Can I label virtual copies?

Hi,
I'm looking for an easy way to handle virtual copies and what I'd like to do is to put a label on each VC but there is no way to do this. Say I have an image that thas been processed to my satisfaction and I'd like to have one VC be a 5x7 crop and another an 8x8 crop. I'd like to label the VC as such (e.g. sunset 5x7 and sunset 8x8). Otherwise, I can't tell quickly what each VC represents. This gets more time consuming when I have 6 or 8 VCs of the same image.
Perhaps there is a better way?
Thanks,
Tanguero

Thanks, this was helpful and got me on the right track. I did have to look up where the 'copy name field' existed and how to get to it as I wasn't familiar with it, but it did work.
Another related question is whether I have to be in the Library mode in order to modify the copy name field? My workflow is such that I'd like to create and label 3 or 4 different crop VCs while staying in the Develop mode. Is there a way?
Thanks,
T

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Can not find virtual copies in Windows folder.

I can not remember to have encountered this before, so here I go: I just created a virtual copy of some photos from my summer holiday, and all works well. But when I needed to access these photos going the Windows' way (Windows/My Pictures that is), the virtual copies do not appear in my YYYYMM folder. Going back to LR though, they will appear there with a /Copy 1 extension. RIghtclicking the VC, then "Show in Explorer" will highlight the original in the folder, the VC still not being there. Part of the frustration is that I can not remember this happening before (or maybe it has), so I'm wondering if I by accident have changed any settings.
Running LR 4.1 on Windows 7 64-bit.
Thanks in advance.

Andrew Rodney wrote:
richardplondon wrote:
My only point, was an observation that there is very little actual practical difference between a virtual copy and a "master" ANYWAY.
So you have 1 master (an actual raw) and 10 VC’s. What happens to the VC’s if the master gets corrupted?
If your master has say Adobe Standard as the DNG Profile but the VC has a custom DNG profile, what happens to the VC if that profie goes missing or gets corrupted? Try it.
If by "master", you mean the Raw file on disk, then if that is corrupted (something I have never yet experienced IIRC; although I still backup against this possibility) then certainly, all images derived from that will suffer. However adding VCs does not increase the absolute risk of that. The way I was using "master", was to refer to the one LR metadata set which, unlike a VC metadata set, currently asserts a functional link to the source file. If that LR metadata set were to get corrupted, (something I have never yet experienced either IIRC, although I still backup against that possibility too) then I might be glad of a VC which I could immediately promote to that role and status instead.
Certainly bad things may happen to a VC if a required external file is lost or changed - but these are exactly the same bad things, as if the exact same events had happened for the "master" version alongside. I do take the point that there is protection in redundancy - no question - and also that instantly written-out metadata is a useful separate backup of one's work (as I mentioned, I'd be glad if VCs could get the same thing too somehow, someday).
One-to-many dependency on a single source file can make some good things happen too,though, which may be judged worth any potential added risks. Say deliberate changes are newly made to a Photoshop edit on which several LR image versions are based. These updates will ripple through all virtual versions automatically; whereas if these versions had instead been fully independent, the same changes would need to be made repeatedly to get the same result; assuming one wants all these versions to reflect the changes; which is (should be; needs to be) the realistic expectation, when one has opted to use a cluster of VCs in the first place.

Can you stack virtual copies?

Curious if this is possible?

Yes, Mike. By default they are stacked.
One difficulty is selecting them afterwards - read the bit about virtual copies in
this post.
John

Can you install 2 copies of OS X?

On the same Mac?
I like to mess about installing different bits of software but sometimes removing it can be a pain and you can end up with all sorts of unwanted junk on there.
It occurred to me it might be nice to have 2 installs of OS X on the same machine - one nice and clean and the other as a sandpit environment. And choose which to boot at startup.
Is this easy to do? And is it covered with 1 OS X license?
Thanks

Please check the SLA choosing Software/Mountain Lion (unfortunately, they've changed the format and copy/paste is just about impossible now):
http://www.apple.com/legal/sla/
Here is an excerpt from the OS license agreement:
A. Preinstalled and Single-Copy Apple Software License
Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, unless you obtained the Apple Software from the Mac App Store or under a volume license, maintenance or other written agreement from Apple, you are granted a limited, non- exclusive license to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-branded computer at any one time. For example, these single-copy license terms apply to you if you obtained the Apple Software preinstalled on Apple-branded hardware.
B. Mac App Store License
If you obtained a license for the Apple Software from the Mac App Store, then subject to the terms and conditions of this License and as permitted by the Mac App Store Usage Rules set forth in the App Store Terms and Conditions (http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/ww/) (“Usage Rules”), you are granted a limited, non-transferable, non-exclusive license: to download, install, use and run for personal, non-commercial use, one (1) copy of the Apple Software directly on each Apple-branded computer running OS X Lion or OS X Snow Leopard (“Mac Computer”) that you own or control
Reading further, you can run 2 virtual copies of ML and you can install it on as many machines as you own and control, but there does appear to be a limit to one copy only per machine.

