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alainl59856741
Participant
December 9, 2017
Answered

Lightroom generated huge files

  • December 9, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 1247 views

Just installed lightroom on a new computer running with an SDD mains drive.

After Lightroom installation, went on with doing something I had never done, importing all 28 000 pictures from my drive.

The space on my SDD jumped about 100 Gig wich was ok with me.

Then I decided to use the new face detection to located all my children pictures so I could easely make specific folders for each of them.

The space on my SSD jumped to 350 Gig.

So I turned the face detection off, close and restart Lightroom only to see that it still take the same place.

Is there a way to purge the database Lightroom builded for the face detection which is now taking too much place so I can go back to taking less space ?

Alain

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Just Shoot Me

    If I had move them, I could delete them without removing the originals which I can't seem's able to do.

    I selected the file from the HD, i resulted in deleting the originals.

    I selecting the files thru the catalogue view and it resulted in deleting the originals drive.

    So where can I select the files that are on the SDD in the above folder ?


    LR copied or move them but it was because of the selection you made in the import dialog.

    What I suggest is you start a New catalog, File > New Catalog, then open the import dialog window and make sure "ADD" is selected at the top of the import dialog and then in the left hand panel brows to the drive and folder your images are store in.

    Once you do that you can then Delete the images that are in the Pictures folder.

    1 reply

    Just Shoot Me
    Just Shoot Me
    Legend
    December 9, 2017

    When you imported those images you probably had Copy or Move selected at the top of the import dialog window and then in the destination area the Pictures folder was more than likely selected as a place to either Copy or Move those images to. All of that would of Copied or Moved all your images to the Pictures folder on your C drive.

    You should of looked at what was selected and then made sure Add was selected at the top. That would of Added your images to the LR catalog file and left them where they were on whatever drive/folder they were already on/in.

    First thing to do is make sure all your images are still on the drive and in the folders they were originally in then you can Delete from disk all the images you just imported then run the import dialog again and this time make sure Add is selected at the top.

    If your images got Moved then you will first need to COPY them all back to there original folders on whatever drive they were on then do the Delete from disk and the reimporting of them from where they got copied back to.

      A
      alainl59856741Author
      Participant
      December 9, 2017

      Hello, started to dig into finding what happens.  I can see that LIghtroom generated a file and made a full copy of all the picture in the lightroom folder.  I manage to find the hidden folder and confirm it is the one that take 300 Gig.  My originals files are still on my Hard drive so I now have two copy of each files which seems to confirm that Add was selected when I first imported them.  In Lightroom, I have chosen one folder, selected the photos and deleted them from the disk only to see them deleted from the hard drive and not the SSD ???

      So I am a bit confuse has to why Lightroom have made a copy on the SSD and still keeps it's connection to the Hard drive.

      I am thinking about deleting the content of the Lightroom in the following folder.

      C:\Users\Bartman's Home\AppData\Local\Adobe\Lightroom CC\Data

      Which is where they have all been copied.

      Any other way you would recommend to delete all the photos from the SDD within Lightroom without affecting my original on my Hard drive ?

      UPDATE: Ok, found out that I had to delete the picture from the Catalogue and not from the HD folder which I tought was only a virtual link to the HD.  Will get the space back.  Is there a way to only have Lightroom have preview builded without adding the files ?  I have check the Copy, Move of Add seem to have all the same impact in the end which will bring back my SSD space left to nothing.

      Update 2: I was wrong, i am actually deleting all the file from my HD.  All the pictures stay on the SSD....  I have a back-up of the pictures so it is not a problem but I still need to figure out how to delete the picture that have been copy to the above folder.

      JP Hess
      JP Hess
      Inspiring
      December 9, 2017

      You need to understand that your images are never "in" the catalog. The catalog is a database that simply contains a pointer to where the image files are located on your hard drive. Are already on a hard drive when you import them you want to use the Add option. That will add them to the catalog without creating another copy the images. You don't need another copy. The only time you need to use the Copy option is when you are copying the images from a card and placing them in a folder on your hard drive.

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