I have a 'Love - Hate' relationship with Adobe Lightroom

Question

Adobe's Lightroom is probably the best software out there for image manipulation, It is, however, just as probably the absolute worst for keeping track of your images.  I ask the questions, as many thousands of others, 'Where have my images gone?' 'Why are my images greyed out?' 'Where has my library gone to?' Isn't it time that Adobe took notice of these same questions that keep arising and doing something to resolve this problem of disappearing images.  Surely you must be sick of reading these same questions being asked so why aren't you using some of the money paid buy customers for the software to correct this nightmare.  If this was a car, it may look and feel good but if it doesn't drive it's useless.
I'm looking at a lightroom work space that isn't showing the words 'Library' or 'Develop'. I click on the folder that I know has my images in and all I see before me are greyed out images. I click on 'Check all' and it remains as dead as the program. I deselect 'Don't import duplicates' and normal service is resumed. Why? Why should such a small item totally disrupt the use of the entire program?  Why can you not build in a warning if this 'Duplicate' facility is switched on?
mikejduk

Answer 1

I have been using LR since it came out, Version 1, and never lost any images.
You aren't doing something right. LR doesn't indiscriminately delete and or lose images. It is a Database system that catalogs your images. If you have thumbnails that are grayed out and or with a ? Mark that means the program has lost track of that image. That only happens if you moved it using some other program. Deleted it using some other program. Disconnected the external drive the image/s were on.
That same question is posted by people that do not fully understand how LR works and how to use LR properly. If this was a car you would need a Drivers License to operate it which you would first need to pass a test showing you know how to properly operate, drive, a car.
You are in the Import dialog window, Why are you there? Are you importing new images? Have you MOVED images around on your hard drive using a File Manager?
Yes LR thinks the images you are trying to import or duplicates, Copies, of images you already have in the catalog. Are they? Just because an image is grayed out in the Library module doesn't mean you have to import them again. The graying out mean LR can't find that image in the folder it thinks it is in, IE where it was originally when imported. What did you do to make that happen?
I have images going back to 2004 on my computer. LR has never lost any of them. Have I had images display grayed out and with a ? mark? Yes I have. That was because I moved them from one drive or folder to another using a File Manager outside of LR. Once I pointed LR to the new location of those images the ? mark, and gray state, went away.