search for a keyword without containing keywords

[all2alb]

Lightroom Version

Classic

Operating System

1. macOS 10.14 Mojave

Hi everybody.

I would like to search for a keyword without also having in the results the containing keywords.

I make an example, hoping to clarify the issue.

I have a photo (A) with the keyword BUILDING and another one (B) with the keyword SCHOOL.
The keyword SCHOOL is nested under the keyword BUILDING.
Now I would like to search for the photos having only the keyword BUILDING (photo A) without having also in the results the photos with the keyword SCHOOL (photo B).

I tried using the Keyword List Panel, the Text Filter, a Smart Collection with the criteria "keywords contains words BUILDING" and the Metadata filter, with the criteria Keyword equal to BUILDING, but all these methods give me as a result photos A and B, not A only.
I know that, in this case, I can use in the Text Filter the search string BUILDING !SCHOOL but if, as it is the case actually, I have nested under the keyword BUILDING dozens of keywords and each of these keywords are attributed to dozens, if not hundreds, of photos this solution I am afraid is not workable.

Thank you for any advice

 

[Johan Elzenga]

If you open the metadata filter, you can select keywords and then set it to a flat list. That allows you to search for images that are specificly assigned a keyword.

 

[all2alb]

Thank you Johan for the prompt reply,

I apologize for my ignorance but what do you mean for "set it to a flat list" ?
I selected the keyword in Metadata Filter, please see the attachment, but now I do not know how to proceed.

Thank you

 

[Y.K]

Use the menu on the right part of the Library filter column

 

[Califdan]

Be aware though that (at least on Windows) there is an OS imposed limit on how many lines can appear in a drop down list such as the list of keywords. If you exceed that limit the list of keywords will just stop at some point. In my case it stops at "Greek Culture" (yes I have a boat load of keywords). If the keyword you are after is beyond the place the list stops the method suggested by Y.K won't work for you.

There are plugins (e.g. Anyfilter) you can get that will do what you want. But if you don't want to go that route here's another technique.

Let's say you have a structure like this

and you want to see which are the two images that have "feline" specifically assigned rather than inherited from it's children keywords

1) create a new empty keyword called "Feline-x" (or anything else you like, but I like it to start the same way so it sorts next to the one I'm working on

2) Now using "click" on "Bob Cat" followed by "shift click" on "Tiger" select all the children and drag them to "Feline-x"

3) You can now click on the the right arrow at the right ned of "Feline" to see only those two images.

When done, reverse the process to put the children Keywords back under the correct parent and delete the temporary dummy keyword you added.

Please note that when you click on the right arrow on a keyword (step 3), the "source" changes from the folder or collection you had selected to the "All Photographs" special collection in the Catalog Panel. if you "Lock" the filter bar (lock icon is at right end of the filter bar) you can then switch to another source while retainin the filter selection. One more thing is that adding filters on the filter bar does not expose images hidden in stacks. So, the number of images displayed may be fewer than tha number shown on the keyword list if some of those images are burried in stacks. If you want to avoid this, create a smart collection with one rule: "Rating >= 0 stars" and change your source to that smart collection after step 3.

 

[all2alb]

Use the menu on the right part of the Library filter column

Thank you Y.K , it works ! I didn't know about this options for KEYWORDS, I only knew that from this menu you could only add or remove a columns.

Now thanks to you I can start to clean some keywords

 

[Y.K]

You can also consider using the Keyword List panel. You can see your keywords also there and rearrange them or rename them. If there are a lot of old keywords that you are not using (with zero tagged photos) you can remove them all quickly by using the Purge Unused Keyword command from the Metadata menu.

 

[all2alb]

Be aware though that (at least on Windows) there is an OS imposed limit on how many lines can appear in a drop down list such as the list of keywords. If you exceed that limit the list of keywords will just stop at some point. In my case it stops at "Greek Culture" (yes I have a boat load of keywords). If the keyword you are after is beyond the place the list stops the method suggested by Y.K won't work for you.

There are plugins (e.g. Anyfilter) you can get that will do what you want. But if you don't want to go that route here's another technique.

Let's say you have a structure like this
View attachment 17699
and you want to see which are the two images that have "feline" specifically assigned rather than inherited from it's children keywords

1) create a new empty keyword called "Feline-x" (or anything else you like, but I like it to start the same way so it sorts next to the one I'm working on
View attachment 17700

2) Now using "click" on "Bob Cat" followed by "shift click" on "Tiger" select all the children and drag them to "Feline-x"
View attachment 17701

3) You can now click on the the right arrow at the right ned of "Feline" to see only those two images.
View attachment 17702

When done, reverse the process to put the children Keywords back under the correct parent and delete the temporary dummy keyword you added.

Please note that when you click on the right arrow on a keyword (step 3), the "source" changes from the folder or collection you had selected to the "All Photographs" special collection in the Catalog Panel. if you "Lock" the filter bar (lock icon is at right end of the filter bar) you can then switch to another source while retainin the filter selection. One more thing is that adding filters on the filter bar does not expose images hidden in stacks. So, the number of images displayed may be fewer than tha number shown on the keyword list if some of those images are burried in stacks. If you want to avoid this, create a smart collection with one rule: "Rating >= 0 stars" and change your source to that smart collection after step 3.

Be aware though that (at least on Windows) there is an OS imposed limit on how many lines can appear in a drop down list such as the list of keywords. If you exceed that limit the list of keywords will just stop at some point. In my case it stops at "Greek Culture" (yes I have a boat load of keywords). If the keyword you are after is beyond the place the list stops the method suggested by Y.K won't work for you.

There are plugins (e.g. Anyfilter) you can get that will do what you want. But if you don't want to go that route here's another technique.

Let's say you have a structure like this
View attachment 17699
and you want to see which are the two images that have "feline" specifically assigned rather than inherited from it's children keywords

1) create a new empty keyword called "Feline-x" (or anything else you like, but I like it to start the same way so it sorts next to the one I'm working on
View attachment 17700

2) Now using "click" on "Bob Cat" followed by "shift click" on "Tiger" select all the children and drag them to "Feline-x"
View attachment 17701

3) You can now click on the the right arrow at the right ned of "Feline" to see only those two images.
View attachment 17702

When done, reverse the process to put the children Keywords back under the correct parent and delete the temporary dummy keyword you added.

Please note that when you click on the right arrow on a keyword (step 3), the "source" changes from the folder or collection you had selected to the "All Photographs" special collection in the Catalog Panel. if you "Lock" the filter bar (lock icon is at right end of the filter bar) you can then switch to another source while retainin the filter selection. One more thing is that adding filters on the filter bar does not expose images hidden in stacks. So, the number of images displayed may be fewer than tha number shown on the keyword list if some of those images are burried in stacks. If you want to avoid this, create a smart collection with one rule: "Rating >= 0 stars" and change your source to that smart collection after step 3.

Thank you Califdan, very inventive. Apparently I do not have the problem you mentioned, I have a Mac, but your solution is good to keep.
I must confess that I have a hard time understanding when you say "the "source" changes from the folder or collection you had selected to the "All Photographs" special collection in the Catalog Panel". Thank you for the advice

 

[Califdan]

In Lightroom terminology the "Source" is one or more Folders and/or Collections which you have selected (highlighted) in the Folders Panel, the Collections Panel or the Publish Services Panel. You can Ctrl+Click (Cmd+Click on Mac) to simultaneously select more than one "source" at a time. Whichever folders/collections/publish services are thus selected can be thought of as the highest level of filtering there is in LrC as only images in those selected "sources" are shown in the grid or filmstripe and are the starting point for the filter bar filters.