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Anonymous
March 25, 2019
Answered

Getting Photos & Edits out of the Lightroom CC Catalog file

  • March 25, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 2432 views

Hi Guys

Somehow, I accidentally deleted a few thousand photos from my Lightroom CC (not classic) library. I used Time Machine to restore an older  .lrlibrary file and started lightroom again but nothing happens, its just stuck and no photos show up. I could extract all originals from the .lrlibrary file and start over but then, all my edits and ratings etc. would be gone. I tried downloading everything via Lightroom CC Classic and also checked on lightroom.adobe.com and of course, the deleted pictures are gone in the cloud.

Is there a way to get ALL photos out from a lightroom CC .lrlibrary file including edits and ratings? For example to reimport them in lightroom CC classic? Is there an official procedure how to restore a .lrlibrary catalog from a local backup?

Thanks for your help

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer

    Tobi,

    If you need to recover original photos that were successfully synced to the cloud, that is something we can do.  If you need to recover edits and ratings, that is not something we can do today.  That is something we hope to have available in a future release.  Unfortunately, I can't help you with this.

    I also checked with the team here and they don't see a way to use Time Machine to accomplish this either.

    Please do let me know if you need to recover any of the original photos.

    -Peter


    Hi Peter

    Thanks for trying... I do have the originals myself from the Time Machine backup.

    I will use Lightroom CC Classic to download all the photos from the cloud and then re-import the originals I accidentally deleted from the TM Backup. When I have everything together, I wil migrate to another software and cancel all my adobe subscriptions.

    2 replies

    john beardsworth
    Community Expert
    john beardsworthCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 25, 2019

    Note that the lrlibrary file is more like a cache file - with cloud Lightroom, the truth is in the cloud.

    A
    Anonymous
    March 25, 2019

    Thanks for the help. I had the Option selected to store a copy of the files on locally. So the info must be there in the file somehow?

    A
    Anonymous
    March 26, 2019

    "Some support guy" is not the person I have asked to contact you - it won't be a person from Support.

    You are wasting your time restoring the lrlibrary file. I'd recommend patience, but it's your time.


    Yeah, it looks like lightroom CC refuses to open an restored catalog somehow.

    What is the person you have asked to contact me and when will that be?

    john beardsworth
    Community Expert
    john beardsworthCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 25, 2019

    This is a big failing of the cloud Lightroom....

    I will point someone at Adobe to this thread. For now, don't do anything more.

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