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Deleting old catalogues after upgrade

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
October 20, 2020
3 replies
28751 views

The LR upgrade also upgraded my catalogs (2). Now, when I boot, I have 8 catalogs to choose from - the two current ones and 6 old ones from when LR has done this in the past. The catalogs are not too big but I would like to at least get them out of the startup menu. Can the old ones be deleted now that the updated one is in force.

How to

Correct answer Rob_Cullen

Yes. Simply delete them (the .LRCAT file) in the OS File Browser by dragging to 'Trash' or 'Recycle Bin', as you would any other type of file (like a document, or spreadsheet, etc). You should also delete the 'Parent' folder of the un-wanted Catalog which will trash the Previews .LRDATA and other temporary files that accompany the un-wanted Catalog.

Just be certain you are deleting the un-wanted catalogs! And you are making Catalog Backups of your current working Catalog I Hope!

GregDiodati

Participating Frequently

I just realized i was storing old versions of my Lightroom catelogs. In the process of deleting all but current versions and supporting folders. I am recpaturing over 17gb of space.

WEWilliams

Inspiring

I'm quite confused about which catalog files are current and which are old (I have version 12.2 of Lightroom Classic). In <user>->Pictures -> Lightroom I have the following files (screenshot):

...by far the largest file, at 4.03 GB

Then, in "Pictures" but outside the "Lightroom" folder, I have "Lightroom Library.lrlibrary," which is 1.07 GB

Which of these do I need, and which can I toss? I'm particularly curious about the one outside the "Pictures" folder, which claims not to have been modified for more than 3 years.

Ian Lyons

Community Expert

Start with the easy one:

> in "Pictures" but outside the "Lightroom" folder, I have "Lightroom Library.lrlibrary," which is 1.07 GB

Above is the catalog for Lightroom desktop (i.e. cloud versions) and is not relevant to Lightroom Classic.

Next the Lightroom Classic catalog and associated files

Each major Lightroom Classic upgrade (the last was 12.0) appends the version number to the existing catalog name. In your case, the most recent catalog is Lightroom Catalog-2-v12.lrcat and the associated files are:

Lightroom Catalog-2-v12 Previews.lrdata

Lightroom Catalog-2-v12-Helper.lrdata

Lightroom Catalog-2-v12-lrcat-data

You need all four of the files I've highlighted in bold text. The others are from earlier versions of Lightroom Classic.

Just Shoot Me

Legend

What Startup Menu?

Your LrC Catalog files should Not be in the OS Startup menu.

Or are you talking about the LrC Select Catalog dialog box that comes up if you hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on the LrC icon to start the program?

R

richards95750395Author

Known Participant

Yes. Mine is configured to show this window on startup so I can select which catalog to use.

R

richards95750395Author

Known Participant

Not the OS startup. The LR startup.

Rob_Cullen

Correct answer

Community Expert

Yes. Simply delete them (the .LRCAT file) in the OS File Browser by dragging to 'Trash' or 'Recycle Bin', as you would any other type of file (like a document, or spreadsheet, etc). You should also delete the 'Parent' folder of the un-wanted Catalog which will trash the Previews .LRDATA and other temporary files that accompany the un-wanted Catalog.

Just be certain you are deleting the un-wanted catalogs! And you are making Catalog Backups of your current working Catalog I Hope!

Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .

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