Sync catalog between mac and pc

[givemeafreakingbreak]

I sync my LR classic catalog & previews (the entire LR folder) and master photos between my desktop and laptop (everything is hosted on my synology NAS which syncs out from there).  This has worked just fine with my windows desktop and windows laptop - I can open LR on either system and everything is updated (I make sure to close LR whenever I leave one system).

I'm now considering getting a macbook, but I'm don't know if mac and windows LR folders are completely compatible.  Can you open up LR catalogs and previews made by a pc in a mac without conversion, and vice versa?  Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance...

[Jao vdL · Accepted solution]

The catalog and other associated folders are exchangeable indeed. The problem is the way the path to your images is coded inside the catalog file. While the file format of the catalog and the previews is the same, the way windows codes paths is different from how Macs code paths. Macs don't use drive letters for example so you might have to relink the top level folder where your images are every time you switch between machines. This will be the biggest problem you encounter (apart from possible data loss that you already are dealing with with two windows machines if you forget to close out of Classic on one computer) and it is not entireably solvable.

[givemeafreakingbreak]

That makes total sense... and I think this will bite me with other applications as well...

[Daniel304649665fo3]

Ich habe ein ähnliches Problem:

Musste erst auch immer das Laufwerk neu verknüpfen beim Wechsel jeweils zwischen Mac u. Windows. Bin dann daraufgekommen, dass es an den Buchstaben ä, ü, ö liegt, die in den Datei- u. Ordnernamen verwendet wurden. Nach dem Ändern ging es problemlos. Nun aber habe ich plötzlich, das gleich Problem wieder und ich weiß nicht warum....habt ihr mir hier Tipps oder ähnliche Erfahrungen?

[GoldingD]

I have a Windows workstation for at home use, and a MACBook for travel use (when it came time to replace old Windows laptop, the MAC was a better deal). When on travel I use an external hard drive for the catalog and photos. When I get home, I copy all that to my Windows workstation hard drive (yes old school multiple catalogs, bla bla bla). So yes it is possible (would assume merging catalogs, exporting/importing, syncing, would work as well)