Today’s Question: In one of your video lessons on Lightroom I noticed that you only had one section of each panel open at a time, and that when you opened a different section the previously opened section would close. Where is the setting to enable that feature?
Tim’s Quick Answer: The option to have only a single section of a panel open at a time in Lightroom is referred to as “Solo Mode”. You can enable Solo Mode for either panel by right-clicking on an empty area of the panel, and then choosing “Solo Mode” from the popup menu.
More Detail: When Solo Mode is activated for a panel in Lightroom, only one section of that panel will be open (expanded) at a time. When you open a different section on a panel with Solo Mode enabled, the panel that had been opened will close (collapse).
The Solo Mode feature operates independently for each panel (left or right) in each module (such as Library versus Develop). Therefore, you can enable Solo Mode for some panels in some modules, but leave it disabled for others if you prefer.
You can see Solo Mode in action in tip 41 (from April 11, 2018) in my “Lightroom Quick Tips”, which features a new quick tip every single week. This course is available as part of the GreyLearning Ultimate Bundle or the Mastering Lightroom Bundle. In addition, the course can be purchased as a standalone on the GreyLearning website here: