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

Similar Messages

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.

Virtual Copies come first in exported files?

Is there a good reason why virtual copies, which come after the original file in the Library, are named in a way that causes them to come before in the exported set of jpegs? IE - ogfile.jpg and ogfile-2.jpg. When sorted by filename, the virtual copy is first! This totally counterintuitive. The original files should get a -1 suffix or the virtual copy should be named sequentially. Or am I missing something?

I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this!
I suppose I should add that I generally have a manually ordered final set of files - edited, complete with virtual copies, ordered, and, as a last step, batch renamed in the Library (Custom_Name + #Sequence), to take on the new order. In this case, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the exported set to be identical to the Library arrangement. After all, I do take care in putting everything in a consistent, coherent order, so my clients can make sense of their (gigantic) image sets.
So my options to acheive this are as follows 1) add a -1 to everything (huge sets with hundreds if not 1,000+ images) 2) manually add a -1 to the original file, requiring changing (and changing back!) the custom rename settings, or renaming from Bridge and syncronizing 3) manually rearrange the exported jpegs, batch rename (again!).
Or, alternatively, Lr could 1) rename the files in such a way during the batch rename in the Library, that will hold their order after export (ie treat the VC as a unique file, at least for renaming purposes) 2) add the -x suffixes so the files hold their order after export.
Lr could do this intelligently, seamlessly, and without user intervention. And it should!
Thanks again for not ignoring me!

Virtual Copies not written to files?

I have lightroom on both my office mac and my laptop. They both have their own catalogues but share the photo's other network.
They both have "Automatically write changes to XMP" set. And I right click on the folder and synchronize when changing between comps.
I seem to have run into a problem though. I used the create virtual copy function on the laptop to do some black and white version of some photo's. But coming back to my office comp, I've synchronized the folder but the virtual copies don't appear to have made the leap.
Is this to be expected, a bug or a lack of foresight?

Virtual Copies, Stacks and Collections are not exported to XMP.
To share such you need to export a Catologue and import on the other machine. Since they share the actual images you can just export the folders or collecions you are working with that have change without the "negatives" and previews.
THis will then share everything you have down nti just the normal stuff that gets exported to XMP.
Don
Don Ricklin, MacBook 1.83Ghz Duo 2 Core running 10.4.10 & Win XP, Pentax *ist D
http://donricklin.blogspot.com/

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

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 are not synchronized in a second Lightroom catalogue although metadata are written in XMP and synchronization with metadata was selected

Dear community,
I operate one Mac with Lightroom 5.7 that is configured to store all metadata in xmp files. The Lightroom catalogue is stored locally on the Mac and only contains references to the images and their xmp files that are stored on a network device. There is another Mac with the same configuration having a separate local Lightroom catalogue and access to the same images on the network device.
At a starting point, both Lightroom catalogues are identical - they refer to the same images on the network device and contain the same metadata.
When I update image properties on the first Mac, these changes are reflected in the xmp file. After using the option "synchronize" with activated "metadata synchronization" on the second Mac, the modified image properties are visible on the second Mac. This is fine.
However, when I create a virtual copy on the first Mac, I realize that the corresponding xmp file gets updated. However, even after synchronization, the virtual copy is not visible on the second Mac. I may modify image properties of the original image and get these modifications replicated to the second Mac, but the virtual copies remain on the first Mac.
What needs to be done that also virtual copies get synchronized?
Thank you very mich for your support.
Best regards,
Peter

I do not doubt that File Export / File Import will work to transfer the virtual copies.
My question was related to the fact whether the imported folder should not previously exist on the second Mac.
Consider the following situation:
time = 0:
first Mac: folder A is in a first status
second Mac: folder A is in a first status
time = 1:
first Mac: folder A is in a second status, export folder A in second status
second Mac: folder A is in a first status, import folder A in second status
My question is: What happens with these two folder A on the second Mac? Does folder A in the Lightroom catalogue of the second Mac gets overwritten? Do I receive an error message because folder A is already present in the Lightroom catalogue?
I understand your answer that everything will be fine on the second Mac if there is no folder A at all at the second Mac while I import the new folder A. Under this assumption, I can import folder A and it will show the second status. Clearly.
My question is only related to the fact that there is already a folder A on the second Mac, with the same images, but with different metadata and/or virtual copies.

