# searching for photos in CC



## docsevo (Oct 19, 2018)

I migrated my classic catalog with 35K photos to CC.  I had classified most of them with the folders based system in classic.  Now I realize that in CC I don't have the folders based system anymore, (or do I?) and have to use keywords and metadata to find photos.  
Is there a way to classify CC photos using the old folder system?  Can I access the old folder system in CC?


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## clee01l (Oct 19, 2018)

LightroomCC uses "Albums" the cloud equivalent to Collections.   Keywords have always been the way to go for Data Asset Management.  There are too many shortcomings to file system organization.  You have just recognized another.


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## docsevo (Oct 20, 2018)

I now discovered that after migrating my classic catalog the system files on my HD have increased in size to over 400Gb.  I assume this is the Lightroom temp files somewhere that haven't been deleted.  I can't find them to delete them.  Is there a way to . find these files in the system directory?


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## Victoria Bampton (Oct 20, 2018)

In CC's Preferences > Local Storage tab, you can set a location for the originals. You might want to move that to an external drive if you're low on space. If you leave it where it is, Lightroom will manage that space automatically once they're finished uploading.


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## docsevo (Oct 20, 2018)

Thanks Victoria.  I decided to go back to using CC Classic.  Way too much work to recategorize the photos in CC, and duplication of the original files anyway, which are already backed up locally.


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## Victoria Bampton (Oct 21, 2018)

How come you were having to recategorize the photos docsevo?


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## docsevo (Oct 21, 2018)

I wasn't very clear in my post.  Over the years using Lightroom, all the way from vsn 1, I grew a large collection of photos, some with keywords, but mostly categorized by date or the numerous folders on my HD and collections in Lightroom.  When I migrated the classic catalog over to CC it lost all those folders and ways of finding individual photos, I believe.  Or am I wrong?


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## Victoria Bampton (Oct 22, 2018)

Ah ok, yes, you might want to convert your folder hierarchy to a collection hierarchy in Classic if you've been using it for organization. It would have been possible to do that without wiping the cloud contents, but it's a bit late to tell you that now!


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## docsevo (Oct 22, 2018)

Oh darn!  Can you point me at the methodology to convert folder hierarchy to a collection hierachy?  Can you make an argument for using CC rather than Classic, other than having cloud backup?  (I have local Time machine and also Dropbox back up for important files.  I am an artist and store photos of my work on Dropbox).  Thanks for your responses in such a timely fashion.


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## Victoria Bampton (Oct 23, 2018)

Yeah, sure, you'd simply right-click on the parent folder and choose _Create Collection Set [foldername]_. If you have a flat list of folders instead of a hierarchy, you might want to turn it into a hierarchy first.

CC main pros:

Easy access on multiple devices, for example, desktop and laptop, mobile devices. All of the photos are available everywhere without having to do anything techy.
Much easier to use than Classic, so you can just concentrate on the photos themselves.
No file management to worry about, which is the thing that trips most people up.
It's a new code base so it's a lot less buggy.
Classic main pros:

It has more features, as it's been around for longer (although that does mean a greater learning curve too)
You're in charge of file management, which can be a pro or a con depending on your needs.
Doesn't need fast internet to upload files.
It's more extensible, with a wide selection of plug-ins and external editors.


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