Content of library

[lucam44595249]

I am new at Lightroom world, I just migrated from Aperture to the new version fo Lightroom (not the classic one), so many of my doubts can be silly to you.
One of the must important issue to me is the content of the "lrlibrary".

I can't understand:

1) is the content of "Lightroom Library.lrlibrary" file on my hd the same of what the app stores on the cloud (the size of it is roughly the size of the space occupied on the cloud?

2) if I am not mistaken in what I said before, what can I do to restore that file if I accidentally damaged it so that there was no way to recover the original file?

3) Does the option of saving the original files locally let me save the original file WITHOUT the structure that have on the cloud (or the library)? So If had to recover my photos from it I should rebuild the entire structure I gave of my collection on LR?

As you can see, my main concern is not to loose my photos.
I will appreciate any answer from you.

[99jon]

1. Once originals are in the cloud, the Library only stores optimized previews on desktop computer and devices. Originals drop out over time.
2. The library file would get restored automatically from the cloud.
3. Locally stored copies simply replace the library cache. If you delete originals from the cloud the local copy also disappears.

[john beardsworth]

lucam44595249  wrote

As you can see, my main concern is not to loose my photos.

Create your own backups of photos entirely independently of LRCC.

If you delete a photo in LRCC, deletion means deletion. There is no trash feature.

[lucam44595249]

I've come to understand that.
And even if I found that Adobe choice really stupid, I felt forced to migrate from Aperture (five years without any update, a decomposed more than a dead app...).
As emergency backup to recover from wrong delation I think I will rely on Mac's Time Machine backup of the locally saved data (done costantly).

[john beardsworth]

Adobe may have confused you with their naming scheme - they have certainly confused many of us! Your "new version" of Lightroom is called "Lightroom CC" and is a 1 year old, cloud-dependent application. It's more equivalent to Apple Photos. The Adobe equivalent to Aperture is now called "Lightroom Classic".

[lucam44595249]

I studied both versions for a while, but in the end I chose the cloud-dependent version, although some flaw or some limitation in comparison with Aperture (not much indeed) and with the classic version.

I made the choice also (and there, yes, I've be confused) I didn't find a way to sync a "classic" catalog with the cloud I a way similar to LRCC or Photos (which I hate with all my hearth).

Talking of witch... is there an easy way of using LR Classic in that manner?

[john beardsworth]

Yes, except there is a big difference - LR Classic doesn't sync your originals with the cloud. Instead it syncs "smart previews", highly compressed and editable versions of your originals. So you add originals to one or more collections, then enable sync for the collections, and you can then edit the photos on iOS or Android devices. You can add ratings, flags, titles and captions, and make adjustments, and it all flows back and forth.

LRCC is cloud-native, so it is good at syncing originals to the cloud, for what that is worth. It has fewer features than LR Classic, and there are some big gaps - eg export flexibility, printing.There are also other oddities such as keywording which is weaker in LRCC but which does sync - whereas LR Classic has more powerful keywording but they don't sync. As so often, a lot depends on what you need / like.