Stranded directory names

[Steve M]

I name all of my directories/folders with the following naming convention:

K:\Steve Mac\My Pictures\....\YYYYMMDD Subject of shoot.

I create the directory name when I import the photos in the import dialog in the Library module. For some reason LR "lost" the name of the some of directories in the "Folders" section of the Library. It seems to happen when there are pictures in subdirectories. Instead of using the imported directory name, it uses the name of a subdirectory under that. In all cases a date. I think I figured out part of the problem, I have the "organize by date" choice selected. What I need to know is if I go through and rename all of the folders to match the Windows directory name will it cause any problems? After trying it, it seems to create another level of directory structure but the name appears the way I want it to. Any ideas?

 

[Brad Snyder]

Are you saying that at some point a single directory/folder has different names in Lr and Windows?

 

[Steve M]

Yes, the folder name that I've chosen "2''9'321 Johnson portrait" appears in Lightroom as "2''9" with a subfolder that says '3-21. When I look at the directory structure in Explorer, it is K:\2''9'321 Johnson Portrait\2''9\'3-21.

 

[DonRicklin]

Have you tried widening the Folder Panel by dragging the leading edge to the right? What does the FOlder name show when you hover the cursor over the folder/directory title?

Don

 

[Steve M]

I've got the folder panel as wide as it will go. When I hover over a folder, it shows the correct directory name up to a point, the path is long enough that it truncates the foldername during hover over.

 

[DonRicklin]

I've got the folder panel as wide as it will go. When I hover over a folder, it shows the correct directory name up to a point, the path is long enough that it truncates the foldername during hover over.

THen, I would assume that LR is not changing any names, just visually truncating over long foldernames.

The LR way to handle this is to not use the overly long foldernames, just dates, and use Collections to name groups of images.

Don

 

[Steve M]

I finally found a folder that has a short enough path to see the whole thing and yes, what is showing up on the folder name is the last of the path. I guess that makes my question, How do I have lightroom show me the next directory/folder up the path...?

 

[Brad Snyder]

I'm attaching a screen shot of my folder panel. Note the neat indented folder structure.
Moving up the folder tree is simple in this scheme.

If you're seeing something drastically different, experiment with the settings attained by clicking on that almost invisible down-triangle, denoted by the green arrow.

In my folder structure, I have started with what is fundamentally a root folder, and more or less imported everything under it. Some folks selectively import photo subfolders at lower lower organizational levels, and the drive/volume display format choices may work better in that situation (just confuses me though ).

Does that help the situation, or is there more going on than that?

(Guru note: I keep those top two folders permanently mis-named, so that they are always 'missing', it's a big help to have them immediately missing when trying to assist folks with 'missing' file issues. Convenient to see the exact text/choices of dialogs, etc.)

 

[Steve M]

Thanks Brad, My problem is that I can't remember what I did on a given date so I need the extra info. I'll play with the structure you and Don suggested a bit and see what I can do. I'm off to play with LR. Thanks