Lightroom 5.4 and Lightroom mobile have been available for about 10 days now, and of course a few bugs have reared their ugly heads. Here are the solutions and temporary workarounds:
- If Lightroom says “Sign in failure. Please try again later. (attempt to index a nil value)”, click here to view the tech note or here to view the forum thread with screenshots.
- Photos deleted from Lightroom mobile show as synced in Lightroom – there’s more information in this tech note.
- Some users with current CC subscriptions were showing as trial mode, but that should now be fixed.
- Some Windows users (nothing to do with mobile) are seeing an Assertion Failed error message when starting Lightroom 5.4. There’s a solution in this tech note.
- Some Mac users are seeing Lightroom get stuck in Full Screen Preview mode if they quit Lightroom while using that view. While waiting for an official fix, press SHIFT+F after re-opening LR to get out of the loop.
Now back to the fun! Are you using Lightroom mobile on your iPad? If so, how is it fitting into your workflow so far? I’ve heard some interesting ideas:
CLEARING BACKLOG
Do you still have a backlog of photos you’ve haven’t finished sorting out yet? If you sync them all to Lightroom mobile and mark them for offline editing, you can make good use of odd 10 minute breaks to start reducing that backlog, even if you don’t have internet access.
FAMILY DAY OUT
You get back from a family day out and upload the photos to the desktop. Then you get THAT look – you’re not going to spend the whole evening on the computer looking through the photos, are you? No, certainly not, you’re going to sync them to your iPad, and by the time you’re sat down relaxing with the family, you can browse through them on your iPad.
PORTFOLIO
You run into an old friend when you’re out, or perhaps a potential client, and want to show them that photo of… anything! Once you’ve synced your catalog of photos to the Lightroom Sync cloud, your whole portfolio will be at your fingertips, and will be automatically updated with any changes you’ve made since you first synced them. No more trying to remember to update your portfolio app.
VACATION
You’ve had a relaxing day at the beach, and while everyone else is getting ready for dinner, you upload your photos and start sorting out the best ones. When you get home from the airport, you’re not faced with thousands of photos waiting to be sorted out because you’ve already done the initial edits. (This one only works well if you only shoot JPEG as Lightroom mobile can’t directly import raw files on the iPad version).
THE FAMILY SLIDESHOW
You’re not going to try to gather the family around the computer to show them your vacation photos, are you? Why not hook your iPad up to the TV using an HDMI adaptor or stream the photos to an AppleTV using AirPlay, and then you can watch your Lightroom slideshow on the big screen.
EDIT WITH A CLIENT
You’ve already edited a shoot on your desktop, and now you’re ready to show your client. Sync the photos to your iPad, and mark them for offline editing so you don’t have to
wait for them to load. Then you’re ready to sit down with your client and sort through the photos, marking their favorites with flags and rejecting others. They want to see a different crop? Not a problem, you can do it right there with them, and the edits are automatically synced back to the desktop ready for you to order the prints.
another potential clue:
during the last iteration of generating a watermark,
the system altered the name assigned by me within the editor from
2016.old.english.lefty to
– 2016.old.english.lefty (note the spaces or tab & the hyphen)
That’s an odd one. I’d try the standard troubleshooting steps here: https://www.lightroomqueen.com/standard-lightroom-troubleshooting-steps/
And if that doesn’t do the trick, post it on the forum at http://www.lightroomforums.net
On the OS-X platform, I use LR 5.7.1.
After months of successful use, the watermark editor will not appear when called either from
a. the drop-down menu below the Lightroom heading, or
b. within export (“Edit watermarks,” the last choice in the drop-down under Watermarks
|
-noteworthy: I can select from preexisting watermarks in the later).
-To make watermarks using both text & an image, I make .png files in PhotoShop Elements10
& “import” them using the LR watermark editor.
-I do not know how to properly discard no-longer-wanted watermark configuration
(I see them in the Watermarks folder, but they remain “available” in the drop-down menu
even after the corresponding .lrtemplate file is removed from the Watermarks folder)
-There are many – if “quantity” is a problem, that might be a clue.
-Suggestions?
My LR 5.6 just stopped recognising one of my La Cie ext hard drives that has been working just fine up to now. It is still working fine in Finder (Mac Book Pro). Why is it offline just in Lightroom? Please assist?
Without seeing a screenshot, I’m not sure. At a guess, I’d say the mount point for the drive may have changed, if you haven’t renamed the drive. If rebooting the computer doesn’t fix it, right-click on the folders and select Find Missing Folder to locate them on the correct drive.
I cannot open Lr 5.4. I have an error message “Unexpected error opening catalog”. What do I do now? I have tried to open backups and I still get the same message. Inside the error message it reads, “The catalog could not be opened due to an unexpected error.
Did it work ok until recently? Did Lightroom crash last time you used it? Where’s the catalog stored? And what operating system are you using?
Yes, the program was working well until recently. I do not believe that the program crashed the last time I used it. I am not sure where the catalog is stored. When I search for Lr on Windows Explorer, I find it listed on my C:UsersuserMy PicturesLightroomBackups2014… I am using a Windows 8 operating system.
