# is there a way to change temp folder destination?



## mantra (Mar 11, 2017)

Hi
i have a ssd and i use only for scratch disk
is there a way to change lightroom 6.9cc (2015.9) temp folder?

thanks


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## clee01l (Mar 11, 2017)

It is a Windows Environment variable How to set the path in Microsoft Windows


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## mantra (Mar 11, 2017)

clee01l said:


> It is a Windows Environment variable How to set the path in Microsoft Windows


hi
thanks
but i would like to change them only for lightroom , maybe there is a way to add it in the lightroom preferences


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## clee01l (Mar 11, 2017)

mantra said:


> hi
> thanks
> but i would like to change them only for lightroom , maybe there is a way to add it in the lightroom preferences


The TEMP folder is a system folder designed to be used by and shared for all apps. LR uses this folder because it efficiently utilizes space and housekeeping managed by the OS.  This is typical for all apps and every OS that I have ever coded for.  You can move TEMP from the C:\ drive or Share TEMP across Multiple drives, but it will always be used by all apps that require TEMP storage (Scratch Disk)  The purpose of Temporary storage is that the files are automatically deleted when the app is closed and the space is free for other applications to use it.


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## Linwood Ferguson (Mar 11, 2017)

SSD's for temp are good for a lot of things, so changing it globally is not a bad idea unless you have some restriction.

There was a problem installing photoshop long ago if your temp folder was not on the OS drive on windows (or maybe even had to be on C:\) but I think that was fixed.  But you may occasionally run into install problems.  I keep my temp on a separate drive, and when I hit a problem I just shift it back to C, then back to the SSD drive after.  But I haven't had a problem in a couple years, so software is getting smarter.

ACR cache and preview cache can also benefit from being on SSD (ACR you can move, preview requires using a symbolic link and a bit more care).  If you have plenty of room.


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## Wernfried (Mar 13, 2017)

You can make this little workaround

Open a text editor (e.g. Notepad) and create a batch-files like this:


```
set TEMP=c:\Your_Temp_Folder
set TMP=c:\Your_Temp_Folder

start "" "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Lightroom\Lightroom.exe"
exit
```

Note, the empty string ("") - it is required. Save the file for example as "MyLightroom.bat" on your desktop. Then use this file (usually with simple double-click on it) to start Lightroom.

Best Regards
Wernfried


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## clee01l (Mar 13, 2017)

Wernfried said:


> You can make this little workaround


This is not really a work around since relocating the TEMP folder applies to all apps started  or accessing TEMP after the change and there is no reversion until you reboot or run another countermanding batch script


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## Linwood Ferguson (Mar 13, 2017)

clee01l said:


> This is not really a work around since relocating the TEMP folder applies to all apps started  or accessing TEMP after the change and there is no reversion until you reboot or run another countermanding batch script


I'm pretty sure that set (vs setx which is a little cheat introduced in windows 7 +/-) will only affect child processes.  That assumes it's the 64 bit version of LR.

I've never run LR like that, but it seems likely to be just that -- a one-off way to affect just it.  Of course, invoking lightroom indirectly (such as mounting a camera card) will not invoke the script, but once invoked I would expect all child LR processes to follow suit.


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## Wernfried (Mar 13, 2017)

The SET command applies only to current process, resp. child processes. It does not affect the machine or user-wide settings.
You can simply test it. Start Lightroom with proposed method. After Lightroom started up, open a command-line window and enter "SET TEMP" (resp. "SET TMP"). You will see the old system-wide value.

Best Regards
Wernfried


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