bob fleer Loc: Annapolis, MD

wondering what to do. I look at my LRC catalog and for the longest time I see 11,000 plus missing photos. so today decided to look into the issue. all the missing photos are found in the catalog. I does say these are temporary files. investigating further all the visible photos are in my Lightroom photos. as I read about this If I understand correctly these are what I downloaded to Lightroom and if I delete this it will not delete anything that I had imported and the temp file will go away.
Is that correct?

fredpnm Loc: Corrales, NM

If you had LR copy any imported images to a different location other than where you are importing the photos in the LR catalog then they can be deleted because those on the 'other' drive were NOT loaded into the LR catalog.

If LR shows 11,000 photos are missing it is likely that you moved these photos, or deleted them, in an application other than LR - that's a BIG no, no. I'm not aware of LR stating files are temporary (other than previews if that is what you are talking about, but previews don't show in the catalog) where does LR tell you this?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Missing images are very simply files that were imported into the LR catalog and no longer exist at that location. They show in the catalog with the Exclamation Point icon in the upper right corner. They're also found via catalog audit: Library / Find all Missing Photos.

Example: IMG12345.jpg imported from C:\folder01

Now, if you deleted C:\folder01 or moved IMG12345.jpg to some other folder like D:\pictures\20230228-WalkingTour, well now IMG12345.jpg will present as missing in the LR catalog. Renaming image IMG12345.jpg to some new file name too will cause it to become a missing file.

These are the more likely reasons you have 11K missing images, not temporary files or whatever you seem to be asking about.

LR creates a preview when the image is imported. Those previews are stored along with the LRCAT file. That's why you can still see a preview of the image, but the underlying original image is missing.

You can investigate where LR considers the image should reside. Just click that Exclamation Point icon and LR will give you the file name and prior path. Use that information to determine where / if the image now resides. Or, take the file name and use your OS file search on the applicable drives of your computer to see if you can find that file.

If you can find the file(s), you typically just have to update the folder location inside the LR catalog and this will update all the impacted images in that folder, cascading through any subfolders too.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Coming back to temporary files, what do you mean? How are you identifying "temporary" as compared to any other image file within your LR catalog? You might try attaching a screen capture (or cell phone view) of your LR library to show, rather than trying to explain.

mvetrano2 Loc: Commack, NY

Paul, this situation, and your eplanation is describing something that plagued me since I started using Lightroom. If the photos are imported into Lightroom, post processed and then exported as JPG to a different folder on the computer, deleting the original folder that contained the original photos, would those now be missing in Lightroom? This is the process that I normally use, and I do have many missing photos in the Lightroom catalogue now. I was alway wondering where they went. I thought that I had found a bug in Lightroom. How can I get the missing photos back into the Lightroom catalogue?

Bayou

Yes.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

If this is your approach -- deleting your original image files -- you have a major flaw in your workflow.

The output (export) files are throw-away, where the original image files must be carefully cared for. You can export, on-demand, from the catalog only as long as you have the originals. The output files are important for their intended purpose, but they are 'throw-away' after that purpose is satisfied, because the exports can be recreated on-demand.

The 'missing' icon inside the LR catalog can be resolved by either a) placing the original file back into the original location or b) updating the LR catalog to indicate the new 'where' the original file now resides. For 'b' you maybe decided another place to store the original file. For 'a' just recreate the folders and restore the original image files back into that location. LR will immediately recognize the same folder and same file are available and will remove the 'missing' icon.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

"Imported into Lightroom" does not mean what you are assuming it means.

There are NO image files in Lightroom.

"Importing" means that the location of the image file is stored in Lightroom, NOT the image itself.

If the image is moved outside of Lightroom, the location that Lightroom holds is no longer valid. That is what Lightroom means by "missing".

mvetrano2 Loc: Commack, NY

Thank you, but is there any way to recover the missing files, or are thay gone from Lightroom permanently?

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

The files were never 'IN' Lightroom. Only the location of the files is in Lightroom.
If the location is changed, Lightroom won't know where they are so it lists them as missing.

If you DELETED the original folder or the image file, you're out of luck unless you kept a backup. If you MOVED the original folder or image file, then you can tell Lightroom where they are now. Click on the exclamation point that tells you the image is missing. That will bring up a dialog that allows you to navigate to the current location of the image so Lightroom will know where it is.

If you have backed up files on a separate disk, the images will be missing if the separate disk is not attached.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

As DirtFarmer has emphasized, the images were never 'in' Lightroom. A better word might be 'registered' into the catalog.

If you lived at 10 S Main and moved to 44 E Water and told nobody, you'd be a missing person (image) at the registered address of 10 S Main.

To resolve this missing situation, either move back to 10 S Main, or update your registration to 44 E Water. Neither is a valid option unless you have the original image file used to register that file to Lightroom.

BurghByrd Loc: Pittsburgh

Chg_Canon has provided the explanation and means for fixing the existing problem and normally includes a statment that if you manage your files from within Lightroom you will avoid this kind of problem. If you are manipulating files outside of the Lightroom environment such as moving or deleting them (or adding more to a directory) the lightroom catalog will not reflect those changes. All that will remain for deleted files is a preview image and pointer to the location where the file was (used to be). Good luck sorting it out. I know from my own experience that it's a painful lesson.

mvetrano2 Loc: Commack, NY

Ok, I believe the files are not really lost then just not in the Lightroom catalogue because, the JPG post processed exports from Lightroom are stored in a different folder than the original. So only the original is lost, not the exported, post processed, JPG of the original. If I wanted to bring them all (802) back into Lightroom, I believe I would have to import the JPG files created from the originals so that they would be now back into the catalogue, correct? But, then wouldn't I have (802) duplicates, the lost original plus the post processed JPG (most with different names)?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Please read all the responses. This question has already been addressed. You want the originals.

You can 'live' with the export versions, if that's all you've got. Yes, they'd be duplicates to the originals -- now missing and lost beyond recovery -- could be removed from the LR catalog. They can be filtered / identified by their source folder, or the import date, or their missing status.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You're playing a bit of word games. Note everyone's emphasis on the original, with no real interest in the edited output / export. I just added a comment above, that 'yes', if you have nothing better, just import the export versions and remove the missing originals from the LR catalog.

More importantly: stop deleting original image files, as a general rule of photography, and especially in a Lightroom-based workflow.