LR not deleting photos from harddisk due to "copy" instead of "add" during import

[mva_]

During import of my library of 100k photos and movies from NAS to LR I always used "copy". Since I want to keep the files on the NAS as an original backup I choose "copy". "add" will only add the files from the NAS to the catalog without copying them to the disk.

Now I cannot delete duplicates from disk through LR. See the same situation in thread: LR not deleting photos from hard disk

But to delete all files manually in finder to keep the catalogue in sync is complicated and also not expected from a Picture managing app.

I  have for example 8x the same .mov file of 300Mb on the disk with only 1x the same .mov showing in LR. I checked all the permissions which was not the issue. LR will simply not delete from disk although it is saying it will do so....

My current workflow:

1. new photos and movies are imported in Apple Photos

2. in intervals the new photos and movies are selected in Apple Photos, then exported to NAS and deleted from Apple Photos.

3. the new photos and movies are copied from NAS to LR on the disk. Now I have 2 copies, one original on the NAS for backup and one for managing in LR on the disk (2TB SSD).

4. desirable photos and movies are selected and exported from LR to Apple Photos. This includes Live Photos which works correctly selecting the .jpg and .mov together, Apple Photos combines this in one Live Photo.

5. Apple Photos keeps the photos and movies on the disk (full copy) and pushes them to iCloud for the family to share.

6. All data on 2Tb SSD is backed up in time machine.

Someone has an idea how to let LR delete the photos an movies on disk and keep the catalog in sync with disk contents?

For the future  should I change the workflow? I want to keep all photos in LR to manage, then have a subset in Apple Photos to share in iCloud. And keep a backup on the NAS of the original content in case I need to change apps in the future.

Any help is appreciated!

[JP Hess · Accepted solution]

Your workflow is a little confusing to me, but I don't use any Apple products and am not familiar at all with how iCloud works. But my suggestion would be to work as follows:

1. Import your images into Lightroom first, making a backup where ever you want that backup of the images to be.

2. Make all of your adjustments as needed in Lightroom.

3. Export copies that can be added to your iCloud collection.

4. Retain your master images in the Lightroom catalog because that is where all of the adjustments are stored.

[mva_]

Thanks for the proposed workflow.

Actually i tested some things and your suggestion as well.

- exporting from Mac Photos to disk, then import to LR through "add", then export from LR for backup lacks the XMP file.

- importing and "add" gives no option of making an additional backup during import, "copy" does give the option of additional backup during import

- "copy" is working as it should, after import i can manage the new files imported and Remove Photo works also for movies!

So basically my original workflow is ok and ensures I get the originals on disk from Mac Photos. Not through import-export in LR which can change the originals.

The problem for me I found is that the catalog and disk contents are not in sync from previous imports. LR doesn't see the duplicate files in the catalog which causes my problem of not correcting the duplicates.

My solution to this i found out on a sample:

- delete  photos and movies from catalog, NOT from disk

- add  photos and movies from disk but now only use "add"

- all duplicates will now show up

- delete the unwanted photos and movies by pressing delete from DISK. Now it works correctly and the files will be deleted from the disk

Can I do this for the whole catalogue of 100k pict/mov in one go?

So delete complete catalog but not from disk, then import the 100k pict/mov from disk to catalog and that would give me the synced catalogue file.

Thanks

Michiel

[JP Hess]

I guess I don't understand your workflow. You don't need the XMP files for the exported copies if they are JPEG's that you are going to share on iCloud. Frankly, I don't use XMP files at all. I keep all of my master images in Lightroom and export copies for other purposes. I backup the catalog routinely, and my images are backed up separately on a weekly basis. I guess I don't have any more ideas for you.

[DdeGannes]

@mva_ quote " I want to keep all photos in LR to manage, then have a subset in Apple Photos to share in iCloud. And keep a backup on the NAS of the original content in case I need to change apps in the future."

"I want to keep all photos in LR to manage ......" Just so it is clear, LR does not store copies of your photos in Lightroom. Lightroom Catalog is a data base file and only contains info about the location of your photo files and the work you do in Lightroom.

When you import photos with the Add option Lightroom will

1. Add photos to catalog without moving files.

In this scenario your original photos remain where they are before import.

When you import photos with the Copy option Lightroom will

1. Copy photos to a new location and add to catalog.

In this scenario you will have another copy of your original photos saved to a location on your system internal or external HDD which you choose during the import process. So you will have two copies of your original files.

There are no photos in Lightroom.