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rclanger

Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2013
Messages
94
Location
Suffolk. VA.
Lightroom Experience
Intermediate
Lightroom Version
Cloud Service
Operating System: Windows 10
Exact Lightroom Version (Help menu > System Info): LR Classic

I am just getting started. To recap I was able to install LR Classic on my desktop, converted my catalog, and made sure I could go from start to finish using my current workflow. Everything was great. Cudos to Adobe, from my point of view they did a good job. Speed is greatly enhanced.

Next, I registered for the Creative Cloud. I used their Creative Cloud installer. Another nice job! Downloaded and installed all the apps except Bridge. Don't know if I need that. Because I have no experience with any of the apps with the exception of LR, I thought the next logical step would be to get my picture files in the Cloud.

That is where I am now. Stuck, mentally, not physically! The directions say to copy the picture files from where they are now to the Creative Cloud folder. I don't have enough room on my drive to have 2 copies of my pictures.

I thought I was going to have my picture files off of my hard drive, in the Cloud where I am paying Adobe to take care of them. (And be able to access them from another computer, my laptop.)

Should I not move them? The JPG files, I don't shot RAW.

How about the catalog?

I am sorry if I am a bit long winded but I really want to do this right, once.
 
FYI. I couldn't wait for a response so I decided to MOVE the parent file folder and all subfolders with the 13000 JPG files.

WOW, 49 hours....
 
So out of curiousity what problem are you trying to solve by moving to the new lightroom and the cloud?

I do not have a problem. I want to improve my photography in general. I only had LR 5.7 on my desktop with all of my pictures. I want to expand my software apps and knowledge. I want to have my picture files backed up securely and safely away from my home. Lastly, I want to be able to access my files on other platforms in other parts of the house, city, state or country.
 
I'm very confused about what you have done here. Copying parent folders shouldn't be at all necessary. You remarked that "the directions say to copy the picture files from where they are now to the Creative Cloud folder", what directions are you referring to?

Also it's not clear if you are trying to migrate from LR Classic to the new LRCC app, or whether you're trying to continue to use both? I'm just a little concerned that you might not have fully understood how to go about this, so if you can clarify your intentions we should be able to help.
 
@rclanger, those are all fine goals, I ask because of this.

Lightroom Classic is by far a more sophisticated and capable editing program. Lightroom CC may get there eventually, but as a V1 product it is not there.

That means using LR CC is making a tradeoff, generally, of edit-anywhere-any-device against sophisticated editing.

Using both, together, is possible, but Adobe has decided not to make Lightroom Classic fully integrated with Lightroom CC, in particular images ingested in Classic do not flow to the Cloud at all. Only images ingested in Lightroom CC (or migrated there from a one-time migration from a Classic catalog) flow to the cloud.

Also, to think of the Cloud as "backup" is misleading. There is no safety net there, there are no point-in-time versions. If for example someone hacks the cloud account all your copies may be deleted (including on your desktop if it syncs). As another example if you make a mistake and delete an image it's just gone -- cloud, PC, etc. Please realize this is my personal opinion of the "cloud" as a backup - Adobe likes to tout how safe and secure images are there, but it does not meet many criteria for "backup" for most people in technology (in particular versioning and isolation from human accident replication).

I do not suggest that you avoid Lightroom CC, but I do know from personal experience one can make a mess of synchronization and replication in trying to use both. For me personally the quirks to the workflow and limitations on LR CC editing do not make LR CC's edit-anywhere valuable enough to use. It may be great for your needs.

But someone coming into this cold might assume Adobe made it all nicely and transparently inter-operable. They didn't. You have to be careful to make them work and play well together.
 
I'm very confused about what you have done here. Copying parent folders shouldn't be at all necessary. You remarked that "the directions say to copy the picture files from where they are now to the Creative Cloud folder", what directions are you referring to?

Also, it's not clear if you are trying to migrate from LR Classic to the new LRCC app, or whether you're trying to continue to use both? I'm just a little concerned that you might not have fully understood how to go about this, so if you can clarify your intentions we should be able to help.

