I thought I knew LR.....

[Kris V]

Well, I do as far as editing goes (sort of).
However, the cataloging part is till throwing me a few curve balls.
1. Is there a way to batch-rename the pictures in a particular folder (Inside LR)?
2. Is there a way to prevent LR from creating a million sub-directories when importing pictures from an SD card?
Currently I use Explorer to eliminate all the sub-directories I don't want, and then have LR find the pictures again, but there has to be an easier way. Or not?
I'm using LR 5.3.

[Shadowman]

Scott Kelby is probably working on version 5. Under File menu, choose New Catalog. When Create folder appears you can name the catalog anything you like.

To rename, right click existing catalog.

[NorthernFocus]

I saw something suggesting that it is possible to do the renaming but don't recall where. I have a video tut on the library so must have been in there. If no one answers before I get a chance I'll skim through it and see if I can find it.

As far as question 2, are you refering to LR making folders for each date? If so, there is a selection in the box on the panel on the right side of the import screen where you tell whether to import by dates or to use existing subfolders. Everything I've done so far has been importing from external hard drives, no memory cards yet. But I assume it is the same. I missed that on my first import and ended up with dozens of subfolders by date. Deleted the whole catalog and started again from scratch.

[Glenn NK]

Kris:

Another good source for LR information:

http://www.lightroomforums.net/forum.php

Glenn

[DanK]

I'm probably the odd one out, but I never have LR import from a card. I transfer the images to the hard disk and only then sync LR. I started doing this because I found it faster to cull the obviously bad ones first, rather than waiting for the time it takes LR to import them on my slow computer. It also has the advantage that you don't need to have new folders if you don't want them. E.g., recently I shot macros of iris flowers over a period of several days. The first night, I downloaded them to the drive and imported them. After that, I copied the new to the same directory and then told LR to sync again.

[Kris V]

Scott Kelby is probably working on version 5. Under File menu, choose New Catalog. When Create folder appears you can name the catalog anything you like.

To rename, right click existing catalog.

To expand on my question re: renaming.
These photos are already imported in an existing catalog, but I forgot to rename them when I did the import, so they are named "untitled-1.NEF............untitled-346.NEF.
I would like to keep them in this catalog.

[Kris V]

I

As far as question 2, are you refering to LR making folders for each date? If so, there is a selection in the box on the panel on the right side of the import screen where you tell whether to import by dates or to use existing subfolders.

I figured that one out, but even if I point it to the right sub-folder, it still creates sub-folders within this sub-folder. What I would like is for the all files on the card to go into the folder I specify, without creating sub-directories.
I like my NEF files organized month by month - with no sub-folders in that months' folder.

[Kris V]

Kris:

Another good source for LR information:

http://www.lightroomforums.net/forum.php

Glenn

And why didn't I think of that......
Thanks!

[Kris V]

I'm probably the odd one out, but I never have LR import from a card. I transfer the images to the hard disk and only then sync LR. I started doing this because I found it faster to cull the obviously bad ones first, rather than waiting for the time it takes LR to import them on my slow computer.

I preview my photos in FastStone from the card, eliminate the duds and then import the keepers in LR. I convert to .dng during import, and have a back-up with the original NEF files on an external HD.

[Kris V]

Thanks all for the advice. I go visit the LR forum now.

[benm]

Renaming is dead simple. Select (highlight) all the photos you want renamed. Click Library\Rename Photos. (F2 is the shortcut key). Review/change parameters; add a sequence number if desired. Done. LR's rename method is better than the one Windows has and way way better than Mac (which doesn't have one at all unless you do it from Terminal).

I don't import from SD card directly to LR but it should not create any directories unless you have set it up that way. The way I do it is I create a new folder outside of LR and copy all the pictures into the new folder. I then open LR and import the folder.

[Cantab]

I'm probably the odd one out, but I never have LR import from a card. I transfer the images to the hard disk and only then sync LR. I started doing this because I found it faster to cull the obviously bad ones first, rather than waiting for the time it takes LR to import them on my slow computer. It also has the advantage that you don't need to have new folders if you don't want them. E.g., recently I shot macros of iris flowers over a period of several days. The first night, I downloaded them to the drive and imported them. After that, I copied the new to the same directory and then told LR to sync again.

I do something similar. Initially I transfer/dump files from a memory card into a dated folder within a "Canon Dumps" directory. That gets the photos into the computer. I can then at my leisure import/copy them into LR created folders. The relevant dump folders are deleted once the LR folders have been created and backed up. It may not be the most time efficient process but it works for me.

[dan marchant]

1. Is there a way to batch-rename the pictures in a particular folder (Inside LR)?
2. Is there a way to prevent LR from creating a million sub-directories when importing pictures from an SD card?

As mentioned above the batch renaming can be done by pressing F2 and selecting from the options. Alternatively you can get LR to rename the files ate the same time as sorting out the subdirectory issue. The Lightroom import dialogue allows you to do many things including automatically rename, create directories, add keywords, apply a development preset and add metadata.

[Kris V]

Renaming is dead simple. Select (highlight) all the photos you want renamed. Click Library\Rename Photos. (F2 is the shortcut key). Review/change parameters; add a sequence number if desired. Done. LR's rename method is better than the one Windows has and way way better than Mac (which doesn't have one at all unless you do it from Terminal).

I don't import from SD card directly to LR but it should not create any directories unless you have set it up that way. The way I do it is I create a new folder outside of LR and copy all the pictures into the new folder. I then open LR and import the folder.

Thanks so much. This is exactly the information I'm looking for.

[Shadowman]

Peter Krogh has an ebook titled " Organizing Your Photos with Lightroom 5". I haven't read it yet but one of the tips he offers is tagging your images with keywords which makes it easier to search for later.

http://rnaphoto.com/new-ebook-peter-...e-lightroom-5/