Chapter 12: Managing Libraries
Luminar lets you create multiple libraries to better manage your photos. You could have Libraries for different clients and events, a library just for family photos, the sky's the limit.
Working with Multiple Libraries
Initially, Luminar creates a default Library when you first launch the application. You can use just this one library for all your photos or easily create news libraries. Libraries can be located anywhere on your hard drive. By default, Luminar creates its first library in your pictures folder. Libraries are also referred to as catalogs and contain a database of your images and their locations, Thumbnails of these images, and a history of all the adjustments applied to an image.
Creating a Library
- You can create a new library under the main menu under File > Catalog > New.
- A dialog box opens where you can name your catalog and choose where you want to save it.
- When you save the new catalog the current catalog close and the new one opens.
Opening a Library
- To open a previously created catalog go to File > Open
- Navigate to the Catalog you want to work with, it will appear as a folder.
- Select it and press open.
- The current catalog close and the selected catalog opens.
Backing Up a Library
Luminar is constantly backing up its database as you work with it. However, there are times you may want to back a catalog up in case your hard drive has a problem.
To back up a catalog:
- Go to File > Catalog > Backup.
- Luminar opens a dialog box that lets you choose where you want to save your backup file.
- To restore a backup file go to File > Catalog > Restore from Backup.
Backing Up Your Photo
You can backup your photos by exporting them. Saving them as Jpeg files creates smaller easier to manage files, however, there will be a quality loss due to compression. Saving them as TIFF images creates archival quality files. These files will be much larger than if they had been saved as Jpegs.