Find and export Virtual Copies: Easy to add and ( i would argue) Necessary

I haven't found an easy way to go back and easily select all virtual copies in a library in order to export them.
A virtual copy is easy to miss and sometimes its hard to remember where you made changes in a large collection.
There needs to be a search option for file types in LightRoom that can find the virtual copies and allow them to be collectively exported as real copies.
If not a search function, then please simply insert a "save all virtual copies" option in the export area. Perhaps it could have the option to export all to their respective original file's folder OR to a designated edits folder with some tag to refer to the original location.
I would very much appreciate an official adobe contact if at all possible :-/

You can filter out Virtual Copies using a button on the filter bar located in the bottom right corner of the Lr application window (just above the filmstrip). Click a folder (folder panel) to narrow the filter to a specific folder or subfolders or the top most folder to show all virtual copies. You'll also find the second button will show only Master photos.

Virtual Copies and Exposure Setting

I've read that the SDK is for export/web/metadata, so apologies for asking a question when I the answer is probably no...
What I'd like to be able to do is write a plugin that would enable me to select an image in the library, and then automatically create virtual copies, with each copy having a variation on the exposure settings, in effect creating a bracketed set, which I can then export for exposure blending.
Is this type of functionality feasible right now?
On the LR/Enfuse plugin guide it says that when batch processing LR/Enfuse can re-import the blended result image into the source image stack, which gives me hope that the SDK can do things with the Library module.

No, it's not possible to do this with the current SDK. The limitation you'll hit with what you're proposing:
You can't create virtual copies of photos via the SDK.
You can't change develop settings via the SDK.
I've noted these as feature requests for future SDK enhancements but I can't make any promises about when/if it might appear.

All of a sudden I cannot create virtual copies nor can I import my corrected image from PS back 2 LR

All of a sudden I cannot create virtual copies nor can I import my corrected image from PS back 2 LR

Thanks Terence, I rebuilt my database....I was not aware that I could access rebuild tools by holding the command and options buttons. Like I said, I'm new to Mac. I was able to recreate my missing photo's but they aren't the same pixel quality as the originals, look kind of blurry....any thoughts on this???
iMac Core Duo 2.0 Mac OS X 10.4.6 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Can you retrieve deleted virtual copies from Lightroom?

Hello,
I removed a catalog from LR3 and re-imported it and my develop settings are intact however, my virtual copies are all missing. Is there a way to get those copies re-imported back into LR or could they be in a cache file somewhere on my computer?
Help!!!
AlikMc

That depends on your OS and/or if you did change the defaults.
Look here: http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/843/cpsid_84313.html

Virtual copies and using Description, or title etc to print

Hi!
Never really use the text features in LR.
I've built a strip sheet to print. 4 strips with 4 versions (VIRTUAL COPIES) of the same image with different exposures.
I remember in the Print Module, you can add text. in this case I'd like to add the exposure (manually is fine) Example: NORMAL +1/3 +2/3 +1
So, this is a virtual copy problem.
It wont allow me to add the text to DESCRIPTION, Also, Under: Title, I can add say NORMAL, but that is the same for each image. Can't be individually labeled?
Is there anyway to label, title, description, etc, a series of the same Virtual Copies. Again, it would be great to print the actual exposure, but I'd be happy manually labeling the VC.
Thank you!
Max

Autowrite is in catalog settings. have you tried another catalog and optimised the current one??
Picturequest wrote:
Okay
In LIBRARY MODULE - Right Panel - METADATA
If I type in the TITLE or DESCRIPTION or COPY NAME, if I then hit enter, tab or return, the cell goes empty.
This is not Virtual Copy related. Even a sing RAW selected, behaves the same.
I can't find the autowrite to XML setting in the Prefs? Not sure where it is.
Weird!

Are Virtual Copies saved in Backups? How do I insert a backup into an existing catalog?

