wkocken Loc: McGregor, MN

I am using LR4 and Windows 7 and have an annoying problem with the directory where LR thinks it puts the photos. I import the photos into My Pictures\Lightroom\yyyy\mm\yyyy-mm-dd\ with file names like "yyyy-mm-dd_billsphotos_001.cr2" . At least that's where LR tells me where they will go, in the far right panel, when I'm ready to import.
After the import, the folder view in the left panel shows something else. My directory structure looks like this:
C:
yyyy\
mm\
yyyy-mm-dd\
.
.
.
Lightroom\
yyyy\
mm\
yyyy-mm-dd\
.
.
.

The pictures end up in the upper portion, under the C: area and not in the Ligthroom area.
HERE is the weird part. If I try to drag the files to where I want them, it tells me that they're already there and I cannot copy files to the same place. If I looks in file explorer, outside of LR, they are indeed in the Lightroom\yyyy\mm\yyyy-mm-dd\ directory.
What is going on here, and how can I get LR to tell me where the photos actually are?

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Don't worry about it. You've got the left panel configured so it shows up looking the way it does but the actual images are exactly where you told LR to put em. I was confused by the same thing but the left panel doesn't show the whole folder structure.

wkocken Loc: McGregor, MN

The problem I have is that now when I import new files (say from my archives of pre-lightroom days), they show up in the upper section and some of my other files show up in the lower section. This didn't used to happen. If the problem is just that I have the left side configured wrong, how can I fix it? I'd rather see all of my photos from a given date or month show up in one place.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Consider eliminating the dashes from your date, thus making the date strictly numeric as opposed to alpha-numeric.

JPL

Lightroom is terrible at file handling, maybe you can look up some video tutorials for step to step instructions on this. Try google it.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Take a screen shoot of your import page and post it. it will help us help you.

BTW why are you using so many dates in your import. All that info is in the metadata

Jim Plogger Loc: East Tennessee

It is my opinion that Lightroom will become a much simpler program and a great alternative to Photoshop the day they stop the crazy "import" and simply add a browser similar to Bridge that will simply take you to your folders and allow you to double click on an image.

wkocken Loc: McGregor, MN

I consider my self pretty "fair" at using LR. I've been using it since version 2. I suspect that my issue is related to my having set up a "library" containing the /My Pictures/ directory. See the following post which indicates a similar problem where Windows has multiple references to the same disk.
http://www.lightroomforums.net/archive/index.php/t-9793.html

I will not be at my LR computer for a few days, but I'll give it a test next week.

+mborn I agree. I have too many dates in my workflow. I think I will drop the \mm\ part of my directory structure and put files into folders like \lightroom\yyyy\yyyy-mm-dd\filename.cr2. I like being able to see the date taken in my folder view rather than having to do a filter for it.

sportyman140 Loc: Juliette, GA

HI Wkocken, 1st let me say this, you should have a catalog to import your photos into, then when importing then you should keyword (tag) them, Exp: house photos, pets, best friend, lake & etc.....
2nd. then go through ans select the ones you want to keep and work with,
3rd. then you can edit the ones you keep and do some really cool stuff by creating Quick Collections, Smart Collections etc...... remember wherever you import your images into (Catalog) is non-destructive So there is always an original image on HD. LR is really a great DATABASE storage/control center with fantastic editing equipment along with allot more options

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Lightroom and other programs that include organizers create a lot of unnecessary confusion around how they are handling your files and where they put things. None of them are as simple as merely putting your files where you want them on your hard drive and handling your own backups.

If all you need to do is edit an image and save the edited file you should be able to simply Open a file, edit it and Save it or Save As to create a new name. That way you will know where you got it and where you put it without all of the superfluous importing and exporting.

Photoshop Elements can do this (if you skip the organizer) and many other programs can do the same.

sportyman140 Loc: Juliette, GA

Oh those that are so narrow minded and can't see past their nose to see the forest. Oh Boy

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

You are absolutely right about short-sighted persons. I use the analogy (similar to yours) that they can't see the forest because of all the trees in their way.

It's strange why someone would want to abandon an entire program because he/she doesn't like a small part of it. To use an analogy that Windows users will understand, I used MS Word for a long time. Yes, you can build a rudimentary spreadsheet in Word, but it's slow and complicated. I also used Excel, but it is difficult to write a report in Excel. So I used Word for my reports and, when I had to include a spreadsheet, I created it in Excel and added it to the report in such a way that, if the numbers changed in the spreadsheet, that change was reflected in the next report.

It's the same way with digital post processing. Different programs have unique strengths and weaknesses. Either learn to live with (and, if possible, exploit the) weaknesses or ignore them and use the strengths of another application to enhance your current program. Discarding both programs because of their complementary weaknesses robs you of the chance of using the complementary strengths of both programs; it is a fool's option!

I'm sure there is a way to bypass Lightrooms organizer and use its other powerful features. If not, learn to harness the power of LR's organizer for your benefit.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

There is no way to get past the Lightroom organizer other than to simply try and ignore it by importing, editing and exporting. It's the import and export that is way too complicated.

Once you work around the organizer (which is easy to do with Photoshop Elements) Lightroom is still a very capable tool. But the same can be said for Photoshop Elements, Capture NX2, Picture Window Pro and Corel PaintShop Pro. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. It is pointless to argue that any one is better than the other because we don't all need the same functionality.

Nevertheless, there is one thing you can say about all of the software that you have to purchase. There is a financial incentive for them to get better and fix problems. Stuff you get for free will not be as good.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

What do you find so complicated in LR importing and exporting. I have 250K photos spread among 5 external HD and my LR catalog knows where all of the photos are. when I export I have presets built to export to where I want the photo to go. It is straightforward and easy to use

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Not too complicated for me since I know how to do it. Someone less familiar with computers might find this daunting.

Lightroom offers four different ways to export and one of these has four different sub-menus. If you select the first one (File/Export...) the Export One File dialog presents you with nine different selections you can use to modify how to complete the export.

Compare this with PSE which used the standard and Save As... dialog followed by a simple dialog asking how much to compress the file.

The difference is clear.