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Copying Lightroom Classic to Another Computer

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kitjv

Active Member
Joined
May 3, 2012
Messages
324
Location
Oregon, U.S.A.
Lightroom Experience
Intermediate
Lightroom Version
Lightroom Version Number
9.2.1
Operating System
  1. macOS 10.15 Catalina
This is a remedial question. But I want to make sure that I am not overlooking something.

I plan to use a new MacBook Air to back up image files that I shoot while traveling. Since I only need to copy the Lightroom Classic app from my iMac to the MacBook Air (not the catalog/image files froim my iMac), is it just a matter of duplicating the Lightroom app itself & transferring it to the MacBook Air? Thank you so much.
 
The are two ways to approach this. After installing Lightroom copy your master copy of Lightroom Classic to the MBA. Open this copy on the MBA and it will show a lot of missing photos because they are still back on the iMac. You can if you wish remove the missing images from this copy of the catalog and as you travel you can import new images from your camera card as you would normally. When you get home you will need to creat a portable copy of the image files and catalog data by using the Export as a catalog function and on the master Lightroom catalog on the iMac use the "Import form another catalog to merge everything onto the iMac.
This is what I did for years until...
The second option:
Don't install Lightroom Classic on the MBA. instead Install Lightroom (cloudy) Import into Lightroom (cloudy) and sync back to the web and then down to the master Classic catalog on the iMac.
This second method depend upon two things Enough cloud storage to hold all travel images and a fast internet comnnection . The fast internet connection can happen when you get home and you can store a local copy of your travel images using that option in Lightroom Cloudy. Syncing to the cloud and from the cloud to Classic ia automatic and requires not user intervention like the catalog export and import.
 
After installing Lightroom copy your master copy of Lightroom Classic to the MBA.
Cletus: I'm a bit unclear by what you mean. Could you please elaborate? Otherwise I think that your 1st option would work fine. Thank you.
 
This is a remedial question. But I want to make sure that I am not overlooking something.

I plan to use a new MacBook Air to back up image files that I shoot while traveling. Since I only need to copy the Lightroom Classic app from my iMac to the MacBook Air (not the catalog/image files froim my iMac), is it just a matter of duplicating the Lightroom app itself & transferring it to the MacBook Air? Thank you so much.
Do not copy the app, install it properly. Your plan allows two installations, so just install the Creative Cloud app on the MBA and then install Lightroom Classic from there. You need the CC app anyway. Without having that installed and running with you logged in, Lightroom Classic would not launch until you are logged in.
 
Cletus: I'm a bit unclear by what you mean. Could you please elaborate? Otherwise I think that your 1st option would work fine. Thank you.
There should have been a comma in this: "After installing Lightroom, copy your master copy of Lightroom Classic catalog file to the MBA.
What I was referring to was the master Lightroom Classic Catalog on the iMac without the accompanying image files . This will give you a complete copy of what exists in the master catalog including Collections Smart Collections, Keyword list and Publish services and Plugins (though you may need to reinstall some of these depending upon where you installed them on the iMac.
 
Thank you for the clarification. But just to be sure that I got things correct, in summary:

Log into my Creative Cloud account on Adobe's website with the MBA. Then download the LR Classic app. Next, from my iMac, copy & install the master LR catalog to the MBA. If necessary, delete any missing image files that might have transferred. Am I correct? Thank you.
 
What many people (including myself) do is really use a full copy the master catalog to the MBA, but use 'travel catalog'. You can use an empty copy of the master catalog as such, so you'll have all the collections, smart collections and keyword hierarchy at hand. While travelling, you import your travel images into this catalog and you can already edit them, and add keywords and stuff. Then when you get home, you export this catalog to an external disk, connect that disk to the main computer and then use 'Import from Another Catalog' on the main computer to import the travel catalog. After that is done, you can completely empty the travel catalog on the MBA, ready for your next trip.
 
That is what I have done in the past. I installed a "travel catalog" on my old laptop. While on the road, I used this to back up my images, organize them into a collection & add keywords & captions. Then, when I got home, I would export the "travel catalog" into my desktop computer for editing.

Again, thank you for your thoughts & help.
 
Thank you for the clarification. But just to be sure that I got things correct, in summary:

Log into my Creative Cloud account on Adobe's website with the MBA. Then download the LR Classic app. Next, from my iMac, copy & install the master LR catalog to the MBA. If necessary, delete any missing image files that might have transferred. Am I correct? Thank you.
Yes. That was exactly what I did before I integrated Lightroom (cloudy) into my Classic workflow.
 
I still prefer Lightroom Classic over Lightroom desktop for travelling with my laptop, for the following reasons:
1: The Photography plan gives you only 20GB online storage, unless you pay extra. I shoot much more on a trip.
2: I often travel to places where internet is non-existent or very expensive, such as Africa.
3: Keywords don't sync between Lightroom desktop and Lightroom Classic.
4: It's easy to backup your catalog and your images if you use Lightroom Classic. It's not so clear what would happen if you had a problem with a laptop running Lightroom desktop and lots of images that had not yet been uploaded. You can obviously make a backup of the laptop disk and use that to restore your laptop, but I'm not convinced that would also work if you had to restore the backup to a new laptop because the old one was beyond repair.
 
I still prefer Lightroom Classic over Lightroom desktop for travelling with my laptop, for the following reasons:
1: The Photography plan gives you only 20GB online storage, unless you pay extra. I shoot much more on a trip.
2: I often travel to places where internet is non-existent or very expensive, such as Africa.
3: Keywords don't sync between Lightroom desktop and Lightroom Classic.
4: It's easy to backup your catalog and your images if you use Lightroom Classic. It's not so clear what would happen if you had a problem with a laptop running Lightroom desktop and lots of images that had not yet been uploaded. You can obviously make a backup of the laptop disk and use that to restore your laptop, but I'm not convinced that would also work if you had to restore the backup to a new laptop because the old one was beyond repair.

I did make adjustments in my workflow to incorporate Lightroom Cloudy for travel.
1. I bought the 1TB plan but so far I have only used ~100 GB
2. I have 512 GB of storage on my 13” iPadPro. I can keep everything out of the cloud if I don’t have internet or a fast internet (The are lots of places in the US that are internet scarce like Africa. )
3. I’ve downgraded my emphasis on keywords and flattened my hierarchy keyword list in Classic.
4. I carry a 1TB portable SSD for my iPadPro It has a black up capability, giving me one copy on the iPad and one on the portable SSD. I also don’t erase my XQD cards until I absolutely need to. So far in my travels I have not filled all of my XQD cards during a trip. But I have yet to leave the country for and extended trip

None of these modifications to my workflow are intended to discount your efforts with a “real” computer and Lightroom Classic. What you do is exactly what I did when I traveled with a 13” MBP.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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