Operation Manual

174
Managing catalogs and folders
Last updated 11/30/2015
Synchronize folders
If the contents of a folder in your catalog don’t match the contents of the same folder on the volume, you can
synchronize the two folders. When you synchronize folders, you have the option of adding files that have been added
to the folder but not imported into the catalog, removing files that have been deleted, and scanning for metadata
updates. The photos in the folder and all subfolders can be synchronized. You can determine which folders, subfolders,
and files are imported.
Note: The Synchronize Folder command does not detect duplicate photos in a catalog. Lightroom does not have a function
that identifies duplicate files.
1 In the Folders panel, select the folder you want to synchronize.
2 Choose Library > Synchronize Folder.
3 In the Synchronize Folder dialog box, do any of the following:
• To import photos that appear in the folders but have not been imported in the catalog, select Import New Photos.
If you select Show Import Dialog Before Importing, you can specify which folders and photos are imported.
• To remove photos that have been deleted from the folder but not from the catalog, select Remove Missing Photos
From Catalog. If this option is dimmed, no files are missing. (You can choose Show Missing Photos to display
the photos in Grid view.)
• To scan for any metadata changes made to the files in another application, choose Scan For Metadata Updates.
4 Click Synchronize.
5 If the Import Photos dialog box opens, confirm the folders and files you want to import, and then click Import.
If you have a missing folder that is also empty, use the Synchronize Folder command to remove it from the catalog.
Locate missing folders
If a folder is moved in the operating system instead of in Lightroom, the link between the catalog and the folder breaks,
and a question-mark icon
appears on the folder in the Folders panel.
1 To restore the link, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) on the folder and choose Find Missing Folder
from the context menu.
2 Navigate to the file path of the moved folder and click Choose.
For instructions on relinking individual missing photos, see Locate missing photos .
Delete folders
1 In the Folders panel of the Library module, select one or more folders and click the Minus icon (-). Or, right-click
(Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) and choose Remove.
2 Click Continue in the dialog box.
The folder and its photos are removed from the catalog and the Folders panel. The original folder and photos are
not deleted from the hard drive.