Sync Sync LRC with LR Cloud

[grassflats2]

Lightroom Version Number

LRC 13.2

Operating System

1. macOS 12 Monterey

I'm a pretty accomplished LRC user, but just recently got a laptop for when I'm shooting on the road. My assumption has been that if I upload photos from my camera to LR on my laptop, I could then access them via LRC after I get home. Maybe I just totally don't get the Adobe cloud system, but all my uploads are visible in the cloud via browser. Looking at the cloud storage on my LRC desktop, it shows the same amount of storage left as LR shows. However, I don't see the files/folder as being accessible in LRC. When I look at the "From Lightroom" collection, I don't see any of the uploaded files or folder. According the cloud, everything is synced....but it's not, at least with LRC. I'd simply like to be able to download all the Adobe cloud files and folders I've uploaded from the road and edit them in LRC when I get home, instead of having to import them into LRC directly from my card.
What am I missing here? Is what I want to do impossible?

 

[johnbeardy]

Is Sync enabled in the LrC catalogue? Have you been syncing before from LrC?

In LrC's Catalog panel, do you see All Synced Photos? Can you see the expected photos in there? If so, right click and Go to Folder in Library. My guess here is that they have synced, but you've not been looking at the right folder/drive.

 

[grassflats2]

Is Sync enabled in the LrC catalogue? Have you been syncing before from LrC?

In LrC's Catalog panel, do you see All Synced Photos? Can you see the expected photos in there? If so, right click and Go to Folder in Library. My guess here is that they have synced, but you've not been looking at the right folder/drive.

I haven't synced FROM LRC before. And I just probably made things more complicated because I have a deadline so I uploaded the RAW files onto the desktop into a specific folder. Now when I click on the "all synced" option I see the files I uploaded directly to the computer with edits, not a separate bunch of photos from the cloud. My assumption is that I am not syncing from LRC to the cloud; I just want access to the files and folders that I have uploaded from the laptop to the cloud so I can edit them in LRC. Sorry to be so confusing. I don't understand why those files I upload from LR on the laptop to the cloud can't be accessed in LRC, because my assumption based on some readings is that I should see those files and folders in the "From Lightroom" collection. When I log into the Adobe cloud using a browser I can see those pics but I don't see them available in LRC. Again,not sure what I'm missing, but it's something.

 

[clee01l]

In LrC, On there right end of the module menu bar is a Cloud icon. Click on that and post a screen shot of the window that opens.
Next, in that window click on the "gear" icon and a Preferences Tab will open. Post a screen shot of that window too.

 

[grassflats2]

In LrC, On there right end of the module menu bar is a Cloud icon. Click on that and post a screen shot of the window that opens.
Next, in that window click on the "gear" icon and a Preferences Tab will open. Post a screen shot of that window too.

Going to the selected folder on my desktop does not show the Adobe cloud photos.

 

[clee01l]

Going to the selected folder on my desktop does not show the Adobe cloud photos.

The screen shots are useful. They show that your LrC sync parameters are correct and ready to receive.

LrC Syncing is buggy and I don't think Adobe has made any effort to improve it since the process was introduced (10?) years ago.

Here are the steps that I take to cause LrC Syncing to restart:

1. Make sure that the Adobe Creative Cloud App is v6.1.0 and Log out of the Adobe CC app.
2. Exit LrC and any other apps that depend upon the Adobe CC app.
3. Reboot MacOs
4. Log back into the Adobe Creative Cloud app.
5. Restart LrC

Syncing on the LrC side should resume and the Sync Activity should show files downloading.

Note if you have any video files in the Adobe Cloud, this could affect and stop syncing.

 

[karl.nyhus]

I'm a pretty accomplished LRC user, but just recently got a laptop for when I'm shooting on the road. My assumption has been that if I upload photos ...

The last thing I would do with Adobe Lightroom Classic is make any assumptions. Sorry, but that is the hard truth. Get the books offered here and read them.

 

[grassflats2]

The screen shots are useful. They show that your LrC sync parameters are correct and ready to receive.

LrC Syncing is buggy and I don't think Adobe has made any effort to improve it since the process was introduced (10?) years ago.

