Ubuntu – Where does shotwell store its config files

Your library location is the folder which Shotwell scans. For instance in my case «Fotos» is the only folder Shotwell scans.

When you import a folder with pictures into Shotwell it gives you two options:

In the first case, Copy Photos, Shotwell will store a local copy of the pictures in your computer. Thus, if you import from a removable drive, you will always have a copy of them available.

In the second case, Import in Place, shotwell will only create links to the pictures, thus if you unplug a removable drive with the pictures they will not be available.

If you want to preserve your structure of folders for your pictures I recommend that you copy your pictures manually to your hard drive (Pictures folder is a good option). After that you can Import in Place from shotwell (does not make sense to have 2 local copies of your pictures) and you will have them available. Shotwell will still classify them by date (default), but then you can 'Tag' your pictures if you want to arrange them in a different order (e.g. 'my birthday').