Can You Do This With Smart Collections?

[Peakoverload]

The way I have my LR catalogue is like this.

I tend to have a separate collection for each days shoot which I'll name after the location or event but If I've been to a location more than once I'll typically create a Collection Set (named after the location) and then have separate collections for each separate shoot which I'll name after the date of the shoot.

As I work though each photo shoot the photos that I'm happy with and want to use I'll give a 5 star rating.

This works fine but I also like to sync to the LR app on my iPad but I really only need to sync the photos with a 5 star rating as I only use the LR app on my iPad to show my final prints on, I don't really need to do any editing as such.

What I'd like to do is to create a Smart Collection that only then shows me the 5 star rated photos in each collection (not just a collection set). I would then sync this Smart Collection with my iPad. Is there a way of doing this?

I've tried creating a Smart Collection but if I just specify to show 5 star rated photos it shows me every 5 star photo in my entire catalogue. If I then add a source filter and set that to collection and enter the name of the collection it will show me some 5 star photos but not all and it seems to do it for the whole collection set rather than an individual collection.

It looks like it should be possible but I don't seem to able to get it to work the way I want.

[JohanElzenga]

You can't sync a smart collection, only a normal one. There is a plugin that creates a workaround for that, or you can setup the smart collection, and then manually move all images in that smart collection to a normal collection that you sync.

Smart collections can search for images in normal collections, so you would have to give more details about how your normal collections are called to see where the problem of that smart collection is.

[johnrellis]

I've tried creating a Smart Collection but if I just specify to show 5 star rated photos it shows me every 5 star photo in my entire catalogue. If I then add a source filter and set that to collection and enter the name of the collection it will show me some 5 star photos but not all and it seems to do it for the whole collection set rather than an individual collection.

Here's a smart collection that identifies all 5-star photos within a regular collection "School Portraits":

Note the use of "contains words" rather than "contains". This is a very confusing part of smart collections.  "contains x y" will match if the string contains "x" or it contains "y".  But "contains words x y" will match if the string contains "x" and it contains "y".  Unfortunately, there is no "is" operator for Collection (a bizarre omission Adobe long ago decided to let stand), but "contains words" usually gets close enough.

If this doesn't help, post a screenshot of your smart collection definition, along with the actual names of your collections.

[JohanElzenga]

I believe 'contains words' makes another difference as well. If you use 'contains': 'car', then the smart collection will not only find images of cars, but also images with the word 'scar' or 'scarlet'. If you use 'contains words', then these words will not be found.

[Peakoverload]

Cheers all. I've found the only way of definitely restricting the 'search' criteria to show only 5 star photos from a collection is to use the folder name rather than either of the collection name options. I think this is possibly how I have named my collections, for example I have one collection called Arundel Castle and another called Arundel Wetlands Centre. Even if I set it to find all words and type in Arundel Castle, it still shows me some photos from Arundel Wetlands Centre. When I download my photos from my memory cards I put them into folders named after the days date and so they are unique and if I enter that date it does restrict the search criteria correctly.

The main stumbling block though is, as JohanEl54 says, you can't sync Smart Collections. I will check out that plugin as that might be the answer I'm just concerned over the number of collections I'm going to have to generate. I already have several hundred collections and this could well add a few hundred more.

Ideally it would be great if Adobe built in a filter the sync system so you could set all collections to sync but then define a criteria, like 5 stars, so that it would only sync the photos in that collection that matched the criteria. No need for additional collections at all. I won't hold my breath

[JohanElzenga]

Peakoverload  wrote

for example I have one collection called Arundel Castle and another called Arundel Wetlands Centre. Even if I set it to find all words and type in Arundel Castle, it still shows me some photos from Arundel Wetlands Centre.

That's pretty easy to solve. Create a smart collection with the following criteria:

Rating: Five stars

Contains words: 'Arundel Castle'

Does not contain: 'Wetlands'

[johnrellis]

I think this is possibly how I have named my collections, for example I have one collection called Arundel Castle and another called Arundel Wetlands Centre. Even if I set it to find all words and type in Arundel Castle, it still shows me some photos from Arundel Wetlands Centre.

Without seeing the exact smart-collection criteria and the list of collections in the Collections panel, it's hard to say precisely what's going on. (Screenshots are very helpful.)

But you may be running into one of the cases where "contains words" doesn't get you "close enough".  If you have a photo that is in two collections, "Arundel Wetlands Centre" and "Castle Goring", then "Collection contains words Arundel Castle" will match that photo. That's because the Collection criterion actually represents all of the names of the collections containing the photo concatenated together, i.e. "Arundel Wetlands Center Castle Goring", which does contain both words "Arundel" and "Castle".  Pretty brilliant design, huh?  Folder and Keywords work the same way.

The workaround is, as JohanEl54 suggested, to add additional criteria to exclude the undesired words. But this is tedious and hard to get right, especially if you're adding photos to the original collections later on.

[johnrellis]

The main stumbling block though is, as JohanEl54 says, you can't sync Smart Collections. I will check out that plugin as that might be the answer I'm just concerned over the number of collections I'm going to have to generate. I already have several hundred collections and this could well add a few hundred more.

I'm not positive how Friedl's plugin works, but my similar Any Source plugin creates these mirrored collections under a root collection set whose name you choose, which you can keep collapsed in the Collections panel. So while there is a mirrored dumb collection created for each smart collection you want to sync, you don't have to see them in the Collections panel.

[johnrellis]

Ideally it would be great if Adobe built in a filter the sync system so you could set all collections to sync but then define a criteria, like 5 stars, so that it would only sync the photos in that collection that matched the criteria. No need for additional collections at all. I won't hold my breath

The ability to sync smart collections has for years been the most popular feature request on the official Adobe feedback forum:

Lightroom: Ability to sync Smart Collections/Albums (Lightroom CC / Mobile / lightroom.adobe.com) | ...

Given that, and given Adobe's explicit indications to Lightroom Queen Victoria Brampton that they won't be enhancing LR Classic's sync, regular breathing is probably a wise course :-<