P: Allow Catalog to be stored on a networked drive.

[bcdavis1975]

I'd love to make LR more multi-computer friendly. I have no doubt that there's probably database architecture issues and a host of other barriers... But I have to believe that the need for either multi-user or at at lease multi-computer use is widely desired. And yes, I know you can do the catalog import export thing but I find this less than ideal.

[TechSpeed22]

I'm surprised multiple users accessing a catalog isn't more common. Does everyone work alone? I'm just a home user and each member of the household has their own computer and camera. We want to keep our photos together in one family catalogue... because we can't just share a master catalog on the NAS... we have local copies on each computer and then have one master computer that can import the local catalogs. all of us view, develop and rate each others photos. So at an given moment all of us could access the catalog to make changes which in the current version would corrupt a shared catalog (as I understand it)... We are just home users and there mush be lots of users like us our there and even more pro users that have a need for a person to develop and meta tag and another to rate and review with customers etc.

[Cody_Sh0]

Lightroom as a image database... When I'm working in Lightroom, I can add or remove images to my collections. I'd like to have others on my marketing team also add or delete to these same collections. And, in the future, if I no longer work with the company, I'd like to be able to leave these collections where they can be accessed. Right now I am the sole contributor. I do like posting to CC and sharing the link with others.

[Cody_Sh0]

Lightroom as a image database... When I'm working in Lightroom, I can add or remove images to my collections. I'd like to have others on my marketing team also add or delete to these same collections. And, in the future, if I no longer work with the company, I'd like to be able to leave these collections where they can be accessed. Right now I am the sole contributor. I do like posting to CC and sharing the link with others.

[stuartp78321341]

LR isn't really 'Collaborative' in that way. There are ways to get round it, in that you share XMP data, but it's a hack. Everyone would still be required to be running a local DB, but very difficult to manage as there's no check in check out. It's just how SQLLite (What LR runs on) works.

[TechSpeed22]

If we keep asking maybe version 6 could be built on a DB that would allow collaboration. Show enough need and market for it and the dev team might make it a reality. Let's keep asking.

[naestyoh]

Lightroom for iPad! Yay! Ok now use the same tech and release a similar pc/Mac desktop client that has the same Smart Preview edit/filtering capabilities that syncs back to my master catalog on my monster edit rig. I have employees that filter my pro photography. Really need this app the day before yesterday.

PS: my computer and my employees use 4k edit stations. Please sync 4k smart previews!

[naestyoh]

WTH. My original post was merged with a thread going back over 3 years?

My 4k edit station is a 32" 3840x2160 res screen. It would be silly to sync Smart Previews at some low res (2560x1440?) and use a high-dpi screen to filter photography. 4k is wonderful at revealing sharpness/focus at "fit" zoom without always going in and out of 1:1 view in Library. So, Adobe would have to allow synchronization of larger previews... I don't need to sync 24MP DNG originals. However, the 4k Smart Previews could be highly compressed DNG.

We have Lightroom ipad now
I want Lightroom Lightroom client

Seems like the guts are all there to make it happen (read: sync server at Adobe)

I do not want to fiddle with and manage scripts.

[areohbee]

sean wrote:
---------------
|> "I really need this app the day before yesterday."

and

|> "I do not want to fiddle with and manage scripts."
---------------

Rob says:
-------------
"4k smart previews" were available the day before yesterday, but only via a script which you'd have to "fiddle with and manage", so I guess it's gonna be the day after tomorrow for you.
-------------

Good luck, fingers crossed for ya, etc..

PS - I agree that the merging of your thread with this one seemed like a stretch: I think there was an unspoken message to you in said merging..

Rob

[naestyoh]

Maybe you have a resolution boost script but what are the chances it works with the automated ipad collection sync? If it does, that's now more than 1/2 way to a real working solution.

[areohbee]

If ipad collection sync is using Lr smart previews, then I'd say the chances are good (I don't know if it will work - never done it..).

If ipad collection sync is NOT using Lr smart previews, then odds are near zero.

Rob

[naestyoh]

I'm pretty sure they are Smart Previews (DNG). Maybe or maybe not using any Smart Previews that are user-generated.

[areohbee]

Lightroom is happy with "script generated" (oversized) smart previews - works perfectly.., dunno about iPad..

Note: original smart preview size was 2540 (or less). current smart preview size is 2560 (or less). Lr and mobile must be able to use either, so I know there is some latitude, just don't know whether there is also some limitation in case of iPad.

Rob

[Mattjsawyer]

Opening, editing and storing photos and catalogues over a network would be an important tool for small media companies. With the demise of Aperture looming network enabled catalogues would help move current workflows reliant on network use to transition over to Lightroom.

[Mel_Rolleri]

if i have lightroom on a macbook pro and imac (the same catalog on both), it would be great if the catalogs were connected. meaning, if i edit a picture on my laptop lightroom catalog, it shows up on my imac lightroom catalog. any way that can happen?

[naestyoh]

Quick answer: no. Adobe has yet to implement a multi-user (multi-device) environment beyond their iPad sync system.

