🔎 Quick Tips: How to give Full Disk Access to Lightroom Classic on macOS

[Sameer K]

How to provide Full Disk Access on macOS

Since macOS 10.14 (Mojave), Apple introduced a new privacy structure to help ensure that all applications obtain user consent before accessing documents, downloads, desktop, iCloud Drive, and network volumes. This has been reinforced in newer versions of macOS. This change prevents unauthorized access to user files and folders.

When Full Disk access & Accessibility permissions are needed, users may be asked to or be required to change the setting in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy for Lightroom Classic manually.   

While for the File & Folders access, the user is prompted to allow or deny when needed. 

Why provide full disk access to Lightroom Classic?

Insufficient or broken permissions may restrict Lightroom Classic from functioning correctly and break your workflows. All tasks that require access to the computer's storage — importing/exporting images, cross-app workflows, reading/writing metadata,  and more, behave unexpectedly. It may also lead to missing images, performance issues, unexpected sync issues, and random app crash on launch or while working on a file. 

Watch this video for the steps:

Quick steps to enable full disk access and grant permissions to Lightroom Classic

 Follow these steps to prevent the permissions issues from occurring: 

❶  Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Click the Lock icon > Authorize via password > Unlock the lock to allow changes to system settings. 

❷  Add Lightroom Classic by clicking on the (+) button & navigate to the Applications folder on macOS.

❸  Go to Full Disk Access and add Lightroom Classic by clicking on the (+) button & navigate to the Applications folder on macOS.
Note: Adding Lightroom Classic under Full Disk Access overrides Files and Folders settings. 

❹  Click the Lock icon to save the changes. Restart your computer to see the applied changes. 

Stay tuned for more tips to come.

Related links:

Lightroom Classic system requirements 

Quick Tips: Optimize LrC preferences for better performance 

Basic troubleshooting steps to fix issues in Lightroom Classic 

[drb.data]

SOLVED.  I simply needed to open the import dialogue!  Works fine.  

(Never mind...)

[gillm4727]

LrC (11.5)  on macOS Monterey is not open : READING PREFERENCES ... 

DONE SO FAR: 

PREFERENCES:

--> Macintosh HD / Users / [your username] / Library / Application Support / Adobe / Lightroom / Preferences / Lightroom Classic CC 7 Startup Preferences.agprefs was deleted

--> Macintosh HD / Users / [your username] / Library / Preferences/com.adobe.LightroomClassicCC7.plist was deleted

—> Restart Mac

—> Open LrC

—> LrC Reading preferences

MONTEREY SECURITY & PRIVACITY

—> MacOS 'System Settings - Security & Privacy' was added Lightroom Classic and Photoshop to "Full Disk Access"

—> Added also on Accessibility

SHOULD I MIGRATE BACK TO AN OLDER OS VERSION?
SHOULD I INSTALL LrC OLDER VERSION ?
ADOBE HOT LINE?
I do not know what to do. I cannot keep working without LrC!

Do you know an Adobe Support?  

[James261772764r0m]

So with granting Lightroom Classic full disc access on my MacBook Pro M1 Max with Monterey. Will I also need to do the same with Photoshop?

[TheDigitalDog]

So with granting Lightroom Classic full disc access on my MacBook Pro M1 Max with Monterey. Will I also need to do the same with Photoshop

By @James261772764r0

Yes. Photoshop and most other applications.

[hansa1976]

I´ve just applied the latest updates from Creative Cloud app where I sa Camera raw and other (can´t remember if Lightroom was being updated as well).

Now, it seems I only see old files and folders, so I went over here to look for a solution. I´ve now given it all access and did a couple of restarts, but whenever I open Lightroom, it shows only the old files from 2020 and I can´t even see my newer 2022 files from the Smugmug plugin. So it seems a preferences files has been modified or deleted, or whatnot? I don´t get it. I want it all back the way it showed just a few days ago.

What must I do to get it back to how it was? Is there an old preferences file somewhere that I can open with and get things back on track?

[hansa1976]

Please, anyone! Is there a place to find my old unaltered preference file?

I need my Lightroom library back to it´s old state with all files showing again. Just re-importing won´t show all my edits, right?

[hansa1976]

Why shouldn´t there be a backup of this important preference file in the Creative Cloud?

[hansa1976]

SOLVED: Wish I knew about this short and quick answer:

"This is a symptom that you are in a different catalog than the one where your processed images are.

In the LR menu, Check: File > Open Recent and see what catalogs are listed. One of them should be the one with the edits and images you are missing. You can click on any of those to see if its the one you need."

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/all-last-imported-and-edited-photos-hav...

[keith newman]

After months of fustration on my part the joy I feel in symply being able to open and start straight away is imense, thank you for the advice.

yours sincearly 

Keith

[Earth Oliver]

Yesterday, i helped a friend install CC and the Adobe apps on a new M1 machine and there's still ZERO INDICATION that full access needs to be set in the prefs. Why are other apps able to at least inform the user of this setting, but not Adobe apps?

[David27911980prex]

Somewhat different issue with a somewhat different solution. This thread lead me to the solution. 

TLDR: also grant access to "removeable volumes" 

Situation: LR Classic. Macbook. Importing from external SD or XQD cards to internal SSD. Previews worked great with files from my Nikon D600 BUT got the "preview unavailable" issue for *all* files from my new-to-me D850. They'd import fine. I could copy to SSD and them import or sync and previews were visible. Only issue was with import of D850 files that were also on removeable media. 

Adding permission "secruity & privacy" > "files and folders" > "Adobe Lightroom Classic " > "removeable volumes" solved the issue. 

Don't ask me why the D600 files workd and the D850 would not. IDK. 

[gillesm3963098]

Hello

I tried to give all access (full disk access & accessibility + restart) with macOS Montery 12.6.3 that does not work, I come back at the LR Classic version 12.1 to see again my photos

I can got to Os Ventura with my Mac Pro late 2023

Gilles

[raghnallg21830717]

I tried the suggestions as outlined, and gave LRC full disc access (Apple 24 inch). It didn't work, so I also gave PS full disc access and hey presto problem solved. Can now edit in PS again via LRC as with previous Mac 21.5.

Hope this helps others!

Raghnall Glasgow. 

[Kaycee31416349us33]

Thank you.  This article solved my problem! I appreciate it!