I reply to your 1st question about where found the info: Browse, sync, and manage Adobe Creative Cloud assets

Of their options, I decided to move the files. The folders I am referring was the naming convention I use: "Photographs" is the parent folder name. Below the parent I use "yyyy.mm.dd + descriptive name". Example "c:\...photograph\20XX-yyyy-mm-dd Christmas"

Your 2nd question: Up until Wednesday, and for the prior few years I had been using LR 5.X.

On Thursday I tested LR Classic and was pleased.

For reasons I have already explained I decided to purchase the Photography Creative Cloud with the terabyte of storage.

I am now trying to get my JPG files uploaded to the Cloud before I attempt to install any more apps on the desktop.

Installing to the laptop will be the next project once I get the desktop running properly.

I do hope that is more clear. If not let me know.
 
@rclanger, I do not suggest that you avoid Lightroom CC, but I do know from personal experience one can make a mess of synchronization and replication in trying to use both. For me personally, the quirks to the workflow and limitations on LR CC editing do not make LR CC's edit-anywhere valuable enough to use. It may be great for your needs.

But someone coming into this cold might assume Adobe made it all nicely and transparently inter-operable. They didn't. You have to be careful to make them work and play well together.

From what I have seen and read, I do not plan on using LR CC until I can safely include it in my workflow. When I can import and add keywords in LR CC which are accessible by LR Classic then I will be willing to use it.

Currently, it will not. So what I would like to do is use LR Classic on my desktop and laptop accessing the same Cloud stored information.
 
Currently, it will not. So what I would like to do is use LR Classic on my desktop and laptop accessing the same Cloud stored information.
Lightroom Classic does not work this way. You can have only one catalog that syncs to the cloud. The master catalog in LR classic is stored on the desktop OR the laptop but not both. Images that are sync'd through Lightroom Classic are Smart DNGs not original files.
You can store original images in the cloud only by migrating a LR Classic or earlier version catalog using Lightroom CC or by importing then using LightroomCC on a Computer or mobile device. Once you have all of your originals in the cloud, you can use sync that catalog to match up those in the cloud with the other set of originals stored on the computer in that LR catalog. If you want to access these cloud images on another computer the only way to do that is to use Lightroom CC v1.0.
So, By keeping your master on the desktop and running Lightroom CC v1.0 on the laptop you can sync everything back to the master catalog on the Desktop.
 
From what I have seen and read, I do not plan on using LR CC until I can safely include it in my workflow. When I can import and add keywords in LR CC which are accessible by LR Classic then I will be willing to use it.
From all that we know about Adobe's plan, that would be never.
 
Lightroom Classic does not work this way. You can have only one catalog that syncs to the cloud. The master catalog in LR classic is stored on the desktop OR the laptop but not both. Images that are sync'd through Lightroom Classic are Smart DNGs not original files.
You can store original images in the cloud only by migrating a LR Classic or earlier version catalog using Lightroom CC or by importing then using LightroomCC on a Computer or mobile device. Once you have all of your originals in the cloud, you can use sync that catalog to match up those in the cloud with the other set of originals stored on the computer in that LR catalog. If you want to access these cloud images on another computer the only way to do that is to use Lightroom CC v1.0.
So, By keeping your master on the desktop and running Lightroom CC v1.0 on the laptop you can sync everything back to the master catalog on the Desktop.

Thanks for your thoughts. I have got to tell you I find it very discouraging. The "sync" has completed. To my delight when I opened LR Classic the link to all my photos were as they were, in spite of being moved to the Creative Cloud folder. I have not done anything other than download and install the Adobe installer on the laptop.

I have got to admit your reply really discourages me. Do you have any links or book titles I might use to clear this fuzziness that now clouds me?
 
