Lightroom Tips
Quickly Open/Close Panels
Here is a tip that expands on hiding the histogram.
Each panel on the right-hand side can be activated or hidden using keyboard shortcuts. Pressing Command plus a corresponding number. Numbers are assigned to panels from the top to the bottom starting with 1. Zero (0) is reserved for non-scrollable panels such as the Histogram and the Gallery panel in the Web Module.
An example of the keyboard shortcuts for the Library are as follows:
- Command-0 Histogram (non-scrollable)
- Command-1 Quick Develop
- Command-2 Keywording
- Command-3 Metadata
Resize The Film Strip
During the Lightroom Beta you could change the size of the filmstrip with either a slider or a series of “s, m, l, xl” buttons. While these tools are no longer available the ability to change the filmstrip size remains.
Slowly move your mouse over the line dividing the black bar containing the filters and the toolbar. You will see your mouse turn into a double-arrow. Click and drag to change the filmstrip size.
Which leads us to…
Toggling Between Film Strip Sizes
Move your mouse to the area of the film strip where you can resize it and then double click your mouse. This will toggle the film strip to its previous size.
Instant Full-Screen
To instantly go into full-screen mode and hide all the panels, use the keyboard shortcut Command-Shift-Tab.
Pressing this shortcut again will exit full screen mode but it will not show the panels again.
Full-Width Identity Plate Fix
If you use an Identity Plate spanning the full width of your display you might notice you no longer have access to the arrow that hides/shows Lightroom’s header.
To get around this cut out a hole about the same size of the arrow from the middle-top of your ID plate.
- Open your ID plate in Photoshop
- Hold down Alt and double-click the lock for the Background layer in the Layers pallet. This will turn the background into “Layer 0.”
- Cut out a hole about the size of the arrow. You can download the template I used as a guide.
- Save the finished file as a 24-bit PNG.
- Add the image to Lightroom’s Identity Plate.
Quickly Add New Child Keywords
Here is a less-obvious way of adding a new keyword to Lightroom as a child of another keyword without the need to futz with the keyword list. With an image or images selected, type the new keyword in the Keywording panel followed by a greater-than sign (>) followed by the parent keyword.
Example: “Child > Parent”
This technique will allow you to nest a child numerous levels deep. Just be sure to check your spelling as auto-complete will not appear when doing this.
For example “New Child > Parent 1 > Parent 2” would appear in the Keyword Tags list as you see in the following screenshot. All that would appear in the Keywording Panel for that image would be “Child.”
If you have a deep list of keywords you do not have to type in every parent keyword. All you need to type in is the parent the new keyword will be directly placed into.
Check Keyword Spelling (OS X Only)
OS X has a very useful dictionary tool which lets you check spelling in any Coco-based application which Lightroom happens to be.
If you are unsure of your spelling of a keyword simply hover your mouse over the word and type Command-Control-D. This will bring up the dictionary to confirm it. If it is spelled correctly, you will se the definition. Otherwise, no definition.
As if that wasn’t enough it gets better! An option in the dictionary preferences allows you to check spelling with a small pop-up panel (seen in the image above) instead of loading up the Dictionary application itself.
Here’s how to set it up:
- Open the Dictionary App
- Go to Dictionary > Preferences
- Select “Open Dictionary Panel” at the bottom.
- Quit Dictionary
- If Lightroom is open, quit and relaunch it.
Keyword Set Shortcuts
Holding down the Alt key will display the numbers 1-9 next to each keyword in a keyword set. Pressing the corresponding number while still holding down Alt will apply that keyword to the selected images.
White colored keywords are currently applied to the selected image(s). Selecting that keyword or pressing it’s keyboard shortcut will remove it.
Develop’s Previous/Sync Button
The “Previous” button at the bottom-right of the Develop Module performs many functions depending on which modifier keys (i.e., Command, Alt, Shift) you hold down. Here they are in no particular order:
Edit Multiple Images Simultaneously
Hold down Command with multiple images selected while in the Develop module. You will see the “Sync…” button change to “Auto Sync.” Click on it at this point and any further adjustments you make will apply to all selected images automatically.
To go back to the default simply click on the button again (no need to press any key).
Quick(er) Syncing
Tired of seeing that dialog box pop up asking what you want to have synced? Simply hold down the Alt key and you will see the ellipsis (three trailing dots) at the end of the word Sync disappear. Clicking on that will bypass the Synchronize Options dialog box syncing your images with your previous set Synchronize Options.
Make Previous Previous Once Again
If you have multiple images selected you’ll notice “Previous” turns to “Sync…” If you wish to apply your previous set of adjustments to all selected images hold down the Shift key. “Sync…” will once again be titled “Previous” and function accordingly.
Hide The Histogram
Working with a smaller monitor, you may find yourself losing vertical space quickly with numerous panels open. You can recover some of that space by quickly hiding the Histogram. Use the keyboard shortcut Command-0 (as in Zero) and the histogram will fold away. Hit the shortcut again and it will return.
This works in both the Library and the Develop modules.
Warning! The histogram is an essential tool. Don’t get into the habit of leaving it closed.
Which Split Tone Hue?
For an easy way to see which hue you are selecting for split toning hold down the Alt key while dragging the Hue slider. This will momentarily exaggerate the hue saturation to help you better see the hue you have selected.
Tab Between Adjustment Sliders
If you are a keyboard junkie you probably believe sliders are for wusses and real men use the keyboard as much as possible. And no doubt you are frustrated at the sheer abundance of sliders in Lightroom. Fear not! All is not lost.
You can adjust values without ever touching a slider with your mouse by using the Tab key. By default Tab toggles the side panels on and off, but you can change this behavior to suit your manly needs.
To change the Tab behavior simply click on one of the number values for any slider. From here each time you press Tab you will move to the next slider. Hit Tab again and you move to the number values for that slider.
When a slider is active pressing the arrow keys up or down will move the slider in jumps of 10. Lightroom won’t show you have a slider selected with a highlight. You’ll just have to know a slider is active using your powers of telepathy.
Tab takes you forward and Shift-Tab moves you back.
Let Me Undo!
Occasionally having trouble using Command-Z to undo a setting you just applied? Simply hit Escape on your keyboard and try again.
The reason for this has to do with the Tab trick mentioned previously. If any of the number fields are active in a panel, the undo keyboard shortcut will not work.
Clean Up Your Library Backups
If you are backing up your library regularly (and you are right?) you may notice hard drive space disappearing quickly. It is a good idea to go in and clean out old backups once in a wile to free up some of that space. Depending on the size of your library, it can save you several gigabytes on your hard drive.
Anything older than a month is probably safe to get rid of. If you want to maintain backups longer than that I’d recommend compressing each backup folder into .zip files. Compressed libraries shrink as much as 88% of their original size.
For OS X users I have created a folder action to compress the library backups automatically. You can read more about it and download it here.