Lightroom Downloader Not Very Functional

[Buffalogrr]

I began to use Adobe Lightroom Downloader in hopes that it would synchronize images between my computer and the cloud. Not so fast! It  downloads as advertised, but does not synchronize. When restarted, it tries to download AGAIN. That's useless. Is there a way to synchronze images between my computer and the cloud, where it changes or deletes in one place and is automatically changed or deleted in the other place?

[GoldingD]

1. Do you have Lightroom Classic installed as well as Lightroom?
2. Were these particular images, originally imported into Lightroom Classic?

[Buffalogrr]

I use Lightroom Classic almost exclusively and most of these images originated there from many years ago through just a few months ago. The recent ones are from Lightroom "mobile", originating in my Android phone. So, a mixture of both.

[Jim Wilde]

Not sure why you're messing about with the Downloader, as it's sole purpose is to download images from the cloud, and is intended to retrieve a user's assets from the cloud (e.g. for those users wishing to exit from their Adobe subscription, or in the event of the death of the subscriber). 

Lr Classic does almost all that you require in terms of syncing with the cloud, so why do you think you need something else?

[Conrad C · Accepted solution]

I began to use Adobe Lightroom Downloader in hopes that it would synchronize images between my computer and the cloud. Not so fast! It  downloads as advertised, but does not synchronize.

By @Buffalogrr

The function is what is advertised. Lightroom Downloader is a pure downloader, and its help page (linked from its download page) only talks about downloading, never mentioning being able to sync with it. Maybe Adobe should make it clearer that it is definitely designed as a one-use application, meaning, once you use it and all your cloud files finish downloading, there should not be a reason to use it again, or at least if you do start it again there is nothing more it can do. Its purpose is as a sort of “escape pod” for all your images if you decided to stop a Lightroom description.

All of the above applies to users of Lightroom, not Lightroom Classic. Because if you use Lightroom Classic, everything is already covered. Because Lightroom Classic uses your computer as primary storage, any image it touches in the cloud is downloaded locally, so you already have it…the Lightroom Downloader offers nothing more. Any images that Lightroom Classic knows about in the cloud can already sync Develop edits bidirectionally. If you use Lightroom Classic to delete an image that it synced up to the cloud, it is deleted from the cloud. So if you really are using Lightroom Classic, it already covers your goals of downloading everything and syncing edits and deletions. (If you sync up from Lightroom Classic, it uploads only Smart Preview proxies…because it always keeps the originals on your computer.)

[Buffalogrr · Accepted solution]

Thank you, Conrad C., I'll investigate LRC

[Rob_Cullen]

FYI-   SYNC SETUP IN CLASSIC 

See the chapter "Set Lightroom Sync Preferences" first, then turn on Sync in the Cloud icon next to the module menus.