# Organizing Files within the Folders by Day and Date Order



## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 15, 2011)

Is there anyway to change the appearance of the folders menu to show the imports from a certain year, versus files that were downloaded without organization

Another words, is there anyway to rearrange them by year instead of by monthly ?

EX:

     2010

     2010 August 01
     2010 September 22

     2011

     2011 April 1st
     2011 April 30th.

Etc.

I am a little confused as to the proper way to set-up before images are imported so this way they are in yearly and monthly order by date ??

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## erro (Dec 15, 2011)

Are you talking about photos that are already imported? But without any good year/month/day folder organization?

If so, then yes, if you have had the time set correctly in your camera you can filter or create smart collections based on Year, months and dates: Library filter panel (above the photos), metadata and Date.

If you also want to move the unorganized photos into proper date-based folders you can of course do that with some manual work. Select the appropriate photos (for a single day), create the new date folder (if it doesn't already exist) and drag the selected photos to the folder.


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## Hal P Anderson (Dec 15, 2011)

If you are looking for a way to automatically produce a nice date-based folder structure, Lightroom will do that for you. In the Input Dialogue, on the right side, specify Organize "By date" and then you can click on Date Format and have a bunch of different schemes to choose from.

Personally, I like the one that's checked in the screenshot. 




Hal


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## erro (Dec 16, 2011)

Just to clarify: Hal is talking about importing and organizing *new *photos. I am talking about re-organizing *old *photos that have already been imported but to the "wrong" folders.


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## johnbeardy (Dec 16, 2011)

The other thing to mention is that  in the Folders panel you can right click any folder and choose "Add Parent" to show its parent folder, and you can repeat this up to the drive level. The reverse command is "Promote Subfolders".

John


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## Safariholic (Dec 16, 2011)

Hopefully I have understood the Issue (IF not - sorry). I have used an entirely numeric system, wherein the Year comes first, then month, then day - eg 2011.12.01 and then if necessary or to help aid my poor brain - a Word or two at the Contents - viz 2011.10.22 - My Birthday Party.

Goo luck


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## erro (Dec 16, 2011)

Do you mean you name the folder "2011.10.22 - My Birthday Party"?

If so, then that requires you to move the related photos into that folder. Or move unrelated photos out of that folder. All photos from 2011-10-22 doesn't necessarily have to do with your birthday party. Let's say you also visited a friend, and photographed flowers in the forest, and went skiing, all within that same day. That would require four different folders, and moving the photos into the correct folders:
- 2011.10.22 - My Birthday Party
- 2011.10.22 - visited Mike
- 2011.10.22 - flowers
- 2011.10.22 - skiing at MtHelens

If you on the other hand just place all photos taken 2011-10-22 into a date-based folder called 2011/10/22 (or any of the other variants) you can then add keywords to describe the contents of the photos.

It may even be that one photo belongs to multiple categories. The flowers might have been shot at Mikes place. The skiing trip might have been a part of the birthday party. And so on. If using folders identifying the events, then what folder should those be placed in? If you instead use keywords, any photo can easily have multiple keywords, thus describing multiple events for one photo.


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 16, 2011)

I have about 25 rows of files  that were imported out of numerical order in volume browser and is wondering how I organize them now without deleting each and then reimporting them like the above example.
My dilemma was I wasn't sure how to set-up properly from the start to show the year first and then subfolders underneath ????


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## erro (Dec 16, 2011)

I think we need to see some screenshots of what your folder structure looks like, both in LR and in Windows Explorer. Can you please provide that?

If you are unsure about screenshots and attaching them to posts, then look here:
http://www.lightroomqueen.com/commu...t-screenshot-quot-on-Windows-or-Mac-computers
http://www.lightroomqueen.com/commu...attach-a-quot-screenshot-quot-to-a-forum-post


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 16, 2011)

Here is the image that i am talking about. As you can see it is not organized at all and i am trying to get organized in the above fashion as we have been discussing.
May be after seeing my files in volume browser with the above image, maybe you can help me with my issue.

Thank you for your help !

Mitchell


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 16, 2011)

What type of image are you looking for in windows explorer ?


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## Jim Wilde (Dec 16, 2011)

If all those folders on the Drobo are in the root directory of the L drive, then a Windows Explorer screenshot wouldn't be needed. We're just trying to establish if you already have a folder hierarchy above those folders, and if so what it looks like. Then we can more easily provide instructions for reorganising the Folders Panel.

