Choose Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Lightroom Classic > Preferences (Mac OS), and click the Interface tab. In the Filmstrip area, select Show Ratings And Picks.
- Lightroom Classic User Guide
- Introduction to Lightroom Classic
- Lightroom and Adobe services
- Lightroom for mobile, TV, and the web
- Import photos
- Workflows
- Apply Masking in photos
- Export and save your photos as JPEGs
- Export and watermark your photos
- Import your photos
- Adjustment Brush: the basics
- Adjustments with the Tone Curve
- Advanced video slideshows
- Control white balance
- Create a contact sheet
- Enhance your workflow with Lightroom Classic
- Adjustments with Lens Blur
- Edit and Export in HDR
- Workspace
- Viewing photos
- Manage catalogs and files
- Maps
- Organize photos in Lightroom Classic
- Process and develop photos
- Develop module basics
- Create panoramas and HDR panoramas
- Flat-Field Correction
- Correct distorted perspective in photos using Upright
- Improve image quality using Enhance
- Work with image tone and color
- Masking
- Apply local adjustments
- HDR photo merge
- Develop module options
- Retouch photos
- Cure red eye and pet eye effects
- Use the Radial Filter tool
- Use the enhanced Spot Removal tool
- Export photos
- Work with external editors
- Slideshows
- Print photos
- Photo books
- Web galleries
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Troubleshooting
Filmstrip
The Filmstrip displays the photos you are working on as you move between modules. It contains photos from the currently selected Library folder, collection, or keyword set. Move between photos in the Filmstrip using the Left and Right Arrow keys, or by choosing a different source from the Filmstrip Source Indicator pop-up menu to the right of the navigation buttons.
Hide or show the Filmstrip
- Click the Show/Hide Filmstrip icon at the bottom of the Filmstrip.
- Choose Window > Panels > Show/Hide Filmstrip.
Change the photos displayed in the Filmstrip
- Choose an item in a panel on the left side of the Library module, or select criteria from the Library Filter bar, Keyword List panel, or Metadata panel to choose photos.
- Click the Source Indicator in the Filmstrip, and choose a new source from the pop-up menu. You can choose All Photographs, Quick Collection, Previous Import, or a previously viewed source. Previously viewed Filmstrip sources are listed, unless you choose Clear Recent Sources.
After you choose a source or sources, the Grid view also displays the photos that are displayed in the Filmstrip. If you select multiple folders or collections, Multiple Sources appears in the Source Indicator.
If the Grid view does not display all photos when multiple sources are selected, choose Filters Off from the Library Filter bar.
Change the size of Filmstrip thumbnails
- Place the pointer over the top edge of the Filmstrip. When the pointer changes to a double arrow , drag the Filmstrip edge up or down.
- Double-click the top edge of the Filmstrip to switch between the last two sizes of thumbnails.
Scroll through photos in the Filmstrip
- Drag the scroll bar at the bottom of the Filmstrip, click the arrows on the sides, or drag the top edge of a thumbnail frame.
- Press the Left and Right Arrow keys to navigate through thumbnails in the Filmstrip.
Show ratings and picks in Filmstrip thumbnails
Rearrange thumbnails in the Filmstrip and Grid view
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Select a collection or a folder that does not contain any subfolders, and then drag a thumbnail to a new location.
Loupe view
Zoom an image
You can use the Navigator panel in the Library module or the Develop module to set the level of magnification for an image in Loupe view. Lightroom Classic saves the last level you used and lets you switch between that level and the current level when you click the photo with the pointer. You can also toggle between four levels using the Zoom In and Zoom Out commands.
The settings remain in effect until you select a different zoom level in the Navigator panel or choose a new command from the View menu.
When two images are in Compare view in the Library module, setting a zoom level in the Navigator panel or choosing a zoom command automatically displays the selected image in Loupe view.
Set the zoom levels for the pointer
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In the Navigator panel, select either Fit or Fill for the first zoom level.
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For the second zoom level, select either 1:1 (a 100% view of actual pixels) or choose an option from the pop-up menu.
Zoom levels for the pointer are also available in the secondary window.
Switch between zoom levels
- To switch between the two zoom levels set in the Navigator panel, click the photo with the pointer or press the spacebar. The pointer changes to the Zoom tool whenever it is possible to zoom in. You can also click the photo to switch between zoom levels in the secondary window.
- To switch between four zoom levels, press Ctrl-+ or Ctrl-- (Windows) or Command-+ or Command-- (Mac OS). If you choose a Zoom command from the View menu, the level switches between the four settings in the Navigator panel (Fit, Fill, 1:1, and the option chosen from the menu).
To zoom the photo to the center of the screen, select Zoom Clicked Point To Center in the Interface Preferences.
Pan the image
When the photo is zoomed and parts are not visible, use the Hand tool on the photo or the pointer on the Navigator panel to move hidden areas into view. The Navigator panel always displays the entire image with a frame overlay to represent the edges of the main view.