Hi rclanger. I'm just catching up from being away. Interesting workflow. You're the first person I've come across using Creative Cloud Files sync to get the originals backed up to the cloud, because the file storage space was too small until a few weeks ago. You'd need to keep your Lightroom Classic catalog in the same folder, and make sure both computers had finished syncing before you tried to open the catalog on the other computer. It's not a tested/designed workflow, so there may be some glitches we're not aware of, but essentially the same as the Dropbox instructions in my book.

Which bit's fuzzy for you?
 
Which bit's fuzzy for you?

Good Day, Victoria.

I resolved the question regarding the number of files and the overall size of the Creative Cloud folder. But I have to question what I thought the whole Cloud concept was to work. My old computer was way to slow and I purchased a new one. So I have 'old' and 'new' with Creative Cloud on both. LR and PS is installed on both. On the 'new' I have a backup drive attached for the whole system including the Creative Cloud folder.

Correct me if I am wrong, I now have a full copy of the Creative Cloud folder on:
1. the 'new' computer,
2. the 'old' computer.
3, the backup drive, and
4. in the Adobe Cloud.

Correct? More questions will follow depending on this answer!
 
Assuming your backup software is regularly updating the backup, yes, that sounds right.
 
Okay, now the question is why do I need so many copies. To use 2 computers I need one data source, the Cloud. Why is there a copy on the computer?
Because you also want to be able to work when your internet connection is down.
 
I thought that was the purpose of smart previews? If not why have previews at all.
You are confusing a few things. Smart previews as substitutes for raw originals is a concept that Lightroom Classic uses. Lightroom Classic does not store the originals in the cloud, so the purpose of smart previews is not for when you don't have an internet connection, it's for when you don't have the originals with you (for example because they are on an external disk that you left at home, and now you are on location). Lightroom CC does indeed store smart previews locally if you set in the preferences that it should not store any originals locally.

Normal previews are needed so you can see the raw files as photos at all. Raw files cannot be viewed directly, because they first need to be 'demosaiced' (each pixel only contains color information of one color, so the other two colors have to be calculated). So that's why Lightroom needs to generate normal previews. Again this has nothing to do with having an internet connection or not.

Your question was about the Creative Cloud folder, however. That is not the folder used by Lightroom (either Classic or CC) to store your originals or smart previews locally, it's a folder that acts in the same way as a Dropbox folder: it's a mirror of your Creative Cloud assets on the Adobe servers, so you can work with these assets when you don't have internet.
 
I do not use RAW so I don't need smart previews. Do I need 1 to 1 previews? Or any?

I am really trying to figure out if I really need the Adobe cloud storage at all. You use the term 'mirror'. Is it a backup destination in its simplest form?

If I only had one computer and it crashed would the data remain in the cloud?
 
If I understand it correctly, you use Lightroom Classic right now. If that is the only thing you use, then you don't need Adobe Cloud storage at all, but you can't turn that off. It's there, but you don't have to use it. And if you don't use it, it's just an empty folder on your hard disk, so nothing the be concerned about.

You always need the previews that Lightroom Classic generates and stores inside the catalog folder, even if you don't shoot in raw. That is because of the non-destructive way that Lightroom uses for the edits. If you trash these, then Lightroom will simply recreate them the next time it runs. 1:1 previews are automatically generated when you zoom in, and you can set in the Lightroom preferences that these are discarded again after a certain period of time.

If I only had one computer and it crashed would the data remain in the cloud?
No, you have to keep local backups for Lightroom Classic. If you used the new Lightroom CC, then yes, the data would be in the cloud.
 
If I understand it correctly, you use Lightroom Classic right now. If that is the only thing you use, then you don't need Adobe Cloud storage at all, but you can't turn that off. It's there, but you don't have to use it. And if you don't use it, it's just an empty folder on your hard disk, so nothing the be concerned about.

Actually, no! I purchased the plan to have access to PS too. Does that make a difference?

You always need the previews that Lightroom Classic generates and stores inside the catalog folder, even if you don't shoot in raw. That is because of the non-destructive way that Lightroom uses for the edits. If you trash these, then Lightroom will simply recreate them the next time it runs. 1:1 previews are automatically generated when you zoom in, and you can set in the Lightroom preferences that these are discarded again after a certain period of time.