Ok, the catalog’s probably C:UsersuserMy PicturesLightroomLightroom 5 Catalog.lrcat or suchlike. Since you can’t open your current catalog, you’ll need to restore a backup catalog. Instructions are here: https://www.lightroomqueen.com/disaster-strikes-corrupted-catalog/
Hello, thanks for that great information. Short question please: if I understand correctly, when I take a picture with my iPhone and I add it to Lightroom Mobile only the Smart Preview is generated and loaded. When doing changes to that Smart Preview how can I get these applied to the original photo ? Don’t really understand the workflow yet I am afraid…
What makes you think it’s just the smart preview that’s being uploaded? The iPhone should upload the original image imported on the phone (which is then downloaded to the desktop catalog) but it might not have finished uploading by the time you look at it.
Thanks for your quick reply. It’s the file size that makes me think that (<1mb as opposed to 2,8mb for the original photo). Wondering whether it's because I am using the iPhone and not an iPad or if I can unlock the file size limit somewhere in Lightroom mobile… I am using the latest versions)
That’s odd Martin, I can’t reproduce that here. Is that from photos that have imported into LR mobile and that have synced to the cloud, or ones you’ve sent to other programs perhaps?
I installed 5.4 last week. Today when I tried to update the message was I was up to date What gives?
Sometimes it takes the servers a while to push out all of the updates. If you’re on subscription, it should catch up in the next few hours. If you have a perpetual license, you can use the direct links further up the email to get a head start.
i have the latest version lightroom 5.4
i have issue with watermark that annoying me too much
i use windows 8.1 and before same problem with 7
my watermark is ( .png )and 240 X 320
but most of times the watermark doesn’t extracted even made restart for the application many times
i need to know where is the problem please
it may work if i made a crop to photo and extract that , then the water mark ‘ll appear
i need reply and help please s:)
did you fix that problem or what because i have the same problem
Hi Ahmed. I’m not entirely sure what you’re asking, so I can’t tell you where the problem is, sorry. You’re exporting photos and the watermark doesn’t appear on the exported photo. Is that right? Try it with a text watermark and see if the same happens there. You could update to 5.5 as well.
Just upgraded to 5.4 on my Mac and now when I export an image it completes the process but, when I go to the folder it was exported to the image isn’t there. Is anyone else having this issue?
I haven’t heard other reports. Which option are you choosing when you export – a specific folder or same folder as original?
I’ve had numerous errors working with the new LR download…just recently, in develop mode, the menu on the right side bar lost “Basic”. It completely disappeared. I closed the program, and shut down the computer 3 times before it reappeared…weird. Then, just now, I’ve been reviewing shots in my most recent folder and changes I made yesterday were lost today. I’ve had other issues too, but these are the most recent…
Hi Kathy. The Basic panel going walkabout isn’t unusual – just go to Window menu > Panels > Basic to make it reappear. I’m not sure how it miraculously reappeared though! Changes to photos going missing is more concerning. My first thought would be it’s opened the wrong catalog. Tell me about the other issues you’ve had?
Hi Victoria, I’ve found another serious (like super bad) bug in 5.4 and wonder if you or your readers can confirm. I’ve searched online and not found any other references to it. When I close my catalog and ask it to make a backup, it begins the process then a second identical window pops up asking me yet again if I want to backup (odd). When I say OK again, it proceeds part way then says my catalog is now corrupt. Attempts to repair are not successful. Fortunately, I had my own catalog backup (not Lightrooms) from yesterday that I restored from. I restored and tried again 3x with the same corruption result. The fresh catalog can be optimized when open and everything seems normal – until I try to close and backup. If I didn’t have my own backup catalog, my 44,000 image catalog would be hosed.
Hi Kevin. Ouch, nasty! I haven’t heard other rumblings, which I’d have expected if it was widespread. Have you tested integrity on that catalog when opening? You can do that by holding down Ctrl (Windows) / Opt (Mac) while starting LR and then check the Test Integrity checkbox in that Select Catalog dialog.
Hi Victoria, thanks for your feedback! Oddly, it seems the integrity checking is actually corrupting the catalog! It opens fine normally, and can be “optimized” from within, but when I backup, or use the method you describe to integrity check on opening, it says it’s corrupt. I run the suggested repair process and it then says it can’t be repaired and the catalog no longer will open. Boo. So, although my catalog may be corrupt, it works fine as long as I don’t try to fix it or back it up, then it gets completely destroyed. Maybe I’ll export everything to a new catalog and see how that works.
Ah, ok, it’s not the integrity check that’s corrupting the catalog, but it is finding the problem and attempts to repair are just making it worse. If you turned off the test integrity checkbox in the backup dialog, the backup would probably complete although the backup would still contain the corruption.
Since the catalog’s working, you can probably narrow down the corruption yourself. Try Export as Catalog and then run the integrity test on that. It might work. If it doesn’t, create a clean catalog and use Import from Catalog, but only check a few folders checkboxes. Then run the integrity test on that new catalog and let it back up. If it’s ok at that point, Import from Catalog the next chunk of folders. If at any point the integrity check fails, you’ve probably narrowed down where the corruption is. Roll back to the previous backup and add a smaller chunk of folders and just keep repeating until almost everything is in the new catalog.
Just felt that I had to say that, even by your high standards, your guide to LR Mobile is exceptional. I worked through the whole text last night on the iPad, with LR Mobile open, and learned a load of fantastically useful stuff that Adobe don’t seem to think it necessary to tell you about. Many, many thanks.
Thanks so much John!
Re the Assertion Failed error message it to Adobe help support and two people to figure it out
If I had this note I could have done it in 2 seconds
Sorry I didn’t post it sooner in that case Myer!! Glad you got it working.