In Lightroom, how can I move a set of filtered images preserving the folder order?

Question

I'd like to move all my raw (.nef) files in my Lightroom catalog to another hard drive to free up space. However, I want to preserve the folder structure from the source drive to the other hard drive. Additionally, I'd like to preserve my non-destructive edits I made on those images and history.

Currently I have one catalog that spans two hard drives. I import photos on the main drive, work on them, and when I'm finished I'd like to easily move them to the second.

I can easily filter the ones I want, but I cannot seem to preserve the folder structure when moving between the two drives. I could do things folder by folder, but that will take too long. Finally, I can do a vanilla export and delete, but I will lose edits and I'm not sure I can preserve the folder structure I'm looking for.

Answer

UPDATE: I found a simpler solution here.

1. In your Lightroom catalogue, in Folders, click the + and add a new folder on the new drive.
2. Still in Lightroom, now drag folders from your existing hard drive and drop them on the new drive.

---

To copy your photos to another drive:

1. Apply the filters that you want.
2. Select all the filtered photos.
3. Goto File->Export as Catalog.
4. Keep "Export selected files only" and "Export negative files" checked.
5. Specify a path in your other hard drive.
6. Wait for it to make a copy of all your files.

---

To use these copied photos in Lightroom:

1. Goto File->Open Catalog.
2. Select the newly created catalog on your other drive.

---

This will meet the following of your requirements:

• Preserve your folder structure.
• Maintain your non-destructive edits and history.

Check more discussion of this question.