# Solved: Import Button Dimmed - Cannot Import



## atomic77 (Jan 2, 2017)

Hi all, I have an intermittent problem: sometimes when I start LR the Import button is dimmed and I can't import photos (it is available while LR starts, and then quickly becomes dimmed). The File menu options are also dimmed. I am trying to import from an SD card, but it makes no difference whether the card is inserted or not. This is on LR CC 2015.8, and I am signed into CC.

In the past, I have resolved this by stopping and starting LR until Import comes back.(As a side note, when it comes back, I notice that the filename preview function does not display anything when I create a filename in the first Import side panel.)

Is this a known problem? Thanks for any help or clues to resolve this.

Tom


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## davidedric (Jan 2, 2017)

I don't know if it is a known problem, but whilst waiting for an expert to arrive, have you tried resetting your Preferences?

Dave


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## clee01l (Jan 2, 2017)

Dave's advice is as good as this "expert".  Resetting the preference is the first place to start.  The other thing to look for is read/write permissions.  If you can'r read from a drive of folder, then you can't import either.


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## atomic77 (Jan 3, 2017)

Thanks Dave and Cletus, preferences was the right place to look. The Camera Raw Cache location was set to the default documents location on my system, which happened to be my OneDrive. I changed it to a local folder on my C drive and Import is now available. I don't know why OneDrive was causing the problem, as it is also a local location (and there is available capacity in the cloud site), but maybe there is something else going on because of the sync. Anyway, thanks, job done!


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## Gnits (Jan 3, 2017)

atomdocs said:


> I don't know why OneDrive was causing the problem,



From bitter experience, I avoid using any Windows Library folders (such as My Docs, My Pics, Desktop, etc) for default folders for other apps, such as Lightroom.  This should not be so, but my experience tells me otherwise. I suspect sometimes they may have specific security settings which may clash with application expectations.


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## atomic77 (Jan 3, 2017)

Gnits said:


> From bitter experience, I avoid using any Windows Library folders (such as My Docs, My Pics, Desktop, etc) for default folders for other apps, such as Lightroom.


Thanks, good advice! I also prefer to have these things in my own folder structure, so that I know where they are  It was my error in missing this when I went through the preferences after installing LR.


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## Tony Jay (Jan 3, 2017)

Gnits said:


> From bitter experience, I avoid using any Windows Library folders (such as My Docs, My Pics, Desktop, etc) for default folders for other apps, such as Lightroom.  This should not be so, but my experience tells me otherwise. I suspect sometimes they may have specific security settings which may clash with application expectations.


This is an interesting thought,  and it may give extra ammunition to all of us who advocate moving the catalog and images to a separate drive.
Already plenty of good reasons to do this of course, but every little bit helps!

Tony Jay


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## Gnits (Jan 3, 2017)

For WIndows users, you can move your Windows Library Folders (My Docs, MyPics, etc) to a different drive.  I have all of  mine on my D drive (D for Data).  This is especially useful for several  reasons.
1. It makes backing up your data easier and separates it from the O/S.
2. If you have a small SSD C drive then you can save space.

There are loads of tutorials on how to do this. Just Google "move windows libraries to another drive".


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## global001 (Feb 12, 2021)

atomic77 said:


> Hi all, I have an intermittent problem: sometimes when I start LR the Import button is dimmed and I can't import photos (it is available while LR starts, and then quickly becomes dimmed). The File menu options are also dimmed. I am trying to import from an SD card, but it makes no difference whether the card is inserted or not. This is on LR CC 2015.8, and I am signed into CC.
> 
> In the past, I have resolved this by stopping and starting LR until Import comes back.(As a side note, when it comes back, I notice that the filename preview function does not display anything when I create a filename in the first Import side panel.)
> 
> ...


I experienced this same issue in 2021 with the Import button greyed out at the point of importing the images however not at the point of selecting the import function. The solution was clearing the Camera Raw Cache in the preferences and rebooting. Thanks for your guidance on this!


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