Confirming Catalog folder cleanup plans

[vbnut]

Lightroom Version Number

14.4

Operating System

1. Windows 11

I just noticed that one of my drives was down to 10% free, and discovered that my LrC catalog folder "All Years Catalog" is one of the big culprits. The Catalog Settings dialog says the catalog File Name is "All Years Catalog-v14-2.lrcat", and Im running Lrc 14.4. Here's a screenshot of the "All Years Catalog" folder, with the folder sizes annotated in red:

Am I correct in believing that "All Years Catalog Previews.lrdata" as well all the folders and files with v12 in their name are old and not currently being used? If so I'll remove all of them. I'm also planning to remove "All Years Catalog-v14-2 Previews.lrdata", as it is consuming the most space by far, and let LrC rebuild it as necessary

 

[Gnits]

I suggest you use the standard option now available inside LightroomClassic and use it to rename you catalog. Give it a really distinctive and recognisable name (such as MyMainCatalog). It is a menu setting.. do not have it to hand as writing this note on an iPad.

It will rename automatically all the files in that folder related to the catalog to reflect the new catalog name.. You will then recognise all the elements that are not related to your current catalog.

The previews folder is a live folder and holds all your previews (eg 20.5GB) . This is vital to LrC normal operation. You can, however, remove this folder and LrC will rebuild the contents. The immediate effect is that various screen based activities will slow as it needs to build the previews on the fly. If you have a large catalog this will be a background process (and load) running for some time.

I clear my previews every 18 months or so as a maintenance task (as it can accumulate crud from power failures, app crashes, etc) and then rebuild my previews for the last year or two. This keeps my previews healthy and current and I do not mind delays if reviewing images greater than 1 or 2 years old as it is such a rare task for me.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

When Lightroom Classic opens a catalog file, then the modification date of that file changes to today, even if you did not do anything else. The V-12 catalog file has a modification date in 2024.

 

[johnbeardy]

I suggest you use the standard option now available inside LightroomClassic and use it to rename you catalog. Give it a really distinctive and recognisable name (such as MyMainCatalog). It is a menu setting
...
I clear my previews every 18 months or so as a maintenance task

While I agree with this advice (Rename is under the File> menu), I note you're using 14.4 which didn't have this command. Is this right, and why isn't LR up-to-date?

Anyway, for information, Lightroom used to add the version number to the catalogue name when it upgraded a catalogue and that's why you see 14-2. From then on, it does not indication whether you are using 14.2 or 14.4 or whatever later version. The Explorer dates are more helpful indicators of which catalogue you're using.

I notice that All Years Catalog-v14-2 Preview.lrdata is only 20gb. If it's a "big culprit", how small is the drive? What about emptying the Recycle Bin? Does that free up space?

 

[vbnut]

While I agree with this advice (Rename is under the File> menu), I note you're using 14.4 which didn't have this command. Is this right, and why isn't LR up-to-date?

1. I always wait a while to upgrade to a new release, especially dot-0 releases
2. I'm a procrastinator
3. Upgrading to a new major release is a pain-in-the-@#& because I have to pay Jeffrey Friedl $1 for each of the 7 or 8 of his plugins that I use. It's not the cost, it's just an annoyance.

Anyway, for information, Lightroom used to add the version number to the catalogue name when it upgraded a catalogue and that's why you see 14-2. From then on, it does not indication whether you are using 14.2 or 14.4 or whatever later version. The Explorer dates are more helpful indicators of which catalogue you're using.

Yes, I get that. I was just looking for confirmation (another set of eyes looking at it) before I delete stuff.

I notice that All Years Catalog-v14-2 Preview.lrdata is only 20gb. If it's a "big culprit", how small is the drive? What about emptying the Recycle Bin? Does that free up space?

It's my 500 GB SSD C: drive, and Windows shows 464 GB of usable space. I was down to less than 10% (i.e. 46 GB) free, and 20 GB is nearly half of that. My Recycle Bin is currently empty, and I keep it that way 99.9% of the time. I am looking at other stuff too (Downloads is 23 GB and AppData is 69 GB), and I'm already above 10% free, but 20 GB is will be another big chunk, especially since I don't use this catalog (and its previews) that often. Obviously Window and "Program Files" use a good bit of space, but the most by far is my Users folder, and a big chunk of that is this catalog folder.

 

[clee01l]

1. Upgrading to a new major release is a pain-in-the-@#& because I have to pay Jeffrey Friedl $1 for each of the 7 or 8 of his plugins that I use. It's not the cost, it's just an annoyance.

Some years ago I talked Jeffrey into a special lifetime license. I don’t know if he is still amenable to that. Since then I have stopped using all of his plugins for social media.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk