Paladin48 wrote:
How in the heck does one delete an album or a folder from LR? It seems as if every photo on my computer is in one HUGE album/folder. I know I did something wrong when I first set it up but Adobe has been unresponsive to my query and none of the help searches mention any solutions. If I have to start over again so be it but this is getting annoying.
Thanks in advance
Getting help from Adobe is actually quite easy. On the Adobe website click on the support link. It will ask you what you need help with, and if you have the Adobe CC subscription, then you choose Adobe CC. After that it will let you choose that you need help with LR, and then you can choose how you want to contact them. I use the Chat and have gotten good help from them. Sometimes it takes a while, so don't be in a hurry. When a problem is complicated, they can do a screen share and look for a solution in your computer while you watch. But you can also ask what they are doing, which I usually do, because I want to learn for myself what can be done.
I have to ask, why do you want to delete an album or folder from LR? If all your photos seem to be in one Huge folder, that is because you have not created sub-folders. There are many ways of setting up LR, depending on what organizational method suits you. Some people like to save images by date, others like to save them by topics. When you first set up LR, you probably created that one folder, calling it something like Lightroom Photos, and now all your images are in there. From what you are saying, it sounds like you have not created a cataloging system!
I use what I call the "filing cabinet" method. Within the master folder, I have multiple sub-folders according to topic. Within each sub-folder I can divide it up different ways. For instance, under Maine Pictures, I have Lighthouses in Maine, Harbors in Maine, Rivers and Lakes in Maine, etc. Then under each of those topics I usually divide them up by the year I went there and took the pictures.
Other photographers may save their photos by date, especially if each date represents a particular photo shoot. For instance a wedding, or a sporting event.
LR will accept whatever system you choose to use, but at the same time you have to know LR's "Rules" and follow them. The main one is that all creation of folders, and moving of photos from one folder to another MUST be done from within LR. NOT on your Hard Drive. But those changes will simultaneously be made to the folder on your HD. If you move an image from within your HD folder, you will discover that LR will say that the image is "missing". This is because that action has "broken" LR's connection to that image, and it no longer knows where to find it. Remember that your images only reside on your HD, not within the LR program. LR Catalogs them, shows them to you, and lets you organize and edit them.
On the left side of your LR screen, the first topic is called "Catalog". This has all LR images in one folder. Under that it has another topic called "Folders". This is where you put your LR Master Folder which you can organize as you wish. Then there is another topic called "Collections". This is where you can group photos together for some specific purpose. I use a collection when I want to print selections from different sub-folders. I also use a collection to create a slideshow with images from different sub-folders. You can also use it to group together the photos you have rated according to how good they are! They can be long-term or temporary. Mine are usually temporary, but others use them more extensively.
Suggestion: Decide how you want to organize your images. Then start moving them around the way you want. It is time-consuming, but does not have to be done all in one day. I did a reorganization a few years ago, still using the "filing cabinet" method but with a few specific changes. It took time. Now I am working on another change that will make it easier to find photos now that I have so many more than before. It won't all get done immediately, especially since Keeping things organized is an on-going process that never really ends.
Hope this helps.
Susan From Vermont