Here are the steps that I take to cause LrC Syncing to restart:

1. Make sure that the Adobe Creative Cloud App is v6.1.0 and Log out of the Adobe CC app.
2. Exit LrC and any other apps that depend upon the Adobe CC app.
3. Reboot MacOs
4. Log back into the Adobe Creative Cloud app.
5. Restart LrC

Syncing on the LrC side should resume and the Sync Activity should show files downloading.

Note if you have any video files in the Adobe Cloud, this could affect and stop syncing.

Gave it a try, but still no go. I think I'm missing something, which is the frustrating part. I edited RAW files that I directly imported into LRC via card and those are showing up in "all synced". I'll keep after it, but at this point it's easier to just re-import into LRC when I get home.

 

[johnbeardy]

I'm a pretty accomplished LRC user, but just recently got a laptop for when I'm shooting on the road. My assumption has been that if I upload photos from my camera to LR on my laptop, I could then access them via LRC after I get home.

Assuming your LRC catalogue at home is synced, that's a correct assumption. So that's behind my original question about whether the catalogue is set to sync. It should be that straightforward.

Maybe I just totally don't get the Adobe cloud system, but all my uploads are visible in the cloud via browser.

Which confirms that things are working in Adobe's LR Cloud as they should, at least until you look at LrC.

Looking at the cloud storage on my LRC desktop, it shows the same amount of storage left as LR shows. However, I don't see the files/folder as being accessible in LRC. When I look at the "From Lightroom" collection, I don't see any of the uploaded files or folder.

So that's my other question. In LrC's Catalog panel, do you see All Synced Photos?

(1) Now when I click on the "all synced" option (2) I see the files I uploaded directly to the computer with edits, (3) not a separate bunch of photos from the cloud.

Here you seem to be saying:
1. In LrC's Catalog panel, you go to All Synced Photos
2. "I see the files I uploaded directly to the computer with edits" ie you see the files you imported into the catalogue
3. You don't see the files which you expect to see downloading from Adobe's LR Cloud - and you should see them here, if Sync is enabled.

So is Sync enabled in this catalogue? What is shown in Preferences, Lightroom Sync, especially the lower section? This should show Sync happening, or problems.

 

[clee01l]

Assuming your LRC catalogue at home is synced, that's a correct assumption. So that's behind my original question about whether the catalogue is set to sync. It should be that straightforward.

The sync icon Dialog screenshot says the catalog is syncing. One other thought. Lightroom may be using a different Adobe User ID from the one being used by LrC. (IOW, the OP has two AdobeAccounts)

 

[grassflats2]

The sync icon Dialog screenshot says the catalog is syncing. One other thought. Lightroom may be using a different Adobe User ID from the one being used by LrC. (IOW, the OP has two AdobeAccounts)

I actually thought about that because I only recently started using Lightroom, but the email addresses (and the amount of remaining storage) are identical in both LR and LRC. Same user ID.

 

[prbimages]

My assumption has been that if I upload photos from my camera to LR on my laptop, I could then access them via LRC after I get home.

Your assumption is correct. So why is this apparently not working?

In Lightroom Classic, how many photos do you see listed in the "All Synced Photographs" special collection? Is it 336?

In Lightroom in a browser, how many photos do you see in the "All Photos" section? Is it 336?

In a Finder window, what do you see in the directory /Users/rick/Pictures/Lightroom/2024?

 

[grassflats2]

Your assumption is correct. So why is this apparently not working?

In Lightroom Classic, how many photos do you see listed in the "All Synced Photographs" special collection? Is it 336?

In Lightroom in a browser, how many photos do you see in the "All Photos" section? Is it 336?

In a Finder window, what do you see in the directory /Users/rick/Pictures/Lightroom/2024?

In LRC under "all synced"= 336
in browser: 345
in finder in the 2024 folder: 129

I'm gathering that folders that I make in LR on my laptop will not sync with the cloud as folders....just the RAW files inside? I notice that on the web browser for LR there aren't any folders, just the pics. I had assumed a folder would show up, both in the cloud and on LRC.

