Ive just upgraded my G4 Powerbook to a new 24"iMac....damn this machine is sweet. Anyway, thats not the issue. I have my LR library all set and ready to copy over. Actually I have it also on a external 500Gb so I can view from there. What I want to do, is have the 750Gb on the iMac be the primary disk and have the external be my backup.
How do I move the files over and have everything copied over to the new iMac? I have everything backed up but Im sure it would see the files in their current and not new location.
Some help would be wonderful
Full Version: Lightroom Library Move
As I recall, export all your images as a catalog. Don't have LR make copies of the image files. Move the files yourself however you are doign them to your new location. I am assuming that even though your files are on a different drive, your directory setup will be the same. When you import the catalog on your new computer (without the associated files), LR will put exclamation points (or maybe it's question marks? don't remember) on all your thumbnails because it can't find the files associated. Probably the thumbnails won't show either. Just click on the exclamation/question mark and it will pop up a box saying that it can't find the file and allow you to find it instead. Just navigate to your new drive where the files are. LR will find that file and it should magically find every other file.
I think it works most flawlessly if you have at least one file in your top folder because it understands your hierarchy already. It may not find neighboring folders if they are not directly under the one you locate for it (does that make sense?). I know I did this process a couple months ago because I upgraded computers and it went very easily.
Hope that helps and I am sure that someone smarter than me will let you know if I missed a step. But it really goes pretty smoothly. Just don't delete ANYTHING until you know that everything is all safe and happy on the new drive.
I think it works most flawlessly if you have at least one file in your top folder because it understands your hierarchy already. It may not find neighboring folders if they are not directly under the one you locate for it (does that make sense?). I know I did this process a couple months ago because I upgraded computers and it went very easily.
Hope that helps and I am sure that someone smarter than me will let you know if I missed a step. But it really goes pretty smoothly. Just don't delete ANYTHING until you know that everything is all safe and happy on the new drive.
Would all the collections etc stay the same with the catalog option?
Yes, your collections, metadata, edits, keywording, everything goes along with the catalog export. It rocks.
The catalog export comes in handy, too, if you have a project you're working on on one computer and want to transfer it to the other computer (and even back again). You can move your files over to the second computer, work with them there, then export the new/updated catalog, and take it back to the first computer (without even recopying the image files--it will just update the settings). I do this sometimes to work with pictures on my laptop and then move them to the desktop, or to take a selection on the road to work on that way.
You can export a catalog of all your pictures, of just one collection, or just one folder, or a selection within a folder.
Now that I think of it like that, you may have to click on All Photographs, hit crtl+a (or whatever it is on a mac, sorry not a mac girl) to select them all, and then export as a catalog. I don't remember if LR will automatically understand how many images you mean if you don't have an active selection.
The catalog export comes in handy, too, if you have a project you're working on on one computer and want to transfer it to the other computer (and even back again). You can move your files over to the second computer, work with them there, then export the new/updated catalog, and take it back to the first computer (without even recopying the image files--it will just update the settings). I do this sometimes to work with pictures on my laptop and then move them to the desktop, or to take a selection on the road to work on that way.
You can export a catalog of all your pictures, of just one collection, or just one folder, or a selection within a folder.
Now that I think of it like that, you may have to click on All Photographs, hit crtl+a (or whatever it is on a mac, sorry not a mac girl) to select them all, and then export as a catalog. I don't remember if LR will automatically understand how many images you mean if you don't have an active selection.
QUOTE(littler chicken @ July 19 2008, 09:03 PM) 
Yes, your collections, metadata, edits, keywording, everything goes along with the catalog export. It rocks.
The catalog export comes in handy, too, if you have a project you're working on on one computer and want to transfer it to the other computer (and even back again). You can move your files over to the second computer, work with them there, then export the new/updated catalog, and take it back to the first computer (without even recopying the image files--it will just update the settings). I do this sometimes to work with pictures on my laptop and then move them to the desktop, or to take a selection on the road to work on that way.
You can export a catalog of all your pictures, of just one collection, or just one folder, or a selection within a folder.
Now that I think of it like that, you may have to click on All Photographs, hit crtl+a (or whatever it is on a mac, sorry not a mac girl) to select them all, and then export as a catalog. I don't remember if LR will automatically understand how many images you mean if you don't have an active selection.
The catalog export comes in handy, too, if you have a project you're working on on one computer and want to transfer it to the other computer (and even back again). You can move your files over to the second computer, work with them there, then export the new/updated catalog, and take it back to the first computer (without even recopying the image files--it will just update the settings). I do this sometimes to work with pictures on my laptop and then move them to the desktop, or to take a selection on the road to work on that way.
You can export a catalog of all your pictures, of just one collection, or just one folder, or a selection within a folder.
Now that I think of it like that, you may have to click on All Photographs, hit crtl+a (or whatever it is on a mac, sorry not a mac girl) to select them all, and then export as a catalog. I don't remember if LR will automatically understand how many images you mean if you don't have an active selection.
This is perfect. Ill let you know how it goes.
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