Lightroom classic desktop not adding folders in correct location

[Ellenotr]

Lightroom Version Number

Lightroom classic latest version

Operating System

1. macOS 10.14 Mojave

Need help. I have lightroom classic, updated in may. I keep my Lightroom photos on external drive, since i travel a great deal. When i went to import my newest folder of photos into lightroom, via add, not copy, since i am bringing them in from a well organized external drive, they imported into a folder that Lightroom created outside of the folder that is mirrored on my external drive. When I attempted to move this folder back into it proper place in Lightroom, Lightroom stated that that folder already existed, (of course) and wont let me move it. This has never occurred before in all my years of using Lightroom. Do i need to create a new catelog and move everything over to a new catelog?. This really doesn’t make sense that it won’t import and mirror my external drive, so absolutely frustrating. I have years of work and collections on this catelog.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

If you import photos using 'add', Lightroom will not create any folders. It will simply add the photos to the catalog, and keep them where they are. That means that the photos will remain on the external drive, and Lightroom should show that. There is a special situation however, called the 'Capitalization problem'. Maybe you have run into that. If you search this forum on that term, you will find several threads explaining it and dealing with the solution, but here's a summary:

Basically, what happens is that you have two different folders, one called ‘XXXX’ and the other one called ‘xxxx’. In other words, the names are the same, except for the capitalisation. Because MacOS and Windows are case-insensitive, your OS sees those two folders as one and the same folder and so it deals with this without you even being aware of it. You will only see one version. But Lightroom is case-sensitive, so Lightroom does see two different folders.

Here's how to fix the problem. Let's assume that 'XXXX' is the folder name you see on the hard drive, and 'xxxx' is the (extra) folder you see in Lightroom:
1. Backup your catalog.
2. Create a folder directly on the root of your hard drive, call it whatever you want, say "Capitals Fix". Note: do this in Windows Explorer/Macintosh Finder, not in Lightroom.
3. Right-click on the “xxxx” folder in the Lightroom Folders Panel and select "Update Folder Location". In the file browser that then opens, browse to and select the "Capitals Fix" folder.
4. Don't be alarmed as the ‘xxxx’ folder will disappear from the Folders Panel, "Capitals Fix" will appear but all the sub-folders that were listed under ‘xxxx’ will now have "?" marks.
5. Now right-click on "Capitals Fix" in the Folders Panel, and again choose “Update Folder Location". This time browse to and select the “XXXX” folder. You may get a "Merge" dialog box, select "Merge" and everything should resolve itself.

 

[Ellenotr]

If you import photos using 'add', Lightroom will not create any folders. It will simply add the photos to the catalog, and keep them where they are. That means that the photos will remain on the external drive, and Lightroom should show that. There is a special situation however, called the 'Capitalization problem'. Maybe you have run into that. If you search this forum on that term, you will find several threads explaining it and dealing with the solution, but here's a summary:

Basically, what happens is that you have two different folders, one called ‘XXXX’ and the other one called ‘xxxx’. In other words, the names are the same, except for the capitalisation. Because MacOS and Windows are case-insensitive, your OS sees those two folders as one and the same folder and so it deals with this without you even being aware of it. You will only see one version. But Lightroom is case-sensitive, so Lightroom does see two different folders.

Here's how to fix the problem. Let's assume that 'XXXX' is the folder name you see on the hard drive, and 'xxxx' is the (extra) folder you see in Lightroom:
1. Backup your catalog.
2. Create a folder directly on the root of your hard drive, call it whatever you want, say "Capitals Fix". Note: do this in Windows Explorer/Macintosh Finder, not in Lightroom.
3. Right-click on the “xxxx” folder in the Lightroom Folders Panel and select "Update Folder Location". In the file browser that then opens, browse to and select the "Capitals Fix" folder.
4. Don't be alarmed as the ‘xxxx’ folder will disappear from the Folders Panel, "Capitals Fix" will appear but all the sub-folders that were listed under ‘xxxx’ will now have "?" marks.
5. Now right-click on "Capitals Fix" in the Folders Panel, and again choose “Update Folder Location". This time browse to and select the “XXXX” folder. You may get a "Merge" dialog box, select "Merge" and everything should resolve itself.

Thank you Johan, my lightroom catalog and files (photos) are run from external drive (photo2, called).. so i create this on the external drive, since that is what it is reading, or do i do it my mac.. and how do i find "root of hard drive?

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Thank you Johan, my lightroom catalog and files (photos) are run from external drive (photo2, called).. so i create this on the external drive, since that is what it is reading, or do i do it my mac.. and how do i find "root of hard drive?

The 'root of the hard drive' means directly on the hard drive, so not in some folder. You can use the external drive or the internal drive. Because it's a temporary folder, that doesn't really matter.

 

[Ellenotr]

This is a screen shot of what i have

 

[Ellenotr]

YES.. it worked.. thank you so much...