Preference file and other file locations | Lightroom 1

This document lists the file locations for Photoshop Lightroom 1.0 through 1.4.1.

Important: Do not delete any database files. The only file it's sometimes necessary to delete or remove is the preference file.

The Photoshop Lightroom application is the Adobe Lightroom.app file, located in the Applications folder.

The preference file is the com.adobe.Lightroom.plist file, located in the [username]/Library/Preferences folder.

The following Photoshop Lightroom database files are located in the [username]/Pictures/Lightroom folder:

• Lightroom Database.lrdb (the database) (Photoshop Lightroom 1.0)
• Lightroom Catalog.lrcat (the catalog which can be renamed) (Photoshop Lightroom 1.1-1.4.1)
• Lightroom Database.lrdb.lock (the file that prevents data from being overwritten inadvertently)
• Lightroom Previews.lrdata (the file that holds the preview data assigned to your photos)

The database backups are in the Backups folder located in the Pictures/Lightroom folder. Each backup file, named Lightroom Database.lrdb, is in its own folder that is named with the date of the backup and a random number. For example, a folder could be named 2007-01-19 1221.

Installed and user-created presets and templates have filenames ending in .lrtemplate, located in their appropriate folders under the [username]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom folder.

Registration data is in the Library/Application Support/Lightroom/Lightroom 1.0 Registrations folder.

File locations in Windows XP

The Photoshop Lightroom application is the Lightroom.exe file, located in the Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop Lightroom folder.

Preferences are located in the Lightroom Preferences.agprefs file, located in the Documents and Settings/[username]/Application Data/Adobe/Lightroom/Preferences folder.

The following Photoshop Lightroom database file is located in the Documents and Settings/[username]/My Documents/My Pictures/Lightroom folder: Lightroom Database.lrdb (the database) (Photoshop Lightroom 1.0) or the Lightroom Catalog.lrcat file (Photoshop Lightroom 1.1-1.4.1)

Previews are located in various folders in the Documents and Settings/[username]/My Documents/My Pictures/Lightroom/Lightroom Previews.lrdata folder. They are organized and coded for the application to read, not for users.

The database backups are in the Backups folder located in the Documents and Settings/[username]/My Documents/My Pictures/Lightroom folder. Each backup filename begins with the date of the backup and includes a random number before the actual filename, which is Lightroom Database.lrdb. An example of a filename is: 2007-01-19 1221 Lightroom Database.lrdb (Photoshop Lightroom 1.0) or 2007-01-19 1221 Lightroom Catalog.lrcat (Photoshop Lightroom 1.1-1.4.1).

Installed and user-created presets and templates have filenames ending in .lrtemplate, located in their appropriate folders under the Documents and Settings/[username]/Application Data/Adobe/Lightroom folder.

Registration information is located in the Windows registry, in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Adobe/Lightroom/1.0/Registration key folder.

Note: There is no lock file on Windows. Only one person at a time can have the application open, and libraries cannot be opened on a network share. Therefore, there is no reason to have a file that locks the application.