How can I open a shared album or collection in Classic?

[Ed Martin NC]

[For clarity, I'll refer to Lightroom Classic as LRC and the other Lightroom as LR.]

I've figured out how to share an album from Lightroom (LR). But on the recipient side, how do they open the shared album in LR Classic (LRC)?

I have 2 test systems set up - so let's call them "master" and "shared". They are separate computers and they use separate Adobe accounts. I created the shared album in LR on "master" and sent the email link to "shared". On "shared", I can open the email, click on the link and see the shared album on the web. I can also open LR and see it under the Shared tab. But I do not see it anywhere in LRC and I can't find a way to use the link to open it in LRC.

[richardplondon]

The way that the Lightroom and Lightroom Classic 'worlds' meet, is under a common Adobe account and even then, a given LrC Catalog has to be stated as the one that is syncing with the cloud storage belonging to that Adobe account.

To my knowledge, if two separate Adobe accounts are being used there is no connection between these via cloud. You can share a link giving access to view certain cloud image galleries, add visitor comments, but that is about it. These images are not being collaboratively shared, in the sense of being granted rights to manage or edit those.

It should be possible to access the same local LrC Catalog under either Adobe signin, after first signing out from the other.

But signing in under either signin to the Cloud-centric desktop product ("Lightroom"), or mobile app, or web based app: two different and completely independent online image libraries plus cloud galleries, Portfolio site, etc will then be seen.

[Ed Martin NC]

Thanks, Richard.  That makes sense (unfortunately).  Here is what I am trying to do.  I'm sure I am not the only person trying to do such a thing.  But the disconnected or incomplete issues with the Adobe infrastructure is infuriating.

My wife is a photographer.  We are tryng to outsource edits on some of her jobs.  I use LR.  She uses LRC.  It all works fine in-house (because we share the same Adobe ID).  We (I) import all images into LR on my Mac.  She shoots everything in RAW on a Canon R6 (so they are CR3 files).  They sync to Adobe Cloud.  They then sync down to all of our devices under our Adobe ID. She can edit in LRC and those sync right back to Adobe Cloud.  All good.

I want the external editor to be able to work within the workflow.  I don't want to have to export images or catalogs.  On the return end, I don't want to have to re-import things back into our in-house workflow.

We have the testing with the editor to the point that I can share the LR album, but they then have to export out of LR, import into LRC, do their edits, then export out of LRC and stick the resulting XMP's into Dropbox folder.  Of course, there is no way to import XMB's into LR back here... so I have to kick my wife off of her computer so I can copy the XMB's into the original source folder and then run the resync flow withing LRC to get them to show up. 

That is a total mess of a hacked workflow.

Any dieas on a better way to approach this?

[richardplondon]

Is it necessary for your external editor to use Lightroom, rather than (for example) Adobe Camera Raw - which offers the identical edits, with the exception of various matters that could not have been expressed in XMP anyway. What I am thinking of, is something such as:

1. images begin in, or else sync down into, desktop LrC (as Raw files) where they occur in a certain disk storage folder. Initial metadata get actively written out as up-to-date local XMP here.
2. Then this folder gets share-synced out via some cloud method, be that DropBox or Box or whatever.
3. Your external editor uses this same cloud method to fetch-sync in a local copy of the lot.
4. They use Bridge to view, update metadata, and invoke editing of the photos' Develop parameters using ACR and saving XMP back from there; and also make any new derived PS versions needed (these to be saved alongside the Raws in the same folder). 
5. All this then in due course syncs back to cloud, from where you fetch-sync it into your own local system.
6. In LrC, Sync Folder such that any added PS edit versions are imported to the Catalog; also such that both Library and Develop metadata get updated into your local Catalog - working from the updated XMP sidecars that are the result of the work of the external editor.
7. These edit updates, also any additional image versions (PS edits), then sync back out into the LR cloud.

Until we (if we ever) get to some team Lightroom solution, I think some such 'manoeuvre' will unfortunately remain necessary. IMO to span across both Catalog based and Cloud based workflows is already conceptually messy enough, but to add File based workflow into that mix is... non-ideal! But it is the only path that immediately comes to mind, across this territory.

[Ed Martin NC]

Thanks again!  The Dropbox idea was floated in another thread. That's definitely something for me to think about.  But that fact that it took you 7 detailed steps to lay it out kind of says that this is a giant work-around.  😉

With the method I've gotten to so far (which I call a total mess of a hacked workflow) gets me to the point where the external editor sends back XMP's to me and we just have to sync them back into LRC.  It works... but it's dirty.

Adobe has made a mess out of this - even starting with the various naming conventions they've had along the way.  I'm sorry but the "suggested method" of working with an external editor is exporting LRC catalogs and smart previews???... that's something that should have gone away around the era of the Clinton administration... or Bush 2... or I'll even give you Obama.  But it's 2022. I can open up a shared LR album in any web browser on the planet but I can't open it in LRC?  That's ridiculous.