Long answer: If it's just you and two devices, you can set up a catalog sync with a MAJOR caveat being you can't work on them at the same time. It's so prone to error that I just don't want to risk it. But, if you want to give it a try, here's a method: http://blog.bittorrent.com/2014/01/07...

[Mel_Rolleri]

thanks sean......i'll check that out!

[K.Murat]

What's the benefit of using the BitTorrent Sync over the syncing via the Dropbox?

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I'm not in a mood to tell Adobe how they should implement it: that's their job and we pay for that service.

But, as found on a web site, and countless others on the same subject for so many years:

It would be incredible if Adobe created a feature that allowed one Lightroom catalog to be opened from multiple computers at the same time (simultaneously syncing adjustments between the computers). How difficult can this really be? This would be such a valuable feature to the enormous number of photographers using more than one computer workstation.

It feels like it's the fourth time my wife and me are considering how to share our photos in a decent manner. And with Lightroom, we're still confronted with that same old problem. And don't tell me about Smart Previews: this feels inelegant, inefficient, and clumsy.

[eossipov]

In all this time, everyone has been debating it, it could have been rewritten in open source.
#justsayin

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

POSSIBLE HELP HERE > From my den I REMOTELY access my main 'mo-fo' computer sitting in the office using windows Remote Desktop Connection.

[ edit: the main pc runs LR5 and remote pcs ... do not have LR installed ]
[ edit: again only one remote pc can access the LR machine, at a time ]

This won't help everyone but single users who wish to work from any pc in the house:

... fast being my homenet is a simple gigalan, my mainframe an i5 running Win7 x32 with ve all read here.

I keep a quick launch icon for Microsofts Remote Connection (mstsc.exe), or just search your start menu as Remote ... desktop connection. Yes you must know your remote PCs lan address.. which rarely changes in my joint.

Adobe Lightroom ... has its limitations for sure. Thank Jeffery Friedl for his LR plugins ... else LR would just continue to be a pain.

Hope this helps some of you. I enjoyed your answers and cross fire entertainment.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

As a Photographer I often hire interns or independents to assist with culling, color correction and image adjustments. The need for Lightroom to be multi-user or shared from say a central server is more than just a matter of convenience. With a history in photojournalism, agency work and publishing, I see this as a needed feature across the board with respect to the photography industry. Adobe, wake up and add the dang feature already.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

My two cents as well... as a growing studio that needs more help, we are now hiring additional editors to help us get products out the door to our lab in a more efficient manner. As a professional solution, LR is a wonderful product in so many ways - but the lack of ability to allow multiple users access the same library is a huge disadvantage! For us to survive, we need to be able to have multiple people working in the same catalog simultaneously. That means we need to have more computers running your software at the same time, which means more licenses that we would need to purchase. So look at it in that regard, rather than logging in and out of multiple machines, I would then need to have five machines running LR at the same time, which would mean three licenses, not just one! Thanks so much!

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

That this problem/bug has been so popular and remains unsolved for so long is astounding. Does anyone at Adobe ever read this forum?

There are lot posts on many forums that discuss various details of this problem, but the overarching, big picture requirement is have complete, automatic transparency on multiple computers after a simple, one-step synchronization. There are probably other requirements, but my need is to have complete duplication of:

1. Source images (raw, NEF, CR2, etc.) and derivative images (TIF, JPG, etc.) known to LR and PS. [Desirable: list other folders of images not cataloged by LR for exports.]

2. Side car files (XMP)

3. Metadata stored in the LR Catalog (LRCAT, LRDATA, etc.)

4. Terabyte + of data in aggregate

There are problems with various "solutions" posted elsewhere.

1. Export with catalog is impractical and cumbersome at best. When do you have time and patience for a many-step "solution?" Why should a customer be subjected to this level of effort?

2. I am no longer willing to edit the registry file after retirement. It seems likely that there may be some customers who do not even understand those answers.

3. Storing all photographs and ancillary files on an external hard drive is interesting, but slow, cumbersome and impractical -- albeit the best compromise I have found. Ultimately, this is unacceptable to me.

4. The many variations of copying files across the network in special ways, ensuring duplicate file paths (net use, subst, etc.) do not work in my experience (not accepted by LR).

Please let me know if I've missed any Adobe capabilities or posts for other solutions.

My ideal solution would work like the Microsoft "Available Offline" feature. My laptop automatically synchronizes with my desktop every time it can over the LAN.

[Paul_R_Canada]

Now Adobe has gone main stream with mobile and cloud storage space it would make sense at this juncture to take the next logical leap and allow users to store and sync their catalogs in the cloud for auto sync to other connected devices via the CC membership... please please please!!!

It's on my wish list....

[Dr. Mark S.]

Don't force CC membership to make sync happen. We used to upgrade with each new release of the master suite but we won't subscribe to a monthly charge for software. As such we are left with staying on master suite CS6 forever. If Adobe adds this feature that has been on the request list since Lightroom 1.0 but only makes it available on CC subscription, it would be a final reason to dump the Adobe lineup and migrate to a platform that appreciates that not everyone likes the subscription model.

A perpetual license upgrade is on my wish list, but alas, Adobe never listens to the customer.