LR3 - Questions regarding virtual copies with different exposures and Merge to HDR Pro in Photoshop

Hello,
I'm currently testing LR3. I have a master copy and 4 virtual copies with different exposures selected in LR3. I tought to myself that I could simply use the "Edit / In Merge to HDR Pro in Photoshop" option and tune the resulting HDR image in Photoshop but it seems that Photoshop doesn't take in consideration the exposure changes I've made on the virtual copies in LR3. The 5 images are identifical in the HDR Pro tool.
Is there something I can do to about it ? Maybe there is a step I've forgot in my workflow or something ?
Maybe I could simply export the master and virtual copies to JPEGs and then import these in the Photoshop HDR Pro tool but I don't think I would get the same results right ?
Thank you for your help.

Depending on the image ISO and overall content, you can get some pleasing DR pickup using this routine over simply hitting the fill light slider up and the exposure slider down. I never really liked the PS approach since it seemed to require too much tweaking inside PS. I have experimented with LR/Enfuse and Photomatix plug-ins and have settled on Photomatix for my HDR exposures (both "real" with multiple images and "fake" with a single image as you have described). I think LR/Enfuse is donation ware so you might want to start there. In both cases, the resultant image still needs a little adjusting back in LR after it is automatically imported into the Library.
Jeff

Virtual copies exported in Win7 appear to lose edits

When I export virtual copies IN LR5, all seems well. The Library Grid view shows the new copies of the original image with the various changes I have made in Develop. This is also true for the brief folder view that LR5 pops up at the end of the export. But, when I later view the same folder with the Win7 Computer utility, or any other editor, these files all appear the same as the original! No changes evident. So it appears that I have missed some step in the export process to "fix" the changes in the virtual copies to the new files?
Kelly Cook

I know they should be different after export. I expected them to be different. Could the original file type be an issue? My original was a JPG, not RAW. The Library mode let me create virtual copies, the same a using a RAW file. And, Develop let me make all the usual adjustments to the virtural copies, same as if they had been RAW. Export did not put up any warning flags either, appeared to function normally, even though I was exporting JPG virtual copy to JPG. I did use unique filenames (appended the Copy text) for each of the exports, so there should not be any confusion there. Is some extra step needed to export a JPG virtual copy to JPG? Or is this an undocumented issue?

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.

(Finding and) deleting virtual copies

Hi.
Somehow I have managed to create virtual copies of 1000 or so photos. This happened (I believe) while trying to clean up a collection folder. So what I want to do now, is to sort out - and isolate? - the virtual copies created accidently. I tried using Library Filter/Virtual Copies and the sorting by edit time, but still it seems it will take some time to find the ones that were made virtual copies by intent and those which weren't. As I also have done quite a lot of editing work prior to this accident, I'd rather not go back to a previous back-up.
So, to sum it up: what is the best way to find only the virtual copies created since, let's say 10 o'clock this morning?
Thanks in advance,
ole k

I may be a bit slow, but I still don't quite get this: LR is able to sort (in Smart Collection) by Added Order, but there is no way of seeing when the VC was actually created?
Please also see my last question rgd. what I should put in the box next to "Contains". (o or 0 or nothing?). Whenever I make a VC, in the metadata list i t will be called "Copy 1". This means that my smart collection will include both the VCs that I've made intentionally and those made by mistake, right - I mean as long as it's got "Copy #" in the name box? In case, I can't quite make the number of files listed match with what I'd expect to find there, but if you suggest that using this method and then sort descending (why not ascending?) and then deleting, I'll trust you and do just that.
BTW, you (John) were absolutely right about the source of this confusion, I had - of some reason - checked the box next to Create Virtual Copy in the Create Collection menu. Needless to say, it is no longer checked . . . . .
ole k

