P: Change the process to upgrade the catalog so the names before and after upgrade are the same

[gadgetgeek2000]

I have a large library (over 300,000 photos) and my Lightroom catalog folder is over 160GB. This is important for me to backup, but the current process changes the name of the catalog and folders. Once changed, my backup process deletes hundreds of thousands of "old" preview files, and then copies those exact same files back to the target. This is unnecessarily complex, time consuming, and tedious--Lightroom can ensure the catalog name is the same when it completes the upgrade process. Consider those (like myself) that are sending this data offsite for backup--the cost savings, time savings, and bandwidth savings make this change necessary.

I am currently performing these steps manually by renaming the catalog file and supporting folders before opening the new Lightroom version, but Lightroom could do that automatically for me without too much extra work.

To help the average user, most of the people I teach Lightroom, or help with their workflow don't even know where their PICTURES are, let alone how to manage their catalog. An automated Adobe solution of renaming the old catalog file for backup would be awesome and simplify the process for the user.

1. Install the latest version of Lightroom
2. Open the default/last catalog file as usual.
3. Lightroom prompts to confirm upgrade (no naming option needed) in the dialog box.
4. Lightroom names the existing catalog file the -Vxx which matches the catalog old version compatibility level. (catalog-v10.lrcat) Also rename all the supporting folders to match (Helper, Previews, Smart Previews, Sync, etc.). 
5. Lightroom upgrades this -Vxx catalog and names it at the current catalog name. (catalog.lrcat). Upgrade as usual, which updates all the supporting folder names, too.

The backup program would only see files that changed modified date/time, would copy over the catalog and anything new, and would be quick and efficient. The user who has been opening "catalog" all along doesn't change anything--they still open the same (upgraded) file.

[EnigmaJeff]

I've been avoiding upgrading to LR 11 fearing yet another iteration of Catalog "Upgrade." 

First, upgrade to 2. Then 2-2. Then 2-2-v10. Now I have 5 "Portraits" catalogs. 

Getting weary of progress. But I suck it up because I am addicted to Lightroom Classic.

BTW, the name Classic makes me nervous. It sounds like Old and about to be Put Out to Pasture.

[GoldingD]

Upgrade of catalog due to SQL engine, database code changes. This is very typical during major upgrades, not during normal updates, and bot at all during minor update/fixes

So,  v5 to 6,, upgrade,  6 to 7, upgrade,etc.  10.1  to 10.2  no upgrade.

[Conrad_C]

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@EnigmaJeff wrote:

I've been avoiding upgrading to LR 11 fearing yet another iteration of Catalog "Upgrade." 

First, upgrade to 2. Then 2-2. Then 2-2-v10. Now I have 5 "Portraits" catalogs. 

Everyone agrees with you, even Adobe. Because the -2-2-2 renumbering ended back at version 10. Before then, here is what would happen:

1. You have your original catalog named “Portraits”. Maybe you created it in Lightroom Classic 7. 
2. You upgrade to Lightroom Classic 8. It suggests the upgraded catalog name “Portraits-2”, and you accept it without changes. 
3. You upgrade to Lightroom Classic 9. It suggests the upgraded catalog name “Portraits-2-2”, and you accept it without changes. 

The new names are always suggested, not mandated. That is why it’s highlighted, to allow you to change it to a better name before confirming the new catalog. That’s what I did, so I knew which was which. But this is not to single you out, because it happened to lots of people; they just clicked through and accepted it without thinking about which name they really wanted it to be.

The reason for tacking on a “-2” by default was to distinguish it from the previous version. This turned out to be a bad idea, as we all know, because the -2 kept piling up with each version when people didn’t bother to change it. So in version 10, Adobe wisely changed the suggested rename from “-2” to the actual version number. Much clearer!

However, people kept clicking right through without editing the name before accepting, so a lot of people have these upgraded catalog versions still ending in “2-2-2-v10-v11”.

The answer is to stop, look at the suggested name, and if you don’t like it, change it. Only then is it a good idea to click Upgrade.

For version 11, I looked at the suggested name, and edited the v10 to v11. So it’s a very simple Catalog-v11, next to Catalog-v10. Easy to see which catalog goes with which version.

For now, there are two things you can do:

Rename the version 11 catalog you have now, down to “Portraits-v11” or whatever you want. But if you do so, make sure to also rename all of the associated files in the same folder, in the same way. Such as the files that end in .lrdata and .lrpreviews.

Next year, when you need to upgrade the Portraits catalog because of a major new version of Lightroom Classic, edit down the suggested name to Portraits-v12 or whatever you like, making sure your new name makes it easy to distinguish versions.

[JohanElzenga]

As you can see from your own screenshot, you can rename the new catalog to anything you want in that upgrade dialog. The new name in blue is just what Lightroom will use if you do not choose a different name yourself, so if you don't like it then change it right there and then. Lightroom will then rename all helper files too, so you do not have to do anything else.

