Editing on 2 computers

[colinm85]

Hi all,

  Sorry to ask this question, but I cannot seem to find an answer no matter how much I search. I am a long time Lightroom user, and currently have Lightroom 6 installed on my desktop. I have bought a new laptop, and I want to be able to edit my photos on both PCs. I cannot seem to find information on the best way to do this. I thought Creative Cloud would be the answer, and it may be, but I cannot find anything that specifically tells me how to do this. So let me be very specific about my ask.

I currently have my catalog on my desktop. If I load pictures to my desktop, they will be cataloged in my desktop catalog. Now, how do I get to edit these photos on my laptop, and keep my catalog in sync? I really thought that was the point of CC, but if I only get 20 Gb storage, I cant keep all my photos in that. And even if I could, the catalog would still be on my desktop.

Can anyone help? Is CC right for me? Any help appreciated. Thanks

Colinm85

[Just Shoot Me]

You have to download and install LR from this link.

Install Photoshop Lightroom

Then download the 6.6.1 update and install that.

[JP Hess]

The easiest and most reliable way to work on the same images on two different computers is to have the catalog and the images on an external hard drive that can be switched between computers. The catalog must be on a hard drive that is local to the computer running Lightroom. The cloud is not the solution for what you are trying to do. The cloud enables you to create collections that can be shared. Then you can use Lightroom Mobile on your mobile devices to modify those images. Those changes will be applied to the master images residing on your main computer.

[colinm85]

Thanks Jim but while I get that, it's not ideal for me. I travel, and putting my catalog on an external hard drive leaves me vulnerable to losing the drive, having issues with it etc. mYbd I need to look at putting my pictures and catalog on something like box is the answer. Comments?

[John Waller]

Lightroom needs to see (or be fooled into seeing) the catalog as a local file.

This works using

• internal and external hard drives or
• something like Dropbox which stores a virtual copy of its files on your local hard drive then syncs them remotely to dropbox.com. I believe Box has a similar feature. It's that sync'ed copy of the Dropbox/Box files on your local hard drive which makes "sharing" the LR catalog it work. It's not really shared. It's automatically synced by Dropbox to multiple connected computers sharing the same Dropbox account.

The downside of this approach is the risk of data duplication due to conflicted copies. If Dropbox cannot access the LR catalog due to it being is use or the timestamp is off, Dropbox either skips or duplicates the files.

If you're disciplined enough to close your LR catalog after every editing session, then Dropbox will cleanly and safely sync the LR catalog to the other computer's Dropbox and you can edit the updated LR catalog on the other computer. If you fail to close LR correctly even once, you'll have to sort out multiple conflicted copies of your LR catalog before you can continue editing.

See

http://www.hdrphotographyblog.com/tutorials/sync-lightroom-catalog-with-dropbox/

http://petapixel.com/2014/06/03/5-tips-for-keeping-your-lightroom-catalogs-organized-and-efficient/

[colinm85]

Thanks for the helpful tips all. I do carry a bunch of equipment around, so I'd rather not take yet another hard drive. The Box (or Creative Cloud) option seems viable though. Let me see if I understand it.

I currently have Lightroom 6, not the CC subscription. If I get a Box account, I can move my catalog to that, and then make sure I close Lightroom every time I finish an editing session. Then I have to make sure that Box has synched, and when  I open Lightroom next, regardless of which computer I open it on, it will get the latest catalog. Is that right?

So my first question is can I load LR6 on 2 PCs as long as I don't use it simultaneously?

Next, it's the same procedure if I decide to go with CC. In this case I could also use the CC storage. That would accomplish the same thing right?

And finally, for either option, my photos themselves would be on my desktop hard drive. My laptop would be able to 'see' the virtual copy in the catalog, and would apply any changes only in the catalog.

Is that right?

Thanks for all the help

[JP Hess]

Your Lightroom license entitles you to 2 installations for your personal use. So, the answer to question number 1 is yes.

No, the creative cloud will not accomplish the same thing as dropbox. Some people have the misunderstanding that images are stored in the cloud automatically, and therefore can be accessed from different computers. That is not the case. The creative cloud gives you access to Lightroom Mobile. That is a program that can be installed on your mobile devices. Then you create collections that you choose to share on Lightroom Mobile. Those shared collections can be edited on the mobile device and the changes will transfer to the master computer. You can also edit those collections using your computer and accessing a website, Lightroom.adobe.com. You could access that website from your laptop and work on the collections that you have chosen to share.

Images must be on a hard drive that is local to the computer running Lightroom. The only way you can work on images from another computer is either using Lightroom Mobile on a mobile device or going to the aforementioned website. The editing capabilities are not the full set that you have in the desktop Lightroom program. But it does give you the opportunity to work on images when you are away from your main computer.

