Skip to main content
Participant
December 4, 2016
Answered

Importing and file location

  • December 4, 2016
  • 2 replies
  • 391 views

I recently set up a new laptop to work on, and want to make sure I can store ALL imported images to an external hard drive. I created a new catalog on the external drive, but wondered if the MACBOOK makes automatic copies in the FINDER, or does the finder just reference the photos on the Hard drive ?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer JP Hess

Finder is just a utility that shows the contents of folders on your hard drive. If you want Lightroom to create a second copy of your images as you import them you need to set that up in the import dialog in Lightroom. Images are never "in" Finder, and they are never "in" Lightroom. The images are in folders on your hard drive.

2 replies

dj_paige
Legend
December 4, 2016

awursterphotos wrote:

I recently set up a new laptop to work on, and want to make sure I can store ALL imported images to an external hard drive. I created a new catalog on the external drive,

If you want your photos to be on the external drive, that's fine, but you don't need to put the catalog file there as well. Normally, the catalog file would go on your fastest disk, and the photos go on the slowest disk, space permitting.

but wondered if the MACBOOK makes automatic copies in the FINDER, or does the finder just reference the photos on the Hard drive ?

Computers don't do things with your files automatically, they only do things with your files that YOU instruct the computer to do. Finder is a program that shows you the name of the photos wherever they are. So I don't really understand what you are asking.

JP Hess
JP HessCorrect answer
Inspiring
December 4, 2016

Finder is just a utility that shows the contents of folders on your hard drive. If you want Lightroom to create a second copy of your images as you import them you need to set that up in the import dialog in Lightroom. Images are never "in" Finder, and they are never "in" Lightroom. The images are in folders on your hard drive.