[dj_paige]

By @EnigmaJeff

Yes really. It's a default name. Feel free to change it to whatever you want.

[Bob Somrak]

Any name you want UNLESS you want to keep the ORIGINAL name which probably most people do and the dialog won't let you do that.

[JP Hess]

I just renamed my catalog < original catalog name>-V11. You have the option to name the catalog anything you want to name it. Nothing to stress over.

[Randy Hufford]

Great suggestion

[gadgetgeek2000]

I don't care to have the version number in my catalog name at all. If the name changes my backup scripts believe they are all new folders, deletes the old folders, and starts copying everything from scratch. They are the same folders and have most of the same files--only a few files needed to be backed up. This is critical when you have 330000+ photos in your Lightroom catalog and 160GB+ in the catalog folder.

Before the upgrade I named the catalog file and all supporting folders to "Lightroom Catalog V10". Then I performed the upgrade and instructed Lightroom to just name my catalog "Lightroom Catalog" and I'm back where I was before the upgrade. I ran my backup script which copied the new catalog file and a few additional files/folders, and everything is right again.

[JP Hess]

That will work fine until Lightroom 12 is released next year. Then there will have to be some mental gymnastics applied to figure out what naming convention to use. But why worry about that now?

[D Fosse]

The original name is already taken. If you remove the old catalog completely, you can rename the new catalog to the old name.

It's not a particularly good idea to automatically overwrite the old catalog if the new version doesn't work correctly on your machine. I'm sure you can agree with that.

Edit: don't know what happened there, this was intended as a reply to the OP. Sorry, Bob...

[Conrad_C]

Yes, although the current way is an improvement, it would be even better for Adobe to use your solution: Keep the upgraded catalog name consistent, and rename the old version.

I wonder if it’s easy enough for Lightroom Classic to see the catalog version in the file so that it’s correctly named regardless of the version being upgraded. For example, if one user upgrades to Lightroom Classic 11 from version 8, and another from version 10, the first user’s old catalog gets renamed to Name-08 and the second gets renamed to Name-10.

[gadgetgeek2000]

My way works great and keeps the name of the active catalog the same. The issue I have is I am an I.T. professional and know very clearly where my library file resides and can be extremely careful to rename it and all supporting folders to match.

Most of the people I teach Lightroom to or come to me for help don't even know where their PICTURES are, let alone how to manage their catalog. An automated Adobe solution of renaming the old catalog file for backup would be awesome.

1. Install the latest version of Lightroom
2. Open an old catalog file
3. Lightroom prompts to confirm upgrade (no naming option needed)
4. Lightroom names the existing catalog file the -Vxx which matches the catalog old version compatibility level. (catalog-v10.lrcat) Also rename all the supporting folders to match (Helper, Previews, Smart Previews, Sync, etc.). That way if something goes wrong with the upgrade the user can still open the -Vxx file.
5. Lightroom upgrades this -Vxx catalog and names it at the current catalog name. (catalog.lrcat). Upgrade as usual, which updates all the supporting folder names, too.

Good to go!   Is there an easy way to submit this on the Ideas board? 

[JohanElzenga]

"Is there an easy way to submit this on the Ideas board?"
Use copy/paste? 

[gadgetgeek2000]

Well, there's that.

[alexskunz]

It would be nice if LR kept the catalog names tidy and not create filenames with sausage-link constructs like -2-2-v1-v11, for sure. Considering the amount of "messy" LR catalog folders that I've seen over the years, and people who have asked me "do I really need all this?", I agree that it is a process that could get some refinement - or at least options.

I like having the version number in the name. With multiple catalogs, it's easier to see which ones have been updated already, and which ones haven't.

Allow me to note though that the largest part of your 160GB backup folder is probably the previews - which are non-critical files that LR can generate again. I excluded the previews folders of all my catalogs from my backups, on purpose. Saves time, space, bandwidth.

[gadgetgeek2000]

I appreciate that in a disaster I have my photos and my catalog, but rebuilding previews is not as simple as you'd like to think on a large library. Even just the notion that you would have to read 300000 files, roughly 6TB of data, one-by-one, calculate a preview, and then write that file to the drive. Rebuilding the previews can take many days or weeks in a lost catalog situation.  It's easier to just ensure that previews are included in my backup strategy.

[gadgetgeek2000]

*lost previews, not lost catalog

[alexskunz]

I have a 5k display and keep only one week of previews for a catalog of ~40k images - my previews folder is 160GB at present. There's no way in hell I'd keep the previews indefinitely anyway, and I do not notice any negative impacts when a folder does not have current previews. I'm not browsing the old crap in my library all the time. 😉

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

There is a new Rename Catalog feature in the October 2024 release.