Missing Catalog

[Summer Michelle]

Hi there! 

I am currently editing for another wedding photographer and accidentally exported her images at only 65% quality and 118 ppc... She wants them re-exported, but I had already deleted her files... Thankfully, I hadn't deleted them out of my recycle bin yet, but now the catalog is completely out of LR... I was hoping restoring the files out of the recycle bin would bring the catalog and edits back, but it didn't... Am i totally screwed and have to re-edit.. or is there a way to get it back?  I'm assuming I cant re-size once they are in Jpeg form???

Thanks y'all!!!!!!

[Christina Keddie]

Can you clarify — did you simply delete the files from your hard drive (and then restore them back to their original location)?  Or did you also delete the LR catalog containing your edits of these files?

Whatever you deleted (files, catalog, or both), you have to restore.  And then you have to open that LR catalog and if necessary relocate the files to connect the catalog with the files. 

[Summer Michelle]

SO, I just deleted the whole folder off of my desktop... Once the photographer made me aware that I would need to re-size them, I clicked "restore" from the recycle bin, but the catalog didn't go back into lightroom... I didn't physically delete anything from lightroom.. I think that happened when I deleted the folder off my desktop?

[Christina Keddie]

If you just deleted the folder from your desktop, and you don’t have some seriously wonky settings that create a new catalog internally in each new folder (that would take serious intentional effort to set your LR up like that!), then all you deleted was the files themselves.  I’m assuming you aren’t creating a new LR catalog with each set of edits?  Because again, that would take intentionality and effort to do so. 

Assuming you’re still in the same LR catalog you’ve been in since the last time you created a new one, your LR edits are still intact in LR, in this catalog. 

So go back inside LR, and navigate back to the LR folder that you used to edit these files.  It should still be there, just with a question mark on it, assuming your file restore didn’t bring the files back to the exact same location on your hard drive. 

Can you post some screenshots of what you’re seeing, and why you think your catalog disappeared?

[Summer Michelle]

I GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! O.M.G.... The catalog wasn't in "open recent"  so I used the option under it and clicked on folders until I found the edits!

 

THANK YOU!!!!!