Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: Is it really true that it is totally safe to delete the previews file for a catalog in Lightroom Classic? Is there no problem at all caused by doing so?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, it is perfectly safe to delete the file that contains your standard previews for Lightroom Classic. The only drawback is that the experience of browsing your photos will be slower due to the lack of previews, though they will be generated as you work.

More Detail: You can think of the previews for photos in your Lightroom Classic catalog as being merely a cache that helps improve browsing performance. When standard previews have been generated for photos, it is much faster to browse those images in the Library module because the smaller JPEG previews can be loaded rather than rendering based on the full raw capture, for example. Without previews, you might initially see no image at all, then a low-resolution image based on an embedded preview, and then a normal image once the standard preview has been created.

As a result of the previews being a cache for improved performance, it is perfectly safe to delete the file containing the standard previews. For example, you may need to quickly recover hard drive space or there may be issues with corrupted previews.

If you want to delete the previews file, first navigate to the folder containing your catalog. From within Lightroom Classic you can go to the Catalog Settings dialog (from the Edit menu on Windows or the Lightroom Classic menu on Macintosh) and select the General tab. Click the Show button to the right of the displayed path for the catalog files, which will bring up a window in your operating system with the folder containing your catalog files highlighted.

Open the highlighted folder, and look for the file that has the same base filename as the primary catalog file (that’s the one with the .lrcat filename extension), but with “Previews” appended to the base filename. For example, if your primary catalog file is named “My Lightroom Classic Catalog.lrcat” the file containing the standard previews will be called “My Lightroom Classic Catalog Previews.lrdata”.

I recommend that you first quit Lightroom Classic, at which point you can delete that previews file. Don’t forget to empty the Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Macintosh) to actually free up the hard drive space from the deleted previews file.

You can then launch Lightroom Classic again. Just note that initially there won’t be any previews available, but they will be generated as you browse your photos. That will cause the browsing experience to be slower until previews have been built. For example, if you browse a folder and wait for Lightroom Classic to generate previews for all images in that folder, the browsing experience will be fast again. But when you navigate to another folder that doesn’t have previews yet, the browsing will be slower until previews have been built.

Today’s Question: I deleted the Previews file associated with my Lightroom Classic catalog when I was urgently out of hard drive space. Now that I’ve cleared up plenty of space, is there a way to rebuild previews again for all photos? Right now it is really slow to browse images when I select a folder.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can select all photos in the All Photographs collection and build previews for all of them. This will take considerable time, but it will then speed up browsing once the previews have been generated.

More Detail: The file that contains the standard previews for your Lightroom Classic catalog can get quite large, making it a prime choice for deletion if you need to free up considerable hard drive space quickly. For example, the previews file for my catalog is over 200GB in size.

The standard previews generated by Lightroom Classic help improve the speed with which you can browse through your photos. If you delete the previews file then browsing can become quite slow because Lightroom Classic needs to generate previews on the fly as you browse various folders of photos.

Therefore, if you’re able to free up adequate storage space on the drive that contains your Lightroom Classic catalog, it can be very helpful to build previews for all photos again. This is true whether you had deleted the previews file or you neglected to have standard previews built during import, for example.

To build previews for all photos, first select the “All Photographs” collection in the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module. Then be sure to choose “None” from the Library Filter bar above the grid view to ensure all photos are displayed. If the Library Filter bar doesn’t appear above the grid view you can choose View > Show Filter Bar from the menu.

Next, choose Edit > Select All from the menu to select all photos. If your photos are stored on one or more external hard drives, be sure those are connected to the computer so the photos are available. Then choose Library > Previews > Build Standard-Sized Previews from the menu to start building the previews.

The process of building all previews can take considerable time, from hours to days depending on how many images you have and the hardware configuration for your computer and storage. But once the previews are built, you’ll be able to browse your photos much more quickly again.

Today’s Question: I tried the multi-image editing method you described [in Tuesday’s answer] in Lightroom Classic. It did not work until I clicked the Sync button. Does Lightroom Classic need the extra step?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Sort of. You can enable automatic synchronization in the Develop module to apply adjustments in batch to multiple selected images. When you do so there’s no need to click the Synch button after applying adjustments.

More Detail: In Tuesday’s answer I explained how you can batch process multiple images in Camera Raw by opening the images and selecting them all on the filmstrip within the Camera Raw interface. It is similarly possible to batch adjust multiple images in the Develop module in Lightroom Classic, though it does require one minor additional step.

