Looking for detailed info on how folder management works

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Newmarket2

Newmarket2

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I'm considering reorganizing my folders a bit. But, as is often the case, there are many different approaches I could take. And, any reorganization will also impact my backup schemes. So, I'm not looking for how you do it or specific advice on one folder question - but rather a detailed description of how LR folders functions work.
Help just isn't detailed enough.
 
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"And, any reorganization will also impact my backup schemes. "

A key point. That's why I usually recommend getting things right from now on, and leaving the past as it is - while putting any reorganisation effort into adding more keywords.

John
 
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[quote author=johnbeardy link=topic=9558.msg64451#msg64451 date=1271171'97]
A key point. That's why I usually recommend getting things right from now on, and leaving the past as it is - while putting any reorganisation effort into adding more keywords.
[/quote]

I'll agree strongly with the above. Don't move or rename your folders; put your effort into keywording everything. I wrote a longer piece on this issue here.
 
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yes, yes, yes - I'm COMMITTED to keywords. Trust me.
And 8'% of my images are in folders with a consistent structure.
BUT, the other 2'%, which are older, are not.
So I am going to move stuff around.
So, I still need help.
If I can't find something to help me avoid problems, I'll just have to learn by trial and error.
Not happy with having to reinvent the wheel.....
 
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When I began using LR, I had and existing folder structure in the Pictirse folder. I chose to Import these 'In Place". New photos were imported using one of the 'Date Named" folder import options offered by LR.

My 'anal retentive' nature, made me cringe whenever I worked with folders. So as I archived, I migrated these by date to a "date named" folder schema.

Before that, my original folder structure had JPEGs Derivatives and DNG RAW files in separate sub folders. It was difficult to work with Original JPEGS and Original DNG files that were not in the same folder. So, I moved these back into a common folder. The Pre LR derivatives were important, but less so with LR So I moved them into a separate folder called "derivatives".

Looking back with full understanding of how LR works, I wished I had made my original import, moving the image files into one of the suggested "Date Named" folder schemes.

If you 'sense of order' will let you, leave the current folder structure alone and import new images into LE using one of the suggested default schemas. From that point, ONLY move earlier images from their folder structure to a better one if the current structure interferes with your LR workflow.
 
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[quote author=Newmarket2 link=topic=9558.msg64453#msg64453 date=1271172392]
yes, yes, yes - I'm COMMITTED to keywords. Trust me.
And 8'% of my images are in folders with a consistent structure.
BUT, the other 2'%, which are older, are not.
So I am going to move stuff around.
So, I still need help.
If I can't find something to help me avoid problems, I'll just have to learn by trial and error.
Not happy with having to reinvent the wheel.....
[/quote]

We (myself, John and Clee) are trying to help you avoid problems.

If you are committed to keywords, and I trust you, then why do you need any particular folder structure? You don't need any particular folder structure to make use of every single feature in Lightroom. Leaving things where they are will not prevent you from efficiently searching for and finding and using your photos.

Moving things around is time spent that has no benefit to your ability to find and make use of your photos. Lots of work, zero benefit. I don't like the sound of that.
 
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[quote author=Newmarket2 link=topic=9558.msg64453#msg64453 date=1271172392]
...BUT, the other 2'%, which are older, are not.
So I am going to move stuff around.
So, I still need help....[/quote]I keep images older that 3 months (or so) on a network drive. With the current "YYYY/yyyy-mm-dd" import folder schema as default, it is a drag and drop operation in LR to move a folder from my local drive to the archive drive on the network. The Archive drive is mirrored with RAID and infrequently changes. The images on the local drive are the ones that are most active. When I began to move the older images to the archive drive, they were not in that neat order and I wanted them to be like the current imports. So I created a metadata filter on "All Photographs" and the first sort column was Date. In LR on my Archive folder (A:/Archive), I created the appropriate year folder and month folder. Then it was a simple matter to select the month from the filtered Grid view and drag the images to the appropriate folder on A:/Archive.
 
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In my discussion that I linked to earlier, I separated storage needs from organizing/searching needs.

What Clee has just discussed is moving his photos and folders to meet his storage needs. What he is doing does not help him with organizing or search for his photos, but it does meet his storage needs. I state categorically that you should move your photos and folders to meet your storage needs. I also state categorically that you should not move your photos and folders around to meet your desired organizing/searching needs.

What the original poster is attempting to do is "move stuff around" to meet his need, but what that need is (other than the implication of "neatness") isn't clearly stated, but we do know it will affect his backup strategy. Really hard to advise in this case, other than ... don't do it, unless you are doing it to meet your storage needs.
 
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well, I just went ahead and did it. It wasn't a big deal. A bit of a waste of time- yes - because I had to run my synchronization software (syncback - I use it for keeping my 4 PC's in synch) a few times to propagate the changes to folder names and organization.
And, now that I've done it - I've learned a bit more about how LR folders work (yes, Mark, very much like W Explorer) and the consequences.
And, my folder list is much shorter - important because I do use it.
I am now reviewing my earlier work and adding keywords.
 
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