- Joined
- Jun 10, 2014
- Messages
- 22
- Location
- Homer, Alaska
- Lightroom Experience
- Intermediate
- Lightroom Version
- Classic
Operating System: iMac with El Capitan & MacBook Pro with Yosemite
Exact Lightroom Version: CC 2015.10 (Classic now?)
I started out using Lr with my MBP and external hard drive, which held my photos and backup catalog. I always backup when leaving Lr. Since then, I’ve purchased a new iMac, which kinda complicated my backup, but I made it work as long as I backed up every time I used it with Lr.
Up until this mid summer, I've kept one catalog going for the last 3 1/2 years which I've kept a backup on my MBP and external drive. Whenever I'd use my iMac, I would use the external's latest catalog, and then, when closing, backup onto the external drive and the iMac. Then I would copy that catalog onto my MBP to keep my MBP and external up to date. Then I could take the MBP and external with me when I went to work out of town for 3 weeks at a time. There, I’d find time to occasionally work on photos during those 3 weeks from home.
Now, when home for my 3 weeks, I've on occasion, (and promising to myself that I won’t forget to backup from the iMac to the external and MBP each time), I've done just that and I've quite a few backups now that are on my iMac and not on my MBP and external. I've also later worked on some photos on my MBP and backed them up there and on the external. So, now I have a lot of loose catalogs floating between all three drives. The naming is the default of date + 4 digit number, and most all are zipped files.
Can I somehow merge all of these catalogs since mid summer where each may have adjustments and new shoots that others don't, and combine them into the large catalog? Can I get back to where I was before this happened? Do I stand a chance of losing more recent adjustments with older ones coming in after the merge?
Exact Lightroom Version: CC 2015.10 (Classic now?)
I started out using Lr with my MBP and external hard drive, which held my photos and backup catalog. I always backup when leaving Lr. Since then, I’ve purchased a new iMac, which kinda complicated my backup, but I made it work as long as I backed up every time I used it with Lr.
Up until this mid summer, I've kept one catalog going for the last 3 1/2 years which I've kept a backup on my MBP and external drive. Whenever I'd use my iMac, I would use the external's latest catalog, and then, when closing, backup onto the external drive and the iMac. Then I would copy that catalog onto my MBP to keep my MBP and external up to date. Then I could take the MBP and external with me when I went to work out of town for 3 weeks at a time. There, I’d find time to occasionally work on photos during those 3 weeks from home.
Now, when home for my 3 weeks, I've on occasion, (and promising to myself that I won’t forget to backup from the iMac to the external and MBP each time), I've done just that and I've quite a few backups now that are on my iMac and not on my MBP and external. I've also later worked on some photos on my MBP and backed them up there and on the external. So, now I have a lot of loose catalogs floating between all three drives. The naming is the default of date + 4 digit number, and most all are zipped files.
Can I somehow merge all of these catalogs since mid summer where each may have adjustments and new shoots that others don't, and combine them into the large catalog? Can I get back to where I was before this happened? Do I stand a chance of losing more recent adjustments with older ones coming in after the merge?