

The default setting for when the large 1:1 previews are deleted is one week. If you don't delete 1:1 previews, the previews file can get very large.

When you delete the 1:1 previews, the size of the Previews.lrdata file is reduced. Lightroom's preferences have the option of when to delete the largest previews, the 1:1 previews. Your thumbnails, small previews, and 1:1 (full size) previews are kept in this Previews.lrdata file. The file that contains your thumbnail and preview data is called Previews.lrdata, and is in the same folder as your catalog.

To render 1:1 previews on import, use the File Handling panel of the import window. Render them on import, or set aside time to render them manually. To increase your productivity and reduce this disruption, manage when and how you render your 1:1 previews. If, upon import, you only tell Lightroom to generate Minimal or Embedded previews, Lightroom creates Standard and 1:1 previews automatically as you’re working in the application. To display and work with photos, Lightroom requires a standard or 1:1 preview, depending on the task. Any time you zoom to 1:1 or higher in the Library module, Lightroom uses 1:1 previews. Because so much data is being processed, 1:1 previews can take a significant amount of time to create. When Lightroom generates 1:1 previews, it also generates minimal and standard previews, so all three are available to the program as needed. Standard previews are used in Filmstrip and Grid view thumbnails, as well as in preview and content areas of the Slideshow, Print, and Web modules.ġ:1: These previews are a 100% view of actual pixels and, like Standard previews, the Camera Raw engine processes them. You can specify the size of the Standard preview you need, based on the display you use.

So, they sometimes appear different from minimal or embedded previews, especially if you have applied adjustments in the Develop module. They use the Camera Raw engine for processing. Standard: Lightroom creates standard previews. The Filmstrip and Grid view of the Library module uses minimal previews temporarily, until Lightroom renders standard-size previews for those thumbnails.Įmbedded & Sidecar: These previews are larger, also camera-generated, and they take a little longer to create than minimal previews. They are the fastest type of preview to create. Minimal: These previews are the small, low-resolution JPEG previews embedded in the photos, which the camera generates. When you import photos, you can choose from three types of previews of progressively higher quality: Lightroom uses previews to display photo thumbnails in the Grid view, the Loupe view, and in the Develop, Slideshow, Print, and Web modules.
