How to access photos that have already been edited on another computer?

[bek_leigh]

Hi

I don't use LR that much so when I got a new laptop I installed a new version of LR.  None of the images I had worked on previously were loaded into this new version which was fine.  Until now.  I have a folder on my desktop that has the images I shot and then a subfolder of the images I had edited and exported using LR.  The issue is I put my watermark on the edited ones and now I need copies without the watermark. 

When I load the folder of images I shot into LR now, none of my edits are there.  Not the keywords or any of the enhancements.  I would have thought LR would know that these images have been in LR before and have some of that metadata attached.

Is there away to load this folder (or even find the old collection I had made from this folder) and load it into LR so I don't have to edit them all from scratch again?

Thanking you in advance

[Just Shoot Me]

See this page for instruction on moving LR to a new computer.

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/how-move-lightroom-to-new-computer/

[bek_leigh]

Thank you Just Shoot Me.

I am however already on the new computer and no longer have the old computer.

[bek_leigh]

However, I should mentioned that all the files are still in dropbox exactly where they have always been......

[Just Shoot Me]

You need to use the same catalog that was used on your older computer.

I'm pretty sure that is covered in the link I provided. I says to Move the Catalog file over from the old computer.

Also when you are making a replied please click the Reply link at the bottom right hand side of the post you want to reply to.

[bek_leigh]

Okay so I can't load the old catalouge.

The fact that the folder of images is still in the same place, and have been  through Lightroom and have keywords attached, effectively means nothing?  There is no metadata or tags or anything on these images that Lightroom recognise?

[Just Shoot Me · Accepted solution]

All the edits you do in LR are Non Destructive. What that really means is the actual image file is never changed. The edits you do to them are stored in the Catalog File and Applied to, Laid over the Top of, the image when viewing. Those changes can also be written to a XMP file if you have that option checked, "Auto Write changes to XMP", in the Catalog Settings dialog and if you are working with JPG TIFF PNG or PSD files you also have the option checked in the Catalog setting dialog to "Include Develop settings in metadata inside JPEG, TIFF, PNG, and PSD files". Then edits made to those files types are stored inside the image file in a special place. If that option isn't checked then they are only stored in the Catalog file.

The only time those edits are burnt into the actual image file is when you Export that image.

That is why it is important to Move the Catalog file from one system to the other and to have current backups of the catalog file.

The Keywords are also stored in the Catalog file unless you have those options turned on as mentioned above.

All of these options have been covered many time in books and online tutorials for LR for years.

Let me ask. Did you save any of your personal files from your old computer? If you did, like you made a copy of the My Documents or the Documents folder in Windows or whatever that is called on a Mac, then if you never changed the Default Location of the LR Catalog file it should be in the "My Documents" or "Documents" folder on Windows or I guess it is also called Documents in OS X. On both OS's that folder is under the Drive Letter Or Name  ( \ / ) Users( \ /) YourUserName folder. It would be under the subfolder Pictures in another subfolder called Lightroom.

If you didn't make a copy of that folder then not only is the LR catalog gone but any other files you may of ever created (that is unless you stored them someplace else on your hard drive).

Did you do any type of system backups of the old computer?

[bek_leigh]

Hi there

Thank you for taking the time to help me with this. 

The photos/files have always been stored in Dropbox.  I don't store any files on my actually computer therefore there was no need to back up the last computer and transfer it to this new one.

I thought that once a photo has been through LR that the changes are attached to the photo and no matter what LR you open the photo in your changes will be there.

But as this is a new computer and therefore a new, empty version of LR, as soon as I loaded a folder full of images that had once been edited in LR, they appeared in LR as if they'd never been touched.

This is the part I'm struggling with.  I don't want to have to re-edit them all How can I get LR to read the catalog file that has to be attacked somewhere to them?

[JP Hess]

The Lightroom program is always "empty". What you need is the catalog that was used previously, the one that pointed to images that are stored in dropbox. All of the adjustments are stored in that catalog, which is a database. There are no changes made to the images. The catalog is the key. You can open that catalog with Lightroom on the new computer, and point to the dropbox folder, and all of the adjustments should still be in place.

[Just Shoot Me]

bek_leigh  wrote

Thank you Just Shoot Me.

I am however already on the new computer and no longer have the old computer.

Then your only option is to import all your images into a new catalog.

You may have to download all those images to your computers hard drive. I'm not certain LR can successfully import them from over the internet on Dropbox.