Skip to main content
C
carlosn65506765
Participating Frequently
May 8, 2021
Answered

Moving all files to another drive

  • May 8, 2021
  • 1 reply
  • 654 views

Hi everyone,

 

I would like to know if I can make Lightroom 4.2 (Mac) work entirely from an external drive. I men I would like to install the app in th local drive but tell Lightroom tu use another drive for cache, the library (Lightroom Library.lrlibrary) catalog, etc. I need to save space.

 

Thank you

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Michael J. Hoffman

Correct. All the program data including cache and previews are stored on the local drive. It would be a good feature request to have a preference to point Lightroom to a different location, but I suspect there might be some hesitation to add that, because what would happen if you started up Lightroom without that drive connected? Unlike Lightroom Classic, the newer Lightroom 4.x isn't designed to support different libraries, so it's not likely to behave gracefully if all it's data is on a drive that's not present. 

1 reply

JohanElzenga
Community Expert
JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 8, 2021

No, you can't. The library needs to be on the local drive. You can only use an external drive for storage of copies of the originals (if you want to store a copy locally).

 

-- Johan W. Elzenga
    C
    carlosn65506765Author
    Participating Frequently
    May 8, 2021

    So when you scan a directory and it makes the previews, that info (space) is taken from the local drive?

    Michael J. Hoffman
    Community Expert
    Michael J. HoffmanCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    May 8, 2021

    Correct. All the program data including cache and previews are stored on the local drive. It would be a good feature request to have a preference to point Lightroom to a different location, but I suspect there might be some hesitation to add that, because what would happen if you started up Lightroom without that drive connected? Unlike Lightroom Classic, the newer Lightroom 4.x isn't designed to support different libraries, so it's not likely to behave gracefully if all it's data is on a drive that's not present. 

      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
      Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices