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Yet another LR question
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Jul 6, 2018 13:49:18   #
Paladin48 Loc: Orlando
 
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

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Jul 6, 2018 14:03:54   #
James Van Ells
 
no, don't start over. The easiest thing to do is get expert advice, that's not me. Here is a link to Tim Grey's B & H session on cleaning up your mess in lightroom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LePfr2TBOQ There are others in you go to youtube and put "cleaning up your mess in lightroom" in the search box. One large folder will become multiple sub-folders etc, etc.

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Jul 6, 2018 14:04:10   #
al13
 
I also had a problem this past Monday and Adobe was very helpful. I gave them access to my computer and the went into Lightroom fixing what I messed up. The spent over an hour and a half.

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Jul 6, 2018 14:11:14   #
R.G. Loc: Scotland
 
I could only speculate as to what you did wrong, but I can tell you how to delete folders. If you simply right-click on the folder you get the following menu (I right-clicked on an already existing folder called 2014).

One of the options is "Remove". You can also create folders from this menu. Another potentially useful option is "Move selected photo to this folder". So you can create a folder or re-name an existing folder and then add whatever you want to it.

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Jul 6, 2018 14:33:26   #
rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA
 
R.G. wrote:
I could only speculate as to what you did wrong, but I can tell you how to delete folders. If you simply right-click on the folder you get the following menu (I right-clicked on an already existing folder called 2014).

One of the options is "Delete". You can also create folders from this menu. Another potentially useful option is "Move selected photo to this folder". So you can create a folder or re-name an existing folder and then add whatever you want to it.

-
I could only speculate as to what you did wrong, b... (show quote)


Exactly. You select Remove, which removes the DATABASE entries for that folder in Lightroom. Outside of Lightroom, you can use your system's file browser to delete,etc.

Is this what you are asking about?

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Jul 6, 2018 15:35:53   #
mborn Loc: Massachusetts
 
send a screenshot of the left panel in LR

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Jul 6, 2018 21:00:07   #
JD750 Loc: SoCal
 
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



Are your looking at the Catalog rather than the Folders view? IF it says Catalog on the left side then that is not the view you want. If you don't see the Folders section, Right click on Catalog and make sure that Folders is checked. Then open the folders section and you should see all your folders. See screen shot below. Hope that helps. If not please post a screen shot of what you are seeing.


(Download)

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Jul 7, 2018 08:39:43   #
Papa j Loc: Cary NC
 
K
al13 wrote:
I also had a problem this past Monday and Adobe was very helpful. I gave them access to my computer and the went into Lightroom fixing what I messed up. The spent over an hour and a half.



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Jul 7, 2018 09:33:09   #
wrangler5 Loc: Missouri
 
All of MY images ARE in one folder called Digital Images. There are other folders on the hard drive for other things, so Digital Images is just how I provide the starting point for all of my digital photography. But if you click on that folder in Finder or Windows Explorer you won't see any individual images listed - you have to look in the many OTHER folders which are UNDER that top one, arranged in a heirarchy that has grown and developed over time.

If you simply now have a single folder which holds all of your image files, why not just use it as the starting point for a multi-folder heirarchy that's set up the way you think you want it now? You can create folders and subfolders and further subfolders inside LR, select the images you want in one of 'em and just drag and drop them. LR will warn you about "moving" files on disk (I think you can turn this warning off if you want) but if you click OK then it will move the files on your computer disk (which actually just changes the disk's own file index - the files themselves don't get touched) AND record the image locations in LR at the same time.

Be aware that you probably will not be able to design a folder heirarchy today that will remain untouched over the coming years. But that's OK - take your best guess as to how you want to organize your images and make a start. Once you've created and filled a few folders in LR (and then renamed some of 'em after you get going) you'll have no problem doing so whenever the spirit moves you (or experience tells you need to make a change.) And as long as you do the folder creation and file moving IN Lightroom, your LR database will always be up to date.

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Jul 7, 2018 11:29:53   #
thephotoman Loc: Rochester, NY
 
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

Have you tried Adobe's chat room? I have always gotten good help from it. I believe it is 24 hours a day.

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Jul 7, 2018 11:32:35   #
Bob Boner
 
I file all my images in LR by date. If I am looking for an image, I can usually narrow down the date to a couple and then look in those dates. Has worked well for me.

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Jul 7, 2018 12:31:52   #
David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA
 
Interesting information here. I haven't experienced the OP's problem because I always organize my photos on my computer hard drive first, then import them into LR. That initial organization is not necessarily what will exist when I upload (Publish) the photos to Flickr, though. I create and use the "add selected photos" to those folders a lot.

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Jul 7, 2018 12:44:26   #
JD750 Loc: SoCal
 
Looks like OP has "left the building". He has not responded.

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Jul 7, 2018 14:08:20   #
cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA
 
May I suggest that you invest about $ 100 (you just missed a nice sale) into Laura Shoe's Lightroom DVDs. I went this root and learned quite a bit. I would STRONGLY suggest that, before you begin really using Lr, that you completely understand the why, what and how of it's organizational capabilities. Accomplishing just that will save you endless time later. Best of luck.

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Jul 7, 2018 23:03:27   #
SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont
 
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

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