Are Virtual Copies saved in Backups? How do I insert a backup into an existing catalog
I deleted a tif image file that I didn't intend to, which had several LR virtual copies created from it. The virtual copies had a lot of important history that document my print preparation edits. Are these virtual copies saved in the LR backups?
If so, how can I insert them into the catalog I am using? I have made a lot of edits in the two days since my last backup and don't want to lose that history either. Do you suggest I make a current backup before retrieving files from my last backup? I know I'm supposed to go to the backup location and open the last backup, but how do I blend that with the current work from the last 2 days?
Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks, Tom

Rob,
That was exactly what I was after. However, I'm still having trouble getting the virtual copies imported. The master file was in my trash, I restored it to the original hard drive folder. Before I got your message I re- imported it to LR but of course LR came up with a new name since I was importing from and saving it to the same folder in LR. And of course no copies. This may have been a mistake, but before starting the procedure you described, I re-named the master file (it seemed that the import from backup would re-create it so I didn't want a conflict).
Then I did what you said and used the 'Import From Another Catalog' feature. I found the virtual copies in the backup and checked them. But when the import completed, the it gave me file names xxx/Copy1, xxx/Copy2 but there was no image or history or metadata. When I tried to find the folder containing the files, it said it couldn't be found. So I missed something in the settings. When I tried again, there was a warning saying the file(s) exists in the catalog and its settings differ. I went ahead anyway and the message I got was "No Photos in previous import"
Here's what the import from backup shows:
A box with catalog contents and all the folders and files within them, that you can check.
A New Photos section, which gives 2 file handling choices: a)add new photos to the catalog without moving them or b) don't import new photos
A Changed existing photos section with 2 replace options: a) nothing or b) Metadata and develop setting only. If you choose this you can check a box to preserve old settings as a virtual copy.
Not sure what to do. I changed the master file back to its original name, but that didn't make a difference. Suggestions? Thanks, Tom

No warning when deleting a Master image that is linked to Virtual Copies?!

Scenario: I am trying to clear out old images to free up storage space, so I go back though thousands of images looking for weak . unrequired shots.
Problem; when dealing with "mass deletions" it is near impossible to detect which images are "Master copies" from which I have any number of Virtual Copies. And when you hit delete you might well be ruining Virtual Copies without knowing it.
Surely there is a way to warn you that pics, X, Y & Z are linked to Xcopy1, YCopy1 & Zcopy1 etc, and give you an IMAGE SPECIFIC option to see those copies and make a choice of delete the master or not? I can't beleive Adobe think its user-freindly to have people trawl through each image to check before a deletion?
I know others have expressed similar concerns, and it seems a REALLY glaring omission in an otherwise decent ptoduct.
Comments from Adobe staff more than welcome.

eddybaby66 wrote:
Your response implies that you know how another person wishes to use the product, and it is clear that you do not know this. Being so prescriptive is no way for Adobe to look at an issue like this either.
your responce to the observation from the above forum member is a little inelegant and harsh. It is a very good way of telling you where there are VC's of images, but as you said, your methods are your own. Doing things your way and then asking for help and then biting like that is, well up to you how you reply to those offering help and positive suggestions
I dont' expect Adobe would be so prescriptive and +1 your comment and request is a very valid one

Create several virtual copies at once. Looking for a workflow of exporting 650 photo's in two versions

Hello,
i have photographed a wedding and i have 650 finished photo's. All came from a 5Dm3 of 5Dm2. All are in raw. The color versions are ready. I have created a preset to convert all 650 edited version to B/W. The key is i will not edit the curve and other light and contrast sliders because, and cropping for that sense since these are all done already. So to make it more simple, i need to silver 650 photo;s in color and B/W. The color versions are done.
I am looking at three workflows:
1 create virtual copies of the 650 photo's, filter them out, apply the b/w preset/ make some small tweakes and export the B/W version
2 export the color version to a 16 bit tiff, import those and the apply the b/w preset/ make some small tweakes and export the B/W version
3 make an extra copy of the lightroom library and then apply the b/w preset/ make some small tweakes and export the B/W version
In option one i do not know how to create 650 virtual copies at once. It seems i can do this only one photo at a time which is to time consuming
In option 2 this is an extra batch and consuming me much more hard disk space
in option three this is workable but i rather stick to one library
Any help in this?
Thanks!!
Ronald

Go to the library module, grid view. Highlight all your images and create a new collection. One of the options when you create the new collection is to make new virtual copies. The collection will consist of virtual copies of all your original files. Then, just work with the collection and create your black-and-white images. The virtual copies can be exported just like the regular images. So you can export color and black-and-white versions.

