Lightroom import without copy

[arnautv90906393]

hello there, I have a question about importing exiting images from a external drive. Is it possible to import existing images from an external disk without making a Copy? I don’t need a copy of something I already have stored on a disk. I only need to see them in Lightroom. Otherwise my storage space is used twice.

[Ian Lyons]

Yes, this is possible. When setting up the import dialog, choose the 'Add' option rather than the copy or move options. Your photos will still be visible in Lightroom when you disconnect the external hard drive.

[arnautv90906393]

Thank you for your answer. I stored all my images on a NAS (synology disk). so the images are already where I want them to be.  I only want to link my NAS to lightroom CC Without copying them on a other place. I only can choose to import them and then a copy will appear in a new map with the name Lightroom. It can not be that I am the only one who only want to connect existing images in Lightroom without copying them. Please help me because copying 12 terabits images must not be meaning 

[Ian Lyons]

Apologies, my response was for Lightroom Classic, not the cloud based version. Therefore, if using Lightroom CC rather than Classic, you can ignore my response. That being said, based on the description of what you're doing now and wish to do in future, then Lightroom Classic is the more suitable application.

[arnautv90906393]

oh I see. But will Lightroom Classic not be disappear in the near future?

[cmgap]

Lightroom Classic continues to be updated with new features and isn't going away according to the Adobe product management team.

If you are worried about managing your cloud storage, you can download a local copy to your NAS and delete the originals from the Creative Cloud.

Go  to Preferences and establish the connection by navigating to your NAS via: Storage Location for Originals

[Jao vdL]

arnautv90906393  wrote

oh I see. But will Lightroom Classic not be disappear in the near future?

If it would, Adobe would lose basically all their pro folks overnight as the cloud Lightroom misses almost every single features anybody serious about photography needs. You identified one in this thread which is the necessity of everything being in the cloud. Lightroom CC is fun as a companion to the real Lightroom (i.e.Classic) for doing some editing on your iPad or when you don't want to lug along your entire catalog of images but want your images to show up automatically in Classic after you return from your trip. Except if your needs are extremely light, Lightroom CC cannot be a main repository for your images yet. That might change in the future but it is going to take a while.

That said, Adobe has been clear that Classic will be around for a long time and indeed it is getting major attention every update. Mean time Lightroom CC is only extremely slowly gaining features that Classic has had for years. It still can't print. It still can't share to social media or a web service without jumping through hoops, etc. etc. So Classic is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

[cmgap]

Just to clarify... are you asking if you can add photos to your Lightroom  account and not  have  the originals uploaded to the cloud? You only want to have them stored locally on your external hard drive?

[arnautv90906393]

Thank you for your answer! Yes I don’t want images in de could. I only want to see my existing images on my external disk in Lightroom CC without copying them and put them a other in a folder. is it possible to link existing images to Lightroom CC without moving and copying them to the cloud or other folder?

[israelgoldstein]

I am also searching for a solution, did you find one yet?

[Ymein]

Nah, it seems the only solution for now it to use lightroom classic...

[Philipp22514403l97s]

In LR I can't find an option to open images I already have organized in folders on my hard drive. The Add button is grayed out, it only shows the option to copy, which means my data size is doubled, which just doesn't work at all. That can not be that you can only copy!!! I leave LR again and continue to use Photoshop.