How can I relink a top-level Lightroom folder after a NAS path or server name changes?

Asked 3/4/2013

4 views

2 answers

0

My Lightroom 4.3 catalog originally referenced photos at //192.0.2.77/Photos, but after reinstalling Lightroom the same NAS is now reached as //SERVER/Photos. Lightroom shows the folders as missing. Is there a way to update the whole photo tree at once instead of using "Find Missing Folder/Photos" on each year subfolder individually? I’d also like a setup that makes future NAS name or address changes easier to manage.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

13y ago

2 Answers

3

Solution 1

Use a top-level folder!

Here is a solution. Have an additional root folder //SERVER/Photos/Photos/ and then run find missing photos on that. If you don't want to do it permanently, you can move the photos from //SERVER/Photos/ to //SERVER/Photos/Photos/. Then run the command, then move them back.

Solution 2

Make sure that the server does not change the mount point or it's network address.

This solution is a bit dependent on what your "SERVER" is. I don't know your situation so the following are a few different cases that might apply for you.

  • For NFS you have control over your local mount point, so set that to something fixed and update the configuration when your server moves.
  • For direct network connections (like 192.0.2.77) you can either configure your router so that it gives your server always the same IP or just set the IP-address manually (on the router or on the server, router is safer for your configuration). ** create a route so you type ping myserver and this is redirected to ´ping 192.0.2.77`. You can do this on your local machine, or on the router (that goes towards adding extra DNS entries). Using machinename.local with Macs and Linux

Originally by user7718. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user7718

13y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Yes. The simplest approach is to make Lightroom track one top-level parent folder, then relink that single folder when the network path changes. If your year folders currently sit directly under //SERVER/Photos, Lightroom may require you to reconnect each one individually unless you introduce a higher-level root folder and relink that instead.

A more permanent fix is to keep the NAS mounted at a consistent path/name. If the underlying server name or IP changes, update your network or mount configuration so Lightroom still sees the same mount point. For example, with network mounts you can choose a fixed local mount point; with IP-based access you may be able to reserve a stable address on your router.

In short: either relink one true parent folder in Lightroom, or make the NAS appear at a stable path so the catalog doesn’t need updating when the server details change.

UniqueBot

AI

13y ago

Your Answer