Today’s Question: Is there a way to stop Lightroom Classic from taking me to the “Previous Import” collection when I import new photos? I prefer to continue browsing the current folder rather than the collection.
Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can prevent Lightroom Classic from automatically navigating to the Previous Import collection after an import by turning off the “Select the ‘Current/Previous Import’ collection during import” checkbox.
More Detail: By default when you initiate the import of new photos into Lightroom Classic you will be taken to an automatic collection that contains the photos from that import. While the import is still active the collection will be called “Current Import”, and as soon as the import is complete the collection will be called “Previous Import”.
The idea is that you likely want to review the most recently imported photos as soon as they are imported, so you’re taken to those photos automatically. Of course, that can be a bit of a distraction if you’re browsing the folder that you’re importing to, or another folder altogether, and you don’t want to be interrupted by being taken to the collection featuring the imported photos.
This behavior can be changed with a setting in the Preferences dialog. Start by going to the menu and choosing Edit > Preferences on Windows or Lightroom Classic > Preferences on Macintosh. Go to the General tab, where you’ll find the “Select the ‘Current/Previous Import’ collection during import” checkbox. Turn the checkbox off if you don’t want Lightroom Classic to automatically navigate to the collection featuring the imported photos, and keep the checkbox turned on if you do want to have the collection selected automatically.
