File menu

Catalogue§

Your catalogue is a single .lumcat file holding every photo record, keyword, collection and develop setting. Its thumbnails live in a companion .lumthm file alongside it.

• New Catalogue… — create a fresh, empty catalogue.
• Open Catalogue… (⇧⌘O) — switch to a different .lumcat file.
• Open Recent — jump back to a recently-used catalogue.
• Optimize Catalogue… — opens Catalog Settings, where you can compact and tidy the database for speed.
• Rename Catalogue… — renames the catalogue and its companion thumbnail file together, so the two never lose track of each other.

Importing§

• Import Photos and Video… (⇧⌘I) — bring new files into the catalogue from a card, folder or drive, or from iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive. Files that live only in the cloud are downloaded as they're imported.
• Tethered Capture ▸ Start Tethered Capture… — opens the Capture module to shoot straight into the catalogue. See Tethered capture.
• Import from Another Catalogue… — the Lightroom Classic migration wizard. See Import from Lightroom for the full walkthrough.
• Auto Import — turn on Enable Auto Import to have files dropped into a watched folder added to the catalogue automatically; Auto Import Settings… sets the watched folder and destination.

Exporting§

• Export… (⇧⌘E) — render the selected photos to JPEG, HEIC, TIFF or PNG, with control over size, quality, naming, metadata and watermarking. Send them to a folder, straight into Apple Photos, or into a new email. See Export & print.
• Export with Previous (⌥⇧⌘E) — re-run the last export with the exact same settings, no dialog.
• Export as Catalogue… — save the folder, collection or keyword selected in the sidebar as a standalone catalogue, optionally with copies of the original files, to open on another Mac.
• Email Photo… (⇧⌘M) — render the selection and attach it to a new message in your mail app, ready for you to review and send.

Quick Collection§

The Quick Collection is a scratch tray for gathering photos from anywhere in the catalogue without making a permanent collection.

• Show Quick Collection (⌘B) — load the tray into the grid. (Pressing B on a photo adds or removes it.)
• Save Quick Collection… (⌥⌘B) — export the tray's contents to a CSV or XML file for use elsewhere.
• Clear Quick Collection (⇧⌘B) — empty the tray.

Printing§

• Page Setup… (⇧⌘P) — paper size and orientation.
• Printer… (⌘P) — choose the printer and open its options.
• Print Settings… (⌥⇧⌘P) — opens the macOS Printers & Scanners settings, for adding printers or setting driver defaults.
• Print (⌥⌘P) — print the current layout. This switches to the Print module first; Page Setup and Printer work from any module.