How do I access and update & sync my catalog across multiple devices?

Question

I am having trouble setting up access to my Elements catalog across multiple devices so I can access and make updates from either device and have them automatically sync. Is this not possible with the newest version of Elements?

Our desktop computer is finally giving up the ghost, so my wife and I are finally joining the 21st century and using centralized cloud storage (Office 365 and OneDrive) so we can access/update/sync the same shared files from individual laptops that have limited local storage. I assumed we would be able to do this with the latest version of Elements, but that does not seem to be the case. I can't get Elements to recognize the catalog I've copied to OneDrive as the default location for updates, and it wants me to re-connect every photo (>24,000) on another device even though the file paths to their location in OneDrive have already been set on one device. I’m also nervous about how much local storage this reconnecting eats up, and it doesn’t seem like changes locally will sync across.

By analogy, we use iTunes to manage our music and this is seamless. We can store both music files themselves and iTunes catalog (with ratings/playlists/etc.) on OneDrive and access it equally from either device, stream music locally from our own "cloud catalog" without any noticeable performance issues, and make updates from either device that will automatically sync. Is this type of thing not possible with photos as well, or does Elements lack that capability? That would surprise me with the newest version, doesn't seem right.

I am a loyal Elements user, by the way, with well over a decade invested into cataloging/rating/keyword tagging my photos dating back to the early versions of Adobe Photoshop Album, so I'm committed to making this work through Adobe's software solutions somehow someway. Can anyone give me guidance here?

--Clay

MichelBParis · Answer

To @anke2

You have seen that @mykeclay has not got an answer at that time. If I had to answer his questions now, I'd simply answer that sharing Organizer catalogs via OneDrive or any other Cloud based services is only a dream. You can easily share the photo files themselves by storing them in the OneDrive dedicated folder, and Onedrive will sync them to the Cloud and other connected devices. For catalogs, the links in the database do link to the computer on which the OneDrive folder is situated. The same catalog on another drive points to the original computer. The organizer can't access the Cloud directly, it has to let OneDrive do its syncing job.

Is there HELP at Adobe? Or is it only the money you want?

You are not speaking to Adobe here, only on a user to user forum.

Adobe offers a number of sharing solutions on the Cloud (Lightroom for instance), but Elements (introduced 20 years ago) is not the tool you want.

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