Is it possible to use markers in a Premiere Pro sequence such as Chapter / Comment / Segmentation and export the XMP metadata for a database so that when the video is used as a Video On-Demand resource, a viewer can do a keyword search and jump to a relat

Is it possible to use markers in a Premiere Pro sequence such as Chapter / Comment / Segmentation and export the XMP metadata for a database so that when the video is used as a Video On-Demand resource, a viewer can do a keyword search and jump to a related point in the video?

take have to take turns
and you have to disable one and enable the other manually

Export Catalog - Virtual Copies

Hi. If you export a group of photos as a Catalog, does this export all virtual copies including their own repsective xmp data? I need to send a batch of RAW files to someone but need them to be able to see all the virtual copies as well.

Yes, export as catalog takes the respective VC's with it. Remember they exist in the catalog only.

Virtual copies and history?

I want to creat virtual copies that include the history so I can rever them from BW back to the origianl color. Why is the history removed when you creat virtual copies?

Alan - thanks for the tip. The conundrum of "which history should be shown" for multiple virtual copies isn't actually one at all. When a virtual copy is created, the history of the parent image is duplicated; further edits to that particular virtual copy are added to the top of that copy, just like they are now. Subsequent edits to the master copy don't affect any of the descendant VC's, including their history.
Andrew - why does it have to be a new iteration? It clearly isn't, since it has inherited all of the non-destructive edits from the parent. And you haven't addressed my workflow issue - how do I identify all of the edits made to a virtual copy? Right now, I can't; Lightroom throws this information away. There's no penalty if Adobe duplicated the edit history, you don't have to look at it if you don't want to.
Cornelia - someone has already created a feature request, here it is:
http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/new_virtual_copies_should_inherit_de velop_history
Cheers,
Tim

Issue exporting original & virtual copies

I am using Lightroom 3.6 and do the following:
- I selsect a photo "test.cr2" and rate it 2 stars
- create a virtual copy of this photo and modify it (the virtual copy) and rate it 3 stars
Now I use different Export settings to export my 2 stars and 3 stars photos in jpg.
So I first select all my 3+ stars photos and export them:
- here my virtual copy gets selected and exported to my destination folder as "test.jpg"
Then I select all my pictures (1 to 5 stars) and export them too (but with different export options such as 'post-prcessing'). And I specify that existing pictures has to be ignored in the Export options since I don't want my previous batch to be overriden. And here 2 things happen:
- the original photo is tentatively exported as "test.jpg" (same name!) --> the file already exists, so "ignored"
- the vitual copy is exported as "test-2.jpg"
Finally, I end up with 2 photos "test.jpg" and "test-2.jpg" in my destination folder but they are actually the same and both issued from the virtual copy...
There are probably easy work-arounds to this situation - like split exports 3 to 5 stars and then 1 to 2 to avoid overrides. But... is it possible to keep constency in the naming convention of the exported files?
i.e if an exported file orginates from a virtual copy, always use "xxxx-2" even if the orginal is not exported at the same time
Tks & cheers

Sounds like a bug, that Beat's work-around would probably circumvent.
The problem I have with using the copy name, is that it can't be conditioned upon whether the photo is in fact, a virtual copy, or even: if the copy-name is blank.
So if you have:
{base-name} ({copy name}).{ext}
then if the master is named MyPhoto.DNG (with no copy name), and has one virtual copy named "Copy 1", then jpeg exports will be named:
MyPhoto ().jpg
MyPhoto (Copy 1).jpg
-bleck-tooey...
I have special virtual copy name handling in all my export plugins, but I think Adobe should address this in Lightroom proper.
R

Virtual Copies search and export...

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