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Author Topic: Moving folders to new drive  (Read 4044 times)

Brookie

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Moving folders to new drive
« on: October 26, 2016, 10:06:11 pm »

I bought a new external hard drive and need to move my photo raw files with their Lightroom sidecar files (saved in folders with the raw files) to the new drive. If I understand things right - and it may very well be that I don't - this must be done inside of Lightroom. Otherwise, with the new drive in place, the file path will have changed and Lightroom won't be able to locate my raw files.

I've been using Scott Kelbys book to learn Lightroom and I don't see this situation addressed in that book. This is sort of a newbe question, but I thought it was specific enough to place here instead of in the beginners forum. If it should be there instead, my apologies.

Anyway, I'd appreciate it if somebody could point me in the right direction. BTW, I will be using the new drive as my primary working drive, this is not for backup, I already have that covered.
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Mark D Segal

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2016, 10:27:39 pm »

Correct. If you do all the file moving from within Lightroom, Lightroom will know where to go for those files in their new locations. If you do it "behind Lightroom's back" so to speak by working directly in your Mac Finder or Windows Explorer, Lightroom will know nothing about the new location of these new folders and you will have to implement a folder/file search routine from within Lightroom to relocate each folder once you wish to use it in Lightroom.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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Brookie

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2016, 10:35:57 pm »

Thanks Mark.

I may not have been completely clear. What I still need to know is how to move all these folders and files within LR. I'm not seeing how to do that from the Library screen.

Thanks!
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Wayne Fox

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #3 on: October 26, 2016, 11:06:52 pm »

Thanks Mark.

I may not have been completely clear. What I still need to know is how to move all these folders and files within LR. I'm not seeing how to do that from the Library screen.

Thanks!
If moving to a new drive, the challenge might be LR doesn't know it exists.  There might be an easier way (and several here are more expert than I am), but what I have found is you have to do is import something from the new drive so the catalog is then aware of it's existence.  Or you can move one folder from it's current location using the operating system to the new drive, then right click on that folder in Lr and locate it, which then will add your new drive to the catalog and make it available to move other folders to.
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mbaginy

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2016, 12:11:53 am »

If moving to a new drive, the challenge might be LR doesn't know it exists.
Yeah, Wayne.  That's what gave me headaches some time ago.  I plugged my new external drive into my iMac but LR simply couldn't recognize it.  I heard of this method (which you explained) during one of Julieanne Kost's tutorials.  I tried it, it worked and now I'm back on track (using an external drive).

I haven't a clue of programming, but I wish LR could recognize all drives connected to my computers (as in Finder or Explorer).  It would make life easier.
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Mark D Segal

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #5 on: October 27, 2016, 08:06:42 am »


I haven't a clue of programming, but I wish LR could recognize all drives connected to my computers (as in Finder or Explorer).  It would make life easier.

Well, it is easier once you know what to do (isn't it always so!). But knowing what to do isn't self-evident without a bit of reading or poking about. Please see the two attached screen grabs. This is for LR CC2015.7 on a Mac, but predates this version and as far as I know works for both Mac and Windows. In the upper left corner, go to Select a Source and click on the little black arrow. That will open a menu, the bottom line of which says "Other Source...". Click on "Other Source...". That will open an expanded menu giving you access to all the devices inside or connected to and recognized by your computer. Select the device and folder you wish to choose from and click "Choose". That will allow you to bring the said folder from the said drive into the Lightroom catalog. So for example in my illustration, my normal system drive already accessed in the catalog is HD 3. But using this approach I can bring in material from any device the computer recognizes, for example here I've pointed to a Pictures folder in HD2. That's it. You have browser-like capability and access to importing anything your computer recognizes.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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Brookie

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #6 on: October 27, 2016, 11:20:48 am »

I'm still having problems.  I have both drives showing up on LR (BTW, I am using LRCC on a macbookpro) - see attached screenshot.
When I try to drag the folder "Colorado 2016" from "G-Drive-mini" and drop it into "G-Drive-main/Lightroom Photos/2016" - nothing happens, I don't get the popup asking if I want to move the folder to "G-Drive-main".

According to this video, it should work, but it doesn't seem to be working for me......
https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/how-to/lightroom-move-folder-files.html

Any ideas what I am doing wrong?  Thanks

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mbaginy

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #7 on: October 27, 2016, 02:04:30 pm »

Mark, I've found what you explained, thanks.

What I didn't first understand was that I had to act as if I were importing a file into LR to be able to show LR that a new external hard disk had been mounted (connected).  I expected all mounted drives to show up in the LR library module - as in Safari or Explorer.  I was wrong.

