Restoring Lightroom Quick Collection.

[nramkarran]

Sucks that my first post has to be a cry for help, but here goes:

I've slowly built up the quick collection to over 800 images spanning since 2010. I use it as a process queue of sorts, of images that I want to get to eventually.

I did something silly, I'm not sure what, and my entire quick collection has been emptied except for a few images I added from the last import.

The only thing I changed from long standing habits is that the last import consists of images I first tagged and starred in Photo Mechanic. This is the first time I've tried that, so I am assuming it has to be related.

The question is: Is there any way to automatically revert back to an older quick collection?

I have done some googling but all I can find is a suggestion that I open a previously backed up catalog, export the quick collection as a catalog, then re-import that. I am willing to try this, but don't want to bring in duplicate images.

Please help. Thanks in advance.

[john beardsworth]

OK, in future use regular collections more. The QC is best used for temporary purposes.

As collections are not saved to xmp files, your PM theory won't be right.

Now, when you import from catalogue, it will update the images if they are found in both catalogues. I'm not sure it will update the images in the QC though. And the problem with importing the backup catalogue is that it would overwrite other metadata. So if you have keyworded/adjusted images in the current catalogue since the backup, you would be losing those changes. Can you do something like this - in the temp catalogue, created from the QC, can you add a colour label or keyword or some other way to identify these images once you do the import from catalog?

[nramkarran]

I exported from the old backup collection (no files, no previews). I coloured them all red just so as to have changed metadata, then just added them all to the quick collection from the Previous Import once they were imported into the current catalog.

I've now discovered that Lightroom makes virtual copies of the previous files where there are duplicates (all were duplicates in my case), so that you don't lose any changes between what were originally in the catalog and the new imports, if anything was changed.

Bottom line, problem resolved. Lesson learned, quick collections are not to be overburdened

Thanks for your help.

[john beardsworth]

Maybe also use the target collection feature a little more? It lets you set other collections to be the target when you hit the B shortcut.

[nramkarran]

Sheer laziness that I don't. All of my daily stuff goes into the quick collection, but for anything special, like an event or trip, I create a new collection and set it as the target. I really have to tighten up my practices though (and maybe increase the frequency of my catalog backups).