Note:
You’re viewing help for Photoshop Lightroom Classic (formerly Lightroom CC).
Not your version? View help for Photoshop Lightroom.
When you create a catalog, you create a folder for it, too. The name of the folder is the same as the name of the catalog, without the catalog suffix. For example, if you name the folder “Wedding Photos,” the catalog file will be “Wedding Photos.lrcat”. When you add photos to the catalog, Lightroom Classic creates a preview cache file (such as “Wedding Photos Previews.lrdata”) and puts it in the folder with the catalog.
You can also change general preferences to specify which catalog opens when Lightroom Classic starts. See Change the default catalog.
You can open, or import, a catalog from an earlier version of Lightroom Classic, including a beta version, in a more recent version of Lightroom Classic. When you do, Lightroom Classic upgrades it. The new, updated catalog contains all of the metadata associated with the previous catalog and photos.
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Important: When you upgrade a catalog, Lightroom Classic leaves the old catalog untouched, makes a copy of the old catalog, and renames its previews file. So, in addition to your new, upgraded catalog, you'll also have:
- old catalog.lrcat
- old catalog-2.lrcat
- old catalog Previews 2.lrdata
You can keep or delete these files.
Note:
Before copying or moving a catalog and preview files, back them up.
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(Optional) If Lightroom Classic can't find folders or photos in the copied or moved catalog, a Question Mark icon appears by folder names in the Folders panel and an Exclamation Point icon appears in photo thumbnails in the Grid view. To restore folder links, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) a folder with a Question Mark icon and choose Find Missing Folder. To relink individual photos, see Locate missing photos.
You can create a catalog that contains a subset of a larger catalog by selecting the photos and exporting them as a new catalog. This is useful when, for example, you import photos into a catalog on a laptop and then later add them to a master catalog on a desktop computer.
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(Optional) To combine catalogs, import the new catalog into another. See Import photos from a different Lightroom Classic catalog.
Deleting a catalog erases all the work you’ve done in Lightroom Classic that isn’t saved in the photo files. While the previews are deleted, the original photos being linked to are not deleted.
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Using the Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac OS), locate the folder that contains your catalog and drag it to the Recycling Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac OS).
Important: Make sure that the folder you delete contains only the catalog files you intend to erase, and not additional files.
To enhance performance, Lightroom Classic builds a Previews folder next to the .lrcat file in the Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac OS). It is safe to delete this folder as long as its name matches the .lrcat file name. If you delete a Previews folder that’s still needed by a catalog, Lightroom Classic will regenerate it when you work in that catalog, but it will run more slowly until the previews are rebuilt.
By default, Lightroom Classic opens the most current catalog at startup. This behavior can be changed to opening a different catalog or to always prompting you to choose a catalog.
You can specify many preferred behaviors for Lightroom Classic catalogs in the Catalog Settings dialog box.
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Information
Provides information such as the location, filename, and creation date of the catalog. Click Show to view the catalog file in Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac OS).
Backup
Lets you specify the frequency with which the current catalog is backed up. See Back up a catalog.
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Preview Cache
Determines how Lightroom Classic renders three types of image previews. All previews are stored in the preview cache file in the folder where your catalog is located.
Standard Preview Size
Specifies the maximum length, in pixels, of the long side of full-size rendered previews. Choose a size that is equal to or larger than your screen resolution. For example, if your screen resolution is 1920 x 1200 pixels, choose Standard Preview Size > 2048 Pixels. If your screen resolution exceeds 2048 pixels, Lightroom Classic generates a 1:1 preview instead.
Automatically Discard 1:1 Previews
This setting specifies when 1:1 previews are discarded based on the most recent access to the preview. 1:1 previews have the same pixel dimensions as the original photos, and show sharpening and noise reduction. They are rendered as needed and can make the catalog preview file large, so it's good to discard them periodically.
Smart Previews
Indicates how much disk space is being used by Smart Previews. For information on using Smart Previews, see Smart Previews.
Import Sequence Numbers
Specifies starting sequence numbers for photos as you import into the catalog. Import Number is the first number in a series that identifies how many import operations are performed. Photos Imported is the first number in a series that identifies how many photos have been imported into the catalog. See The Filename Template Editor and Text Template Editor.
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Offer Suggestions From Recently Entered Values
When you start typing a metadata entry that resembles a previous entry, one or more suggestions appear as you type. Deselect this option to turn it off. Click Clear All Suggestion Lists to clear previous entries.
Include Develop Settings In Metadata Inside JPEG, TIFF, PNG, And PSD Files
Deselect this option to prevent Lightroom Classic from including Develop module settings in the XMP metadata of JPEG, TIFF, PNG, and PSD files.
Automatically Write Changes Into XMP
Select this option to save metadata changes directly to the XMP sidecar files, making the changes visible in other applications. Deselect this option to save metadata settings only in the catalog. For information on saving XMP changes manually, see About metadata and XMP.
Enable Reverse Geocoding of GPS Coordinates To Provide Address Suggestions
Allows Lightroom Classic to send your photo's GPS coordinates, if available, to Google so that Lightroom Classic can determine the city, state, and country of the photo and add that information into the IPTC Location metadata.
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