A Note on Importing Supplies

Just a quick note - after two students having mini-heart attacks over their after PNG conversion supply import, I thought this might be helpful.

What happens when you import after PNG conversion and your TIFF folders don't end up in the right kit/designer folders?  

For example, you import all the files LR can see and you have your main scrapbooking folder with designer folders all nicely nested underneath.  Then you go through the conversion process for all your Flergs products and import those converted files into Lightroom.  But... in this import the file folders end up on the same folder level as you main Scrapbooking folder -

The problem is that the destination folder you chose on the second import is above your main scrapbooking folder so instead of the designer going into scrapbooking it goes into the main catalog file folder.

So a good rule of thumb on imports - choose a destination folder that is one level above the folders you are importing - unless the level above your destination folder is your hard drive you will want to see about Plan B which I outline below.

For example, if I were importing my Downloads folder (which is on the same level of my designer folders) I would choose the file folder one level above or to the left as the destination folder -  in my case that would be 0KJL_Scrapbooking Originals.  ***Keep in mind I changed the name of my downloads folder so it would fit in one screenshot - when I do this I use my downloads folder as you will see in my next screenshot***

So the right side of the import dialogue looks like this:

 The main folder selected is the file that holds all the designer folders.  Notice also that By Original Folders is selected next to Organize.  It is also important to note that we are importing from the Downloads folder on my main drive.  Because Organize "By original folders" is selected, Lightroom automatically moves the downloads folder directly into the 0KJL_ScrapbookingOriginals folder like it is there so it moves directly into the folder we want it to.  

You can see the 1test folder under downloads (which could be a kit folder) shows it will move into downloads:

It is so important to scroll down on that right side to see exactly where your folders will end up after import.  Here is the entire import dialog - click on it to see it full size.

The left side tells you where the files are coming from.  The top tells you if they are being copied, Moved, or just Added from where they are at.  The right side tells you where they will end up if they are being moved. 

At the bottom of the dialog I highly recommend Saving an  import preset once you have things down.  You can do this by clicking on the right side and choose Save Settings as a New Preset.

Now if you are doing a MASSIVE import of all your supplies after PNG conversion, designer folders, etc.  Your process will be a bit different.  If you decide to do it all at once, you will want to choose the folder above.  So for example, if I had a 0KJL_Scrapbooking_Originals and I keep everything the same way it is, I will end up with duplicate folders in the wrong place - my import dialog shows me this -

You can see that if I go this route  I will end up with ANOTHER scrapbooking originals folder inside my original scrapbooking originals folder.  Not good.

So the ONE RULE OF IMPORT:  Import to the file folder ABOVE the folder you are importing or import directly across. So in this case, because I am importing a file folder with the same name as my Scrapbooking originals folder I need to go one level above which is actually the level of my hard drive.  That doesn't actually work either - so I need to go a different route or Plan B.  

Moving back the left side I choose all the designer folders I want to import by clicking on the first folder and shift clicking on the last.  If all the designer folders you want to import aren't together, just CTRL/CMD click on each folder you want to import.

Then moving over to the right side, selecting the main scrapbooking folder on the new drive, you can see the files will move directly into place where they are supposed to.

Now what happens if you have already imported everything into the wrong place?  You have a few options.

1) you can click and drag folders in Lightroom to move them to the right place.

2) you can click and drag folders in Windows Explorer or Mac Finder to put them in the right place.

If you choose the 2nd option, once you are finished, you will need to right click on your main scrapbooking folder in Lightroom (in Library mode on the left side) and choose Synchronize Folder.

Hopefully that is helpful to you all in your importing adventures!

 

 

Comments

[HASitect]

Before you import anything in Lightroom can you just convert all of your PNG files to TIFF format first - going one designer file folder at a time and then IMPORT all of your scrapbook supplies in a large single import?

I am still organizing my photos and kits in designer folders, but I am thinking about importing my files in one import after all my PNG files are converted.

[Kayla Lamoreaux]

Yes you can! When I first setup my digital supply catalog in Lightroom, this is how I did it. In this class I setup two steps mainly to make things easier for those who were not using Bridge to convert items as it cleaned things up for them to find what they needed to convert. Hope that helps!

[HASitect]

Thanks sweetie for the quick response ;) You're amazing!! Hope everything with you and your family is going well.

[Sandi M]

Thanks for this post (along with the class!) I am just getting started since I had to save my pennies for LR. So far everything has pulled in perfectly and the one time I made the mistake of importing improperly this post showed me how to fix it.

Even before I get to the next steps I can already see that I am going to LOVE LR. I used it this morning while buying some new digi products and it was so simple to make sure I didn't buy anything I already owned.

I'm going to hate it when my 30 day trial of PS5 is done. It's amazing, but it will take much longer to save all THOSE pennies!

two questions - I noticed quite a few jpg's and several psd's had to be saved using the maximize psd function in Photoshop. Is it somewhat standard for designers to not use this when creating products? One designer has her psd's locked. Is there a way to unlock them to maximize psd function or are they doomed for Bridge only?

Hope you're feeling better.

[Kayla Lamoreaux]

Thanks Sandi! I havent run into this issue but my first bet on that locked file would be to choose a File Save As with Maximize Compatibility checked and then change the name and see if that fixes it. Personally I got tired of stressing about maximizing PSD which is one of the main reasons I switched to TIF with LZW compression so I could keep the layers. Hope that helps!

[Charlene Walberg]

Thank you so much for the class! Loving everything so far!

I have a question about importing layouts, but couldn't comment on that post for some reason - do you import the psd, jpg or both to lightroom?

[Kayla Lamoreaux]

I usually just import the PSD because in lightroom you can export any format and I want layers. Hth :)

Sent from my iPhone

[Charlene Walberg]

Thanks Kayla! I am wondering how do you export it in lightroom as a .jpg etc? Thanks!

[Charlene Walberg]

Nevermind figured it out! Is there a way to crop the layout in light room to get one half of a 12x24 layout (double page) or should I be saving each half as a psd in photoshop? Thanks again! Love the class so much! Just owrking on importing layouts :)