But now I know how to inform LR of a previously unknown hard drive.  Yes, it's easy when you know.
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Mark D Segal

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2016, 02:14:02 pm »

Glad it's clearer for you now, but there is still Brookie's problem I don't understand.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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Wayne Fox

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #9 on: October 27, 2016, 03:24:33 pm »

Select a source seems to be redundant, quite useful if you are going to a previous folder that you have imported from but all of the mounted volumes and available folders/images are selectable once you move to the import dialog in the list on the left side of the window.

You still have to somehow have something from a new drive imported before that volume becomes available in the catalog hierarchy and allow you to move folders from one drive to another.

As to Brooke’s problem, not sure.  It should work, I do it all the time.
« Last Edit: October 27, 2016, 03:38:41 pm by Wayne Fox »
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Brookie

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2016, 04:04:01 pm »

Mark and Wayne, and others:
First, thanks for your help.  Yes it should work. 

I looked for help items on the Adobe Lightroom page and couldn't find anything better than the video I posted earlier.  So I gave up and decided I'd try calling the Adobe help line. 

Turns out the problem was that the new hard drive did not have permissions to accept files from other sources through Lightroom.  I was able to copy files back and forth outside Lightroom fine, and I guess that was the key for the help person to know what my problem was.  Anyway, with that persons help I was able to dig down inside as Administrator and change the permissions for the new drive.  Now everything seems to work fine.  That was certainly an issue way beyond my computer knowlegde level! I never would have figured that one out on my own.  THANK YOU Adobe Support Lady!!
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Mark D Segal

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2016, 07:36:03 pm »

Mark and Wayne, and others:
First, thanks for your help.  Yes it should work. 

I looked for help items on the Adobe Lightroom page and couldn't find anything better than the video I posted earlier.  So I gave up and decided I'd try calling the Adobe help line. 

Turns out the problem was that the new hard drive did not have permissions to accept files from other sources through Lightroom.  I was able to copy files back and forth outside Lightroom fine, and I guess that was the key for the help person to know what my problem was.  Anyway, with that persons help I was able to dig down inside as Administrator and change the permissions for the new drive.  Now everything seems to work fine.  That was certainly an issue way beyond my computer knowlegde level! I never would have figured that one out on my own.  THANK YOU Adobe Support Lady!!

Shame on me - I should have remembered that - I once also ran into a permissions issue and once I enabled myself all was fine; but in that case I got one of those "you do not have permission" notices, which gave me a clue. Glad you got it worked out.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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Mark D Segal

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #12 on: October 27, 2016, 07:40:21 pm »


You still have to somehow have something from a new drive imported before that volume becomes available in the catalog hierarchy and allow you to move folders from one drive to another.


This is what the procedure I described in Post 5 is supposed to do as far as I know. It allows one to import from a source that is not yet catalogued, and once done that source is supposed to be catalogued because it's been imported. Am I missing something here? Anyhow. Brookie's problem is solved.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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Brookie

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #13 on: October 27, 2016, 08:39:00 pm »

Thanks Mark,
BTW, I did not get any message to clue me into the permissions violation issue. I have three external drives, two 4TB drives (same model) and one 1TB drive (all same manufacturer). The problem was with one of the 4TB drives. The other two were no problem. And, even the one that was a problem was plug and play outside of Lightroom. Who knows what the reason for the SNAFU was?  OK now though.
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HSakols

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #14 on: October 27, 2016, 08:41:34 pm »

Hi,
I found this video to be helpful.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVYkkPa2aZw
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Wayne Fox

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #15 on: October 28, 2016, 11:56:24 am »

It allows one to import from a source that is not yet catalogued, and once done that source is supposed to be catalogued because it's been imported. Am I missing something here?
Not wanting to be a pest here, but the import dialog by nature allows you to import from a source that is not cataloged. you don't need to click the popup to do so ... all volumes are available in the source pane.

The  pop up doesn't show anything that isn't already in the left side of the window but is a shortcut tool for navigating/selecting paths in the source pane of the import window.   The main use of the popup is to allow you to navigate the source window to previously used import paths as well as some selected system ones like the Pictures folder.  Selecting anything from the pop up will expand any volumes down to the selected source folder in  the source pane of the main window.  The Other Source ...  option allows you to navigate to a source using the operating system interface instead of using the expand triangles in Lightroom source pane,  but everything presented is already available in the source pane.  If you select anything in that other source option, it will simply expand the left side of the window to the selected path. The unused volume is already there in the source pane of the window.
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Mark D Segal

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Re: Moving folders to new drive
« Reply #16 on: October 28, 2016, 02:14:44 pm »

True. But the alternative I outlined I think gets around the issue you mentioned in Post 3 - LR not knowing the new drive exists. Anyhow, as usual, several ways of skinning the cat.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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