Location of virtual copies on a Mac

I made virtual copies for some of my pictures in order to do different crops.
While I can see the results in Lightroom, I am unable to see the file (or the .xmp if that's the result).
They seem not to be located in the same folder. but where???
Any idea?

There are loads, see here, but they usually only read bits from the xmp data. AFAIK only LR and Bridge will read everything that LR stores in xmp, but there may be others. As it is an open format I would expect to see greater usage of it being made, as tends to happen with most Adobe developed formats, unless somebody writes a better open format, in which case Adobe adopts it and abounded its original (as has happened with PSD). In the meantime it is the only way to transfer processing data around in image files without making permanent changes to a file, so we have to live with it!

Virtual Copies search and export...

Hi,
The underscores I'm using in my filenames seems to be messing up the sort order. So I want to replace the underscores with dashes. LR can't do this in its rename utility, afaik. If I do this externally, then I need to re-associate the images in LR's database with the files on the disk. I have about 5000, so don't want to do this on a file-by-file basis. However, if I remove all the images from the LR database and re-import everything, I'll lose the virtual copies, won't I? (I can export the metadata and keywords to sidecar files, so won't lose them.)
So here's my first question: Is there a way to export the data for a virtual file to an associated sidecar file that LR can later read back in? My other thought is to convert all the virtual copies to tiff files (eat a lot space that way). Either way, I need to find all my virtual copies. So my last question is: Is there a way to search for, or filter on, just virtual copies in LR?
Thanks,
Michael

re virtual copies, the answer is No is 1.0 but Adobe understand the problem and I'm hopeful you'll see a method before long. For now, you have to do something immediately after VC creation - add to a collection, mark the IPTC instructions, or add an appropriate keyword.
The sort order shouldn't be messed up by underscores. I assume they are in a consistent position in the filename - I use yymmdd_012345 quicl description.ext. Are you sure you are sorting by filename - see the toolbar (T) in Library.
John

Virtual copies not visible

Oh God, can some one PLEASE help me???I can't contact Adobe by phone,m too late and it says everyone else busy, try later...right.
I DID review as much as I could possibly read, and NOTHING is of help.
1. Made virtual copies, count goes up, can't see them in grid in library, develop, or in loupe. Thought they were stacked, but when I went to Photo>stacking> the rest is all grayed out...can't do anything. "set as master copy" also grayed out,. Read somewhere "preferences for lightroom might be corrupt"???? I tried to do the thing in the library to correct the preferences,:(on moubntain lion 10.8.3), but in the user file there is no library...so I then looked up how to find the hidden library, but I can't find the stuff to do THAT!!! And, there IS a library on my hard drive, but when I open THAT up, there isn't anything about preferences.
I JUST bought this 2 mos ago--how can it have corrupt preferences when I only just started using it???--used it once, then discovered diddn't have right processor in old computer...bought a new computer...took several weeks to get (bought increased ram)...now I am just using for first time today. Started importing, but they are all coming up missing photoi (when I had lightroomn installed on old computer, I deleted uit and pics), then reinstalled and it was migrated over to this new computer. I looked up how to massive transfer missing photos and there is NO folder with a question mark, so I have to do hundreds and hundreds manually--can I tell you I am really hating LR4.4????? Right now I am hating photography and LR and I am beyond upset. I got back from vacation a month ago, and STILL haven't been able to process my pics!!!
Disgruntled King Tut's Mom---p.s.PLEEZ help be4 I have a nervous breakdown !!!

thanks...very strange. so first, I found a thread that said could have corrupt preferences...the short of it: caslled Apple support--he showed me how topull out the hidden "library (it wasn't that easy as it was written on a webpage here). I found LR preferences and they were corrupt--there was almost nothing in them. Followed instructions on webpage here, and redid them and it looked QUITE different!
Thwn by accident I discovered that if I click on ALL photographs, the virtual copies were there, but not in the 2013 folder specifically. don't understand that. I later closed out and restarted, and now they are everywhere they are supposed to be, so I think it was the corrupt prefderences. Also, now the mouse is working on the actual photo again......VERY odd.
However, I am afraid to download anymore pictures because of what has been happening...the question mark, then another box telling me the metadata has been changed by both LR and another application, and do I want LR to import settings from disk or overwrite disk setrtings with those from the catalog? I have no idea what this means...what does it mean, disk?. or from catalog? Does it mean there were these pics still somewhere else on my computer and LR is confused? I sure am. The drink sounds very good......
CAN ANYONE HELP??
King Tut's mom

Can I label virtual copies?

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