a little black triangle next to choose - click on that and the new drive appears. Click on choose and all the drives on my machine now appear (screen shot also attached)
PS had to do the same to export by writing in new drives in the same file

 

[itsrixter]

tjpeter,
From one newbie to another a big THANK YOU!!! It fixed my issue as well. I have been going crazy trying to fix this. I'm not sure how this was changed/ broken but now it works correctly!!!
Thanks again
-Rick

 

[tjpeter]

I do not think that it is something that you have done - it is more probably between the way that windows 7 and lightroom interact - I don't understand it - but as long as it works. I have just transferred my photo archive onto lightroom - 4'''' images and have started to edit out the dud ones - I am at the end of the 'A's so have got a long way to go - but at least I can move images about now

Cheers - happy new year

Peter

 

[Victoria Bampton]

That is quite bizarre, but well done for figuring it out!

 

[Scrap]

Very interesting indeed...

I looked at mine and it points to my correct drive E

AgMRUPopupList_AgImportDialog_destinationFolderPath = "s = {\
\"C:\\\\Users\\\\xpirex\\\\Pictures\",\
\"E:\\\\Photographs\\\\2''9\",\

I also set the option to share my E drive with "EVERYONE" and also added it and all folders within it to my "libraries" and shared them all too. I created a shortcut of this E drive in my documents, placed one on the desktop and also in my standard pictures folder.

Shall test it now..

Ok I clicked the little black triangle and all it gave me was the option to import to my standard pictures folder on Crive... Sigh..

 

[Scrap]

The only way I can now import anything at all into Lightroom is to manually copy a folder of photos onto my external E drive where the rest of my photos live, rename the folder manually in the style Lightroom used to.. then import the photos from this drive selecting the "keep photos in current location" option.

This in the only way I can use Lightroom at all now.

Useless.

 

[Scrap]

Ok I've fixed it.

I forgot one small detail. As well as editing the "import from" option I needed to edit the "export to" as well.

The file you need to edit is the Lightroom 2 Preferences text file found here:

C:\Users\your-name\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom\Preferences

Find this line of text and add your external drives and folders then save it as I have done with mine below:

AgMRUPopupList_AgImportDialog_destinationFolderPath = "s = {\
\"E:\\\\Photographs\\\\2''9\",\
\"E:\\\\Photographs\\\\2'1'\",\

Add all your drives and locations that you want. It works now.

This has nothing to do with windows security or or sharing or libraries.

Lightroom used to do this before by itself and give a GUI to all the drives in the export to option and locations the same as Windows explorer does. For some reason this has changed for many users.

Adobe I hope you are listening!!

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Well done Scrap!

I don't think this is an Adobe problem, because that's a standard OS dialog, but we'll see what else we can find out.