Lightroom

Hi guys, just quickly....does lightroom automatically update the folders? what i mean is that when say i export pics into a new folder, they dont seem to be showing up in my library until i manually update the images into lightroom. is there an automatic way to do this? i think auto import is not the same thing. any help is grately appreciated!!!=)thanks guys!

Zhen

If I understand your question correctly, you want to automatically re-import the files you just exported?

No, LR does not auto-update the folders in its database... it's one of the few issues I have with the program.

This is one thing that I don't like about lightroom, it doesn't identify images that are in the folder that are not imported yet. As noted above you can re-import the folder but I'm not sure what that does to any keywords that you have already assigned to images. What I do it so import specific image or series of images to the already existing folder in the library module. I'm hoping that they will change this over time.

Its fine to re-import as LR will list and ignore files already imported.

The reason that Lightroom does not auto-import your exported files is because the engineers designed the export feature to create consumable images, i.e. one time pics. They expect you to use the file (maybe printing at a lab) and re-export the files if you need them again in the future. Importing these exported files will not be a problem but you must make sure they have different filenames then your originals. You may then choose to stack them (if they exist in the same folder as the originals) if you like for a more fluid look in grid mode.

If you want to have files that you edited in Lightroom but send elsewhere they expect you to right click and click on Edit in PS. This creates a TIFF or PSD and can autostack with the original if you check the box. Then when you save the TIFF or PSD after additional editing LR will update the image in its database. However, if you do a Save As and save as a JPEG you still have to re-import the file.

Again, the Lightroom engineers designed LR with the expectation that you will only use LR to edit your files. If you use something else to edit them you will have to re-import the files.