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Please note that deleting Lightroom catalog backups won’t affect your main catalog. It won’t affect your original images on your computer storage device. So, if you want to start fresh in Lightroom, you can freely delete your Lightroom catalog and start over. But, it does not include your original images. A Lightroom catalog stores meta-data about the images, previews, and edits you’ve made. Can I delete my Lightroom Catalog and start over? It is completely safe to delete old backups (just keep the last 2-3) to save space on your storage device. Over time, you might end up with multiple copies of your catalog, and many of them might be outdated too. Apart from saving your catalog, Lightroom also offers to save a backup copy of your catalog to a (preferably) different location than your computer for redundancy. If that’s your goal, then you can safely delete your Lightroom Catalog.ĭeleting Lightroom catalog backups is a different story. Deleting a Lightroom catalog won’t affect your original files, but it will delete the specific edits, ratings, previews, keywords, and other meta-data that Lightroom saves in the catalog. The safety of deleting Lightroom catalogs depends on what you’re trying to achieve. Since Lightroom works non-destructively, it makes a copy of your images (previews) and then stores them in the catalog. The catalog also contains previews, which, in the simplest terms is Lightroom’s copy of your images. The rating, metadata, keywords, and also every single operation you’ve performed on the image are stored in the catalog. What is the relationship between Lightroom Catalogs and Previews?Ĭatalogs are a database of every action performed on an image. The difference is that you can use them in the Develop module, and you don’t need your actual images connected with Lightroom to edit Smart Previews. Smart Previews – These are highly compressed but still high-quality previews of your images.The preview is not stored separately and is part of the catalog. The size of the preview will depend on the type of preview you create.
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Previews – A Lightroom-only copy of your image, which is used inside Lightroom only.Smart Collections – Collections created based on some common criteria.This should be the de-facto organization method you should be using. Folders – Actual physical folders on your computer.Data includes edits, keywords, ratings, and previews. Catalog – ‘Collection’ of data about a set of images.Depending on your workflow, you might have saved it on your computer or an external hard drive. Original Images – These are the original files for the pictures you’ve taken.If you still don’t have this amazing program check it out here: Differences Between Catalogs, Previews, and Collections Understanding that will also give you the confidence to make changes without having to search for the answers to the smallest of questions.
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These may differ according to specific needs.īut not so fast! Before we learn about the specifics, it is a good idea to understand Lightroom’s terminology and how Lightroom software stores images. Thankfully, this article will tell you everything you need to know to clean up you Lightroom and answer the burning question once and for all which is: “Which Lightroom files can I delete?”Īs a general rule, Lightroom files which may be deleted include catalogs, catalog backups, temporary import data, previews and smart previews. Thus begins the search for figuring out Lightroom’s deepest, darkest secrets.
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The result? No space for other data or laggy performance in Lightroom or on your computer as a whole. You have too many files and too little hard drive space. Every serious photographer has experienced this.
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