How to undo a created smart collection

[free2australian]

I am a newbie to Lightroom.    I want to create a smart collection  called "winning photos", however in error I created a smart collection which seemed to have placed all my photos in my library into that smart collection.

How do I undo this  error.

see attachment

thank you

[Schewe]

Delete it (right click on the collection) and start over...

[free2australian]

Please excuse my ignorance - just need some clarification.

Deleting this smart collection will only delete the photos in the collection - and the collection has nothing to do with my photos in Lightroom Library?

[Schewe]

Yes, it only deletes the collection...has nothing to do with the images.

[Wayne Fox]

a smart collection is basically just a set of predefined searches based on the criteria.

All collections are references to images, they contain no images themselves.  If you delete an image from a collection, it only removes it from the collection.  If you delete it from within the library itself, a dialog will ask you if you want to remove it from the disk (which will move it to the trash/recycle bin if you say yes) or just want to remove it from lightroom

However, rather than deleting your smart collection, just double click on it and you will be able to edit the parameters of the smart collection. No need to delete it and start over.

[aduke]

a smart collection is basically just a set of predefined searches based on the criteria.

All collections are references to images, they contain no images themselves.  If you delete an image from a collection, it only removes it from the collection.  If you delete it from within the library itself, a dialog will ask you if you want to remove it from the disk (which will move it to the trash/recycle bin if you say yes) or just want to remove it from lightroom

However, rather than deleting your smart collection, just double click on it and you will be able to edit the parameters of the smart collection. No need to delete it and start over.

Furthermore, if you make a change to the smart collection that changes the images selected for it, all of the images that were in the collection and do not meet the new criteria, will be removed from the collection. They will remain in the catalog.

Alan

[free2australian]

Hi Wayne

What do you mean by  "edit the parameters of the smart collection"?

[wolfnowl]

Lightroom has two types of Collections - 'Dumb' Collections and 'Smart' Collections.  A dumb collections starts as a blank and you can drag whatever images you want into that collection.  A Smart Collection, as explained, uses specific Search criteria.  You can have one parameter (colour label IS Red) or you can have more than one.  You can use parameter 1 AND parameter 2 or you can use parameter 1 OR parameter 2, or some combination of parameter 1 AND (parameter 2 OR parameter 3), and so on.  When you change the criteria the images that match the new criteria also change.

Mike.

[Schewe]

Lightroom has two types of Collections - 'Dumb' Collections and 'Smart' Collections.

Well, I wouldn't call non-Smart Collections "dumb" I would call them "simple". A simple collection is just that, a collection of images from various folders of you catalog brought together manually...you drag and drop them. Also note you can create a Collection Set to further you simple collections.

Smart Collections are correctly described as being the results of user selected criteria (it's not wrong to call them a saved search criteria but I think it's an oversimplification).

In a SC, you decide what criterial will be applied to the results and LR automatically updates the results. If you have a SC for "Reds" (which Mike does a lot and actually ships in LR) then the moment (or in the background, it may take a few moments to update) that newly labeled Red image will show up in the Reds SC.

Simple collection need to be manually updated and changed, Smart Collection are updated automatically by LR. (and if you want to think if "simple" as "dumb" that's ok but not really PC).

[wolfnowl]

Well, I wouldn't call non-Smart Collections "dumb" I would call them "simple".

And here I thought that was the official term.  I stand corrected!

Mike.