Deleting a Lightroom catalog won’t affect your original files, but it will delete the specific edits, ratings, previews, keywords, and other meta-data that Lightroom saves in the catalog. The safety of deleting Lightroom catalogs depends on what you’re trying to achieve. Since Lightroom works non-destructively, it makes a copy of your images (previews) and then stores them in the catalog. The catalog also contains previews, which, in the simplest terms is Lightroom’s copy of your images. The rating, metadata, keywords, and also every single operation you’ve performed on the image are stored in the catalog. What is the relationship between Lightroom Catalogs and Previews?Ĭatalogs are a database of every action performed on an image. The difference is that you can use them in the Develop module, and you don’t need your actual images connected with Lightroom to edit Smart Previews.
Depending on your workflow, you might have saved it on your computer or an external hard drive. Original Images – These are the original files for the pictures you’ve taken.
If you still don’t have this amazing program check it out here: Differences Between Catalogs, Previews, and Collections Understanding that will also give you the confidence to make changes without having to search for the answers to the smallest of questions.
#REMOVE FILES FROM MAC BUT NOT DECREASING DISK USAGE SOFTWARE#
These may differ according to specific needs.īut not so fast! Before we learn about the specifics, it is a good idea to understand Lightroom’s terminology and how Lightroom software stores images. Thankfully, this article will tell you everything you need to know to clean up you Lightroom and answer the burning question once and for all which is: “Which Lightroom files can I delete?”Īs a general rule, Lightroom files which may be deleted include catalogs, catalog backups, temporary import data, previews and smart previews. Thus begins the search for figuring out Lightroom’s deepest, darkest secrets. The result? No space for other data or laggy performance in Lightroom or on your computer as a whole. You have too many files and too little hard drive space. Every serious photographer has experienced this.