 

[johnbeardy]

Can we assume the 336 look like they are the same photos as the 345? ie almost all of them. Are any of the 345 videos? Unfortunately All Synced doesn't include videos, so these could be the difference.

Assuming that the 216 (the difference between the 345 and the 129) in Finder includes subfolders of 2024, this difference could be explained in more than one way. One is that in LrC some of the 216 have been moved outside that 2024 folder. So they are still synced, just that they are no longer under the default folder for Sync down. Another possibility is that they were also imported into LrC into other folders, so Sync does't need to bring them down into the 2024 folder and has then resolved the double import (into LR/laptop and LrC) by matching these LrC-imported files to those in the Cloud.

Aside: if I ever import into LR/mobile, I then wait for Sync to complete before importing into LrC when I get home.

Do you make much use of colour labels? Let's say you don't, and purple is free. One idea might be to select the 336 in All Synced Photos and colour them purple. This would make it easier in LrC to find any that are now in folders other than 2024, and perhaps understand what has happened.

Another idea might be to select the 336 in All Synced Photos, and then remove them. This would remove them from the Cloud, which should be down to 9 and might make it easier to figure out the remaining problem. Also this removal is a typical step for this Lr/laptop workflow, freeing up Cloud space.

I'm gathering that folders that I make in LR on my laptop will not sync with the cloud as folders....just the RAW files inside?

Correct

I had assumed a folder would show up, both in the cloud and on LRC.

Only albums/collections are in the cloud, not real folders. In LrC those albums/collections will correspond to the Cloud, and it will have folders.

 

[grassflats2]

Can we assume the 336 look like they are the same photos as the 345? ie almost all of them. Are any of the 345 videos? Unfortunately All Synced doesn't include videos, so these could be the difference.

Assuming that the 216 (the difference between the 345 and the 129) in Finder includes subfolders of 2024, this difference could be explained in more than one way. One is that in LrC some of the 216 have been moved outside that 2024 folder. So they are still synced, just that they are no longer under the default folder for Sync down. Another possibility is that they were also imported into LrC into other folders, so Sync does't need to bring them down into the 2024 folder and has then resolved the double import (into LR/laptop and LrC) by matching these LrC-imported files to those in the Cloud.

Aside: if I ever import into LR/mobile, I then wait for Sync to complete before importing into LrC when I get home.

Do you make much use of colour labels? Let's say you don't, and purple is free. One idea might be to select the 336 in All Synced Photos and colour them purple. This would make it easier in LrC to find any that are now in folders other than 2024, and perhaps understand what has happened.

Another idea might be to select the 336 in All Synced Photos, and then remove them. This would remove them from the Cloud, which should be down to 9 and might make it easier to figure out the remaining problem. Also this removal is a typical step for this Lr/laptop workflow, freeing up Cloud space.


Correct

Only albums/collections are in the cloud, not real folders. In LrC those albums/collections will correspond to the Cloud, and it will have folders.

Yes....the difference was videos. Still haven't determined the disparity between the finder file and the cloud. I deleted a number of files on the web via browser and they also deleted from the LRC "all synced" category. It looks like the finder file on the desktop didn't have any of the ones I deleted; it's unchanged.
Approximately how long does it take LR uploads to the cloud to sync? Maybe I didn't give it enough time. But still doesn't explain why they aren't showing up in the 2024 sync folder in finder. I would think if they DON'T show up there, deleting them from the cloud would lose them completely.....unless I also uploaded them directly from the camera, which was what I was trying to avoid.

Thanks for the suggestions; I'll try the labeling and see what happens.

 

[Jim Wilde]

If they're in All Synced Photographs that means they've already downloaded into LrC. If they don't appear in the currently specified downloads folder then perhaps you've subsequently moved them within LrC OR you've changed the location at some point. Maybe they're older images which would be in a 2023 folder? It really should be quite simple to track down where they're currently stored.

 

[grassflats2]

If they're in All Synced Photographs that means they've already downloaded into LrC. If they don't appear in the currently specified downloads folder then perhaps you've subsequently moved them within LrC OR you've changed the location at some point. Maybe they're older images which would be in a 2023 folder? It really should be quite simple to track down where they're currently stored.