[colinm85]

Thanks Jim, but I'm still a little confused. If I move my catalog to Box, that's not the same thing as moving my photos. So my photos would stay on my desktop. Reading your second paragraph, it seems like I have accomplished nothing by moving my catalog to box if I cannot do any editing to the photos on my desktop. So what would the point be of moving my catalog to box?

Sorry if I'm misunderstanding

[Abambo · Accepted solution]

The catalog is a database, containing your edits, previews of the pictures, pointers to the pictures and some other data. As the current pictures are not stored with the catalog, you should not change their location or name behind the back of LR. but this allows for a compact catalog and allows for offline editing, without having to have the pictures on-line.

Moving the catalog to dropbox will allow access from 2 or more computers to the same catalog, without having to physically attach a disk to that computer. It works, but is not supported because LR does not support concurrent catalog access. If you are sure not to connect with 2 computers at the same time, there is no drawback as long as dropbox can synchrinize your data before dropping the connection.

The drpbox workaround works because a dropbox folder appears as a standard folder to your applications. If LR could detect this as a networked directory, it would refuse using it.

[Abambo]

JimHess wrote:

Images must be on a hard drive that is local to the computer running Lightroom.

This is only partially correct. the images may also reside on a network disk. The catalog needs to stay local on your computer. That is because LR does not support simultaneous access to the catalog and there would be inconsistencies in the data when accessing the catalog database from 2 or more computers at the same time.

[JP Hess]

But then the network disk is local to the computer. My statement, however, was probably a bit misleading.

[Abambo]

I wouldn't like to shuffle 30Mb+-images through a slow internet connection, but I'm using a LAN for storage. Pictures can be on the LAN (or WAN), but the catalog needs to be on (what LR thinks is) a local disk. Dropbox is a local disk (from a LR point of view).

[JP Hess]

Dropbox seems to be a reasonable solution for some users. Extra caution needs to be used to ensure that ample time is allowed for the catalog to be updated after Lightroom is closed. Other than that, I see no problem with the dropbox method. I have never used it. I guess I'm a little too simplistic. I do all of my work on a single desktop Windows 10 computer. Kind of boring, right?

[Abambo]

Not boring. Old school. I prefer the external HD now, because I need to be mobile. I wanted something solid, and no need for (slow) internet.

[colinm85]

Thanks guys. I'd much prefer to do everything from 1 computer also, as I have been for years, but I'm going to be more mobile and would like to be able to work on them while I'm out of town. Thought about the hard drive, and would probably have resorted to that if I had to. I get the portability, but it's just 1 more thing I have to worry about, so I probably wont if I don't have to.

So sounds like I'll probably give box a shot. Since I'll physically be away from my desktop when I'm using my laptop, I think the synching will work fine. Thanks for all your help

[Abambo]

My external HD is (with the protective packaging for transportation 13x9.5x3.5cm. And it weights near to 0.

[rockindie]

Excelent, I did not understand about the duplication and you explained perfectly. Dropbox works perfect to work in mi iMac and Macbook pro.

[DavidR101]

I know this has been sorted, but Adobe could allow lightroom for windows/mac be able to edit synced collections in the same way that lightroom mobile can do.

That would be a great solution, providing a great editing solution on a 2nd pc/mac.

Most of the technology they need to do this is in the mobile apps.  So, come on Adobe - this would be a huge boost to usability for lots of users that have a desktop and a laptop.

[Abambo]

If I'm correct, there is a way of doing that ... via a web browser!

[2stepbay]

Wouldn't using the web browser approach result in some loss of Lightroom's functionality?

And a related question: Is it just the Lightroom Catalog IRCAT file that is moved to Dropbox, or do I also move the Lightroom Previews Catalog.IRDATA file too?

[Abambo]

Never used the browser, so I can't comment on this!

You need to move the whole stuff. I do no see an option to assign other paths to the Preview and smart preview directory. Anyhow using Dropbox is not supported by Lightroom, so use it at your own risk.

[2stepbay]

Thank you. Would have responded sooner, but been getting a system error whenever I attempt to log-in here. That problem is discussed in another thread.

I decided to move my Lightroom files onto a 1TB external SSD. i'll simply move the drive between machines as the need arises, initially changing my file location setting in Lightroom's preferences on each machine. Seems that's the simplest choice here to avoid pitfalls set out in this thread.

[Abambo]

Don not forget the regular backups of your external drive.

[rolliefingers]

Could one not use something like Target Disk Mode to access the original Catalog files on the laptop from the desktop, and then use that method to later sync the files after editing on the laptop using Smart Previews? Use target disk mode to share files between two Mac computers - Apple Support

[Abambo]

Sorry, but this is MacOS specific and I can only google the internet for this.