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Is it possible to sync w/o Lr cc subscription?

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lbeck

Active Member
Joined
May 21, 2015
Messages
150
Location
Hillsborough, NC
Lightroom Experience
Intermediate
Lightroom Version
6.x
Lightroom Version Number
Lightroom version: 6.14 [ 1149743 ]
Operating System
  1. Windows 10
The $10/month doesn't seem like much, but with the dozen or so other subscriptions for TV/apps/programs/phones/clouds the I'm trying to have an intelligent array of monthly costs. That's why I purchased a perpetual license of Lr6. So far I haven't seen a need to get the subscription. I also use perpetual Photoshop but only rarely, so the enticement of adding other Adobe apps isn't enough to reel me in. So that's where I currently stand on subscribing.

I now would like to sync my catalog between two local locations - not to the cloud. The very last chapter in Victoria's book covers syncing but apparently only with devices accessing the cloud. My ideal setup at the moment is to set up a Lr dedicated partition on my laptop TB data HDD (it also has a SSD boot drive). I would then sync my notebook catalog with my desktop machine. What I'm currently doing is using an external HDD to move my Lr catalog between the two devices. This works, but requires a lot of moving stuff to keep laptop/EHD/desktop all on the same page.

So that's my question. Is it possible to sync between two local devices. If not, is there a good routine to keep laptop/desktop on the same page. Maybe an inexpensive 3rd party app (not a subscription service). I may eventually subscribe to Lr6cc but I dislike being continually manipulated into subscription services.
 
The cloud is the medium that shares data between computers/tablets/phones. That $10/mo that you pay to Adobe supports the cost of their cloud services as well as provide access to some premier photo tools. Lightroom catalog files can only be accessed from a local disk drive. Besides Adobe, there are other cloud services that will sync a LR catalog to a local drive. Google Drive, Amazon Drive, One Drive, iCloud and DropBox all provide a cloud component for sync'ing files between local drives on multiple mobile and not so mobile devices.
 
What I'm currently doing is using an external HDD to move my Lr catalog between the two devices. This works, but requires a lot of moving stuff to keep laptop/EHD/desktop all on the same page.
Why don't you run Lightroom from that external HDD? So place your catalog and your images on that HDD, and run Lightroom on both machines with that catalog. That means you will always be in sync, without the need to move/copy anything.
 
Turn back to the Multiple Computers chapter, from page 493 (it's the CC/6 book, right?) and those options will all work for multiple computer. As Johan said, running off the external drive is the simplest solution (listed as "Self Contained Catalog"). If you must keep everything on the internal drives, the Copy/Sync option on page 495+ would work with something like Vice Versa to copy the files locally, but you'd be responsible for making sure everything had synced before opening on the other computer, so it's not as simple as the external hard drive.
 
Thanks. I'll continue to run Lr from the external HDD. That's what I've been doing and it works fine that way. The only reason I was considering the sync is because of my new laptop with the large data drive. Running from a partition there would eliminate the need to keep the external HDD tethered to the laptop. I've been traveling a lot and it's a little inconvenient. Also, recently I plugged the EHD to my desktop and made a lot of edits/deletions before I realized that I made them to the EHD catalog (I also have the program and catalog on my desktop machine). This meant that I needed to either copy the EHD catalog over the desktop one or redo the changes. I keep my "master" catalog on my desktop and copy to the EHD as needed. I keep both copies for security in case my EHD dies or gets lost/stolen, and my desktop machine is periodically backed up in case of a catastrophic failure to it.

Much of my desire to sync is due to minor inconveniences or preventable errors. I went to bed last night thinking "Gee, I wonder if there's a way to sync a partitioned Lr/cat to my desktop??." So I read the book and see that it's mostly about syncing to the cloud, which I'm avoiding. It's too big for my free storage in One Drive, Google, Dropbox, etc. If I'm going to buy more storage - I'll just upgrade to Lr subscription.

Anyway - thanks to all for listening to my minor inconveniences. You're a great group.
 
I went to bed last night thinking "Gee, I wonder if there's a way to sync a partitioned Lr/cat to my desktop??." So I read the book and see that it's mostly about syncing to the cloud, which I'm avoiding. It's too big for my free storage in One Drive, Google, Dropbox, etc.

The Copy/Sync instructions would work with a local sync like Vice Versa Pro, not just Cloud Sync. But yeah, there's a lot to be said for keeping things simple!
 
Much of my desire to sync is due to minor inconveniences or preventable errors. I went to bed last night thinking "Gee, I wonder if there's a way to sync a partitioned Lr/cat to my desktop??." So I read the book and see that it's mostly about syncing to the cloud, which I'm avoiding. It's too big for my free storage in One Drive, Google, Dropbox, etc. If I'm going to buy more storage - I'll just upgrade to Lr subscription.

Anyway - thanks to all for listening to my minor inconveniences. You're a great group.

Adobe cloud storage is very expensive compared to other cloud services. Do a comparison.

Phil Burton
 
Still thinking about this, and I have a plan that eliminates the need for a tethered EHD to lug around. Also, no need for cloud storage. This all came about with my new laptop which has a 1 TB internal HDD in addition to the 512 GB SSD boot drive. My retired laptop has only a 512 HDD which stays almost full.

1. Partition half of the 1 TB data drive to an exclusive drive letter dedicated to Lightroom. This is where I would have the lrcat and related files, and my primary photo library
2. Name a folder in the Lr partition something like "New stuff"
3. Prepare a folder on my desktop machine also named "New stuff"
4. Work remotely as needed/desired with the new stuff imported from SD cards while away from home
5. Transfer "developed" files in my desktop "new stuff" folder to the primary library leaving only unprocessed stuff in the new stuff folder
6. Use a data transfer cable like this one to transfer [new stuff -> new stuff] from [laptop -> desktop]

So basically I'll be using a partition on my laptop to replace an EHD or the need for cloud storage. There are procedural considerations interlaced with the 6 steps above to avoid mixing up files, but I believe that the hardware/software will work. I may also look into syncing software to see if that may improve the process.

One question remains. Should the Lr program reside on the boot SSD of my laptop or the partition? Currently, it's on the EHD that I've been using for portable Lr.
 
First of all, I would like to suggest that there is no need or purpose of partitioning the primary disk drive The NTFS filesystem will be most efficient if there is one and only one partition on the disk. You can achieve the same objective if you create a "New stuff" folder at root level if you insist, but it can be located anywhere in the folder tree. The LR program should be in the Program folder. the LR catalog file and previews can be anywhere you choose but performance is best when these are located on a buss mounted drive that is identical in speed to the primary disk which contains the LR app and working storage for LR temporary files.
 
Thanks Cletus.

The partition idea was brought about by my mental image of mimicking my current arrangement with Lr being on a "separate" EHD. Also, there is a need to not have drive letter confusion to avoid "missing files". My current arrangement with my EHD being assigned the drive letter "F" doesn't have that problem because everything is in one place. But right now I can't think of a reason I can't simply have my entire laptop data drive be my "F" drive.

I'll also need to have an "F" drive on my desktop machine, but I can handle that.

Thanks for your expert advice.

Lee
 
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