Well, that's the problem. There are files I uploaded three days ago via LR when I was on the road; they not old. When I got back I expected they would be in synced photos AND in the selected folder on my desktop....but they weren't there. And they weren't in the "From Lightroom" collection in LRC. I had thought they would be in both of those places....but they weren't.

 

[Jim Wilde]

I'm rather confused......you said that in LrWeb the total of All Photos is 345, in LrC the All Synced Photographs total is 336, and you said that videos account for the difference. IOW, the number of images that you have in the cloud appears to be the same as what you have in LrC....but you're actually saying that's not the case? Ignore the folders for now, just concentrate on the All Photos/All Synced Photographs items then in LrWeb display the grid in capture time, newest first and take a screenshot of the grid (so all the latest images will be showing). Then repeat for LrC with All Synced Photographs, capture time, newest first, take the screenshot and compare.

 

[grassflats2]

Well, seeing as I deleted a bunch, this is the current situation.
In the cloud there are 163 photos, nine of which are videos.
In the "all synced" LRC category, there are 154 photos. The photos line up with each other, so it appears that the things I uploaded did end up in that category. Question: when I upload things to the cloud via LR, and they then appear in "all synced", are they then copied to a folder somewhere on the computer, or are they only accessible via the cloud? I ask because as I mentioned before, the idea is for those photos to be saved on the computer somewhere so I can delete the ones in cloud and still have the file to edit.
And still not clear why these don't show up in the 2024 folder on the desktop where I assumed they would be, and why they don't appear in the "from Lightroom" collections in LRC.

 

[johnbeardy]

Yes....the difference was videos.

Still haven't determined the disparity between the finder file and the cloud.

I think this is what I said about they are in another folder. The 336 shown in All Synced Photos will all have synced down from the cloud. You just don't know where they are.
So in LrC add a colour label as suggested, highlighting the synced-down photos. Now go to All Photographs, or to the Folders panel and choose folders other than 2024, and from the Library Filter filter down to purple. You should now see the 216.

I deleted a number of files on the web via browser and they also deleted from the LRC "all synced" category.

That's as expected.

It looks like the finder file on the desktop didn't have any of the ones I deleted; it's unchanged.
Approximately how long does it take LR uploads to the cloud to sync? Maybe I didn't give it enough time. But still doesn't explain why they aren't showing up in the 2024 sync folder in finder. I would think if they DON'T show up there, deleting them from the cloud would lose them completely.....unless I also uploaded them directly from the camera, which was what I was trying to avoid.

Thanks for the suggestions; I'll try the labeling and see what happens.

I've given a bit more detail above.

 

[Jim Wilde]

Question: when I upload things to the cloud via LR, and they then appear in "all synced", are they then copied to a folder somewhere on the computer, or are they only accessible via the cloud? I ask because as I mentioned before, the idea is for those photos to be saved on the computer somewhere so I can delete the ones in cloud and still have the file to edit.
And still not clear why these don't show up in the 2024 folder on the desktop where I assumed they would be, and why they don't appear in the "from Lightroom" collections in LRC.

When you add images to the cloud from any of the Lightroom apps, a copy of those images will automatically be downloaded into a synced LrC catalog and will be stored in whatever folder you have specified in the Lightroom Classic Preferences>Lightroom Sync tab. Don't assume they will appear in a specific folder unless you have told LrC to put them in that folder. If you haven't set a location in the Preferences, they will be stored in the default location inside your user Pictures folder. Post a screenshot of that Preferences tab so we can tell you where to find those images.

The "From Lightroom" entity is a special Collection Set, and it is the place that any albums that are created in Lightroom and synced as Collections to LrC would be placed. So, don't expect synced images to appear in the "From Mobile" collection set unless they have previously been added to an album/collection which was itself first created in one of the Lightroom apps.

 

[grassflats2]

When you add images to the cloud from any of the Lightroom apps, a copy of those images will automatically be downloaded into a synced LrC catalog and will be stored in whatever folder you have specified in the Lightroom Classic Preferences>Lightroom Sync tab. Don't assume they will appear in a specific folder unless you have told LrC to put them in that folder. If you haven't set a location in the Preferences, they will be stored in the default location inside your user Pictures folder. Post a screenshot of that Preferences tab so we can tell you where to find those images.

