The Lightroom Filmstrip

The Lightroom Filmstrip is located at the bottom of the interface, below the Main Viewing Window.

The Filmstrip can be locked into permanent view by clicking on the arrow centered below the Main Viewing Window. If it is not locked into view, moving your cursor below the Main Viewing Window will make the Filmstrip pop up. Moving your cursor back off the Filmstrip will cause it to drop back down out of sight. You can also show or hide the Filmstrip by pressing the F6 key.

The most important thing to know about the filmstrip is that it is always the same, no matter what module you are in. This provides a means of selecting or deselecting photos without having to return to the Library Module.

The main body of the Filmstrip looks like its name, with a single row of thumbnails side-by-side. These represent the currently selected group of photos, whether that selection be a Collection, Folder, or Catalog - or even a single photo, selected via a very restrictive filter. Changes you make to the picture, in either the Library or Develop Modules, immediately update in the thumbnail image contained within the Filmstrip.

Each thumbnail consists of the actual thumbnail image, surrounded by a gray “matte”. If you assign a color flag to a photo, the matte around its Filmstrip thumbnail becomes a shade of that color.

Lightroom allows for the display of several pieces of information about the image - and even the ability to change some information - right in the Filmstrip. If any of these items are not visible, that is because you need to check them in the Interface Tab of the Preferences Dialog.

• Ratings - Below the image, on the left side, you will see how many, out of five stars, have been assigned to each photo. Note that you will see nothing here if no star rating at all has been assigned (0 stars).

• Badges - In the lower right corner of the thumbnail image, itself, there may be one or more of three badges. These are little icons that identify whether or not specific things have been done to the photo. Specifically, if keywords have been assigned, or the picture has been cropped or had other Develop-type adjustments made to it.

• Flag Status - This is in the top left corner of the matte. Like the star rating, if the shot has not been either picked or rejected, you will see nothing here. Unlike the star rating, however, clicking on that top left corner will actually cycle through the three pick states (Pick, Reject, or None) and assign them to the photo.

• Quick Collection Circle - In the top right corner of the thumbnail image is a circle, only visible when you hold your mouse over the area. If you click it, the photo will be added to a Quick Collection. This is a way of creating a Collection without the commitment of formally naming it. The circle become gray and remains visible unless you click it again, to take the photo out of the Quick Collection.

A black bar floats just above the Lightroom Filmstrip. Not to be confused with the Toolbar, this is actually part of the Filmstrip, and will appear and disappear with the Filmstrip panel. From left to right, you will find the following things:

• Two squares, with the numbers 1 and 2, respectively - These allow you to control (1) the view mode in the Main Viewing Window and (2) whether or not the second viewing window is active and its view mode. This second viewing window is designed for people working with a second monitor.

• A group of four squares in a mini-grid - This returns the program to the Grid View in the Library Module, no matter what module you are currently using.

• Two arrows - These work exactly like the Back and Forward buttons on a Web Browser. They will not undo an effect applied to the picture in the Main Viewing Window. Instead, they will take you backward or forward through the Modules and the images that have been displayed.

• Filmstrip Information - This displays the Catalog, Collection, or Folder currently displayed in the Lightroom Filmstrip. It also displays the number of photos being held in the Filmstrip, and whether or not any of them are selected. The final part of this information line displays a filename of the most recently selected photo.

• Filter Information - On the right side of this space is a filtering section. This allows you to filter the pictures that show up in the Lightroom Filmstrip by a variety of factors. The little, barely noticeable, box on the extreme right is like a switch. Click on it to turn the filtering on and off.

None at this time.