Export List

September 25, 2009 16 comments

This plugin was inspired by a post in Adobe Lightroom SDK forums. Somebody was asking for an ability to generate a list of exported photos, so it could be sent as an email to other parties to give them a detailed inventory of photos added to a shared folder. So I decided to throw the guy some rope and developed a plugin, which does just that and a bit more. The plugin can list photos in multiple formats: HTML, plain text, CSV. Other formats can be easily added via the configuration file and an output template. Each template can be individually customized to include any metadata fields along with the file name. The user can choose to open the output file in the default program (i.e. Notepad for text files, web browser for HTML files, or Microsoft Excel for CSV files), or in Mozilla Thunderbird in compose mode with the generated file automatically added as an attachment. Download and use this plugin free of charge, all I ask in return from you is to provide some feedback. Let me know if you liked or disliked the plugin, or suggest features to add. Visit the Export List plugin page to download the package.

Export List export, Lightroom, plugin

#1 | Written by aw:D about 15 years ago. Reply

Hi Vlad – just wanted to express my sincere gratitude in helping me with this issue. This plugin will save me huge amounts of time and resources – this is simply amazing.
Cheers to you! – and thanks for your effort 🙂
- #2 | Written by Vlad about 15 years ago. Reply
  
  My pleasure!
  Let me know if the plugin does what you need. I attempted to make it flexible and customizable (to a degree) without the need to change the code. However, if something is missing or doesn’t work as expected I’ll be happy to implement additional features.
#3 | Written by Jonah about 15 years ago. Reply

Vlad,

THANK you for this! I have been trying very hard to switch my workflow over to Lightroom and this was one of the final components I needed.
#4 | Written by Jonah about 15 years ago. Reply

It would be killer if you could choose particular metadata fields that might be relevant – for example I have some post processing scripts that migrate data around based on just the caption and catalog path.

The plugin itself is already helping me a lot in its current state, so THANK YOU!
- #5 | Written by Vlad about 15 years ago. Reply
  
  I’ve just posted a little tutorial on how to customize the templates to include the metadata fields that are relevant for your workflow.
  Please see http://alloyphoto.com/category/lightroom-plugins/export-list/ and let me know if that helps.
#6 | Written by Anurag about 15 years ago. Reply

This plugin is great! Well, it will be once I get it to work 😉

I installed the plugin in LR 2.5, but whenever I add it to the post processing actions I get the following error message:

Export List Plugin: Selected options are incomplete.
The post-processing actions are incomplete.

Please advise.

As mentioned I am running LR 2.5 on Win XP
- #7 | Written by Vlad about 15 years ago. Reply
  
  This message pops up when you leave either the “Output format” or the “Open generated file with” option blank.
  After adding the post-process action, scroll down to the List Exported Photos section in the export panel and specify output options for the plugin.
  - #8 | Written by Anurag about 15 years ago. Reply
    
    Dah! I did not see those options!
    
    Thanks!!!
#9 | Written by lyle about 15 years ago. Reply

I haven’t yet loaded it into Lightroom to try it, so if there’s a simple work-around/application to match my need please tell me.

I create web galleries (of sub-sets of a shoot using collections or selected photos in the filmstrip) and then the client chooses size and print counts from the filename displayed under the photo. I’d like to give them a spreadsheet in the same order as the photos, tabelized columns with the sizes available.

How can I join this tool with the creation of a web gallery (html) to achieve what I need ?
#10 | Written by Lyle about 15 years ago. Reply

This would be very useful if it also worked when you choose the Export option for a web gallery.

Nice tool on it’s own, quite flexible after having used it.

Thanks for taking time to do it, respond and make it available to those of us who don’t program.

Lyle
- #11 | Written by Vlad about 15 years ago. Reply
  
  Unfortunately, the SDK doesn’t provide a way to define post-processing actions for the Web Gallery module. Perhaps the flexibility of the SDK will be improved in a next version of Lightroom, I can only hope so.
#12 | Written by lyle about 15 years ago. Reply

Vlad – thanks for the response; I found the SDK doc last night and had surmised as much. I guess the workaround is to create the website export, then turn around and have a file export choice that creates a tiny tiny tiny jpg, export the same set of files and capture your file by hand. 🙂

Again – much appreciated tool, it will come in very handy.

L
#13 | Written by Seth about 15 years ago. Reply

Hello Vlad

Thanks for this, except I can’t seem to get it to work. I’m using LR 2.6, and just downloaded your plugin today.

The Readme says to put the plugin folder in the
… >applications support>… .Lightroom>Modules.
If I put it there then the plugin doesn’t appear at in the export dialogue, even after I restart LR. If I put the folder in the
…. Lightroom>Export Actions
then it will appear as an option in the export dialogue, but I can’t see a way to choose options, nor will any list be generated after the export even if the ExportList is selected.

I suspect it’s something easy, like I have to rename the folder or something. I’m putting this into my User library. Is there any reason to try the System library.

Thanks in advance.

Seth
- #14 | Written by Vlad about 15 years ago. Reply
  
  The plug-in needs to be installed in the Modules folder.
  After restarting Lightroom, go to Export.
  On the left-hand side of the Export dialog there should be the Port-Process Actions section. Choose List Exported Photos and click Insert.
  Now, if you scroll right-hand panel in the export dialog down, you should see the List Exported Photos section at the bottom. This is where you choose the Output format and Open generated file with options.
  Let me know if this helps.
#15 | Written by Seth about 15 years ago. Reply

OK, I think I figured it out. Thanks for the expanded instructions below. I also had to add back the suffix after the name (the lrdevplugin). I can’t remember why I took it off, but adding it back was required to make it work.

I probably initially missed the “Post Process Actions” panel that appears in the left-hand side panel. I may have been looking too hard at the bottom of the main part of the export dialogue, expecting to see something in the “Post Processing” panel.

I’ll give it a twirl now, and see how it works. Thanks again.
#16 | Written by Skordy about 15 years ago. Reply

The export list plug-in is going to save me a lot of time! I haven’t tried customizing the template yet, but it looks like it’s just what I was looking for to help me out. Thank you so much for making this available.

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