The "From Lightroom" entity is a special Collection Set, and it is the place that any albums that are created in Lightroom and synced as Collections to LrC would be placed. So, don't expect synced images to appear in the "From Mobile" collection set unless they have previously been added to an album/collection which was itself first created in one of the Lightroom apps.

I uploaded the preference screenshot yesterday but here it is again.
I labeled all the pics in the all synced group green (which I have never used). As above, there were 154 photos in that category on LRC. When I went to search for all green labeled pics, there were a total of 179, including a number of older wildlife photos that I didn't think I had ever uploaded to the cloud. Some of these are duplicates and represent TIFF file copies that I had already edited. I think that may be one of the issues. Still doesn't explain why they are not going to the folder in the screenshot. That entire Lightroom folder has about 300 photos. The 2024 folder, which is where new uploads are supposed to go, only has 128 items and they do not include any of the recently uploaded files.

 

[grassflats2]

When you add images to the cloud from any of the Lightroom apps, a copy of those images will automatically be downloaded into a synced LrC catalog and will be stored in whatever folder you have specified in the Lightroom Classic Preferences>Lightroom Sync tab. Don't assume they will appear in a specific folder unless you have told LrC to put them in that folder. If you haven't set a location in the Preferences, they will be stored in the default location inside your user Pictures folder. Post a screenshot of that Preferences tab so we can tell you where to find those images.

The "From Lightroom" entity is a special Collection Set, and it is the place that any albums that are created in Lightroom and synced as Collections to LrC would be placed. So, don't expect synced images to appear in the "From Mobile" collection set unless they have previously been added to an album/collection which was itself first created in one of the Lightroom apps.

But let me follow up your post. When I moved files from my SD card into LR on my laptop, I put them in a folder that was labeled. Is there something I should do in LR that will make sure that folder gets transferred with all the pics inside? That named folder does not appear on the web interface or in LRC, even though it appears that the pics inside were transferred.

I will say I'm amazed this is such a thrash. I assume lots of people who are photographers that shoot on the road would upload to the cloud from the road for safekeeping, then will want to edit them on LRC on their desktop. This should not be this complicated. I know that Adobe sees them as separate and that's why they haven't put forth the effort to make this easy, but yikes. Of course, it very well be much simpler than I can see, since I'm clearly not understanding their arrangement and how it's supposed to work. All I want to do is upload pictures on the road to the cloud in a folder, come home, and find that folder on my desktop available for me to edit.

 

[Jim Wilde]

I uploaded the preference screenshot yesterday but here it is again.
I labeled all the pics in the all synced group green (which I have never used). As above, there were 154 photos in that category on LRC. When I went to search for all green labeled pics, there were a total of 179, including a number of older wildlife photos that I didn't think I had ever uploaded to the cloud. Some of these are duplicates and represent TIFF file copies that I had already edited. I think that may be one of the issues. Still doesn't explain why they are not going to the folder in the screenshot. That entire Lightroom folder has about 300 photos. The 2024 folder, which is where new uploads are supposed to go, only has 128 items and they do not include any of the recently uploaded files.

I don't understand what's going on then. Find one of the recent photos in All Synced Photographs, right-click on it and select "Go to Folder in Library". That should select the appropriate folder in the Folders Panel, so let's see what that is.

 

[grassflats2]

I don't understand what's going on then. Find one of the recent photos in All Synced Photographs, right-click on it and select "Go to Folder in Library". That should select the appropriate folder in the Folders Panel, so let's see what that is.

OK. Most recent one is from last week since I had deleted more recent ones. It took me to a folder that I had set up and named after a previous road trip when I directly uploaded the file from my camera card into that folder. I had also uploaded the files while on the road. In a situation where I upload to the cloud via LR, then load the same files directly into LRC, would those later direct uploads show up as synced? Hey, you know a whole lot more than I do about this, so if you're confused, imagine me.