Yes, I now do remember.

No, you have to keep local backups for Lightroom Classic. If you used the new Lightroom CC, then yes, the data would be in the cloud.

If I understand correctly, LR CC is cloud-based, where LR Classic and PS are not? If I plan to only use LR Classic and PS, I would not need the Creative Cloud folder and could have my picture files and folders exactly where I had them last week before buying the CC Subscription with the 1 terabyte storage?

Sorry if I sound like an idiot but I am just trying to learn what is best for me. I do not want to jump to conclusions. Thanks for your guidance.
 
Actually, no! I purchased the plan to have access to PS too. Does that make a difference?
No, it does not. The plan comes with 20 GB of storage. You can't get it without that storage.

If I understand correctly, LR CC is cloud-based, where LR Classic and PS are not?
Lightroom CC itself is not cloud based, it runs on your computer just like the other applications. It does need cloud storage however, because it stores the originals in the cloud.

If I plan to only use LR Classic and PS, I would not need the Creative Cloud folder and could have my picture files and folders exactly where I had them last week before buying the CC Subscription with the 1 terabyte storage?
Yes, your pictures remain where they are right now if you only use these two applications. So why did you buy that 1TB extra storage if you don't plan to use it? As I said before, the Create Cloud folder is just a local folder that you can use to sync assets to the Adobe cloud. As long as you don't do that, it's just an empty folder.
 
Yes, your pictures remain where they are right now if you only use these two applications. So why did you buy that 1TB extra storage if you don't plan to use it? As I said before, the Create Cloud folder is just a local folder that you can use to sync assets to the Adobe cloud. As long as you don't do that, it's just an empty folder.

I had LR 5.7 and wanted the latest and greatest. And I thought the cloud was going to solve my backup need. Getting PS was a plus too. I have over 20 gigs of photographs and will add more over time. So the smaller and cheaper plan wasn't an option.

At the time I thought access to the programs and the storage space would be great. I have networking experience and thought the terabyte of storage would be another hard drive. From our conversing, I have found that not true.

Not sure what direction I need to go. LR CC is not an option at this time.
 
Okay, now the question is why do I need so many copies. To use 2 computers I need one data source, the Cloud. Why is there a copy on the computer?

So just to clarify this a little further (or confuse it further?)...

Lightroom Classic can't go looking "in the cloud" for your photos, even if you've put them up in the cloud via the Creative Cloud Files folder. It's a desktop-based program, so it needs the photos to be on the hard drive. That's why there's a copy on the computer.

The new Lightroom CC works differently. The originals are primarily stored in the cloud and it just downloads copies as it needs them. However, it may not have the full set of features you need right now.

If I plan to only use LR Classic and PS, I would not need the Creative Cloud folder and could have my picture files and folders exactly where I had them last week before buying the CC Subscription with the 1 terabyte storage?

Yes, you could. But you said you wanted "to have my picture files backed up securely and safely away from my home." The Creative Cloud Files storage is just one way of doing that, but it's essentially just working as an online backup / file sync, something like Dropbox or OneDrive in the way you're using it. It's not the same as Lightroom CC is doing, with full photo/settings sync.
 
I had LR 5.7 and wanted the latest and greatest. And I thought the cloud was going to solve my backup need. Getting PS was a plus too. I have over 20 gigs of photographs and will add more over time. So the smaller and cheaper plan wasn't an option.

At the time I thought access to the programs and the storage space would be great. I have networking experience and thought the terabyte of storage would be another hard drive. From our conversing, I have found that not true.

Not sure what direction I need to go. LR CC is not an option at this time.

I got the plan about 3 weeks ago. I installed LR Classic and PS CC. I did not install LR CC nor did I activate the Sync to Cloud option on the CC app. I'm not in the cloud. Working with LR Classic and PS CC is no different than it was working with LR6 and PS. Everything is stored locally.
 
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