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Unknown_John
Unknown_John
Inspiring
March 27, 2018
Answered

How do I selectively move Folders from one Catalog to another?

  • March 27, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 2092 views

I have one Catalog with Folders on my computer hard drive and Folders on two different External hard drives.

I want to move Folders from one external hard drive into a different Catalog.

I went through the process, but the system was so slow...and then finnally it allowed me to Click only one of the many boxes... I was unable to click multiple only

In one case, it seemed to MOVE everything into the new catalog and Left a duplicate in the first catalog...  

I am doing something wrong and I am not sure what

Thanks

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Unknown_John

    Clarifications...     

    After the transfer files/folders from both external hard drives were moved - not moved, but copied to the "receiving" drive.   CATALOG

    The problem is that the  COMBINE / MOVE was not actually A MOVE BUT AN INCOMPLETE COPY an incomplete copy.  

    1 reply

    john beardsworth
    Community Expert
    john beardsworthCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 27, 2018

    Describe exactly the menu commands you have done in Lightroom.

    in general, use one catalogue to manage everything. I don't see why you are asking the question.

    Unknown_John
    Unknown_JohnAuthor
    Inspiring
    March 27, 2018

    Some people don't understand why others have multiple catalogs, but I have over 6 TB of files spanning 6 years.  Not much compared to some people but it's giving me fits...       So yeah, I may have started the process on a wrong foot a few years ago and that's part of what I am trying to correct now.  

    I have 7 different catalogs.   I want to combine them to about three maybe four.       I want to limit one Catalog to strictly Landscape photos only.  These photos span back from 2012 to the present.  The landscape photos are currently in four different catalogs that were partially segregated by year.  Some of this work is scattered between the computer's hard drive and two external hard drives.  Once I get all of the work situated in one catalog, I am going to install a new external hard drive and move all of the Landscape folders over to one drive.   I am limited in USB ports, so I do not want to install the new hard drive until I have reconfigured all of the Catalogs.

    OK ... that is the back story....   This is the process I took, which is from an Adobe help section  here

    Photoshop Lightroom catalog FAQ

    Here are the steps I took..  After the steps, I'll explain what happened. 

    To combine or merge catalogs — or to move photos from one catalog to another — you import one catalog into the other.

    • Choose File > Open Catalog and select the catalog that you want to be the master, or primary, catalog (the one you want to add to).

    • Choose File > Import From Another Catalog and navigate to the catalog that contains the photos you want to add from. Then, click Open (Windows) ..... I am using windows 10......

    • In the Import From Catalog dialog box, do the following:

      • Under Catalog Contents, select the folders that contain the photos you want to import.

        THIS IS WHERE I STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS    I get this little small box with the appearance of my Folder structure.  I wanted to Check just the primary master Folder that was in one external hard drive.  There was another hard drive listed below with NON-Landscape Photos   After the transfer files/folders from both external hard drives were moved - not moved, but copied to the "recieving" drive.  But the duplication was not complete... some Folders seemed to 'copy over' and many others did not.    When I tried the process again, I attempted to check the boxes, but they would not 'check'...     Now I am not sure what to do.. can I safely delete the "copied" folders and start again, or are both "locations" tied to each other and if I delete one, they both go?     The problem is that the  COMBINE / MOVE was not actually an incomplete copy.   
        Sorry about the descriptive message, but it's the only way I know to illustrate what happened.
        _____________________continuation of the Adobe instructions: 

        Specify how you want to handle new and existing photos. For more information on these options, see Import photos from a different Lightroom catalog.

    • Click Import.

    • Repeat steps 1 – 4 for additional catalogs or photos that you want to add to the open one.

    Unknown_John
    Unknown_JohnAuthorCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    March 27, 2018

    Clarifications...     

    After the transfer files/folders from both external hard drives were moved - not moved, but copied to the "receiving" drive.   CATALOG

    The problem is that the  COMBINE / MOVE was not actually A MOVE BUT AN INCOMPLETE COPY an incomplete copy.  

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