How to Import Keyword Lists into Lightroom

Original post appeared on The Lightroom Classroom blog. 

With thanks to the incredibly helpful resource, Lightroom Keyword List Project, (go check them out, they’re awesome!) in this blog post we’ll be going through the steps to import your newly downloaded, super helpful keyword list.

Please note that I am using Lightroom CC for these tutorials. Instructions for other versions of Lightroom may be different and you are welcome to contact me should you need help. 

Step 1. Find and Download your keyword list.

For the purposes of this article, we’ll be using a pre-made list. Creating a keyword list falls under advanced skills and that’s something we’ll be dealing with in a different article.

I recommend this super cool blog, called Lightroom Keyword List Project, to download your pre-made keyword list from. You can always tweak it to your needs, but this one is pretty complete and very helpful.

Make sure that you know exactly where you save the downloaded file so that you can find it again – it usually goes straight to your Downloads folder on your computer unless you told it not to.

Step 2. Open Lightroom.

This is best done from within Lightroom. For best results it is recommended to start with a clean slate, meaning there are no keywords already in your catalogue, but if you already have a bunch of keywords saved, never fear, there is a way to work around that which I’ll explain in a different article.

Step 3. Import the list.

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From within Lightroom, in the Library Module, go to Metadata > Import Keywords… and locate the .txt file containing the keyword list you just downloaded. Select it and click on Choose/Import/OK, depending on your operating system’s interface.

Step 4. Start using your keyword list.

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You will see under the Keyword List tab on the right in the Library Module that your new keyword list has been imported and installed, and you are ready to start keywording away!

Get the list

For this tutorial I’ve used Lightroom Keyword List Project‘s highly recommended and totally free downloadable keyword list. Visit the blog to see what they’re all about.

For more keyword list options, check out these handy links:

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