How can I save a 'tif' and later access it in LR ?

Question

I am an iMac person using LR Classic and have accumulated over 4,000 photos over the past 3+ years, and have ‘developed’ a substantial number of them. I know about exporting as a'tif' to preserve the edits, and have saved them in the same folder [Pictures] as the original. However, the only way that I have discovered to access the tif in LR is to select the ‘add to this catalog’ option. I really don’t want to clutter up the LR Library, but the only other way that I have been able to access the tif is in View finder or PS CC. How can I save the tif and later access it in LR ?

Answer 1

First, you do not need to export tiff files to preserve your edits. You can either have LR write XMP files for your raw files, if you're not converting them to DNGs, or convert your RAW files into DNGs on import.

If you have the raw files in LR, why would you need to bring in the tiff file? You can re-process the raw and export new tiffs to replace the old.

If you don't have the raw files, you can bring in the tiffs by either manually importing them or by synchronizing your folder.

Also, if you are an Adobe CC subscriber, download and install Bridge so you can view your files better.