Export Original File Could Not Be Found

[Tim Gilp]

Lightroom Version Number

Classic 7.5 release camera raw 10.5

Operating System

1. macOS 10.13 High Sierra

Hi all. A brand new newcomer to Lightroom and the forum and this is my first post !
I am a complete bginner but determined to succeed ! I have imported a few photos from my photos album on my Mac but when i come to try and export the edited version a message comes up “IMG_1509.jpg” could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" I would like to relocate it ! i do so and it takes me to an empty folder named External/Edit sessions. But there is no image or anything in the box below it. Can anyone help ?

 

[Jim Wilde]

That's a slightly misleading question when it asks "Would you like to locate it"....when you say yes it opens a file browser and takes you to where the file is supposed to be, and obviously because it's missing it won't be there. The onus is then on the user to tell Lightroom where the file is now.....basically a file is missing if the user has (outside Lightroom) moved, renamed, or deleted the image (or the file is on an external drive which is currently not connected). Lightroom can't know that as it's not a file browser, so it's down to the user to figure out what's happened to cause the file to become "missing".

If you don't know or can't remember, then do a system-wide search on the file name to see if you can locate it. Failing that, do you have a backup of your images?

 

[Tim Gilp]

That's a slightly misleading question when it asks "Would you like to locate it"....when you say yes it opens a file browser and takes you to where the file is supposed to be, and obviously because it's missing it won't be there. The onus is then on the user to tell Lightroom where the file is now.....basically a file is missing if the user has (outside Lightroom) moved, renamed, or deleted the image (or the file is on an external drive which is currently not connected). Lightroom can't know that as it's not a file browser, so it's down to the user to figure out what's happened to cause the file to become "missing".

If you don't know or can't remember, then do a system-wide search on the file name to see if you can locate it. Failing that, do you have a backup of your images?

Thanks so much Jim that is very clear. I am sure the original image is in my photos album and I don’t think I have relocated or deleted it so I don’t know why it says it cannot locate it. But if I find the original image how do I tell lr where it is ? Plus why does it need to know the originalbstill exists anyway ? Also previously I didn’t have this problem and the export option to export to previous file location ( I think that was it ) came up so I said yes but the edited image didn’t seem to go back into photos! Hope all that makes sense . Thanks again .

 

[DGStinner]

It sounds like you're confusing how Mac Photos works (where images are actually stored within the Photos library) and how Lightroom works (where it merely points to where the images are stored). The only thing stored in the Lightroom catalog are develop settings and other metadata. Many people make the mistake of deleting all their photos after importing them into Lightroom thinking that they're all saved within Lightroom.

 

[Tim Gilp]

It sounds like you're confusing how Mac Photos works (where images are actually stored within the Photos library) and how Lightroom works (where it merely points to where the images are stored). The only thing stored in the Lightroom catalog are develop settings and other metadata. Many people make the mistake of deleting all their photos after importing them into Lightroom thinking that they're all saved within Lightroom.

Thanks for that again really helpful. I must say I was confused because the marketing blurb says lightroom did everything from storing images through to processing them and providing a means of posting them on line. ( or so I tiought ) thanks though.

 

[Jim Wilde]

I must say I was confused because the marketing blurb says lightroom did everything from storing images through to processing them and providing a means of posting them on line. ( or so I tiought ) thanks though.

You may be confusing the marketing blurb for the new cloud-centric application, which was somewhat bizarrely called Lightroom CC, with the desktop-centric program now called Lightroom Classic (which was previously called Lightroom). Lightroom CC does indeed store your images in the cloud, but Classic stores them on your local hard drive(s) but independently of the catalog.

Going back to the original problem....if the file is in the same (expected) place, and it has not been renamed, them Classic should be able to see it, i.e. it shouldn't be listed as "missing". Can you post a couple of screenshots (one showing the folder and filename as it appears in Classic, the other showing it as it appears in Finder) so that we can try to figure out what's happening?

 

[Tim Gilp]

Thanks Jim. I am sure you will quickly realise what a novice i am but i have tried to do what i think you wanted. I think a little explanation might be helpful too. i have taken four screen shots. The bottom one is from LR classic and identifies the file name and folder [ which i don't recognise ] The next one up is where the original image is located. Basically it is in Photos and falls under the date it was taken [ i havent changed any of the files in photos - it is how the Mac organises them as you know ] the second one down is just a shot of the information on the image where you will see the IMG identifier is the same as that in LR. Now the final one is of finder and you can see the photo folder [ all of my images are in there of which there are approx. 13,000 ] under pictures.
I think there is something awry with how i get into photos from finder because if i click on photos in the dock i get straight in , no problem. Ditto if i open finder from the dock if i want to browse through any documents , files or indeed photos. However when i try to import from LR finder appears . I double click on the photos icon as shown in the screen shot but it is greyed out and will not open. Your wisdom and insight is greatly appreciated and i hope i have done as requested. Please tell me if not.

 

[Jim Wilde]

I've never used Photos, so I don't really know how you can import individual photos into Lightroom from within the Photos library. If you're not able to view the file in Finder, then it's not surprising that Lightroom can't see it either.....but that doesn't explain how you managed to import it in the first place, and why it's now "missing". Perhaps one of our Photos experts can shed some light on this.

 

[Tim Gilp]

Thanks Jim. Importing individual photos from Photos was a right click then edit with LR Classic. Now just to complicate things even more. I have looked at LR CC and it is really staightforward to access Photos on my Mac through that. I go into finder and Photos is there as a folder which i can just open. However exporting the edited image back to Photos is just not possible, again it is greyed out in Finder. So with Classic i cannot access the folder with Photos in, nor can i export to that folder. With Lightroom CC i can easily import [ on a batch basis if i want to ] but not export to Photos. Does that make any sense at all ? Should i contact apple support do you think ?

 

[Tim Gilp]

Hi Jim - or whoever may be looking ! Being new to the forum i'm not sure what happens next if anything. It would be good to talk to someone who had a bit more in depth knowledge about photos and how it interacts with LR Classic. I think importing and exporting is a slightly cumbersome process. To import directly from LR using the button or menu just doesn't give access to photos but you can use "edit with" within photos and export from there into LR . On LRCC i didnt have that problem - with immediate access to photos to import. Exporting i think has to be a two stage process - once out of LR into another folder [ eg pictures ] on the hard drive and then import that from photos into photos if that makes sense. Maybe i just need to set up my flies in an alternative location other than photos which would be a bit annoying but maybe worth it in the long run ?

 

[Jim Wilde]

Maybe i just need to set up my flies in an alternative location other than photos which would be a bit annoying but maybe worth it in the long run ?

My personal view is that you should decide which image organiser/editor to use, and stick with that. Trying to use both to work on the same images will inevitable lead to complications and confusion, as you are already experiencing. So my best advice would be to decide between Photos and Lightroom, and stick with that.

 

[Tim Gilp]

Thanks John . I agree and of course have opted for Lightroom which i am practicing with and is far superior to the iphotos editing. No doubt i will be posting again but thankyou.