LR5.6 synchronizing folders

[goooner]

Hi everyone,
I've been using LR5 for he past couple of weeks and I'm loving it! I do have a question for the pro's out there though. Is there a way of automatically syncing your folders in the library? Say when I close the program, or after an export?

I find it annoying to right-click and sync every now and then...

 

[The_Traveler]

There is something off about your workflow. Rather than editing files by opening them from their folder and then having to synchronize the new edited files, start with the image in LR and then export it to an external editor (ctrl. E). Then when the file is closed in the external editing program, LR will absorb it automatically already tagged with keywords like the original.

And that is the reason that folders can't be automatically synced; LR assumes that you will be key wording all files, and perhaps using presets and so you are given those options each time you import by syncing them.

 

[goooner]

There is something off about your workflow. Rather than editing files by opening them from their folder and then having to synchronize the new edited files, start with the image in LR and then export it to an external editor (ctrl. E). Then when the file is closed in the external editing program, LR will absorb it automatically already tagged with keywords like the original.

And that is the reason that folders can't be automatically synced; LR assumes that you will be key wording all files, and perhaps using presets and so you are given those options each time you import by syncing them.

Thanks for the reply. I'm new to this and I only use LR for my processing (no external editor). So I have my quick collection of files I want to work on. When done editing I right click and exprt them to the folder I want to. But then I have to sync those folders again.

 

[The_Traveler]

No, you have the idea wrong.
I assume you import your folders/files into LR to manage them.
There is no need to export or save them, unless you want to take/send them somewhere for printing.
When you edit them in LR, the edits are carried in a small sidecar file and the original isn't changed.

 

[goooner]

No, you have the idea wrong.
I assume you import your folders/files into LR to manage them.
There is no need to export or save them, unless you want to take/send them somewhere for printing.
When you edit them in LR, the edits are carried in a small sidecar file and the original isn't changed.

Mmmm how I've been doing it is I have my main folder with all my photos in, in subfolders of course. This is my Library in LR. I then 'select' some photos I wish to edit to my quick selection. After editing them I export them to folders called Animal, people Web etc. The web ones are formatted to 1000 pixels long side with a watermark, while the others are saved as full quality Jpegs.

I was just wondering if I can tell LR to sync the folder tree in the Library after I close the program. Seems not.

 

[The_Traveler]

Man, is that totally the work-intensive, unnecessary, actually wrong and bad way to manage photos.

As you import then or edit them, tag them with keywords (in library mode) and then make 'smart collections'.
Images can have many tags and then can exist virtually, simultaneously in different 'smart' collections.
(a collection is a virtual set of pictures you have chosen. The images stay in their own folders but a collection has links to the images)
(with 'smart' collections, LR automatically adds/removes images according to criteria you set up. For example I have a smart collection composed of images tagged with 5 stars and that have not been uploaded to my website. ( I use a plugin that adds a date to a new field in the metadata for upload.) So the smart collection looks for images that are tagged with 5 stars and have no date in that upload field.

Lightroom has some built-in smart collections, see red arrows in illustration below. The non-arrowed ones are my own smart collections.
You would definitely profit from looking at tutorials about how to use LR as an image manager.

 

[goooner]

Thank you, as you can tell I'm only starting out with LR. As the photos were there before I got LR I guess I will have to start tagging them. Or use the meta data to sort them... Will get busy with LR tutorials...

 

[The_Traveler]

I suggest you make your own keyword hierarchy to match your typical picture taking.
Very simple to make with text editor or create right in LR

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