So if there is a hierarchy of some description, a simple shot from Windows Explorer, selecting any one of your picture folders in the left-hand pane will be fine if you also include the full path in the top address bar. Like this:


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 16, 2011)

Is this what you are looking for on the drive that has the image. This was taken off of my L drive which is my Drobo.


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## Jim Wilde (Dec 16, 2011)

Not quite....I can see one of the folders that appear in the Folders Panel, but where are the rest? Can you expand the Drobo drive in the left-hand column?


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 16, 2011)

This is all i have on that drive for my Lightroom files with the images that were imported.

Should there be something else you are looking for that i am not showing here ??


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 16, 2011)

I just expanded the Matthew folder with all of its subfolders which have images in each one of them.

Hopefully this will help with issue !!!


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 16, 2011)

The way i would like to arrange my files in the volume browser would be like this.
I downloaded an image and made a copy for what i am looking to do.
Is it possible to set-up my system looking this way, versus how it looks presently without deleting all images and reimporting and setting up again ?


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## Jim Wilde (Dec 16, 2011)

Yes, you can do that fairly simply within the Folders Panel (volume browser as you call it). But first a question: do you want them to be included directly under the 'Matthew' folder, or directly under the "Photo's Go Here" folder? In other words, do you want your hierarchy to look like this:




Or like this:


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 16, 2011)

I guess set-up under the Photo's Go Here- Matthew - his subfolders with images in date order, and then if i need to make another parent folder lets say dogs and then sub-folders in that folder in date order, etc.


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## Jim Wilde (Dec 16, 2011)

Yes you can do it that way if you want to....but I do think that you're somewhat over-complicating things. Does Matthew represent 'pictures of Matthew' or 'pictures taken by Matthew'? If the former, what would you do with a picture of Matthew and his dog....and if the latter what would you do with pictures taken by Matthew of his dog?

As Robert has pointed out, you can't put pictures into more than one folder even if they belong in one or more categories....that's what keywords and collections are for. It would be far easier to maintain control of your import process if you had a single date-based folder scheme, not multiple schemes....but that's just an opinion, and the great thing is that you can accept or reject that opinion as you see fit.

For now, though, I'll help you setup year folders under 'Matthew'....and first you need to get the 'Matthew' Parent Folder showing in the Folders Panel....select one of the folders that you know is under Matthew, right-click on it and select 'Add Parent Folder' and Matthew should then appear.

Next, *select the Matthew folder in the Folders Panel* and then click on the '+' sign to the right of the Folders Panel header (see screenshot) and click on Add Sub-Folder:



When you do that the following dialog box should appear:



Simply type in the name of the sub-folder that you want, e.g. 2011, *make sure that you uncheck 'Include Selected Photos'*, then click OK and the foilder will appear in the Folders Panel (though it will initially appear 'dimmed' and with a zero photo count). Repeat until you have all the year folders that you want.

Then, working solely in the Folders Panel, you can simply use 'drag and drop' to move your existing folders into the appropriate year folder, e.g. click on the '2011 October 15 - Soccer Game' folder, hold down the left mouse button and drag the folder name over the top of the 2011 year folder, then release the mouse button and the folder will be moved, and the year folder will no longer be dimmed. Repeat for all the other folders until you have it the way you want it.

Get back if anything is not clear....


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 16, 2011)

Do i make these changes in LR or in explorer on my L drive?


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## Jim Wilde (Dec 16, 2011)

The Folders Panel in Lightroom.

Before starting, it might be a good idea to take a catalog backup, just in case you run into trouble when following the instructions. Just take it slow and steady and you should be fine.


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 17, 2011)

Everything worked out fine, but how can I create a preset in the import dialog box for this same procedure to work all time so I don't run into this issue again ??
Once I have a basic understanding of how to properly set-up I should be fine for all future imports.


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## clee01l (Dec 17, 2011)

GOLDENSUNSHINE said:


> Everything worked out fine, but how can I create a preset in the import dialog box for this same procedure to work all time so I don't run into this issue again ??
> Once I have a basic understanding of how to properly set-up I should be fine for all future imports.


Once you have everything on the Destination panel (right panel) set to your liking, click on  the up/down arrows on the right side of the Import Preset field at the bottom of the center panel. This opens a dropdown menu.  One of your choices there is "Save Current Settings a a New Preset..." Chose that and give your new  preset a namr in the dialog that opens. 

Be sure that this newly created preset is chosen each time you import new images.


