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Export Really confusing Export settings

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jjlad

Active Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
650
Location
Winnipeg, Canada
Lightroom Experience
Advanced
Lightroom Version
Classic
Lightroom Version Number
13.5.1
Operating System
  1. Windows 10
I don't understand what Lightroom Classic is doing. If I select a photo that I have edited and want to export it so the edited version replaces the original, I open the Export dialog, select Export To: Same folder as original photo.
I do not select a subfolder and do not "Add to This Catalog, since it is already in the catalog.
I don't rename it
For Existing Files I have "Overwrite WITHOUT WARNING.

Despite having those settings the photo won't export as I get a message "The destination for photo would replace the existing photo. (1).
It offers Save As..., Show in Library, and OK so I pick OK, and nothing happens. It's like I agreed "OK...it will replace the existing photo which is what I assume "Overwrite WITHOUT WARNING" seems so obvious about. Why would that option even be there if the program will not carry it out? What's happening?
 
Lightroom runs on the principle of "nondestructive editing". It's not envisaged that anyone would want to replace the original with an edited version. The catalogue ensures that the stored editing instructions are always available should a finished export be required.
 
We have got used to the idea of word and excel that we edit a file and then save it or “ save as” depending on our needs. That process is embedded in our thinking.

As BobT has outlined, Lr protects the original. Every one has their own methodology. 99% of the time I export into a standard subfolder of the original and have export presets for web (ie small jpgs, sRGB), full Rez jpgs (also sRGB) and 16 bit tifs (with AdobeRGB profile) going into sub folders called Web, LargeJpg and Print., respectively. And always set the option to include the exports back in the catalog ( because Lr is better than I am of tracking these things.

So I always know where to find derivatives of my original images. In most cases I only export a small percentage of my images and the space they consume is a fraction of all the raw files I have that might never be used again.
 
That is the beauty of LrC. I keep all my RAW files even if I don't use them all but I do a pretty thorough pre-cull before importing into LrC. I have edited events from ten years ago. I give the Jpegs to clients but I don't keep them. If I need to I can export them again. All my RAW files live on an external drive and are backed up to another external drive.

I keep Jpegs for my hobby stuff but there usually aren't that many. Even if there were Jpegs use little space. They are exported to the desktop and live there. I set it up like my RAW file folder structure. Main folder and subfolders named by year. In each year subfolders named by shooting location and date.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. The images I wanted to replace were low res jpeg scans I have no further need of. I do have a preset to export to a sub folder and once there I delete the originals then drag the new ones with the same name into that root folder. To me that's The Department of Redundancy Department. It just annoys me that LrC 'appears' to offer the option to overwrite, but then refuses to do it. There are many instances where the original should be replaced and I feel strongly that with that option presented as available and even requiring confirmation, the program should respect the user's choice and just do it.

Why does Adobe have the right to prevent users from making decisions about their own photographs??? Seems like a familiar rant there days, does it not?
 
You can always report it in the Bug Report/Feature Request thingy at Adobe.
 
There are many instances where the original should be replaced and I feel strongly that with that option presented as available and even requiring confirmation, the program should respect the user's choice and just do it.

Why does Adobe have the right to prevent users from making decisions about their own photographs??? Seems like a familiar rant there days, does it not?
I suspect that not everyone would fully agree with these assessments, and I am guessing that Adobe took a conservative approach so they would not be hearing from folks who accidentally overwrite their original images and wondered why Adobe would put such a drastic command in the program. We get a lot of new users writing in to the forum who often do not know what they are doing and need help. Most of the issues posted can easily be solved, but I cannot imagine what we would say to folks who inadvertently deleted their originals if Adobe allowed this in LRC, warnings or otherwise. And while I agree that there are cases where an original may not be needed, as was the case in a recent post where the OP was just creating captioned photos for eBay postings, I suspect that these cases may be more the exception than the rule.

--Ken
 
it will replace the existing photo which is what I assume "Overwrite WITHOUT WARNING" seems so obvious about. Why would that option even be there if the program will not carry it out? What's happening?
You are misunderstanding that option to "Overwrite Without Warning"....it is simply to allow the user to re-export a file using the same export settings as the original export without getting the "file already exists, what do you want to do" message.....one of the options is "overwrite". So choosing the "Overwrite without warning" option avoids the need to receive and respond to the "file already exists" message....it categorically does NOT refer to the original file, it only refers to the output file.
 
Thanks for responding. I hear the logic but it still makes no sense. We can "delete from disk" from within the program but can't by choice, overwrite an original even when we confirm that we wish to. To me, there is simply no logic in that.
 
Thanks for responding. I hear the logic but it still makes no sense. We can "delete from disk" from within the program but can't by choice, overwrite an original even when we confirm that we wish to. To me, there is simply no logic in that.
I suppose Adobe could do what some web app companies do when users want to delete large amounts of information, and that is to present them with a dialog box and ask them to type the word "Delete" in it, so folks know this is not an operation that can be undone.

