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How do I tell Lr to read my Lr library on my external harddrive?

Community Beginner ,
Jun 28, 2021 Jun 28, 2021

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Hi

How can you NOT have your files on your Mac? I try to tell lightroom (desktop version) where I want my files and also where my old Lr library is (on an external hard drive). But nothing works for me. Local Storage> Storage location for originals. Then I chose my external drive. I also tick the box Store a copy of all originals at the specified location. But that box is un ticked when I restart Lr. So strange. 

I have uninstalled Adobe Cloud from my Mac as I think I don't need it. I have a plan with 1TB of storage. Perhaps I should re install it?

But will that solve my problem?

How do I tell Lr to read my Lr library on my external harddrive? It keeps adding to my Mac Lr library file (which I now have in the bin)

Best

Michaelk

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LEGEND ,
Jun 28, 2021 Jun 28, 2021

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Reinstalling Lightroom isn't going to change anything. First of all, you need a Lightroom catalog that is compatible with Lightroom Classic. If you have been using Lightroom Classic then you are ready to go. If you have been using a previous version then you will need to install the trial version Lightroom Classic long enough to run it to allow it to create an upgraded copy of the catalog you have been using. The next step is to start the cloud version of Lightroom and migrate that catalog. This process will move those images to the cloud. The images on your hard drive are simply a backup copy. The working images, they images that will use up the 1 TB cloud space that is part of your plan are the ones that will migrate from the catalog, and the ones that you will import after you have migrated.


As you import new images you can choose the option to have a copy stored on your local hard drive. I cannot give you a lot of details about that process because I primarily use Lightroom Classic. If you haven't used any previous version of Lightroom or Lightroom Classic, then the process would be to simply start importing new images. They will be added to your online collection in the cloud and, optionally, stored locally on your computer where you have designated them to be stored.


This is a very abbreviated introduction. Hopefully it will bring attention to your questions and will bring advice from more knowledgeable Lightroom users.

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Community Beginner ,
Jun 28, 2021 Jun 28, 2021

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Thank you Jim

No, havn't used Classic, just the Lr desktop version with cloud storage. Why I've deleted Adobe Creative Cloud app from my Mac, is because it uses a lot of Memory power running in the background even when shut down and that takes power from what I need for other programs.

 

It seems that Lr have now made a new Lightroom library on my mac for 1029 pics. And from what you said I am to understand that that library is just a backup and my original files are actually in the cloud, right? If so, I want the backup to be on my external harddrive and not on my Mac (in my Mac default Pictures folder). But strangely enough Lr keeps making this Library on my Mac instead of reading my older library on my external drive. I just want Lr to point to and read my Lr library which is on my external drive. 

 

What also bafles me is that I now have a 1,2 GB Lr library on my Mac.

A 10,49 GB library on my external drive.

A Creative Cloud Files folder with nothing in it on my ext drive.

A 19,96 GB Lightroon CC folder with two folders inside, one named 7205b97d05a1402f827f139811cc.... and one named Exports. The number/letter folder is 19,94 GB in size and has a subfolder called originals where there are four subfolders called 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Are these the folders that my desktop Lightroom version now reads? I'm asking this question since I do not have the Creative Cloud app installed on my Mac.

 

So all these folders on my external drive takes up 30,66 GB with an additional 1,2 GB on my Mac. 

 

I would like to be able to take my ecternal drive and continue work on my MacBook without having to have the Lr dektop version (not Classic) on my MacBook create a new 1,2 GB library in my Pictures folder on my MacBook. 

 

I've uploaded two screenshots. 

 

Kind regards

Michael

 

 

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Community Expert ,
Jun 28, 2021 Jun 28, 2021

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@Michael Hanson Photo wrote:

I would like to be able to take my ecternal drive and continue work on my MacBook without having to have the Lr dektop version (not Classic) on my MacBook create a new 1,2 GB library in my Pictures folder on my MacBook. 


 

You don't have a choice. Lightroom needs a local cache for previews and other stuff, otherwise it would slow down to a crawl having to fetch that all the time from the cloud. And that local cache is hardwired to be in the Pictures folder on your internal drive.

 

-- Johan W. Elzenga

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Community Beginner ,
Jun 28, 2021 Jun 28, 2021

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Thank you Johan Elzenga

 

Do you know anything about all those folders and file sizes mentioned above and are they neccesary to keep or do I have my originals in the cloud because of my chosen adobe cloud plan?

 

Thanks

Michael

 

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LEGEND ,
Jun 28, 2021 Jun 28, 2021

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The file sizes are what they are and where they are by design, and are required. Since you have chosen Lightroom 4.3 as your choice then your working images are stored in the cloud. Depending on how you have configured your options, you can have a backup stored locally.

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LEGEND ,
Jun 28, 2021 Jun 28, 2021

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You'll have to keep watching. I know that Lightroom has to keep a library on the computer. But I don't use Lightroom enough to intelligently discuss its operation. If you keep watching there are some Lightroom (cloud version) experts that will chime in and be able to advise you. But I do know thhat you can't just have everything in the cloud. There has to be a certain files/folder that are local in oorder to make the system work.

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Community Beginner ,
Jun 28, 2021 Jun 28, 2021

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Ok, thank you JimHess. I appreciate you willingness to help and I will definetly keep an eye out for those Lightroom (cloud version) experts when they chime in here 🙂 

 

Have a great day!

 

Michael

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Community Expert ,
Jun 29, 2021 Jun 29, 2021

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As has been explained by others, the Lightroom desktop app requires that a catalog, with previews/proxies, is stored locally (if it wasn't, performance would be abysmal). That local catalog and associated data is always stored on the main system drive (different locations depending on which OS is being used), and cannot be changed. Yes, you can move it to a different drive, but Lightroom will ignore that and simply recreate it again on next launch in the same default location from the master catalog in the cloud.

 

So, you can delete those copies that you made on external drives, they're just a waste of your disk space, then use the % amount on the Preferences>Local Storage tab to govern the amount of space that Lightroom is allowed to use on that system drive.....but there's always going to be a minimum amount of space needed.

 

One other thing to note is that Lightroom also stores local copies of some original files, even if the Preferences option to "Store a copy of all originals at the specified location" is unchecked. Images you import either from hard drive or camera memory card are always initially copied into the specified location (if you don't set a specified location, they'll be stored inside that local libvrary on the system drive), and when you edit images a copy of them will also be downloaded from the cloud and temporarily stored in that specified location (or default if location is not specified). If the "Store a copy of all originals" option is unchecked, it is intended that those other originals are only stored temporarily.....however, the automatic deletion of them is subject to some complex rules which are not always sufficiently aggressive. So it's not unusual to see them hanging around in the specified location for longer than expected, so it's always advisable to set the location to an external drive that has adequate free space.

 

I'd also suggest you re-install the Creative Cloud desktop app, as it's that app which controls installation of your subscription's authorised apps and keeps them updated. It's meant to run as a permanent backgroud task, I recommend you allow that to happen.

 

 

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