File Management advice needed

[mlondon]

Lightroom Version Number

Lightroom Classic version: 10.3

Operating System

1. macOS 11 Big Sur

Hi,

I'm finally getting around to moving my old Aperture library (~150,000 images) into Lightroom Classic and need a bit of advice regarding file management.

Here is my scenario:
- All of my images (from my current LR catalog and my Aperture library) were in a PHOTO_MASTERS folder
- Over 15 years or so, there are other "extra" files in the PHOTOS_MASTERS folder that are NOT part of my current LR Catalog, nor part of my Aperture Library.
- I consolidated all the masters from my Aperture Library into Aperture, so they are no longer in the PHOTO_MASTERS folder
- Now in my PHOTO_MASTERS folder I have all the images from my LR Catalog, AND the extra images that are not in my LR Catalog.
- I want to separate these two groups of files so that I can review the extra images and decided what to do with them.

How can I separate the files that are part of my LR catalog from the remaining "extra" files?
I've reviewed all the options available in LR, but seems they are only useful for finding missing files, not extras!

Thank you...

 

[Johan Elzenga]

How can I separate the files that are part of my LR catalog from the remaining "extra" files?

Go to “All Photographs”, expand all stacks and then select all images with Cmd-A. Now you can let Lightroom create a subfolder in PHOTO_MASTERS and move all selected photos into that subfolder. That will leave the ‘extras’ photos in the main folder.

 

[mlondon]

Hi Johan,

Now you can let Lightroom create a subfolder in PHOTO_MASTERS and move all selected photos into that subfolder.

Do you mean by just dragging them in to a new sub-folder?
If yes, then one problem with this is that my PHOTO_MASTERS is organized by Year/Month (ie: 2021/01, 2021/02, etc), so if I drag everything to a new folder I will loose my hiercachy.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

That's what I meant, but now you suddenly add this information about dated subfolders. If your Lightroom photos are organised by dated subfolders, how are the 'extras' organised? I assume Lightroom made those dated folders, so the images that are not in Lightroom are not in those folders? If so, isn't that enough to tell them apart?

 

[mlondon]

but now you suddenly add this information about dated subfolders.

My apologies for not mentioning this earlier.

If your Lightroom photos are organised by dated subfolders, how are the 'extras' organised?

There are extra files in many of the dated folders. They aren't really organized at all...

I assume Lightroom made those dated folders, so the images that are not in Lightroom are not in those folders?

No, I've been using this dated folder structure for more than a decade (hence the "extras").
The images that are not in Lightroom ARE in many of the same folders as the Lightroom images. Hence my original question...

(If there were only a few files, I would just figure all this out manually, but unfortunately over the years I've accumulated a few thousand files that are homeless, hence my need for an automated system to separate the two groups.)

 

[Roelof Moorlag]

I think what you could do is the following:

• In Lightroom select all images and put them in a new collection (to be sure)
• Now synchronize the most top level folder (inclduding subfolders), this wil bring in all the unorganized stuff.
• With the special collection 'Previous import' you can select all these foto's and put them in another new collection ('to sort out') and/or move them to another folder (just drag them)

But before you do this, let one of the guru's confirm this (and be sure you have made a back-up )!