Lightroom and external HD?

[whig]

I have just tried to study lightroom and I have one problem/question about with it.

If I keep most of my photos on external harddisk what is not always connected to my laptop (where I run lightroom) is it still possible to use it and how?

I'm just wondering will it remove photo info from it's library when it notice that it can't find those photos (when exhd is not connected and I use lightroom on the road).

And do I need to keep two (or more) different librarys if I have that one big library one external hd and if I keep some photos on my laptop when I'm travelling (I mean that I move photos from memory cards to my laptop when I travel and then later move them to external hd when I get home)?

Any hints/tips about using lightroom?

[cmit]

When you import photos into Lightroom you have several options, one of which is 'Import Photos at Their Current Location' - this leaves them where they are (in your case the external HDD) and stores their location in the Lightroom database.

If you have not yet purchased Lightroom, which I assume is the case, you can download a PDF copy of the Adobe Lightroom 'Getting Started Guide' from the follwing URL

http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/light ... ted_lo.pdf

This a good way to get started.

Good luck...

[jdepould]

I use an external HD, no problems. You have the option to select which volume you want to use on startup or to always start with the same volume. If you're going to be using your internal HD on location you can set it to prompt you on startup.

[marxz]

one good thing is that you can have your files in several locations...

in the library function it will show you both a list of images by folder (and sub folder) location and by collections.

if you keep some files on your local drive and others on an external then do not connect the external drive the folder list will show these folders at the collections root level folders (and the sub levels if you expand the collection view) as red and the images with a "?" in the top corner. reconnecting the drive they will to back to being white...

interestingly the beta version allowed you to export the rendered preview of a image if the original is not available but the final release version doesn't, quite annoying as this is handy if you're just distributing low res JPGS and you don't have the original drive attached.

[whig]

I use an external HD, no problems. You have the option to select which volume you want to use on startup or to always start with the same volume. If you're going to be using your internal HD on location you can set it to prompt you on startup.

You have all your photos on that external HD and nothing on your laptop/workstation?
That would work for me too but when I'm travelling and importing photos to my laptop (Where lightroom is) from memory cards I can't connect to my external HD (What is on my home network).
I think that I need two catalogs or something?

[whig]

When you import photos into Lightroom you have several options, one of which is 'Import Photos at Their Current Location' - this leaves them where they are (in your case the external HDD) and stores their location in the Lightroom database.

If you have not yet purchased Lightroom, which I assume is the case, you can download a PDF copy of the Adobe Lightroom 'Getting Started Guide' from the follwing URL

http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/light ... ted_lo.pdf

This a good way to get started.

Good luck...

I have that 30 days version of lightroom on my laptop so I can try things before my "real" version of lightroom comes =)

If I normally import photos from memory cards to my external HD (What is on my network) and when I'm on the road I import photos to my laptop do I need to play with catalogs?

I can try things now cos I have just test photos on my lightroom =) I just need to know (or have a hint) what I try...

Thanks to everybody who have helped this far.

[jdepould]

You have all your photos on that external HD and nothing on your laptop/workstation?
That would work for me too but when I'm travelling and importing photos to my laptop (Where lightroom is) from memory cards I can't connect to my external HD (What is on my home network).
I think that I need two catalogs or something?

That's the way I have it set up. You're correct in thinking you would need to separate catalogues, one on your internal HD and one on the external HD. Just set the default to ask which library to use on startup and you'll be fine. If LR is expecting to open something it can't find, it will ask you what to do anyway.

[whig]

You have all your photos on that external HD and nothing on your laptop/workstation?
That would work for me too but when I'm travelling and importing photos to my laptop (Where lightroom is) from memory cards I can't connect to my external HD (What is on my home network).
I think that I need two catalogs or something?

That's the way I have it set up. You're correct in thinking you would need to separate catalogues, one on your internal HD and one on the external HD. Just set the default to ask which library to use on startup and you'll be fine. If LR is expecting to open something it can't find, it will ask you what to do anyway.

I tried catalogs but I didn't get them to work.
I make new catalog but it just seems to make empty directories with that name what I put name for new catalog and that directory is empty.
And now when I open lightroom it just says that it can't open catalog from that place and only default catalog seems to work.

[jdepould]

Are you importing anything to the new catalogue before you close out?

[whig]

Are you importing anything to the new catalogue before you close out?

No... So it doesn't make any files to that directory if I don't put any photos there?

Doh... I got my version of lightroom from amazon.co.uk today but it seems to be 1.0 version... oh well... I can upgrade it to 1.1 for free (if I have understood everything right).

[whig]

Weird... if I start lightroom and try to make new catalog tha way it just close itself (right after pressing ok (or was it save) button) and starts again and then it ask about catalogs and can't open what I just did.
But there I can press "Create New Catalog" or something button and that seems to make new catalog OK...

I really have to understand this catalog thing before I start to play with real photos =)

[whig]

Just noticed one line on "Select Catalog" window:
"Note: Lightroom Catalogs cannot be on network volumes or in read-only folders."

That sounds like that I can't use my network HD's with lightroom... bugger...

[celtus]

May be in later editions

[whig]

May be in later editions

Hopefully...
It looks like that I'm not the only one with this problem:
"Managing Multiple Libraries": http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/lighroom-illuminated.shtml

"What I therefore do is that every time I travel with my laptop..." sounds so familiar.

Havent looked this (http://www.lightroomkillertips.com/2007/video-using-catalogs-in-11/ ) video yet but it sounds like solution for my issue:
"my email inbox was filled with people asking how to move their library (now called a catalog) in Lightroom 1.0 from a laptop to a desktop. More importantly, folks wanted to know how to merge the library on your laptop (while in the field) with the one back at the studio so you could work between both"