--Ken
 
The work around is not all that cumbersome.
  1. Export the edited images with the "Add to this catalog" box checked in the "Export Location" section of the export dialog
  2. Once export is completed (the same original images will still be selected), click the Backspace button on Keyboard and select "delete from disk"
If you have the new edited vsns go into the same folder as the originals, they will get a "-2" at the end of the file names. On the other hand if you put them in a different folder, then add a 3rd step

3. In the folders panel in LrC, drag the newly exported images back to the original folder.
 
I do not select a subfolder and do not "Add to This Catalog, since it is already in the catalog.
I am probably way off base so feel free not to acknowledge my post. Someone else mentioned this but it's worth repeating. I think the issue is that you are telling the export not to add the file to the catalog. So, and this is not meant the way I am sure it will read, what do expect the export to do with the file? You are to my mind confusing the algorithm. On the one hand you want to override the existing file with export but you don't want the export to be saved to the catalog, which is where the original file that you want overwritten is stored.
I have a suggestion that might help. A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away... sorry couldn't help it LOL) I downloaded a little program named TeraCopy by Code Sector https://codesector.com. This program allows you to do all sorts of neat copying and moving of files and is highly customizable. I know it will add a step to your work flow but may be worth it. You could allow the new exported file to save to another folder (I almost said directory LOL. Boy that certainly ages me! LOL). Then, later you can tell TeraCopy to move the new files to where the original files reside and tell TeraCopy to overwrite. You can even tell TeraCopy to overwrite without intervention from you. Give it a try it might work. Oh, and be sure to move any xmp files, too or you won't have record of the changes you made and the original file created dates. To do that you may need to unhide system files. I hope I have helped.
Good luck and Best Regards
 
Thanks for responding. I hear the logic but it still makes no sense. We can "delete from disk" from within the program but can't by choice, overwrite an original even when we confirm that we wish to. To me, there is simply no logic in that.
It's a matter of mitigating risk. When an image file is deleted, first of all, you are clearly conscious you wanted it deleted. Even then, most likely it still sits in the Recycle Bin and can be recovered. However, if you replace the original by the edited version, the original is gone, forever and day, whether you meant to delete it or not. This is contrary to LrC's no destructive philosophy. If you want to delete the original, that's fine but LrC is not going to make it easy.
 
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I keep a separate copy of all my original images (I'm not a prolific shooter) in an ehd, so whatever mess I might make within Lightroom (I don't know what it might be!) I know I still have the originals.
 
I keep a separate copy of all my original images (I'm not a prolific shooter) in an ehd, so whatever mess I might make within Lightroom (I don't know what it might be!) I know I still have the originals.
I have the originals of all my files, they are imported into LrC. There is no way I can mess these up other than perhaps to delete them through carelessness.

Are you saying you also keep a second copy over and above the copy LrC knows about?
 
I have the originals of all my files, they are imported into LrC. There is no way I can mess these up other than perhaps to delete them through carelessness.
How about disk failure? You need a backup of those files.
 
I have the originals of all my files, they are imported into LrC. There is no way I can mess these up other than perhaps to delete them through carelessness.

Are you saying you also keep a second copy over and above the copy LrC knows about?
Full picture. My regular storage of image files (and a lot else) is on mirrored hard disks. They are also continuously backed up in "the cloud" using BackBlaze. The ehd copy is just me being extra cautious :)
 
… me being extra cautious :)
Extra cautious is two TimeMachine backups, a backup of the TimeMachine backup on the NAS, “Make a second copy” copy and Backblaze.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
It's a matter of mitigating risk. When an image file is deleted, first of all, you are clearly conscious you wanted it deleted. Even then, most likely it still sits in the Recycle Bin and can be recovered. However, if you replace the original by the edited version, the original is gone, forever and day, whether you meant to delete it or not. This is contrary to LrC's no destructive philosophy. If you want to delete the original, that's fine but LrC is not going to make it easy.
Thanks again to all who responded. I guess the bottom line is I must use the 2nd folder option.
I scan a lot of prints, and digitize a lot of negs and slides. The digitals so created are often of such poor quality I just no longer want them. They reflect the original prints, negs and slides with, defects galore, so once I've restored them I don't want those originals.
  1. I'll export to a second folder
  2. then delete them from the first
  3. then drag the edits from the second to the first
  4. then delete the second folder.
4 steps for one. 'Ideal' isn't even visible on the distant horizon in this process, but I'll have to live with it.
 
Why do you not just rename then on export, add a suffix or use a keyword, and put them in the same folder. You can just delete the originals from within LrC and the disk in one step.

If you are scanning and importing I wonder if the format of the originals, the imports, is different to the exports as this helps delete the originals from the folder after you’ve exported to it.
 
Why do you not just rename then on export, add a suffix or use a keyword, and put them in the same folder. You can just delete the originals from within LrC and the disk in one step.

If you are scanning and importing I wonder if the format of the originals, the imports, is different to the exports as this helps delete the originals from the folder after you’ve exported to it.
Actually that makes more sense. My workflow has been to rename on import but if I left the original names on and renamed on export, that would eliminate those extra steps and as Califdan pointed out, the originals are still selected in the catalog after exporting so those could be deleted as soon as the exports are imported in that same folder. Thanks!
 
Actually that makes more sense. My workflow has been to rename on import but if I left the original names on and renamed on export, that would eliminate those extra steps and as Califdan pointed out, the originals are still selected in the catalog after exporting so those could be deleted as soon as the exports are imported in that same folder. Thanks!
FWIW, I never rename images on import. Only on export will I assigen an informative name since the export is no longer going to be managed by LrC.
 
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