P: Restore Import from external catalog over LAN?

Thank you so much for taking time to share a solution to this problem! I really hope Adobe is looking into this and takes it seriously enough to implement it. 

Thanks for clarifying. So there should be no issues with restoring this capability as you've outlined. Hopefully someone from Adobe Engineering is reading this post!

Those warnings might be appropriate for allowing LR to open catalogs on network filesystems, but they're not necessary for importing from catalogs over the network. The SQLite documentation makes clear that the problem is faulty implementations of POSIX file locking -- if two processes or threads simultaneously modify the database at the same time, and the locking is faulty, then corruption could occur. But read-only accesses can't possibly cause corruption, regardless of the locking.

No one who knows hasindicated whether this sacrifice of functionality in favor of catalogperformance was thought through ahead of time or was an afterthought.

Given the LR updates bug history I'd have to say with regret it was the latter. John, good analysis of the situation with a viable solution! If Adobe is worried about "protecting" users from potential catalog corruption due to network issues they could offer it as a Preferences option. Adobe could implement a warning popup with reference to potential issues and perhaps a Web link with more details when it's selected. Then it's up to the user to decide yea or nay!

It would take a just a few lines of code to restore the ability of Import From Another Catalog to access catalogs stored on network filesystems (aka network drives or NAS).

Gory details:

LR catalogs are implemented using SQLite databases. Adobe changed the way LR 7 opens these databases, using SQLite's write-ahead logging (WAL) journal mode. WAL is significantly faster than the default journal mode used in LR 6 and earlier, but it doesn't work with databases (catalogs) residing on network filesystems. Thus, as a consequence of speeding up catalog access, Adobe also disabled the ability of Import From Another Catalog to read catalogs stored on network filesystems.

No one who knows has indicated whether this sacrifice of functionality in favor of catalog performance was thought through ahead of time or was an afterthought.

But there is a simple fix that allows both the use of WAL and importing from catalogs on network filesystems. Normally, SQLite stores the WAL journal mode inside the database itself, and once stored in the database, there is no way for a program to open a database stored on a network filesystem to turn off the mode. But it's a very simple matter for LR to always keep the database in the default delete mode whenever the database is closed, putting it into WAL mode only when it is on a local disk and open.

Right after opening a database, LR would do:

if not pathIsOnNetworkVolume (catalog.path) then 
    do SQL command "pragma journal_mode=WAL"

This provides the desirable performance improvement if the catalog resides on a local disk, but still allows catalogs on network filesystems to be opened. 

Right before closing the database on exit, LR would put the database back into default mode:

do SQL command "pragma journal_mode=DELETE"

With this, the Import From Another Catalog command would once again be able to import catalogs stored on network filesystems, as it has been doing in all versions prior to LR 7.

Now, some engineers with a little knowledge might object that the developers of SQLite warn against accessing SQLite databases over the network, due to deficiencies in some implementations of network file locking. In general, that's a complicated subject as it applies to LR. But for importing from a network catalog, it's a non-issue, since the SQLite warning only applies to writing network databases, while the Import From Another Catalog command only reads the databases.

I tested the feasibility of this solution with MacOS LR 7.3.1, using SQLite to remove to remove the WAL journal mode from a catalog, and LR was able to successfully import from it, just like LR 6.

Brandon,

Thanks for your support. If importing of a catalog was a bug and not a feature then I wonder what Adobe regards as a real bug!
It's just a waste of time that I have to copy the catalog over from my Macbook Air towards my iMac and then do an import instead of just import the catalog over the (wired) network. It worked for a long time until Adobe decided to rip out that feature. 

Since LR Classic 7.3.1 it's been dreadful to work with LR.. and I do hope that they update the current version with some serious bug-fixing. Hell... at this moment I don't need new features... Just bug-fix it and do some further speed optimization. A lot of photo professionals (most of them) would welcome an update which allows them to speed up their workflow instead of all the current frustration with new features resulting in (big) bugs in previous well working features.

Adobe... I'm paying a descent amount of $ / € / £ / .. and I'm expecting quality products as a result.

Karel.

Hey Rikk,

I'm having a hard time not being angry over Adobe's stance on this issue. It feels like Adobe is more interested in justifying their choices rather than listening to the needs of their users. 

I have to say, I  can't agree with you that this was a bug that was fixed. Lightroom CC Classic broke much more than it ever fixed. Support for import over a network was never a bug. It was a feature added to address the user communities desire for network implementation of LR. 

I can understand why a networked version of LR would be problematic and expensive, as far as licensing for the stepped-up SQL license.  This is why Adobe gave us import catalog as a compromise that was cost effective and offered a stable solution to studios with multiple photographers and workstations. 

I'm not buying this was a "bug" that was fixed and I'm not buying that this can not be resolved. 

Your solution was to send Karel to the black hole of Adobe LR feature requests. We've been requesting a networked version of LR since its creation. We know it's not going to happen any time soon and Adobe knows the same. 

Your development team broke a feature we relied on heavily and has shown how unwilling they are to address the needs of the LR community by passing us off and shading over that this was ever a feature to begin with. 

I'm incredibly disappointed and I have a feeling I'm not alone. Just some genuine honesty from Adobe would go a long way but what would go much further is an inkling of effort in showing Adobe actually cares about this problem and wants to help. 

None of that has happened so far. 

I just don't get it. It seems like your development team is more interested in adding fluff features at the cost of stability and usability. 

If I had a pathway I would switch from you guys today. But I don't. And that's what makes me so angry is you all know that and exploit it. 

It is shameful how Adobe has given up on their professional users. 

Since the introduction of Lightroom Classic it's not possible anymore to import a Catalogue stored on another computer over a network.

This is very frustrating and results in time loss as I have to copy the catalogue (over the network!!!!) to my local machine and then do an import...

Please put this on your (long!) bugfix for 7.3.2

Karel.

Hi Sunil,

So from Adobe's view this is a "technical limitation"? Basicly you have removed a feature that was present is previous versions and was a feature that saved me a lot of time in the past! Now I have to export the files needed as an catalog, move it (over the same network!) to my main computer and import it there..

Karel.