Creating a new catalog questions

[Brent Guiliano]

Hi everyone,

I currently have my photos on an external HDD along with the LR catalog folder/files.

I want to start using a new external HDD for photos taken this year (2023).

I would like both HDDs to be connect and visable in LR at the sametime.

Is it best to create a new catalog on the new HDD and then add the new HDD to the 'folders' section of LR?

Thanks

[JimHess]

You can either put the catalog on the new external hard drive, or you can keep all the catalogs on the internal hard drive and put the images on the external hard drive. The choice is yours. I have multiple external hard drives, and have one of those external drives dedicated primarily to storing the backups of my catalogs. It doesn't store any working folders of images. But that is just my choice of how I use the hard drives.

[kentdesign]

Funny - I have almost exactly what Jim Hess has... and it works well for me. SO maybe that IS the way to go!

[SeanMcCormack]

I have a 24 Tb External that stores both catalog and images. I'm tempted to move the catalog to an SSD though. 

[Conrad C]

I would like both HDDs to be connect and visable in LR at the sametime.

Is it best to create a new catalog on the new HDD and then add the new HDD to the 'folders' section of LR?

By @Brent Guiliano

It sounds like you might be thinking about creating a new separate catalog just for the other hard drive. Be aware that if each drive has its own catalog, you won't be able to achieve the goal in the first quoted sentence because Lightroom Classic can open only one catalog at a time.

To be able to have all photos on both hard drives available in Lightroom Classic at the same time, use just one catalog. For example you can keep using your current catalog, and just have it add the contents of the new hard drive.

That works because Lightroom Classic lists each cataloged volume separately at the top level of the Folders panel. One catalog can track files across multiple hard drives.

[dj_paige]

Is it best to create a new catalog on the new HDD and then add the new HDD to the 'folders' section of LR?

I would strongly advise against creating catalog for a new year. I consider this to be a very poor practice. One catalog can handle files on mulitple HDs. But multiple catalogs fragment your control over your picture collection and introduce multiple disadvantages, compared to having one catalog. So keep your life simple, use one catalog.

[Brent Guiliano]

Thanks - i realize i mistyped above -  i now realize that the current library is on my SSD in my mac.

Then i should just add the new external HDD as a folder in LR?

Additional catalog question - i use a mac and my current library file is stored in /users/xxxx/pictures/ - but its in a backup folder from May 2022  ( i have LR backup each time it closes) i believe i must have had a corrupt LR catalog file at the time and that is the one i restored from.

Is there any issues leaving that catalog file there or if i move it to the root of /users/xxxx/pictures/lightroom - will that make it where LR classic can no longer find it?

Thanks

[dj_paige]

Then i should just add the new external HDD as a folder in LR?

I don't think that adding it as a folder in LrC is possible. (You are talking about LrC, right?) You can however add it as a drive.

Your catalog file itself can be in any folder where you have write permission.

[Conrad C]

Thanks - i realize i mistyped above -  i now realize that the current library is on my SSD in my mac.

Then i should just add the new external HDD as a folder in LR?

By @Brent Guiliano

In macOS you can drag the hard drive icon and drop it on the Lightroom Classic application icon or window, which will make the Import dialog box open and get it ready to import all of the supported photo and video files on the hard drive. You won’t be importing the hard drive “as a folder” because it will appear as a separate volume at the top level of the Folders panel.

After importing, the Folders panel works a lot like it does in List view on your Mac Finder desktop: Each volume is listed separately, and you can expand each volume to show the hierarchy of folders under it. So your Folders panel might end up showing three volumes at the top level: Your Mac’s own internal storage, and each of your two external volumes.

[kentdesign]

My suggestion would be to plug in both HDDs and store your photo files themselves there.

I keep my LRc Catalog on my internal SSD on my mac, and when I quit LRc, I have it make a back up of the catalog and place the back up on my external HDD. Occasionally, I go thorugh and delete some older backup catalogs if all is working well.If all my HDD's are connected to my Main Mac, when I launch LRc, all the photo files are available to me and they appear under the DRIVE section and then in the FOlders of that drive depending how I organized them.

Just remember to use Lightroom as a main hub to move as well as edit your photos on disk.