Got myself a big ole mess

[KenB]

Hi All,
This is my first post so be gentle. Buying a new machine is where my problems started. In a nutshell my problem is that my old system of pics by yearly catalogs didn't work very well. On going through a backup of my old machine for import into my new lightroom catalog I found pics all over the place... the desktop, in class assignment folders, temp dirs... you name it. So, I think I got most of them into a new catalog but IT is now a mess as well with subfolders all over the place and maybe even dups in different directories. I can't tell as there are about 11,''' pics. My question is can I start over with a new catalog from an existing catalog and have it import no dups and stick pics into folders by date ignoring where they currently sit?
Thanks for any help...
Ken

 

[dj_paige]

Re-importing photos is almost never a good idea. In fact, it is an atrocious idea. You will lose a lot of information by doing so.

Better, you should take all of your old catalog files and move them (and the photos, of course) to the new computer, and then File->Import Catalog. Assuming you have moved all the photos, some of the photos may be disconnected unless they are in the exact same location as on the old computer. If that happens, right-click on a folder that has a question mark and say Update Folder Location.

Once you have all of that straightened out, you could move all the folders to a single master location, for example D:\My Pictures, for ease of backup. If you choose to do this, do it in Lightroom. In fact, from this point on, it is a good idea to move photos and folders only in Lightroom ... while there are advanced users who don't follow this advice, they know what they are doing and won't have problems.

 

[KenB]

Thanks for the reply Paige. I was hoping to get rid of duplicates as I think while I was going through the old backup I somehow got duplicates in the catalog under different dates,locations. Is there a procedure for that?

Ken

 

[dj_paige]

[quote author=KenB link=topic=8681.msg58545#msg58545 date=126141'635]I was hoping to get rid of duplicates as I think while I was going through the old backup I somehow got duplicates in the catalog under different dates,locations. Is there a procedure for that?
[/quote]

It sounds like your method of creating backups was where the duplicates were created (in which case you need a better method of creating backups). Can you confirm that I am understand you properly regarding where the duplicates are coming from? If I am understanding you properly, then my suggestion ... Import Catalog ... will get rid of duplicates, unless somehow your old catalogs also had those same duplicates.

 

[Denis Pagé]

First welcome to Lightroom Forums Ken!

I know this topic is now aging but we miss your feed back.

Are you out of the mess now? Your situation is not hopeless; You just need some well explained step by step guidance. It is just sad that your first contact with the forums was somehow on the rude side... :-[

Even if you added to the the mess with your latest holiday photos, this will change nothing to the straightening process.

So come back and take a seat. Over a dozen knowledgeable Lightroom Gurus are here to guide you through so you will get a pleasant and rewarding experience using Lightroom. :icon_biggrin:

 

[Victoria Bampton]

[quote author=Denis Pagé link=topic=8681.msg6''18#msg6''18 date=12635'8631]It is just sad that your first contact with the forums was somehow on the rude side... :-[
[/quote]

I'm sure you're saying that it was rude that we all missed this thread, and not that Paige was being rude......

 

[Kiwigeoff]

[quote author=Victoria Bampton link=topic=8681.msg6'1'4#msg6'1'4 date=1263589917]
[quote author=Denis Pagé link=topic=8681.msg6''18#msg6''18 date=12635'8631]It is just sad that your first contact with the forums was somehow on the rude side... :-[
[/quote]

I'm sure you're saying that it was rude that we all missed this thread, and not that Paige was being rude......
[/quote]
No Victoria, Denis was just speaking for himself, not you or me!!! :icon_mrgreen: :icon_mrgreen: :icon_lol: :icon_lol: