Managing Presets across multiple catalogs

[miketurner07]

Hello,

I've recently started making a new catalog file for every customer to keep the size of my catalogs down and increase performance, but the presets I imported into my old giant catalog don't follow when I make a new catalog. There are other catalog attributes I would like to standardize as well to save time setting up new catalogs, like backup preferences. Is there a way to alter the defaults for a new catalog?

Thanks!

 

[johnbeardy]

Turn back before it's too late! Your catalogues will never consume as much space as your images, and you won't be increasing performance (I regularly use one that's now touching 25'k images). Apart from the introducing the extra work of standardising catalogues, which you'll have to do manually, why fragment control of your work?

In Preferences, what is your setting under Presets > Location. Untick it.

John

 

[clee01l]

Adding to the well founded advice that John has already given, you can retain customer segregation by using a static collection per customer. And now to consolidate, designate one of your catalogs as the Master Catalog and import the other catalogs into it one by one. All of your presets will get consolidated when you merge your catalogs this way. You can even import and "Add new photos to catalog without moving" to leave the images in place.

With large volumes of images, it might be useful to migrate older images off to an archive drive Since these will not be actively used again, you can improve performance on your local drive by only keeping current work there. All of these drives can be managed in this single Master Catalog and searched and accessed in an instant if needed.

 

[mrgooch]

Some clarification to my statement. I actually do copy my photo's [ back up ] unto another HD. But not within LR. It certainly is not the same as " throwing your negatives away" as full size jpeg's are printable if needed.

 

[sizzlingbadger]

If you do require separate catalogs (for whatever reasons) then I suggest you create a copy of your current catalogue and then open it. Then you can remove all the images / folders but keep all the collections and setup etc. This is then kept as a master (but empty) template that you can copy and use again and again. It will have all your catalog settings embedded. It won't conatin presets or other LR settings as these are stored outside the catalogue.

 

[miketurner07]

I appreciate the advice guys, but I think I'm going to stick with the separate catalogs. The biggest advantage for us is that we can easily switch who's working on a project. My wife and I both shoot and edit, and before we started separating the catalogs it was very difficult to share work between us. Now, Either of us can pick up where the other left by simply opening the catalog for the project.

I do intend to merge all of the individual catalogs back into one master catalog at some point so we;ll have access to everything from one place, but that hasn't been important yet.

It sounds like there is no way to alter the defaults on catalog settings so the when I create a new catalog its already set up the way I want it to be, or for the presets to automatically be there. That's a pain. I hope that Adobe will incorporate that functionality into future versions of Lightroom.

Thanks!

 

[clee01l]

[quote author=miketurner'7 link=topic=9386.msg63265#msg63265 date=12691'2162]
I appreciate the advice guys, but I think I'm going to stick with the separate catalogs. The biggest advantage for us is that we can easily switch who's working on a project. My wife and I both shoot and edit,
I do intend to merge all of the individual catalogs back into one master catalog at some point so we;ll have access to everything from one place, but that hasn't been important yet.

It sounds like there is no way to alter the defaults on catalog settings so the when I create a new catalog its already set up the way I want it to be, or for the presets to automatically be there. That's a pain. I hope that Adobe will incorporate that functionality into future versions of Lightroom.[/quote]I've always said that except for business requirements, there is no reason to have more than one catalog. It looks like you have identified one business rule that can merit multiple catalogs. There is a way to begin with a new 'ready to go' catalog' with each assignment. Don't create a 'New' (clean slate) catalog. Export the Master, but without the images (or most of them). But first I would recommend taking the time to consolidate all your catalogs into that master. Once you have a master, you can export that master to your new assignment. All your setting, presets, keywords will export. I think the exported catalog needs at least one image, but deleting that from the new catalog is far easier than generating keyword lists, presets etc. With the new catalog, you can import images created for a new customer. Once these have been worked, you can import this back into the Master and any new keywprds, presets etc will then be added to the Master for the next shoot.

 

[miketurner07]

Thanks a lot Cletus, I'll try exporting from my old master next time I need to make a new one. Thanks!

 

[sizzlingbadger]

[quote author=miketurner'7 link=topic=9386.msg63265#msg63265 date=12691'2162]
It sounds like there is no way to alter the defaults on catalog settings so the when I create a new catalog its already set up the way I want it to be, or for the presets to automatically be there. That's a pain. I hope that Adobe will incorporate that functionality into future versions of Lightroom.

Thanks!
[/quote]

apart from the work-around I have given you above. (presets stay with LR so you will have them anyway)

 

[Denis Pagé]

[quote author=miketurner'7 link=topic=9386.msg63265#msg63265 date=12691'2162]
It sounds like there is no way to alter the defaults on catalog settings so the when I create a new catalog its already set up the way I want it to be, or for the presets to automatically be there. That's a pain. I hope that Adobe will incorporate that functionality into future versions of Lightroom.
[/quote]
The functionality is there: Make a template catalog that you will copy when a new one is needed. But first go to preferences and in the second tab titled "Presets", tick the box "Store presets with catalog".