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 17, 2011)

I followed the instructions from TNG and while i was dragging the folders under the 2011 folder they somehow were place out of numeric and date order. How can i fix this issue now?
Here is a screen snapshot of my current issue !!


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 15, 2011)

Is there anyway to change the appearance of the folders menu to show the imports from a certain year, versus files that were downloaded without organization

Another words, is there anyway to rearrange them by year instead of by monthly ?

EX:

     2010

     2010 August 01
     2010 September 22

     2011

     2011 April 1st
     2011 April 30th.

Etc.

I am a little confused as to the proper way to set-up before images are imported so this way they are in yearly and monthly order by date ??

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 17, 2011)

What would be the standard way of entering info on this right side panel?


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## clee01l (Dec 17, 2011)

GOLDENSUNSHINE said:


> I followed the instructions from TNG and while i was dragging the folders under the 2011 folder they somehow were place out of numeric and date order. How can i fix this issue now?
> Here is a screen snapshot of my current issue !!View attachment 1522


They are in exactly the ONLY order that the operating system sorts by (AlphaNumeric)  April is the 4th month but it is first in a sorted list coming before August and all of the others if the month name is used.  If you want January to come first and February next, then you need to use two digit month numbers ( 01, 02, 03,...09, 10, 11, 12) instead of "2011 April 03..."  you should use "20110403..." or "2011-04-03..."  IF the appearance of these folders in an arbitrary list is important to you.  

FWIW, the folder panel is completely unnecessary in managing an effective workflow in LR.  I usually keep my folder panel hidden.


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 19, 2011)

I have downloaded all of my images by year and then month and date. They give a total amount of images per day and date, but if i were to condense and close up a year it says there are no images for that year. How can i change it to show haow manu total images are for the entire year? Here is a snap shot of what i am referring to ???


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## Jim Wilde (Dec 19, 2011)

Library Menu, select "Show Photos in Subfolders". See attached:


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## Hal P Anderson (Dec 19, 2011)

GS,



After you select the marked item, when you open a folder, you'll see all the images in all it's subfolders. Year folders will have the totals for their years, in your case.

Hal


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 19, 2011)

Thank you!

Is there anyway to reorganize them and place them in their own folder with subfolders underneath ?

Matthew (Parent folder)

 Field Hockey
  10-12-11 (7 images)
 Soccer
  10-20-11 (soccer)

Etc.








Etc.

??


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## erro (Dec 19, 2011)

In LR's folder tree you can create your own folders, and then just drag-and-drop other folders or photos into the new folder.

When you import new photos you have a number of different options when it comes to setting up the import folder structure. Play around a bit and see what happens.


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 19, 2011)

Could you please give me an example of how to achieve with the way my volume browser is laid out. My volume browser looks like this >


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## erro (Dec 19, 2011)

Just right-click on a folder and select "Create folder inside xxxxx". Or am I not understanding what you want to do?


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 19, 2011)

Right now i have no folders, only in year and then monthly status ( see above diagram). I would like to keep the same format but now add folders for each type of image.
Lets say i want to have Matthew as a folder, than i want to add all of his image files underneath that folder, and so on and so forth.
EX:
        2011
     Matthew (parent folder)
     underneath i want to add all of his individual files with all of his images in them, but keeping the same format.

Is this possible to do with the type of set-up i have?


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## johnbeardy (Dec 19, 2011)

A suggestion - why not use keywords rather than set up subfolders for each day. You'll find it's much more time-effective , for example when you want to find all images of Matthew for all days.

John


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## erro (Dec 19, 2011)

Yes, just right-click on the 2011 folder, select "Create folder inside 2011" and give it the name Mathew.

But... as many of us say.. we recommend you use keywords for this instead. What if you have a folder for Mathew and another folder for James. Then what do you do with a photo of both Mathew and James? In what folder do you put it? Instead you can just use simple date-based folders ( a photo can only be taken on one day) and then assign keywords for Mathew and James.


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## GOLDENSUNSHINE (Dec 19, 2011)

ok i understand that, but i also have other types of images not with Matthew in them in the 2011 folder, how would i separate them in the same type of format in the 2011 folder??


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## erro (Dec 19, 2011)

My folder structure looks like this:




So, on december 13 2011 I took 12 photos.

All photos get keywords that describe:
- who is in the photo (no-one, one or many persons names, uknown people)
- where the photo is taken (hierarchical keyword structure with continent/country/city and so on)
- what category the photo is in
- if the photo is part of a larger "event"
...and so on


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