Exporting Revealed
by Mikkel Aaland01/01/2008
Need more help with Lightroom? This article is an excerpt from Mikkel Aaland's Photoshop Lightroom Adventure.With Lightroom, you can export one photo at a time, or as many as you wish. Export choices are made in the Export dialog box, where you can enter a name, select the file format, size, color space, and more. If you are exporting a Catalog, the process occurs in the Export as Catalog dialog box. Let's see how it works.
You can export images from any Lightroom module by using the filmstrip to make your selection (circled). Make your choice, then use the menu command File→Export. Or you can use the keyboard shortcut 
+Shift+E (Ctrl+Shift+E). This brings up the Export dialog box, which I'll go over shortly.
You can select and export one batch of images with one set of settings (for instance, save as JPEG), and then, before the export process is complete, start another export with a different set of settings (for instance, save as TIFF). The export progress is noted in Lightroom's Progress bar (or bars, if you have two operations running at once).
Export from the Library module
To export from Lightroom's Library module, start in the Grid view and select the image you wish to export. Select File→Export from the menu, or click on the Export button at the bottom of the left panel.
Other Export Commands
Here are some other useful export menu commands:
Export with Previous
The menu command File→Export as Previous bypasses the Export dialog box and applies the last Export dialog box settings to your images. It places your images in the previously designated destination folder or location.
Export with Presets
Selecting File→Export Presets makes all your export presets (both the default presets and those created in the Export dialog box) available without having to go through the Export dialog box.
Export as Catalog
This option is relevant if you want to create a new Lightroom catalog that contains previews and references to selected images. This "mini" catalog, once created, can be imported and incorporated into another Lightroom catalog on another computer.
Export as Catalog Options
When you select File→Export as Catalog from the menu bar, you get this dialog box. Name the new catalog and choose a location on your hard drive. Lightroom will automatically add the required .lrcat file extension upon export. Deselect Export negative files and Include available previews (circled) if you want a very quick export that doesn't include the original image files or previews. Make sure the version of Lightroom used to import a new catalog is at or above the version number used to export.