After selecting multiple images in Lightroom Classic, at the bottom of the right panel in the Develop module you can click the toggle switch on the left side of the Sync button. This will turn on automatic synchronization, which is reflected by the fact that the button will then be labeled “Auto Sync”.

While Auto Sync is enabled, all adjustments you apply in the Develop module will affect all images that are selected on the filmstrip. This includes advanced adjustments such as targeted adjustments using masks. For example, if you use the masking feature to create a mask for the sky for multiple selected images, each image will have a unique mask based on the sky that was detected individually.

Once you’re finished applying batch adjustments using the Auto Sync feature, if you leave the option enabled it will automatically activate again anytime you select more than one image. If you think you might have a situation where you have selected multiple images but only want to adjust one, I suggest turning off the Auto Sync feature to avoid accidentally affecting multiple images. In that case you could simply turn Auto Sync back on when you want to apply adjustments to multiple selected images.

Today’s Question: Is there a way to just change the default adjustment settings in Lightroom Classic so I don’t even need to apply a preset during import?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, with some notable exceptions, you can change the default settings for the Develop module in Lightroom Classic so those settings will apply to photos on import.

More Detail: Develop presets enable you to save specific adjustment settings so they can be applied to other images later. That includes being able to apply the preset to all images during import or selected photos after import.

In addition, however, you can set a preset as the default settings in the Develop module, so they will automatically apply to images on import without having to select a preset during import. However, there are some notable exceptions to keep in mind.

When you change the default settings for the Develop module, the updated defaults will only apply to raw captures during import. Existing images in your catalog won’t be affected by the change, and non-raw images (such as JPEG or TIFF images) will not be affected by the updated defaults. In addition, if you import a raw image that already has adjustment settings (contained in an XMP sidecar file), the existing adjustments will be retained, and your updated defaults will not apply.

That said, if you change the defaults and then import a batch of raw captures right out of your camera, they’ll all be affected by your updated settings.

The first step is to make sure you have a Develop module preset reflecting the updated settings you want to use as the new defaults. Then go to the Preferences dialog in and choose the Presets tab. In the Raw Defaults section click the Global popup and choose the desired Develop preset. From that point forward that preset will then apply to all raw images that don’t have existing Develop settings, without the need to select a preset during import.

Today’s Question: Is it possible to apply adjustments in batch to multiple photos using Camera Raw, such as for the profile-based lens correction adjustment you recommend for all photos?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can batch process multiple images at a time in Camera Raw by opening the photos with camera raw, selecting them all on the filmstrip, and applying the desired adjustments. Your adjustments will then apply to all selected photos on the filmstrip.

More Detail: I find that many photographers are not aware that it is possible to batch process multiple photos at a time in Camera Raw. The process is very straightforward and offers great flexibility.

To get started, simply open multiple photos in Camera Raw, whether you do so by selecting multiple images and opening them from Adobe Bridge or select multiple photos to open within Photoshop using the File > Open command.

When you open multiple photos in Camera Raw, you’ll see a filmstrip at the bottom of the interface (or on the left side if you’ve selected “Vertical” from the Orientation popup on the General tab in the Camera Raw Preferences dialog). You can toggle the visibility of that filmstrip by clicking the filmstrip button to the right of the zoom controls at the bottom-left of the Camera Raw window.

On the filmstrip you can select multiple photos you want to edit. You can press Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Macintosh to select all photos on the filmstrip, for example. You can also click one thumbnail and then hold the Shift key while clicking another thumbnail to select those two images and all images in between. You can also hold the Ctrl key on Windows or the Command key on Macintosh while clicking a thumbnail to toggle the selection of that image.

With more than one image selected on the filmstrip in Camera Raw, all adjustments you apply will affect the selected images. As you apply those adjustments, you’ll notice the thumbnails on the filmstrip update accordingly.

One of great things about this capability is that it provides considerable flexibility in terms of which images are affected by a given adjustment. You could, for example, select all images and apply adjustments to them all. You could then select a smaller number of photos that need a little refinement and apply additional adjustments to those. You can even go back to selecting a single image and further refine the adjustments for that individual photo.

This set of features makes it easy to take a group of photos that were captured under similar conditions and optimize them all in batch. You can then refine the adjustments for some of the photos as needed. When you’re all finished, you can select all the images again and then open them or save them for further processing in Photoshop.

