How do I move images to an external hard drive?

Hi Everyone,
I'm very much a newbie and am having a problem with moving images to an external hard drive. Do I set up a new external drive and use the Export function to put all my files there, and then delete them from my computer (which is very full!)? If so, can I be sure that Lightroom will keep track of all the files and keywords? If I do that, I think my catalog will still live on my computer, but will know the files are on the external.
The other option I've considered is dragging and dropping everything to the external drive, then using the Import function to let Lightroom bring all the images into its catalog. I've found information about moving Lightroom to a new computer, but all I really need to do is to offload all my images to the external and leave the program on the laptop. Any suggestions with step-by-step instructions will be appreciated.
Computerklutz

Make sure all your images/image folders are in one Top Level Folder on your Laptop. If you don't have this structure do it in the Lightroom Library.
Then connect the external and COPY the Top Level folder to the external using the OS.
Next right/ctrl click the Top Level folder in the Library and choose Update Folder Location and point to the new location on the external.
If the files have all been copied successfully you can now trash the Top Level folder from the Laptop using the OS.
That is what I do when moving files to new disks.
The Catalog and Previews files stay on the laptop and aren't moved!!
There are many ways to do this !!

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