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tym16901319
Participant
April 24, 2018
Answered

Can't add directly from my external hard drive

  • April 24, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 533 views

I have a 2tb external hard drive, a 128gb Macbook, and Lightroom CC (not classic)

I am trying to use Lightroom CC with all my photos remaining on my external hard drive as my computer does not have the space to import all the photos (about 7k)

When I click add photos the photos show up in the selection screen but when I select the photos I am told that I do not have enough space on my Mac to import these photos. I cannot see the external drive in the storage settings of Lightroom CC like I can see for my macbook.

Why is Lightroom CC trying to use my internal hard drive storage to store all 7k photos I have when they are already on my hard drive and supposedly already readable? It doesn't need to be using my internal storage for the original photos, or catalogue creation. How do I import these photos?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Jao vdL

This is unfortunately how Lightroom CC works. When you import images, it copies over all of them to its internal storage and then uploads them before gradually deleting them from the local storage. The solution in this case is to import in smaller batches and wait until the images are uploaded and Lightroom has freed up the local storage again. The upload can take a long time depending on your internet connection speed. You can also if your external drive is going to be connected at all times, set the location for the local storage to the external hard disk.

If you don't really want the images in the cloud and just want to access the images on the external drive directly you should not be using Lightroom CC but Lightroom Classic.

2 replies

J
Community Expert
Jao vdLCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
April 24, 2018

This is unfortunately how Lightroom CC works. When you import images, it copies over all of them to its internal storage and then uploads them before gradually deleting them from the local storage. The solution in this case is to import in smaller batches and wait until the images are uploaded and Lightroom has freed up the local storage again. The upload can take a long time depending on your internet connection speed. You can also if your external drive is going to be connected at all times, set the location for the local storage to the external hard disk.

If you don't really want the images in the cloud and just want to access the images on the external drive directly you should not be using Lightroom CC but Lightroom Classic.

JP Hess
JP Hess
Inspiring
April 24, 2018

At the top of the import dialog, right in the middle, there are several options. You want to choose the Add option rather than the Copy option. This will tell Lightroom to add the images but leave them in their current location.

T
tym16901319Author
Participant
April 24, 2018

This is all I see, where are these options you're talking about?

JP Hess
JP Hess
Inspiring
April 24, 2018

I didn't read close enough. You have installed Lightroom CC, the cloud-based version. You can't import directly from your external hard drive, and manage images on your external hard drive with Lightroom CC. You need to be using Lightroom Classic CC.

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