Today’s Question: Is there any reason not to apply the Lens Corrections adjustment using a profile to all photos? It seems to produce good results, but is there any risk in applying it universally?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I consider it perfectly safe (and generally good) to apply a profile-based correction using the Lens Corrections controls, and in fact I apply that adjustment to all photos during import into Lightroom Classic. The same adjustment is available in Camera Raw in the Optics section on the right panel.

More Detail: The profile-based corrections available with the Lens Corrections adjustments in Lightroom Classic or the Optics section in Camera Raw or Lightroom provide the option to apply corrections for distortion and vignetting based on profiles for individual lenses. My testing has demonstrated that the results are helpful the great majority of the time, and so I am comfortable applying the adjustment to all photos.

Keep in mind, of course, that Adobe does not provide a profile for every single lens possible. However, they do offer support with profiles for a great number of lenses from most manufacturers.

In Lightroom Classic you can apply the profile-based correction by turning on the “Enable Profile Corrections” checkbox on the Profile tab of the Lens Corrections section on the right panel in the Develop module. If you’re going to be saving a preset based on the adjustments you’re working on, such as to apply the preset to photos during import, you can select “Auto” from the Setup popup.

In Camera Raw you can enable the correction by turning on the “Use profile corrections” checkbox. Note that presets are available in Camera Raw as well, so you could create a new preset that includes the Optics adjustments and any other settings you prefer to update from the defaults, so that you can quickly apply that preset to images later to help streamline your workflow. You can also apply the adjustment (or a preset) to multiple images in Camera Raw by first selecting all current images from the filmstrip.

Note that while in most cases the profile will be set automatically based on the lens indicated in metadata for the photo you’re adjusting, you may sometimes find that the profile doesn’t get selected. In that case you can generally resolve the issue by simply selecting the correct manufacturer from the Make popup. If that doesn’t set the profile you can select the lens from the Lens popup and also select the specific lens profile from the Profile popup.

Today’s Question: After an update there are two folders that no longer appear in my Lightroom Classic catalog, though they are on the hard disk. I have not moved them. How do I get those two folders back into the catalog?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can import the photos in folders that don’t appear in Lightroom Classic by either using the Add option to import those folders, which you can initiate by either using the Import command or the Synchronize Folder command for a parent folder.

More Detail: The first thing I would want to do in this situation is confirm that the photos that should be in the folders in question are indeed within the folders and do not appear anywhere else in the Lightroom Classic catalog, just to be sure. For example, you could browse the All Photographs collection in the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module and then set a filter based on the capture date for one of the applicable photos.

Once you’re sure the photos aren’t in the Lightroom Classic catalog, you can import the missing folders using the Add option.

One way to initiate this process is to use the Import command by either clicking the Import button at the bottom of the left panel or by choosing File > Import Photos and Video from the menu.

If the parent folder that contains the folders you want to import is visible in the Folders list on the left panel, you can also initiate the import by right-clicking on that parent folder and choosing “Synchronize Folder” from the popup menu. Once the tally for how many new photos have been found appears, you can turn on the “Import new photos” checkbox, along with the “Show import dialog before importing” checkbox. Be sure that the “Remove missing photos from catalog” and “Scan for metadata updates” checkboxes are both turned off if they are available.

In the Import dialog select the folder (or multiple folders) you want to import, set the option at the top-center of the dialog to Add, and adjust any other settings on the right panel. You can then click the Import button at the bottom-right of the dialog to import the photos, which will cause the folders that were not present to appear again on the Folders list.

Today’s Question: Some of my photos appear in the wrong position on the map in Lightroom Classic, presumably because I didn’t have a good GPS signal when capturing those photos. Is there a way to correct the GPS coordinates for those images?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can correct the location information for a photo by either dragging the thumbnail for the photo to a new location on the map or by making sure the map markers are unlocked and then dragging the pushpin marker on the map to the correct location.

More Detail: While GPS receivers are generally quite accurate, there are factors that can cause the location information they provide to be inaccurate at times. This can include things like poor GPS satellite reception, obstructions such as buildings and mountains, and other factors.

If you use a camera with a built-in or accessory GPS receiver, pair your camera to a smartphone for GPS service, or otherwise add GPS coordinates to the metadata for photos, markers will appear on the map in the Map module in Lightroom Classic indicating the location where the photos on the filmstrip were captured.

When the GPS coordinates in metadata aren’t entirely accurate, the marker for the photo will appear in the wrong location on the map. If you want to update the location metadata and the related marker on the map there are two options available.

