Sync Lightroom between Desktop and Laptop

[defaultonwlztinxso8]

Hi friends! Does anyone know if I can link/sync Lightroom on my desktop and laptop? I’d like to have the option to work on the same gallery on both devices. Is that even possible. I work a lot from home but when I travel or go to a coffee shop, I can’t edit currently. I store all of my raw files on an external hard drive. I'm just wondering if there is a way for me to work on a session on my desktop and then finish editing the same session on my laptop. TIA

[Rob_Cullen]

If you import/add photos to Lightroom then the files are 'in the Lightroom Cloud' and can be edited on any device with Lightroom installed. (You do need a subscription to Adobe's Lightroom Plan 1TB to edit on PCs or Macs.).

Have you installed Lightroom on both computers.?

Of course you need an internet connection on both PCs.

And if you use 'Local' mode in Lightroom then the answer is 'no', as local mode is only seeing image files on a local hard-drive (which could be an external drive swapped between PCs.)

[defaultonwlztinxso8]

Thank you! How do I know if I am in local mode or if my images are stored
to the cloud? Where do I find this information? How do I change what mode
I’m in? I’m sorry, talk to me like I’m two. 🙂

Cindy Curtis
www.cindycurtis.com
www.instagram.com/cindycurtisphoto

[Rob_Cullen]

Screen-clips below refer to Lightroom (-Desktop v7.4) on a PC or MAC:

If you ADD (or IMPORT) photos in any mobile version of Lightroom- those images are synced and stored in the 'Cloud'. In 'Cloud' view you will be looking at 'All Photographs' stored in the Cloud. You may also see them arranged in Albums that you have created. Photo Edits in this mode are 'stored' in the cloud catalog, available to all devices with Lightroom installed, and Lightroom-Web in an internet browser.

If you click on the [Local] button then you are browsing and viewing image files that are only on 'local' hard-drives:

You need to browse to folders and files in the Drive/Folder view. Edits in this mode are saved to the files as XMP metadata (raw filetypes will have an accompanying .XMP sidecar file saved with the original), and edits in local mode only visibly affect the photos when viewed in 'Local' mode.  ( A later import of these local photos will carry the edits to the Cloud.)