Hi... old LR5 user here... I have a couple of cluttered remote drives here and trying to clean up and create reliable data backups I need help to know which folders belong to Lightroom. Like everyone, when I started with LR 10 years ago I knew nothing about it. I know now I should have set up all the photo files and others in a separate folder called 'Lightroom'. I am running with Windows11.
I am guessing the relevant ones are those 3 that start with 'Lightroom". Appreciate some guidance please so the future looks neater.
From doing a simple Google search for "Lightroom 5 Program files," I found the below (I take no responsibility for this but it may be a good starting point. Further search may yield more refined results).
Lightroom 5 stores its program files, including built-in camera profiles, in specific locations on your computer. The program files themselves are typically found in the "Applications" folder, while custom camera profiles are stored in the "CameraRaw" folder within the "Adobe" folder in the user's "Library" or "Application Support" directory. Additionally, Lightroom 5 uses catalog files and previews, which are stored in user-defined locations, usually within the "My Pictures" or "Documents" folders.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
1. Program Files:
Windows:
The main Lightroom 5 application file is typically located in
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Lightroom 5
.macOS:
The Lightroom 5 application is located within the Applications folder, usually as
Adobe Lightroom 5.app
.2. Camera Profiles:
Windows:
Custom camera profiles are stored in
C:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\CameraProfiles
.macOS:
They are located in
/Users/[Your Username]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/CameraProfiles
.3. Catalog and Previews:
Lightroom 5 catalogs (which store information about your photos and edits) and previews can be stored in any location you choose.
A common location is within your user's "My Pictures" or "Documents" folder, often within a subfolder named "Lightroom" or "Lightroom Catalog".
The Lightroom catalog file has the extension
.lrcat
.Preview files are typically stored in a subfolder with the
.lrdata
extension.4. Presets and Templates:
Installed and user-created presets and templates are stored in folders within the
[username]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom
folder (macOS) or the[username]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Lightroom
folder (Windows).5. Other Important Files:
Backups:
Lightroom creates backups of your catalog, which are stored in a "Backups" folder within the same directory as your catalog file.
Preferences:
Preference files are stored in the
[username]/Library/Preferences/Adobe/Lightroom
folder (macOS) or[username]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Lightroom
folder (Windows).Note: Some folders, like the user Library folder on macOS and the AppData folder on Windows, are hidden by default. You may need to enable "Show hidden files and folders" in your operating system settings to access them.
Thank you Barry, but that isn't really helpful... where the application works doesn't concern me. I save all my photos on a remote drive as well as catalog files and catalog backups. I think I need to start with a clean disk and import some pics, edit them and then see what folders LR creates on that clean disk. Thaks again.