Using an external SSD drive
Hi,
I have started to use Luminar 3 for cataloging my photos and edits. However ideally would like to move my catalogue externally and free up my internal drive.
I wondered what is the best way of doing this with Luminar and how people do this with their workflow?
1. What exactly do I need to move to the external SSD drive? Would I leave the catalogue files on my internal drive and point them to the external drive? What happens when I have finished my editing and transfer to a second drive for back up?
Thanks
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I am using an external drive. I have my original photos folders on the external drive and the Luminar library there as well. I still keep the program on my internal. As I use an external drive not covered by my time machine backup, I back up to another drive every day at least. It al, works fine for me
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That’s great thank you for your comment.
So every time you open Luminar you plug in your main ‘working drive’ which has the catalogue/library files on it and then your raw photos in whatever way you store them?Can I ask what you plan to do when your working external drive becomes to small because your Luminar photo library is too big for the drive? Will you simply get a larger drive or will you archive them somewhere?
Sorry for all the questions, I’m new to Luminar and am trying to understand how people manage their libraries long term.
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The folders for your original images can be on multiple drives. Obviously the Luminar library is just on the SSD, but it’s not too big. In fact my major RAW “none current” images ie past work are all on a 8 terabyte spinning drive. That’s slows those down a little, but not much. Current jobs are kept on the SSD and moved when complete and no longer daily work. Normally I create the folders within the primary image folder using finder and the drag and drop the raw files from the camera card straight in. Mine may not be a perfect work flow, and as time goes on may change.
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That’s great thanks for that. So does your Luminar library which houses the edit files point to your 8 terabyte spinning drive as well as the current working files on your SSD? Or do you export them to that 8 TB drive as JPG with the edits? I’m just thinking what happens to Luminar when you move them from your working SSD elsewhere as it will need pointing to a different drive? Can Luminar catalogue and locate files from different drives? Even if they are external?
Thanks
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Hi Christopher,
For now, we don't recommend to move the photos with edits to different HDs.
Feel free to move your catalog but please try to keep the original photos that have been added to the Library and edited with Luminar 3 within the original location.
To change the location of the catalog please follow the steps below:
- Make sure Luminar is closed.
- Locate your Luminar Catalog folder. The default location is %username%\Pictures\. If you specified a custom location for your catalog, search your custom location.
- Relocate the Luminar Catalog folder.
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Hi all,
Reading this thread, I am happy to learn I can have original files both in my internal SSD and an externa HDD, within the same Catalog; right?
HOWEVER I cannot get Lumninar to actually do that: the originals I the external HDD never get imported, no matter how many methods of importing, loading, closing L3, restarting my Mac, etc I tried. I get a greyed out folder name, and nothing ever in it. Whilst if I move (a subset) of those originals from HDD to internal SSD they get imported perfectly well (So the image is not the problem, neither).
Anyone faced the same problem? What can I do?
Best,
Federico
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