Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl+click (Mac OS) the link to the script below, and save the script to your desktop. Double-click the file to decompress it, which creates a file named ExtractPreviews.lua. If you can't locate this file, you can search your hard disk for it.
Last updated on
Jul 15, 2024
Sometimes lost or deleted photos in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic still display a preview. The following script allows you to extract and save those previews.
The script extracts previews for all the images that are selected at the time you run the script. It extracts poster frames for any video clips that are selected at the time. You can choose a location for these files. The extracted images are in JPEG format, and the name contains the size of the image (for example, _MG_0233-360x240.jpg, in Lightroom Classic 13.2 earlier). In Lightroom Classic 13.3 and later, the file name contains the size of the long edge (for example, DSC06787_6000.jpg).
Note:
- The extracted previews don't contain any metadata from the original image.
- The extracted previews don't contain an ICC profile. So, if you import the extracted previews back into Lightroom, the images are imported with the sRGB profile.
To install the script, do the following:
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In Lightroom Classic, choose Lightroom Classic> Preferences (macOS) or Edit > Preferences (Windows).
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In the Presets tab, select Show All Other Lightroom Presets.
Show all other Lightroom presets other than Develop presets
Show all other Lightroom presets other than Develop presets Note:The Show All Other Lightroom Presets button takes you to the correct location only when Store Presets With This Catalog isn't selected. If Store Presets With This Catalog is selected, navigate to and open the following folder
- [Windows] C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom
- [Mac OS] /Users/[user name]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom
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Create a folder in the Lightroom folder and rename it as Scripts.
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Copy the ExtractPreviews.lua script (from step 1) into the Scripts folder.
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Quit and reopen Lightroom Classic.
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In Lightroom Classic, choose Scripts > ExtractPreviews.
Note:In Windows, the Scripts menu is the last menu on the right. In Mac OS, the Scripts menu is to the right of the Help menu.
[Windows] Choose ExtractPreviews from the Scripts menu
[Windows] Choose ExtractPreviews from the Scripts menu 
[Mac OS] Choose ExtractPreviews from the Scripts menu
[Mac OS] Choose ExtractPreviews from the Scripts menu -
Choose a location for your extracted previews.
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