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Q: Moving LR - Lightroom CC catalog location

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Bob_B

Active Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2012
Messages
175
Location
Catonsville, Maryland
Lightroom Experience
Advanced
Lightroom Version
Classic
Lightroom Version Number
LR CC 9.4
Operating System
  1. Windows 10
So, I built a new Win10 computer over the weekend, and I have installed, but not started Lightroom CC. I read the 'how to' by Victoria (How do I move Lightroom to a new computer? | The Lightroom Queen), and have copied the old LR 5.7 files so that I may paste them into the appropriate folders in the new LR CC installation. My first and immediate problem is that in a separate url, Victoria indicates that LR CC's catalog is stored in C: Users \ [your username] \ My Pictures \ Lightroom \ Lightroom Catalog.lrcat, but I don't have a "My Pictures" folder and the "Pictures" folder doesn't have anything in it related to LR. Not surprisingly, since I haven't run LRCC there is no catalog anywhere.

Do I need to run LR CC first, and let it establish some files including a catalog, AND THEN close LRCC and copy my older catalog over the one it just created? I read in yet another one of Victoria's how tos that double clicking on my old catalog file will also link it to LRCC. That may be slightly wrong, as I have to go back and reread that part.

Second question (unrelated to the first): I copied my LR5.7 preferences and want to know whether I should simply copy them to the new LRCC preference folder, or should they be renamed to match the LRCC preference file name?

I hope someone can get back to me asap, and thanks in advance.

Bob
 
Darn it all: I meant LR CC Classic throughout my original post. Many apologies for my error.

There is no longer a product with “CC” in the name Lightroom refers to the cloud based product and Lightroom Classics is the local storage based product.
The Pictures/My Pictures/Lightroom folder contains the Default location for the catalog file and the Previews. You may have chosen to store the Lightroom catalog somewhere else BUT this LR5 catalog file is the one that you need to successfully upgrade to a new computer. You also need the folders containing those original image files. By default these are located in the /Pictures folder.

Once you have these two pieces and Lightroom Classic installed, you are ready to open your LR5 catalog file with Lightroom Classic. When you do Lightroom classic will read the data in the LR5 catalog file and create a new Catalog file built in the current database structure.

Lightroom Classic will build a new preference file and will rename your old previews folders (if it finds them).

Essential to have is the master catalog file from your previous version and all of the original imported images in the same folders that were recorded in the old master catalog file.

You do not need a new empty catalog and you do not need to reimport any image files.


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