Using smart previews only

[NICK.THAKE]

We all know smart previews are the fastest way to edit photos, is there a way to work solely with the smart previews without disconnecting an external hard drive? Currently I run my catalogues from a 1TB SSD, including smart previews, then have the original files on a USB3 external Hard drive. Its laggy unless I disconnect the external HD, and I don't like unplugging drives all the time, is it possible to just work on the smart previews without the original and not disconnect the drive?

Thanks!

[Rob_Cullen]

Yes.

In Preferences > Performance there is an option to use the Smart Previews.

But you will still need the full-size originals available when you want to Export or Print your images.

Your drives will not be disconnected, so all good..

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/lightroom-performance-previews-caches/