Panning is synchronized in the Before and After views in the Develop module.
- Drag the Hand tool in the Loupe view to move the image. You can also pan with the Hand tool in the Loupe view in the secondary window.
- Drag the pointer in the Navigator panel to move the image in Loupe view.
- Click the pointer in the Navigator panel to move the image to that location in Loupe view.
Temporarily zoom in to pan the image
- Press and hold the space bar to temporarily zoom in.
- Press and hold the mouse button down to zoom in, and then drag in either the photo or the Navigator to pan the photo.
Display the Info Overlay on a photo
You can display information about a photo in Loupe view in the Library; in Loupe view or Before and After views in the Develop module; and in Loupe view in the secondary window. You can display two sets of metadata and customize which information appears in each set.
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Choose View > Loupe Info > Show Info Overlay, or choose the specific info set to display. Or, press the I key to display, hide, and cycle through the info sets.
Change the info displayed in the Info Overlay
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In the Library or Develop module, choose View > View Options.
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If working in the Library, make sure the Loupe View is selected.
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In the Loupe Info fields, choose the options you want to display for each set from the menus.
Grid view
Show photos in the Grid view and the Filmstrip
Lightroom Classic provides many ways to show specific photos in the Grid view and the Filmstrip. The method you use depends on which photos you want to see. The Catalog panel lets you instantly display all photos in the catalog or the Quick Collection, as well as the most recently imported photos.
You can also show photos in the Grid view and the Filmstrip by selecting folders, collections, keywords, or by searching for photos. You can refine a selection by using the options in the Library Filter bar.
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In the Catalog panel, select any of the following:
All Photographs
Shows all the photos in the catalog.
All Synced Photographs
Shows all the photos that are synced with other Adobe Photoshop Lightroom mobile clients. For more details see Work with All Synced Photographs collection.
Quick Collection
Shows photos in the Quick Collection. To learn about grouping photos in the Quick Collection, see Work with the Quick Collection.
Previous Import
Shows photos from the most recent import.
Other categories, such as Previous Export As Catalog, may also appear in the Catalog panel.
Navigate between photos
In the Library module, you navigate between images by selecting the previous or next photo.
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In any view of the Library module, do one of the following:
To select the previous photo, press the Left Arrow key, click the Select Previous Photo icon in the toolbar, or choose Library > Previous Selected Photo.
To select the next photo, press the Right Arrow key, click the Select Next Photo icon in the toolbar, or choose Library > Next Selected Photo.
note: Make sure Navigate is chosen from the toolbar menu for the Select Previous Image and Select Next Image icons to appear.
Rearrange photos in the Grid view
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In the Grid view, do any of the following to rearrange photos in the grid:
Click the Sort Direction icon in the toolbar.
Choose a sort option from the Sort pop-up menu in the toolbar.
If you have selected a regular collection or the lowest folder in a folder hierarchy, drag from the center of a thumbnail to sort in any order.
Note:If you have selected a smart collection or a folder that contains other folders, User Order is not available in the Sort pop-up menu, and you cannot drag to sort photos in any order.
View raw+JPEG photos
Some cameras capture raw and JPEG versions of photos. In order to view and work with the JPEG version of the photo, you must instruct Lightroom Classic to import and recognize the JPEG version as a standalone file. See Set import preferences.
Change the thumbnail size in the Grid view
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In the Grid view, choose Thumbnail Size from the toolbar menu.
The Thumbnails control is not available unless this option is selected.
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Drag the Thumbnails slider.
Switching between Grid, Loupe, Compare, and Survey views
In the Library module, you can view thumbnails in the Grid view, a single photo in Loupe view, two photos in Compare view, or two or more photos in Survey view.
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In the Library module, do any of the following:
Click the Grid View , Loupe View , Compare View , or Survey View icon in the toolbar.
Choose View > Grid, Loupe, Compare, or Survey.
Choose View and then choose either Toggle Loupe View or Toggle Zoom View to toggle between the chosen view and the previous view.
With one or more photos selected in the Grid view, choose Photo > Open In Loupe to switch to the Loupe view. If more than one photo is selected, the active photo opens in the Loupe view. Use the Right and Left Arrow keys to cycle between selected photos in the Loupe view.
For more information on comparing photos in Lightroom 3 and Lightroom 4, see Comparing similar photos, from Adobe Digital Imaging How-Tos.
More like this
- Set preferences for working in Lightroom Classic
- Select photos in the Grid view and the Filmstrip
- Filter photos in the Filmstrip and Grid view
- Find photos in the catalog
- Set Library view options for Loupe view
- Display the Library on a second monitor
- Change the Loupe view info overlay
- Work with photo collections
- Find photos in the catalog
- View the contents of a folder
- Flag, label, and rate photos