Today’s Question: Why am I starting to see this small almost unusable new window when I try to import images into Lightroom Classic?
Tim’s Quick Answer: The smaller Import dialog in Lightroom Classic can be expanded to the larger format by clicking the downward-pointing triangle button at the bottom-left of the small Import dialog or by pressing the backslash (\) key on the keyboard.
More Detail: One of the lesser-known features of the Import dialog in Lightroom Classic is that you can reduce the size of the dialog so it only displays a small number of key controls. If you accidentally switch to this dialog without even knowing it is an option, it can understandably be confusing.
You can switch between he small and large versions of the Import dialog by clicking the button with the triangle icon at the bottom-left corner of the Import dialog. That icon will point upward when you are viewing the larger version of the Import dialog and will point downward with the smaller version. You can also press the backslash (\) key to switch between the two. In most cases I suspect those who inadvertently switched between these Import dialog options pressed the backslash key without realizing it.
I don’t personally find the smaller version of the Import dialog to be all that helpful, because it doesn’t include all the options I like to confirm before initiating an import. I also don’t find it particularly helpful to have a smaller Import dialog to begin with. But if you prefer (or would like to get familiar with) the smaller version of the Import dialog, just press the backslash key while the Import dialog is up to switch between the two options.
