new ext hd and new catalog setup

[craig_k]

my old catalog was a mess, I did work off muliple ExtHD's with one main ExtHD for everyday use, the other one for backups...They had a top level folder for images..they both contained a copy of the LR folder itself. My everyday use ExtHD reflected in the LR Folders panel, 2 ExtHD's with the top level folder as well as my internal drive C and its top level folder. I had multiple missing folders all over the place, but what was linked I could "get around on"...I do have a top level folder with subfolders depicting the calendar year and folders of shoots in those. most images are keyworded, in dng format with meta data save option employed. I always import as dng the raw files so no xmp sidecars exist...(please let all my keywords stay in place).....wanting to stream line and improve the mess I had, I bought a new large ExtHD to be my "start-over" main working unit... my top level folder with the yearly sub folders and their contents.......I "copied" by drag and drop method the material I wanted from my internal and existing ext hd on to a brand new top level folder on my new external hd...I went to disk management and assigned a dedicated drive letter and a name to this new ExtHD.
I went thru my present catalog LR Folder panel and used the +\add new folder option onto the brand new ExtHD, and it's recognized. in the new catalog along with the new top level folder that reads 0 as I have not yet got the copy of my LR folder on the new ExtHD. I will copy the main LR folder itself to the new ExtHD so I will have a dedicated LR folder there like before as well. With the new ExtHD and its new top level folder containing the "drag and drop copied" year folders inside and checked thru properties to see if it all went through, once I get the new LR folder to the new ExtHD what to I do? right click on it and select update folder location and see if it populates or what is the proper procedure?

 

[clee01l]

I would approach this entirely from inside the LR Folder panel ]. If I understand, you have a new EHD showing in the folder panel and folders "all over the place" in other drives listed in the folder panel.

If this is a typical likeness of your folder panel:
================
New EHD
.....New Parent folder
Old EHD1
.....Folder 1
.....Folder 2
.....Folder 3
.....Folder 4
Old EHD2
.....Folder A
.....Folder B
.....Folder C
.....Folder D
================

Drag folders 1,2,3,4,A,B,C, & D onto new parent folder. This should take care of most of it.
To the New EHD, New Parent folder, you can add new folders create subfolders drag groups of images to different folders until you have the folder structure that you want in the New EHD.

Some folders in the Old EHDs may remain because you have missing images that need to be resolved. Once you have resolved this, then these newly found images can be dragged to the NewEHD. Eventually you will depopulate the OldEHDs (at least from LR's perspective) When a folder has been depopulated in LR you can right click on it and remove it from the LR folder panel. If the folder is completely empty, LR will remove it from the OldEHD. When nothing remains in the folder panel except the New EHD and its subfolders, you are done and can retire the old EHDs if you wish or put them to other uses.

 

[craig_k]

I thank you sir

 

[craig_k]

I thank you sir...your diagram is spot on reflecting my present LR Folder panel with previous the ExtHD's connected.

....what I have now is a brand new catalog opened that has yet to be populated with my top level folder..the LR Folder panel in the new catalog does in fact recognize the new ExtHD as connected and displays the top level folder located in the new ExtHD...with my new Ext HD connected to my brand new catalog opened, in order to populate the LR Folders panel with the top level folder contents, do I just right click on that new top level folder and select update file location and have reasonable expectation it will populate and keywords be intact?
The only other option I was aware of in order to populate the LR Folder panel in the new catalog would be to employ the "add" option\selection of that new top level folder to the new catalog in order to populate it since it is presently "seen" in the new catalogs Folder panel now residing on the new ExtHD...but because its never been "touched" awaiting confirmation, it reads 0 as it should. I thank you for your time sir, once again

 

[clee01l]

Let's clear some things up. "my old catalog was a mess..." assumes for me that you want to clean it up not start over. My instructions are for cleaning it up not starting with an empty catalog.

If you are wanting to start with an empty catalog, you will lose all of the work that you have done on the original images. Knowing that, then you can Import into the new empty catalog the master image files on the old EHD and Copy them to the new EHD using the Import dialog. If you do this I would suggest letting LR import using one of the "date named" folder schemes and the COPY option to copy rather than move the images. Once you get the image copies cataloged and where you want them on the new EHD, you can decide what to do with the old copies on the old EHDs

 

[craig_k]

yessir, I see the instructions were for cleaning it up.......so with your addition of more information is appreciated

 

[craig_k]

i found what I needed by searching...thanks.........http://www.lightroomqueen.com/commu...alog-files&highlight=temporary+import+data.db

I have the new catalog up and running, thank you sir..........during the course of "add" new new material, for what ever reason it would occasionally just shut-down, no big deal, it always resumed "add" upon re-opening until what I wanted was there..........it left a (little residue) in the LR folder...the 3 main files of .lrcat-Previews.lrdata-backup: are all there as should be...each time it shut down though it left : Temporary Import Data.db-journal entries of which I have 7, one for each time I suppose.....may I delete those 7 Temporary Import Data.db-journal files, just those themselves, not the main Previews.lrdata folder itself.........seems like those temps are "trashy, and non instrumental" for legit operation..i just want to clean up the contents of the LR Folder without deleting the 3 mentioned main folders...thank you again