The first thing you can do is simply drag a photo from the filmstrip onto the correct location on the map. This will update the GPS coordinates for that photo based on the new location on the map, and move the marker associated with the image to the new location. If a photo does not have GPS coordinates in metadata this technique can also be used to add location information to metadata.

The other option is to drag the marker directly on the map to a new location. You just need to be sure that the markers are unlocked. On the toolbar below the map display (press “T” on the keyboard to enable the toolbar if it is hidden) there is a padlock icon. If the shackle of the lock is closed that indicates markers are locked, and you need to click the lock icon to unlock the markers, which will cause the shackle to appear open.

You can then select a photo from the filmstrip to highlight the applicable marker on the map and simply drag that marker to the new location on the map. This will cause the marker itself to be moved and will also update the GPS coordinates for the photo in metadata.

Today’s Question: How would you go about removing photos from cloud storage once you’ve downloaded them from Creative Cloud and imported them into Lightroom Classic?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Photos can be removed from Adobe Creative Cloud storage using the All Synced Photographs collection in Lightroom Classic, or by accessing Lightroom through a web browser.

More Detail: Today’s question is a follow-up to yesterday’s question about recovering photos from cloud storage when they don’t appear in Lightroom Classic. The same basic concept, however, would apply to any situation where you don’t want specific photos to remain in cloud storage via Adobe Creative Cloud.

If the photos appear in Lightroom Classic but you don’t want them to be stored in the cloud at all you can remove them from the “All Synced Photographs” collection in the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module.

First, I recommend confirming which photos you want to remove from cloud storage. Note, for example, that if you turn off synchronization for a collection in Lightroom Classic, the images in that collection won’t actually be removed from cloud storage. In the example from yesterday’s question, images from the cloud were to be downloaded and imported into Lightroom Classic, and those images could be removed from cloud storage after that.

You can, for example, use a color label that isn’t assigned to any other images to mark the photos you want to remove from cloud storage. Then set a filter for that criteria and select all the applicable images in the All Synced Photographs collection. Right-click on any of the selected photos and choose “Remove from All Synced Photographs”. This will cause the photos to be removed from cloud-based storage.

Another option is to use Lightroom in a web browser by navigating to https://lightroom.adobe.com and signing in with your Creative Cloud account. You can then turn on the checkbox to select one or more photos and click the trash can icon on the toolbar at the bottom of the page to delete the photos from cloud storage. Just keep in mind that this will cause the image to also be removed from any synchronized collections in Lightroom Classic, but will not delete source image files from your local hard drive.

Today’s Question: I synchronize photos from my iPhone to Lightroom Classic by importing the into Lightroom Mobile. I discovered that some photos have been imported into Lightroom Mobile but do to show up anywhere in Lightroom Classic. What can I do to repeat the process to force the missing photos to sync?

Tim’s Quick Answer: In this type of scenario, the best approach is probably to download all photos from Adobe Creative Cloud and import the applicable photos into Lightroom Classic manually.

More Detail: There are several ways that photos can appear in cloud storage with Adobe Creative Cloud, but not in Lightroom Classic. In my view the most likely explanation in this case is that you may have switched which catalog was being synchronized with the cloud, leaving some photos “stranded” in cloud storage. It is also possible that an error occurred, causing certain photos to not synchronize properly.

One way you can resolve this issue is to download all photos from your Adobe Creative Cloud account and import only those that are not duplicates (or only those you specifically want to import). You could then remove the photos from cloud storage if you don’t want them there.

Fortunately, Adobe provides a software tool that makes it easy to download all your photos stored in the cloud. To get started, point your web browser here and sign in with your Adobe Creative Cloud account:

https://lightroom.adobe.com/lightroom-library-download

Click the “Export my photos” button, and you’ll see a message to let you know that an email will be sent to you with a download link once the files are ready for download. The downloads will be a series of ZIP files, which you can extract to access the downloaded photos.

You can then import those photos into your Lightroom Classic catalog. You can turn on the “Don’t Import Suspected Duplicates” checkbox in the File Handling section of the right panel in the Import dialog if you want to import all photos that aren’t already in your catalog. You can also filter the photos if you only want to import some of them, such as to only import photos from a specific date range.

Once you’ve imported the photos, you may want to remove them from cloud storage, as they would not otherwise be represented in the context of cloud storage in Lightroom Classic.