Can I move Lightroom photo files to an external drive without losing edits?
Asked 12/18/2010
2 views
2 answers
0
I’m using Lightroom 3 on a laptop and running out of internal storage. My original files (RAW and JPEG) are currently in my Lightroom catalog, and I want to move those photo files to an external hard drive without breaking the catalog or losing any edits. What’s the safest way to do this? Also, if the external drive is disconnected, what can I still do with those images in Lightroom?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
8
Move the files from within Lightroom. It supports this operations and will update its database automatically to reflect the change.
You can also move the files outside of Lightroom and when you start Lightroom again there will be an icon next to each missing file in the Grid View. Clicking there will let you specify the directory where the file was moved. Lightroom will also prompt you if it should update all the missing files in the same folder at the same time. If you did not move too many folders you can do it this way but it will take longer than doing it in Lightroom. Beware that Lightroom will not find the moved images unless the name remains the same.
When the external drive is not connected, the images on it will be findable and you will be able to assign them keywords and they will appear in filtered results. You will not be able to 'develop' them though since the data is not there.
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. The safest method is to move the photo folders from within Lightroom, because Lightroom will update its catalog automatically to match the new file location.
If you move the files outside Lightroom, the photos will appear as missing. You can relink them by clicking the missing-file icon and pointing Lightroom to the new folder. If folder and file names stayed the same, Lightroom can usually update the rest of that folder at the same time.
Your edits are stored in Lightroom’s catalog, so moving the originals does not remove the adjustments you’ve made. However, to work fully with the files, the external drive must be connected. When the drive is disconnected, Lightroom can still show the images in the catalog and you may still be able to do limited catalog-based tasks such as organizing or adding keywords, but the original files themselves are offline.
So: move the files inside Lightroom, keep folder/file names unchanged if possible, and reconnect missing folders only if you moved them outside Lightroom.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI15y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
How do I move a Lightroom photo library to a new drive without losing edits?
How can I keep Lightroom edits and RAW files usable across a laptop and desktop?
How do I move a Lightroom catalog and photo library to a new hard drive?
How do I move a Lightroom catalog to a new computer?
Can one Lightroom catalog on an external drive sync correctly across two computers and Lightroom Mobile?