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My 2 TB SSD has 1.2TB of XMP files. How can I delete them safely?

Community Beginner ,
Apr 26, 2023 Apr 26, 2023

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My 2 TB SSD is filling up and it's with something called XMP files associated with LR. I have the monthly cloud based LR on my computer and I need to know how I can limit and/or erase XMP files without doing any harm.  Long version short. I need to offload most, if not all, my LR related photo's to my backup drives but don't know how to do it. Thanks

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Community Expert ,
Apr 27, 2023 Apr 27, 2023

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Which version of Lightroom are you using? You've posted this question in the "Lightroom ecosystem" forum, so the assumption is that you are using the cloud-centric version which is called simply Lightroom (Lr icon). However, that version of Lightroom typically does not use or generate XMP sidecar files (though they can be produced on export if exporting proprietary raw files with the "Original + Settings" option).

 

The other version of Lightroom is called Lightroom Classic (LrC icon) with which all image files are stored on locally-attached hard drives. This version does have the option of generating and updating XMP sidecar files.

 

So, which version are you using?

 

Are the XMP files that you have actual sidecar files, i.e. does each individual XMP file sit alongside a proprietary raw file (both files would have the same name apart from the different file extension)?

 

Perhaps a screenshot of a sample of these files from File Explorer would help (include the usual details, in particular the file-size).

 

1.2TB of XMP files is an unbelievable number of files, given that a typical XMP sidecar file would be less than 100KB in size, so something doesn't feel right. The screenshots should help.

 

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Community Beginner ,
Apr 27, 2023 Apr 27, 2023

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Thanks for your help.  I've attached screen shots that I hope will help. 

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Community Expert ,
Apr 27, 2023 Apr 27, 2023

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Well, that's not 1.2TB worth of "XMP files", instead it's the local copy of the Lightroom library. By default, Lightroom stores a local catalog with associated data such as previews and proxies in that location (which cannot be changed). However, given the size of it, it's more than likely that you have a lot of original copies stored within it, and that we can change.

 

Can I have another screenshot, this time of the Lightroom Preferences>Local Storage tab. And if you can, use the free Snip tool which is included in Windows 10 & 11 and makes screenshots easier to capture and much easier for the viewer to read.

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Community Beginner ,
Apr 27, 2023 Apr 27, 2023

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Thanks Jim, I finalized managed to locate the saved files. You were right, they weren't xmp files, but images stored under 2023.  I deleted that folder and recovered 1.02 TB of space. I appreciate that you took time to help me.  Mike

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