Lightroom file structure

[mjmetz]

I am very new to Lightroom, Lightroom Classic Release 9.1.  I’ve managed to create a Lightroom catalog.  I moved about 5000 pictures into it initially and have added another 1000 in batches of 25 -100 over the last couple of months.  I’m concerned that I doing something wrong as I have a number of similar named files when I look in the Finder on my Mac.  I’d like to better understand the file structure and correct what I’m doing before I compound the problem over and over.  Can someone advise me on this?

When I look at my Lightroom folder, which is in the Picture folder of my Mac hard drive, I find a file called Lightroom Catalog and Folders which appears to contain all my photos, I also have a number of Lightroom Catalog folders labeled:

Lightroom Catalog.lrcat

Lightroom Catalog-2.lrcat

Lightroom Catalog-2-2.lrcat

I think this is where my metadata and changes are stored for each picture.  I don’t understand why I have three of these folders.  Am I doing something wrong and causing the program to create additional copies of the folders?  Should they be combined?  How?

I also have two Helper files:

Lightroom Catalog-2 Helper.lrdata

Lightroom Catalog-2-2 Helper.lrdata

What is in these files and why do I have two?  Again am I doing something wrong? Should they be combined?  How?

I also have a Preview file, a Smart Preview file, a Sync file, a lrcat-wal file, and a lrcat.lock file.  I think I understand the Preview and Smart Preview files, but what is in the others?  All of these files start out Lightroom Catalog-2-2

[JP Hess]

Whenever there is a major upgrade in Lightroom, the catalog must be upgraded and that involves creating a new  upgraded copy of your catalog. This is done automatically and Lightroom renames the catalog and appends a -2 to the end of the catalog name. You have a catalog with a -2-2 appended, which indicates that the catalog has been upgraded twice. If you look at the dates the catalog has been saved on your computer you will find that that is the catalog being used, and the other catalogs can probably be deleted. The other files with corresponding names without a number appended and with a single -2 appended could also be deleted.

The lock file is something that is created automatically by the database engine that drives the catalog when Lightroom is opened. When Lightroom closes normally that file will be deleted automatically. Under normal conditions that lock file will only be seen when Lightroom is open and active and you search for it using Finder.

There should be no need to combine any of those files, in myy opinion. I suspect that the file without a -2 and the file with a single -2 are older copies that "probably" have not been used for a while and "probably" could be deleted from your computer. Just make sure that you are creating a backup of your active catalog on a regular basis. Also make sure you have provisions for backing up your images.

[mjmetz]

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond.  I was very concerned that I was doing something incorrectly when I imported pictures and that it would eventually bite me.  I did some checking and after importing a few files you are correct, the only files that were updating were the -2-2 files.  As a final test I think I'll move the other files out of my Lightroom folder to the trash but not delete them and see if LR works fine with these files gone.

And yes, I back up all my photos to Carbonite and also to an external harddrive using Apple Timemachine.

Again thanks for your help.

Mitch

[Just Shoot Me]

Actually the catalog file does not need to be upgrade with every major release of LR. Sometimes the catalog is not upgraded. IIRC there was no cat upgrade from version 7 to version 8. Both Major versions used the same catalog. Then it was upgraded from 8 to 9.

[JP Hess]

You are welcome. Something you might want to consider. It isn't necessary, and you may want to just leave it alone. That catalog with the -2-2 suffix can be renamed to any name that you want to name it that might be more meaningful to you, just retain the same lrcat extension. If you do that, you would want to rename any other files the same that have -2-2 suffixes as well. I suggest this only to help you keep track of the catalog you are using. After you rename the files, just double-click on the catalog to start Lightroom and it will be business as usual. If you don't feel comfortable doing that then simply disregard the suggestion.

[Just Shoot Me]

If you are New to LR Classic you should have only one catalog file and that file should NOT have any number added on to it like a - (Dash) 2 or -2-2.

That only happens when a newer version of LR gets installed that has to Upgrade the catalog file, which is a Database file, to a newer version to work properly with the newer version of LR.

So please state when you started using LR, Year and version number of LR.

There is NO folder structure to LR. By default LR Classic creates a blank catalog file when first installed and started for the first time. By default LR places that catalog file is in the Pictures folder of your Username folder. But it can be moved and or another created anywhere on the drives physically connected to your computer, that is all up to you.

Your images, when imported can be placed on any drive connected to your computer either physically or across your local network, LAN.

If the image files you are importing already exist on one of the drives connected to your computer in folders you want to keep them in then you use the Add option in the import dialog wiindow.

So again there is NO File Structure in LR except what you deside as to where the catalog file is stored and where your images are stored. All of that is Up To You.

Please note that NO images are IN the catalog. The catalog is a Database file that references your images.

Why do you have 2, Actually 3, catalog files? I have no idea. I have only ONE (1) working catalog that I started in 2007 with LR version 1 and has been upgraded over the years for each newer version of LR that came out and needed to upgrade the catalog. But it is still the exact same catalog file I started with 12+ years ago and it contains every single image I ever shot or scanned that I wanted to keep.

[JP Hess]

JSM, your situation might be different. However my experience on Windows 10 has been that when Lightroom 9.0 was released and installed my catalog for Lightroom 8.4.1 required an upgrade. In fact, my experience has been that each "full step" upgrade has required a catalog upgrade. Based on my experience, that is why I provided the information that I did. And even though this person says they are very new to Lightroom Classic 9.1, it's very evident that he/she has had exposure to at least one previous version of Lightroom which required a catalog upgrade when moving to Classic 9.1.

[mjmetz]

Thanks to both of you.  Jim's answer makes sense to me as the -2-2 files are the ontly ones updating as I add and modify some photos.  Also I am sure I have been through a couple upgrades, by new I pretty much meant that I am not comfortable with using the program and as I said earlier just wanted to make sure I didn't get down the road and accidentially have created a bunch of unnecessary files and and made a big mess.  I also removed the non -2-2 files from the Lightroom folder and can check in a few months to see if any of these every update or cause me a problems because they are not there.  So far no problems.  At some point in the future I might just delete these but they are small and now out of the way.  I might rename them some day when I get too many -2-2-2-2-2-2s but now that I understand it it does not bother me.

Two small questions, what does the Lightroom Library.lrlibrary file contain?  And at some point does the  LR Backups file start shedding the older backups?

Again Thanks

Mitch

[Just Shoot Me]

Right LR 9 needed a catalog upgrade. That upgrade process added a -2 to the end of name. If you started with V6/CC 2015 of LR then upgraded to V7 that needed a cat upgrade. V7 to V8 did not need an upgrade of the catalog.

But if your LR 6/cc2015 catalog name was Lightroom Catalog then the upgrade from 6 to 7 change the name adding a -2. If you Did Not change that name and then upgraded to V9 your catalog name now would have a -2-2 added.

If the OP deleted the -2 and the -2-2 catalogs he might of deleted the most recent catalog file. Only he can answer that question.

In no other circumstance does a -2 get added to the catalog name. That only happens with the upgrade of the catalog file and in every case your old, Original, catalog file is left behind because the upgrade first Copies the catalog file and upgrades that copy.

[md_5597]

 

[md_5597]

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