# Backup Folder Placement



## Sandyjas (Mar 19, 2018)

Operating System:Mountain Lion 10.8.4
Exact Lightroom Version (Help menu > System Info): LR5


I want to make sure my Lightroom Catalog backup scheme is right…

I left the original LR backup folder inside the Lightroom folder.  I didn’t move it out.  I have at this time only three early backups in it.  I made up a new folder outside the Lightroom folder, in Pictures on my Mac, for backups and have many backups in that so far.  I also have made backup folders in three other external hard drives with many backups in each of those.   (I fluctuate backing up to all of these and keep a separate document listing which backup is where.)  [I always have to change the backup drive or destination in the “Backup Catalog” dialog.  I backup Lightroom manually after finished work in each photo folder, or after a good amount of work.] Does this check out?


Originally I had the whole Lightroom folder on Exclude and also the Previews file!  I don’t know why I excluded the Previews file because it is inside the Lightroom folder! 


 Last night I decided to let Time Machine back up my .lrcat file, but not the Previews file.  I took off the whole Lightroom folder off Time Machine Exclude, did not put the .lrcat file on Exclude, left the Previews file on Exclude, and put the Lightroom Backups folder on Exclude.(Time Machine would then keep an updated Lightroom catalog file while not backing up the Previews or the Backup folder?  I don’t know if this is 100% okay to do.  I don’t think I ever got the Lightroom program itself backed up in Time Machine so this would also cover that?) _I don’t know what to do about the Lock and Journal files should they now be on Exclude?_  Is it okay for a set up like this?  Will Time Machine just backup the changes to the Lightroom Catalog over time, or will it have to back up a new full Lightroom  catalog with each of it’s backups?  I’m thinking it will just do the changes(?)  And I am always careful to have the Lightroom program closed when I am going to backup with Time Machine.


I also know, to make this backup scheme even safer I should put backups on a DVD or even online, or have something at another physical location.  I just want to check again.  I want to be sure with such important points.  Thank You So Much for the help.


Thank You,


Sandy


----------



## Johan Elzenga (Mar 19, 2018)

Sandyjas said:


> Last night I decided to let Time Machine back up my .lrcat file, but not the Previews file. I took off the whole Lightroom folder off Time Machine Exclude, did not put the .lrcat file on Exclude, left the Previews file on Exclude, and put the Lightroom Backups folder on Exclude.(Time Machine would then keep an updated Lightroom catalog file while not backing up the Previews or the Backup folder?


That does not make a whole lot of sense. Either don't back up the previews at all (because Lightroom can rebuild them), or do it properly. You probably think that the previews.lrdata is a huge file, so you don't want Time Machine to back it up each time you use Lightroom. It isn't a file however, it's a so-called 'package'. That's a folder that looks like a file in the Finder. If you let Lightroom continue to backup the previews.lrdata, it will only backup new and changed previews.


----------



## Sandyjas (Mar 20, 2018)

I never backed up the Previews file with Time Machine.  I know the previews can be rebuilt by Lightroom  if the file is somehow lost.  The whole Lightroom Folder originally was on the Time Machine Exclude List for some time.  I then backed up the Lightroom Catalog to various external hard drives I have.   I then decided to take the Lightroom folder off the TM exclude list and then added the LR Previews file (.lrdata) and the LR Backup folder (which was left inside the main LR folder) to Time Machine Exclude List.  I left the .lrcat file alone and did not put it on the TM exclude list. ( I guess if I were to want to backup the LR previews file I would just copy and paste it in another external hard drive I have.)  I just wanted to know if how I was going about all this I wrote about checked out and was okay to do in this way.   I thought it was, but wanted to make sure, because backup of the LR catalog is so important.  If your not clear, I probably did not add enough information in the right way to my original question.  

Thank You,

Sandy


----------



## Johan Elzenga (Mar 20, 2018)

OK, sorry for the misunderstanding. You said "_*I took off the whole Lightroom folder off Time Machine Exclude*_", so I concluded that you let Time Machine make a full backup of that folder (including the previews) before you started to change things again.


----------



## Sandyjas (Mar 21, 2018)

I only manually backup Time Machine and nothing yet has been backed up in TM under this new Lightroom Exclude Plan.  I'm so used to manual back up in TM that I forget it can do auto.  I should have it on auto, but I'm always having test folders, temp picture folders when doing Photoshop, and photos for drawing etc that I don't want to take time to put on the Exclude list, so after they are history, I manually back TM up.   

So I'm okay!                           

Thank You,
Sandy


----------

