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Participant
February 18, 2019
Answered

Lightroom CC unable to access full size original photos for export

  • February 18, 2019
  • 6 replies
  • 15211 views

When exporting edited .ORF files from Lightroom CC on my Mac, about half of the photos return the following error message and only export as really small, low quality JPEGs: "Some images could not be exported at the size you requested because we couldn't access the full size original.”

All original files are on my Mac AND Lightroom CC is fully synced to the cloud, so I really don’t understand why it’s not able to access the full-sized originals. How do I fix this?? Any help would be appreciated!

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer VaclavJirousek-PhotoVoJo

    I Have similar issue. I have Lr Classic on my desktop and Lr CC on my work laptop. I started editing on desktop and finished more than 70% of the collection in CC (over 1000 photos). I was thinking, that edits will sync with Lr Classic and I will export them ín full resolution. Somehow, some edits were synced, but most not, even after it says that all is synced.

    Now I can only export in low res from CC or re-develop over 500 photos, which I trully don't want.

    Any suggestion?

    6 replies

    Participant
    December 20, 2022

    I Have similar issue. I have Lr Classic on my desktop and Lr CC on my work laptop. I started editing on desktop and finished more than 70% of the collection in CC (over 1000 photos). I was thinking, that edits will sync with Lr Classic and I will export them ín full resolution. Somehow, some edits were synced, but most not, even after it says that all is synced.

    Now I can only export in low res from CC or re-develop over 500 photos, which I trully don't want.

    Any suggestion?

    Gavin Farrington
    Participating Frequently
    September 28, 2022

    For those experiencing this error even after storing the album locally...

    Look to see where the album originated.  I had this same problem, then after fussing around with it for a while, I realized the album was sync'd from Lightroom Classic.  I never told Lightroom Classic to sync the original - only the smart preview - so even after telling Lightrom (Cloud version) to store the album locally, it cannot access the original.

     

    I'm currently traveling, and I'll need to go back to my master catalog at home to get access to the original.

    Participant
    June 21, 2020

    Hey, thanks for the help, but My wifi is fine and even if my pictured are synchronised on the cloud, I still can not start from my local/harddirve storage to access the full res pic ? Or is there a way to locally synchronise the one I want to export ? Becaus I'm stuck to 4MB for a RAF that does 60Mb..

    selondon
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    February 19, 2019

    Hi, also when you don’t have WiFi, you would need to either Store an Album Locally or Store Originals Locally in Preference (if you have enough space or an external hd).

    This has to be done whilst you are still connected to WiFi though, previous to you having no connection.

    Participant
    February 19, 2019

    The option to Store Locally definitely sounds promising, I've just tried that now and I will see what happens if I go offline. To clarify, all photos will now be stored on my hard disk AND on the cloud?

    selondon
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    February 19, 2019

    All Full Res Originals are stored in the Cloud (apart from Collections synced from Classic).

    Dependant on the Cache size in Preferences, Lightroom CC manages the percentage of Full Res Photos that are stored in its local library depending on when imported, viewed, edited & exported etc. (for instance over time photos that haven’t been accessed for a while will be replaced locally by newer ones that have).

    Any Albums that you opt to Store Locally will be on your hard disk as well. Although these local photos are not meant to be accessed directly through the computer’s file system. Lightroom manages them within its Library.

    This means you can edit and export without internet connection, although you need to have space on your hard disk if you intend to  store a substantial number. Likewise, if you opt to Store All Originals Locally in Preferences, as this will use up at much space locally as you have used in the Cloud, so an external hd is probably best for most.

    (There is an option to Store all Smart Previews locally so you can accomplish many edits without WiFi, although I believe some edits and exporting would require access to the Full Res)

    selondon
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    February 18, 2019

    Can you download them okay from Photo Editor | Online Photoshop Lightroom ?

    Participant
    February 19, 2019

    Yes, I just downloaded the JPEG online with no issue, it was 4.1MB. This same photo was 2.1MB when it saved to my desktop yesterday (with errors), but interestingly I am now connected to the internet and I was able to save this photo with no errors (it saved as 8.8MB). I have no idea what on earth is going on, but it seems like it won't let me export the images to my desktop unless I am connected to wifi. This is not very useful for when I'm trying to edit at the airport/on the go! Surely there's a work-around?

    Participating Frequently
    October 21, 2019

    I am still getting this error even when connected to the internet at times...lots of times.  Anyone have any thoughts on that?

    selondon
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    February 18, 2019

    Were these photos originally synced from Lightroom Classic as only lower res Smart Previews are synced from there?

    Participant
    February 18, 2019

    No, I have never used anything other than Lightroom CC, all the photos were added directly to that library. It says it is fully synced, but I’m hopeful that this isn’t a syncing issue at all— I need to be able to edit when I don’t have wifi access, hence why I also backed up all the photos to my desktop.