Library module Simple explanation of "<file> VERSION-n" construct

[parkerpress]

Lightroom Version Number

Lightroom Classic CC, release 8.1

Operating System

1. macOS 10.14 Mojave

I have what is hopefully a quick question. I'm diving into some old photos that were created from an Aperture library when it was discontinued a few years back. I've gone through and removed the "Aperture_Preview" files, since I didn't realize I had to regenerate them at full resolution for the conversion. I know this means a lot of editing from original images in my future, but I'm OK with that.

Now for the question relating to the subject line. What are all the "<filename> VERSION-n" files. From what I can tell, they are identical to the <filename> files in every way. Reading "The missing FAQ", I can see that these aren't really duplicating disk space requirements, they are just metadata, but what are the metadata for? As far as I can tell, they are pixel-by-pixel duplicates of my original image. Some files have one VERSION, some have as many as 8 or 9.

What caused LR to generate them, and can I safely go into my Masters folder (in LR, of course) and delete them all by marking them as rejected, then purging rejected files?

Thanks!

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Hi parkerpress, welcome to the forum!

If they have a little triangle in the lower left corner of the thumbnail, then they would be virtual copies that don't take up extra space. However from your description, I'm wondering if they're not actually versions created in Aperture that were imported. If they look identical and have the same settings, you could safely delete them.

 

[parkerpress]

Hi parkerpress, welcome to the forum!

If they have a little triangle in the lower left corner of the thumbnail, then they would be virtual copies that don't take up extra space. However from your description, I'm wondering if they're not actually versions created in Aperture that were imported. If they look identical and have the same settings, you could safely delete them.

Thanks for the updates. They have the little triangle you mentioned. What makes Lightroom create these? I know what it used to be in Aperture, but I'm just diving into Lightroom in detail and just want to know more about the, how they come into being, and what the implications of moving/deleting them are. I notice that they can contain different metadata, but the images are identical when viewed in the "Disk/Folder view".

 

[parkerpress]

Hi parkerpress, welcome to the forum!

If they have a little triangle in the lower left corner of the thumbnail, then they would be virtual copies that don't take up extra space. However from your description, I'm wondering if they're not actually versions created in Aperture that were imported. If they look identical and have the same settings, you could safely delete them.

Victoria,

Thanks for the info (and the great FAQ, that's an awesome book).

The images have the little triangle you mentioned. What makes Lightroom create these? I know what it used to be in Aperture, but I'm just diving into Lightroom in detail and just want to know more about the "versions", how they come into being, and what the implications of moving/deleting them are. I notice that they can contain different metadata, but the images are identical when viewed in the "Disk/Folder view". Is it when I add an image to a collection or a Smart collection?

Thanks again!

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Ah, ok, they're virtual copies. Have a read of the chunk starting page 317 in the Classic FAQ. That's Develop Editing Tools > Versions - Snapshots & Virtual Copies for some more background, but yes, checking the Create Virtual Copies checkbox when creating a collection could be the cause.