Newbie question

[grhazelton]

I've only recently begun with Lightroom 3, and I think I will like it coming from Elements 9.  There is quite a learning curve!  I have been searching unsuccessfully Kelby and Evening's books for the answer to my question; perhaps someone here has an answer.

Lightroom by default wants to save loaded images to the C drive.  My C partition is fairly small intended only for the OS and programs; I use E partition of my 1T raid 1 for data storage.  I can't find any way to make Lightroom default to saving to E; I have to make the selection myself and if I forget the C drive is "clogged up" pretty fast. Any ideas out there?

Another question:  Many of my Elements files were saved as PSD.  Despite what the books say my Lightroom doesn't like this.  I dread the thought of going into Elements and resaving for Lightroom.  Elements files saved as TIFFs seem to cause a hiccup, too.

[KeithR]

This is a link to an article on a site called The LightroomLab.com. that will answer your question. I currently have my OS and programs on my C drive(SSD) as well and the images and LR catalog on a seperate drive.
http://thelightroomlab.com/2011/11/getting-started-with-lightroom-where-should-i-store-my-photos/#comments

[wolfnowl]

For your first question, set up an import preset that specifies your external drive as the destination.  I sort my images by camera/location then year/ month, so I create a new preset for each month.

For your second question, why not set up PS Elements as an editor in Lightroom?  That way you can import your raw files, sort, process, etc. then export to Elements for further processing (Develop/ Edit in...)

Mike.

[NikoJorj]

For the first problem, you should perhaps move the MyDocuments folder from the C to the E?
But I'd say it remembers the last path used.

For the 2nd one, what's the exact problem with PSDs?

[howardm]

I'm not an Elements user but as I recall, when you save a PSD, you *must* turn on the 'Maximize Compatibility' flag (which seems to force inclusion of a fully flattened image layer inside the image).  LR does not handle Layers.

[grhazelton]

Thanks to all for the replies!  I think I'll have a go at the import preset idea, thanks wolfnowl.

howardm, I'll look into that.  Since not all of my Elements massaged files are refused by Lightroom I might view those files in Elements and for those I feel might be helped by Lightroom I could resave set to Maximize Compatibility.

keithr, thanks for the site suggestion.  While it provided valuable information it didn't really address my problem.  Its emphasis on a file structure and backup strategy is good. I have 2 "drive in a drawer" units, 1.5T each for alternating backup plus Backblaze cloud backup, which was a godsend when an external 1T raid 1 unit failed when both Seagate Barracuda drives failed within minutes of each other! 

The site's suggestion that Adobe felt that, since Lightroom is intended for "professional" users little basic information on its use is needed is ill informed.  As a professional librarian involved with the migration to and implementation of two statewide (Georgia) integrated catalog/circulation systems I can attest that full documentation is essential to the success of using new software. 

Small rant here:  Adobe is not alone in leaving users with the need to buy a book if they find that on line help is inadequate.  Grrrr!  Back in the day a book of sorts came with programs.  Surely the software giants could extend a helping hand in the form of a physical object to guide the novice.  And we are all novices with new software.  End of rant.

Again, please don't take any of this personally.  I really appreciate the suggestions. 

[grhazelton]

Okay, developing a Basic Import Preset does the trick.  I can now call up Lightroom from inserting a card in the reader, and Lightroom will default to my E partition.  Thanks again, folks. 

[NikoJorj]

The site's suggestion that Adobe felt that, since Lightroom is intended for "professional" users little basic information on its use is needed is ill informed.  As a professional librarian involved with the migration to and implementation of two statewide (Georgia) integrated catalog/circulation systems I can attest that full documentation is essential to the success of using new software. 

Matter of taste, but I found the help files rather well made... And this http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/lightroom/pdfs/lightroom_gettingstarted_lo.pdf might get you up to speed too.

[grhazelton]

NikoJorg -

The pdf link is worthy.  In a sense it makes my point:  Why didn't Adobe include this brief manual with the disc for Lightroom?  With only one monitor, and not a large one at that, I find going back and forth between ANY  application and help files - whether online or on disc - really annoying.  As a result I've bought both Kelby and Evening's fine books.