Rename a Catalog Safely?

[marathongranny212]

I am new to LrC and one of my catalogs I inadvertently misspelled the name. How can I safely change it so it doesn't mess up anything else? I have my images on a portable hard drive that LrC reads from. Thank you!

[dj_paige]

First, you have recent backups of this catalog file, don't you? (If not, the start making backups immediately, no excuses, that is the more important priority) Safety, in the digital world, comes from having recent backups (not just for Lightroom Classic but for all of your files).

Then, go into your operating system's file browser (either Windows Explorer or MAC Finder) and change the name. Then double-click on the file to open it in LrC.

By the way, you say:

I am new to LrC and one of my catalogs

and the very strong recommendation, especially for beginners, is that you should use ONE catalog for all of your photos. There are a gazillion benefits, and no serious drawbacks. So maybe you consolidate all your catalogs into one, and then renaming a catalog is a moot point. (Yes, there are exceptions where more than one catalog makes sense, but without a strong reason to use more than 1 catalog, I stick with the recommendation of ONE catalog)

[marathongranny212]

Thank you! I had two catalogs because one of my catalogs is for a volunteer organization with terminally ill children and the images are very sensitive. I didn’t want the light room to open up with these images in it? Is there a way to avoid that and still have one catalog? And if so do I just go in and delete one of my catalogs?

[dj_paige]

Actually, what you said is a very good reason to have two catalogs.

[Rob_Cullen]

For more info on renaming a catalog see the chapter "To rename the Catalog" in this link-

CATALOG-FIND MOVE RENAME