How can I reorganize Lightroom photo folders into a new date-based structure without losing metadata?
Asked 10/10/2013
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2 answers
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I have a merged Lightroom catalog with photos stored in inconsistent date folder layouts, such as yyyy/yyyy-mm-dd and yyyy/mm/dd. I want all existing photos moved to a single structure like \\nas\photos\yyyy\yyyy-mm\yyyy-mm-dd without losing catalog metadata such as develop settings and other edits.
Re-importing the files into the new structure seems to break the link to the existing catalog information. Is there a safe Lightroom-based way to do this, or a practical workaround for relinking the files after moving them?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
1
If you are using Lightroom, you need to either move them from within Lightroom (under the Library tab) or do a Find Missing Photos to restore links after moving them.
Depending on what information you need, you could also create side-car files to contain the development settings so that it will import with settings (but not history).
Originally by user11392. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11392
12y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—keep the existing catalog metadata by moving folders/files from within Lightroom, or move them outside Lightroom and then relink them.
From the answers provided, the safest Lightroom workflow is:
- Move folders in the Library module from inside Lightroom so the catalog stays in sync, or
- If the files are already moved, use Find Missing Folder / Find Missing Photos to reconnect the catalog to the new locations.
A workable workaround is to first create the desired folder structure in a new catalog, then open the original catalog and relink the missing top-level folders to the new NAS folders. Lightroom can reconnect images if the files are the same.
If you only need develop settings and metadata, writing sidecar files can help preserve that data for re-import, though edit history may not come across.
Directly editing the Lightroom catalog database is risky and not an officially supported workflow, so it should only be considered as a last resort with backups. In general, reorganizing from within Lightroom or relinking after a move is the recommended approach.
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