How does the initialization of photos work in Excire Search?
In order to use the functionalities of Excire Search, your photos must first be initialized. The photos are analyzed by the AI. This is done locally on your computer.
To start the initialization of photos, go to the Lightroom menu and select "Library" -> "Plug-in Extras" -> "Initialize Photos...".
The "Initialize Photos" window informs you how many photos in your catalog or in the currently selected filmstrip have already been initialized and how many photos produced problems during initialization. Depending on the options activated, some photos may also be skipped during initialization (see below).
The initialization of your photos can take some time. The time depends mainly on the formats of the photos and your hardware.
At the end of initialization, you will receive a summary informing you of any problems. If you click on "Details" here, problem cases will be listed.
Excire Search supports many image formats, including various RAW formats. Photos in these formats are initialized directly. This means that the original file is read if it is accessible. Some photo formats are supported by Lightroom so that they can be added to the catalog, but are not directly supported by Excire Search. In these cases, Excire Search automatically performs an export during the initialization of these photos, creating a JPG in a temporary folder. This JPG is used for initialization and then deleted again.
Aesthetic values (since Excire Search 2024) and keywords can be transferred to the Lightroom catalog directly with the initialization. This can be controlled using the options in the "Initialize photos" window. This transfers can also be carried out later using the "Transfer aesthetic values" and "Transfer keywords - batch processing" functions.
There are several options in the Lightroom Plug-in Manager that affect the initialization of photos.
Fast initialization
Normally, edits that go beyond cropping the photos are not taken into account during initialization. Lightroom saves these in the metadata of the photos. However, if all edits are to be taken into account, the "Fast initialization" option can be deactivated (default: on). Excire Search will then export every photo that has been edited and analyze the exported photo. Lightroom will apply the edits to the exported photo. Please note that this option significantly slows down initialization.
Stacks and virtual copies
Normally, virtual copies are skipped during initialization. When transferring keywords and aesthetic values to the catalog, these photos receive the keywords or aesthetic values of their originals. These photos cannot be found during searches. If the option "Fast initialization" is deactivated, Excire Search will also initialize your virtual copies. As an exception, virtual copies of huge photos (>250 MB) can not be initialized, even if the "Fast initialization" is deactivated.
If the option "For stacks, only initialize the top photo" is activated in the Plug-in Manager (default: off), photos that are located within a stack are also skipped during initialization.
Smart previews
Smart previews can be used to speed up the initialization of photos. If the option "Prefer Smart Previews in initialization" is activated (default: off), Smart Previews are analyzed instead of the original files, if they exist. Lightroom Classic stores the Smart Previews in the folder of the catalog. Initialization via Smart Previews is faster, especially if the catalog is on an internal SDD drive.
Huge photos
Very large photos (larger than 250 MB) are not initialized directly by Excire Search (i.e. by reading the original file). Smart previews must be created for these photos, which are then used for initialization. During initialization, Excire Search creates a collection for very large photos that do not have a Smart Preview and therefore could not be initialized ("Initialization (Smart Previews required)"). You need to create Smart Previews for these photos and repeat the initialization. Virtual copies of such photos can not be initialized.
Photos that require an update to AI settings
Since Lightroom Classic 15.3, some photos edited with AI features require an update to the AI settings. This update must be performed when exporting a photo. Depending on the settings, Excire Search exports your photos to initialize them. Photos that require an update to the AI settings cannot be exported by Excire Search. Instead, during initialization, Excire Search creates a collection for the affected photos (“Initialization (Update AI settings needed)”). Perform the required update by selecting all these photos and choosing "Photo" -> "Develop Settings" -> "Update AI Settings" from the menu. After that, repeat the initialization.
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Reinitialize photos
If photos have been edited since you initialized them, the "Re-Initialize Photos" function can be used to update the analysis of these photos. This function searches the catalog or the currently selected filmstrip for photos that have been edited since your initialization or the last re-initialization. These photos are then analyzed again.
Please note that edits that go beyond cropping are also only taken into account here if the "Fast initialization" option (see above) is deactivated.
Automatic initialization on import
If the "Initialize photos during import" option is activated in the Plug-in Manager, Excire Search automatically initializes photos that are newly added to the Lightroom catalog. The other associated settings can be used to specify whether aesthetic values and keywords for these photos should be transferred directly to the Lightroom catalog.
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