Can't sync a collection in lightroom classic to share

[AgilityGordons]

I use LR Classic and would like to sync a collection to share with some friends. When I go to turn on sync, it wants to sync my entire catalog. How can I just sync a collection? I don't want my entire catalog on the cloud. Or, is this totally impossible. I have the newest version of LR. Thank you, Susan 

[Rob_Cullen]

I do not see how this could happen. Lightroom-CLASSIC will only sync photos UP to the Cloud IF they are in a Standard Collection which is specifically marked to sync. (and they are Proxy smaller files that do not use Cloud storage space)

However with Sync turned on- it WILL download all your photos in Cloud storage that were imported/added from Lr-Mobile Apps.

Can you be more specific as to why you think this is happening?

[DdeGannes]

Files will also sync to the Creative Cloud if you copy from folders directly to the "All synced Photographs collection".

See the screen capture.

[Jao vdL]

Are you sure you are on Classic and not on Lightroom Desktop (i.e. the Cloud version)? Often when people say they have the newest version they accidentally downloaded Lightroom Desktop which requires syncing of all images to the cloud. Classic only syncs those images that are set to sync by putting them in a collection that is marked for syncing and even then it will only sync smart previews of those images not the full raw images. 

[AgilityGordons]

Here are some screen shots on what I see:I am in LR Classic, never downloaded or installed the Cloud version, I created a Best of under Collection--but there is no option to sync it to the left of it, When I go and click on the Cloud, It opens the Cloud Storage, and if I hit start synching, I get the last image about catalogues, LR wants to sync a catalogue, and I don't want my catalogue in the Cloud, just a small collection to share. The Catalogue I am using is the 2-V10-V1, so am not sure what I am doing wrong, or what to do? Does the Cloud need a catalogue to store photos in the cloud?

 

 

[Jim Wilde]

You are misunderstanding that last message. In order for ANY syncing to happen between LrC and the cloud, the LrC catalog itself has to be sync-enabled....but only one catalog can be sync-enabled at any one time. That message is telling you that an earlier catalog was set as the synced catalog, and is asking if you want the current catalog to become the synced catalog instead. If you do, then select the option to sync the current catalog instead.

As explained earlier, "syncing a catalog" does not mean that all images in the catalog are synced to the cloud, syncing FROM LrC TO the cloud is entirely user-selective (i.e. the user has to select images or collections to be synced). However, is DOES mean that any existing images in the cloud will automatically download (as full res copies) into the synced LrC catalog, so you have to make sure you understand that and visit the LrC Preferences>Lightroom Sync tab first, where you can set the desired location for those downloaded images (the default is an obscure folder on the system drive in the user's AppData library).

[AgilityGordons]

Thank you, I haven't use any sycning of LR or PS, and this was driving me crazy. I think I got it now. Appreciate your help for this 'old lady'. 🙂