# Lightroom not copying to correct date folder?



## reidthaler (Sep 18, 2020)

I'm working with a client trying to get his catalog in order.  We've imported telling Lightroom to download by year and month.  But there are large number of images landing in the wrong folder.  It seems like Lightroom is downloading by Metadata date (which looks like the import date) and not capture date.

Guidance please.

Thanks,

Reid


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## johnrellis (Sep 19, 2020)

I assume you're importing from disk rather than from a card reader or the camera via USB cable?

Over the years there have been infrequent but steadily recurring complaints about this. One cause is importing via a USB cable or the Devices section of the Import window (which wouldn't apply to you if you're importing from desk). Other than the USB cable (which Adobe has decided not to fix), there haven't been reproducible test cases reported, which are essential if Adobe is ever to fix the problem(s).

If you can isolate a reproducible test case, that would be very helpful to other users. (but probably not to you, since it takes months to years for most Library bugs to get fixed, if they do get fixed).  Choose one of the problem photos, make a copy of it, and import it into a new test catalog.  Does it get placed in the wrong folder?  If so, upload it to Dropbox or similar and post the sharing link here, and I'll see if I can reproduce the problem in my LR.


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## Califdan (Sep 20, 2020)

Interesting.  Can you also give us the complete history of the images from camera to LrC, including each move, copy, or update by other software.


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## reidthaler (Sep 21, 2020)

Califdan said:


> Interesting.  Can you also give us the complete history of the images from camera to LrC, including each move, copy, or update by other software.



No, I can't.  These are a client's images and they have been moved around from different drives.  I think they've traveled more in the last few month than most of us have.


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## clee01l (Sep 21, 2020)

reidthaler said:


> No, I can't. These are a client's images and they have been moved around from different drives. I think they've traveled more in the last few month than most of us have.



If the camera has traveled across multiple time zones and the user. Did not correctly set the time zone in the camera each time, then the camera will use the capture time for the time zone it is set for. And produce these time shift errors. Also, I have had cameras that did not automatically correct for DST and this has to be done manually.


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## reidthaler (Sep 21, 2020)

No, I'm not referring to camera moving time zones, but an images moving between several hard drives.


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## clee01l (Sep 21, 2020)

reidthaler said:


> No, I'm not referring to camera moving time zones, but an images moving between several hard drives.


Who/what is referred to as “they have traveled more in the last few months...”   The capture date is written into the file header by the camera.  If it is not correct then neither will the Lightroom constructed  date named folder.  The capture date is determined by the information in the camera OR manually changed by the  user.   If it is not correct, then you can’t expect Lightroom to do anything else but use the capture date it finds in the image file.


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## reidthaler (Sep 21, 2020)

Check the photo I originally posted. There’s a discrepancy between the capture date indicated in the metadata and where Lightroom automatically downloaded it it


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## clee01l (Sep 21, 2020)

reidthaler said:


> Check the photo I originally posted. There’s a discrepancy between the capture date indicated in the metadata and where Lightroom automatically downloaded it it



There are several dates stored in the file header. You need to make sure you are looking at the same date that LrC is using to create the date named folder 


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## reidthaler (Sep 21, 2020)

The only correlation I see to where the photo was placed and the metadata is a field called Metadata date, which I don't know what it is or why LrC is grabbing that for the creation date


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## clee01l (Sep 21, 2020)

I don't think Lightroom is grabbing metadata date for the date when it only uses Capture Time.   Metadata date is not even stored in the file header unless you manually write the XMP.    

Why not d as Califdan suggests and walk us through one of the files. Open the original file using Jeffery Freidl's EXIF editor http://exif.regex.info/exif.cgi
Scroll down to the field labeled "Date/Time Original".   This is the "Capture Date" that Lightroom uses for build the date named folder path.   If "Date/Time Original" is not the correct date then someone or something  changed it from when the camera created the file and the point where Lightroom Imported the file.


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## MarkNicholas (Sep 22, 2020)

This is the single most annoying issue that I have with Lightroom. To be fair it is not always Lightroom's fault but it does not help itself by its apparent inability to extract the correct data (that is definitely there) from the photo file.


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## clee01l (Sep 22, 2020)

MarkNicholas said:


> This is the single most annoying issue that I have with Lightroom. To be fair it is not always Lightroom's fault but it does not help itself by its apparent inability to extract the correct data (that is definitely there) from the photo file.



It should not be an issue at all. There is one and only one field in the file header that Lightroom uses. If the field “DateTime Original is assigned the correct value by the camera, then Lightroom assigns the file to the same date name folder every time. 

When I keep the correct DateTime set in my camera and choose the correct parent folder on import, I never have an issue.


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## MarkNicholas (Sep 23, 2020)

clee01l said:


> It should not be an issue at all. There is one and only one field in the file header that Lightroom uses. If the field “DateTime Original is assigned the correct value by the camera, then Lightroom assigns the file to the same date name folder every time.
> 
> When I keep the correct DateTime set in my camera and choose the correct parent folder on import, I never have an issue.
> 
> ...



Cletus, It is never a problem with clean photos taken directly from a camera. The problem is always with photos that have been distributed on mobile phones etc. Whilst I can nearly always find the date the photo was taken in other software, Lightroom often chooses the wrong data. As I said this is not always Lightroom's fault.


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## andy_8 (Feb 15, 2021)

I'm having a very similar, if not identical issue. It has been happening since the beginnging of the year. I have my Import destination settings as:

Organize: by date
Date Format: 2021-02-15

When I did the import from an XQD card in my USB reader from my shoot yesterday, a new folder gets created inside the 2020 year folder, named "2021-02-14".  This has been consistent since the beginning of the year. I opened one of the files on my disk in the Jeffrey Friedl Image Metadata viewer, and every date field visible is 2021-02-14. This has hapened for every one of my 11 imports since the beginning of 2021. Baffling.


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## clee01l (Feb 15, 2021)

andy_8 said:


> I'm having a very similar, if not identical issue. It has been happening since the beginnging of the year. I have my Import destination settings as:
> 
> Organize: by date
> Date Format: 2021-02-15
> ...



On your import dialog, there is a destination folder highlighted in the destination panel. This is not showing on your screen shot. You must have the folder “2020” highlighted. It should be the parent folder to 2020. When you highlight the parent folder, the Import by date will create a 2021 folder or use a 2021 folder if one already exists. 

FWIW, this issue comes up every January.


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## andy_8 (Feb 15, 2021)

Oh, wow. I have literally been using LR Imports for over a decade, and completely missed this little detail - thanks!


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