I thought I was getting on with Lightroom and didn't qualify to be one of Nat's newbie subjects for his great new book, but I've run into a simple problem which I just can't figure out and I'm wondering if anyone here can give me a hand.
I am simply trying to move one top-level folder (2007) from one drive to another hard drive. I think that in version 1.x I was able to create a new top-level folder and drag the existing sub-folders into it, but I can't find anyway to do this. Is there something basic I am missing about moving folders within Lightroom?
Oops, the photo wasn't large enough to see the folders. I'm trying to move the folder "2007" from hard drive N to hard drive F.
Posted by Grant Collier on August 25, 2008 at 7:07 PM
I don't know if this is the most direct way of doing it, but I think you can move the 2007 folder to your F hard drive, then go into Lightroom, right-click on the 2007 folder and select "Find missing folder." Then go find that folder on the F drive and select it and it will then show up under the F drive in Lightroom.
P.S. - Only 32,000 photos in Lightroom? You are a newbie!
Posted by Paul Beiser on August 25, 2008 at 7:30 PM
I assume these are local (either internal or USB/Firewire/eSata) drives? Assume you have just tried a simple drag/drop?
Posted by Paul Beiser on August 25, 2008 at 7:31 PM
Grant, that is a good idea. Thanks! I just tried it and it worked. It does seem that you should be able to drag and drop top-level folders, but for some reason that doesn't seem to work.
Posted by Kalin Wilson on August 25, 2008 at 9:01 PM
Eric, I ran into the same issue. I wanted to rearrange and combine some photo folders and couldn't see the roots of the folders above where the current folders were. After backing everything up twice and experimenting I did the same thing you did, that Grant suggested. 'Find Missing Folder' worked well. If you move images or folders external to LR (with explorer) but within the structure that LR is monitoring, it can find them automatically. But if you move things outside of that structure it needs help finding them. Fortunately, you only have to point it to the folder or an image and it will resolve all of the missing links that it can find.
Posted by Nat Coalson on August 26, 2008 at 11:24 AM
To drag-copy folders they need to be dropped onto another folder; you can't drag a folder onto a volume to copy it.
If you can't see root (or any higher-level) folders above those in the list, use the Add Parent command (right click on folder).
Grant's suggestion is fine; sometimes it's easier to move things outside LR and then get the LR db up to date. Whenever possible, though, do the moving/copying etc. within LR.
Kalin's tip about relinking just one file is good, too... usually, relink one photo and LR will find all the others on the same volume.
The main thing to keep in mind is that the Folders list (and any volumes) correspond directly to folders on disk - but only for those that have been imported. It's possible (and in many cases, most likely) that there are folders on your hard disk that are not showing in the Lightroom list because nothing from them has been imported.
This is why you can't drag a folder to a volume.
Putting all your image folders inside one top-level folder at the root of the hard drive makes this easier to manage; though I prefer to use a setup more like what Erik's screenshots show, with several top-level folders at the drive root.
Discussion
7 repliesI am simply trying to move one top-level folder (2007) from one drive to another hard drive. I think that in version 1.x I was able to create a new top-level folder and drag the existing sub-folders into it, but I can't find anyway to do this. Is there something basic I am missing about moving folders within Lightroom?
Thanks!
P.S. - Only 32,000 photos in Lightroom? You are a newbie!
If you can't see root (or any higher-level) folders above those in the list, use the Add Parent command (right click on folder).
Grant's suggestion is fine; sometimes it's easier to move things outside LR and then get the LR db up to date. Whenever possible, though, do the moving/copying etc. within LR.
Kalin's tip about relinking just one file is good, too... usually, relink one photo and LR will find all the others on the same volume.
The main thing to keep in mind is that the Folders list (and any volumes) correspond directly to folders on disk - but only for those that have been imported. It's possible (and in many cases, most likely) that there are folders on your hard disk that are not showing in the Lightroom list because nothing from them has been imported.
This is why you can't drag a folder to a volume.
Putting all your image folders inside one top-level folder at the root of the hard drive makes this easier to manage; though I prefer to use a setup more like what Erik's screenshots show, with several top-level folders at the drive root.