I HATE it when a program chooses where to put files for me. I do NOT want the Lightroom cache on disk C: under Adobe/Lightroom in the Applications; I do NOT want my catalogs in My Documeents/My photos. Etc etc..
I have a disk dedicated to photos and want all catalogs etc there. It is criminal for system stability to use drive C: for cache and all that (I have a dedicated Temp drive that can be simply erased and that does not screw up the system disk).

So: how do I change the default file locations?
(I sem to spend more time settimg things up where I want than actually usng the program)

And: Adobe, please ask at setup where to put files and folders.

Thanks to anyone who knows and answers…

gena

[Gena, sorry to hear you feel that way. Adobe are following standard programming practices, and keeping it simple for the 'average' user, however there are no doubt better places to store files for more advanced users such as yourself. You'll be pleased to know it's really simple to change the locations. The ACR cache can be relocated via the Lightroom Preferences dialog. The catalogs and their previews alongside can be moved in Explorer/Finder to the location of your choice, and just double click to open the first time. Presets and preferences are stored with user settings for each OS, however the presets can be moved to alongside the catalog using the 'Store Presets with Catalog' checkbox in Preferences, however be aware that they will only be available to that single catalog if that dialog is checked. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask, or drop by http://www.lightroomforums.net. If you'd like Adobe to hear your request, the official Feature Request/Bug Report form is at http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform- VB]

Hello

I need a little help!

I have changed this: Windows Vista – [systemdrive]Users[your username]AppDataLocalAdobeCameraRawCache to a seperate harddrive, but it don’t work. And now I can’t change it back cause the “AppData” folder doen’t show up in the “filehandling-site” in preference in Lightroom, when I click choose I only see folders to this point: Users[your username]. And I have asked to see hidden files on the PC.

Best regard
Ole Agerbæk

[Hi Ole. As I can see you've posted this at Lightroom Forums, it's probably easiest to carry on the investigation over there. Here's a quick link to the thread: http://www.lightroomforums.net/index.php?topic=7505.0 - VB]

hey
i think i know more or less how to do what i intend to do, but it doesn’t hurt to make sure
i have my os (win xp) installed on the main drive, the whole lightroom folder (catalog file complete with miniatures, DNGs and presets thanks to the ‘store presets with catalog checkbox’) on separate drive

i need to format my main drive and i’d obviously like this to be as painless as possible. i know i’ll keep all the presets with catalogue, i don’t care about the previews (can be re-rendered), but i’d like to keep my plugins and callibration profiles. do i need to copy the files manually, or is there a way to make lightroom remember them as well?

also, some of the plugins (for example plugin that exports to flickr or picasa) adds a new metadata field to keep track of the images already exported. i use this to filter my images and see the ones already exported. will this catalog field be kept on re-opening this particular catalog on freshly installed lightroom?

thanks for help

[Have a read of this post (http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/2009/02/28/how-do-i-move-lightroom-to-a-new-computer/) on how to move to a new computer - or reinstall your OS in this case. That should cover all the bases. The plugin data should be stored in the catalog, so that'll be fine - you might just need to reinstall the plugin for them to be recognized. - VB]

This sounds like you cannot use Adobe LR2 using a network file server where our central photo repository is located. When we try to install the catalog, it gives us the error that you cannot install the catalog on a network file server. This makes Adobe LR2 broken to us when we have photos on a central network server. Is there any plan to make catalogs available to be created on network file servers that contain photos?

[The photos can be on a network drive, but the catalogs can't - the catalogs have to be on locally attached storage. The catalog database is SQLite and a connection dropping at just the wrong moment, as is not uncommon with network connections, could corrupt a catalog beyond repair. The basis is there that it could be upgraded to a full SQL database in the future, but there would likely be cost implications in doing so. Hopefully for the future though! - VB]

Preparing to move to a new computer. Your blog on default locations for presets for Windows XP shows:…….application DataAdobeLightroomPresets. However, on my system in the light room folder there are 6 files with the name presets (color presets, export presets, etc.) no file called just presets. Which preset files do I need to move to get the presets that I have created on my new computer? Or do I move the whole Lightroom folder? Thanks.

[Move the whole lot Jim - that way you won't miss any. - VB]

Victoria, do you know what the default locations are for Win7 64-bit? I am about to try moving LR from an XP system to a new Windows 7 system and want to be sure I get it right! Please do post as well if you know of any special notes for moving to Win7 64-bit. Thanks.
[W7 paths are the same as the Vista ones. Only other thing to look out for is Windows 7's security features - if something doesn't work the way you expect, check out file permissions etc. If you're on to LR3 now, here's the updated list: http://www.lightroomqueen.com/lrqebook3-search/30pages/lr3sample-35-defaultfilelocations.pdf - VB]

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!