New Lightroom problem

[golfer]

I have a quick collection in Lightroom of 52 photos. I used Zoombrowser to prepare a few photos to put on this forum. When I returned to Lightroom, the photos had a question mark in the upper right hand corner and Lightroom indicates it can not find the files, even though it shows the photo.
I did a reboot, but the problem still exists.
Lightroom asks me if I want to locate the photos, but I hate to go thru that 52 times.
Wnder if anyone can help me with this.

[Mr. Pickles]

Did you use ZoomBrowser and end up saving changes from in ZoomBrowser back to the original file that you opened? Or did you actually use ZoomBrowser on them and somehow you actually moved the images?

If so, then Lightroom (or any DB related image management app) doesn't see that the image is the same as it was, or it isn't there at all, so it pops up the message and still shows the image as it knows it.

[golfer]

Thanks Mr. P for your question. I used Zoombrowser to locate the files in their present location, selected 3 photos and downsized them for this forum, then stored them [ 3 downsized photos] in a new folder on my desktop. At the time I did this, the photos had been open in Lightroom in the Quick Collection, however I had closed LIghtroom. The photos still exist in their original folder. Lightroom indicates there are 52 lost files; the ones I had selected the Quick Collection from.
There is a ? on each of the photos and when I click on it, I get a window that says LR cannot find the file; would I like to locate it.
Any thoughts?
I wanted to add, it is in the left hand side [Library says "missing files"]

[tomrock]

If the files are still in the same relative location, you can just show LR where one of them is and it will find the others.

Are you getting the question mark in the library as well as the quick collection?

[golfer]

Yes, tomrock, the ? is both the library and Quick Collection. I am in the process of following thru with the location of each one and am finding that where it finds one several may be found. Quite a pain though.
What I don't understand is why this happened, maybe you and Mr. P have some thoughts. Here is the process I went thru.
Closed LR
Opened Zoombrowser and prepared 3 photos for post on this forum. [these photos were in the Quick Collection of LR when I closed it.]
Resized the 3 photos with Zoombrowser and placed the 3 photos into a desktop folder.
Sent the photos.
Closed Zoombrowser and opened Lightroom which then had the ? on the photos both in Quick Collection and the ones Imported.
Anyone have any thoughts?

[JohnC]

I'm not sure why you needed to go to Zoombrowser to resize. You should have been able to select the images you wanted in Lightroom, Export, and set the size you want.

It sounds like somehow the folder name or file names got changed?

[Mr. Pickles]

John is correct. In the Export dialog there is a place to set the file type, pixel size, etc.

Anyway, I'd think that ZB did something, like save on top of the LR referenced files whether they changed or not (like open in ZB and hit the Save button). Whether you wrote them to another folder shouldn't effect LR at all, and it shouldn't care.

But if the date stamp changed on the LR referenced, or it was deleted or renamed, then LR will probably complain.

[golfer]

John, Mr. P, thanks for your help. I used the Zoombrowser [cuz I'm lazy] because I was more familar with it in this instance. I may experiment a little and see if it repeats. If so, I will let you know. I have to agree, Zoombrowser seems to have done someting to the entire file, not just the 3 photos I worked with.
Thanks again for your help.

[Mr. Pickles]

Zoombrowser may open each file in the folder and do some "save" like action on each. I think it uses some DB-like function or thumbnail file of its own, and that triggers LR into thinking they are different, thus triggering the message.

The LR message may be pseudo bogus, in that it may just be letting you know that something happened and it wants you to re-tell it where the real images are...?

[golfer]

Mr. P, I suspect the same. I was able to show LR a file and sometimes it found several afterwasrds. I only had to go thru about 8 or 9 actions out of 52 files to locate them.