• Welcome to the Lightroom Queen Forums! We're a friendly bunch, so please feel free to register and join in the conversation. If you're not familiar with forums, you'll find step by step instructions on how to post your first thread under Help at the bottom of the page. You're also welcome to download our free Lightroom Quick Start eBooks and explore our other FAQ resources.
  • Stop struggling with Lightroom! There's no need to spend hours hunting for the answers to your Lightroom Classic questions. All the information you need is in Adobe Lightroom Classic - The Missing FAQ!

    To help you get started, there's a series of easy tutorials to guide you through a simple workflow. As you grow in confidence, the book switches to a conversational FAQ format, so you can quickly find answers to advanced questions. And better still, the eBooks are updated for every release, so it's always up to date.
  • Dark mode now has a single preference for the whole site! It's a simple toggle switch in the bottom right-hand corner of any page. As it uses a cookie to store your preference, you may need to dismiss the cookie banner before you can see it. Any problems, please let us know!

Using Lightroom classic with Lightroom CC

Status
Not open for further replies.

sh1209

Active Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2021
Messages
128
Lightroom Version Number
Latest version of LRC and CC
Operating System
  1. macOS 11 Big Sur
I’m a long time user of LRC and started using the cc version in conjunction with it whenever it was released. For the most part I’ve had no issues using the two together until I went to move my original files to an external drive. This turned out to be a 3 day nightmare that was never fully resolved and lost some of my originals. Long story short that’s in the past and we recently bought a new iMac and I have put everything back on the internal drive. I miss not being able to use LRC on my MacBook and am only able to use the cc version on there now. I do 95% of my work in LRC and I’m beginning to wonder if it’s worth the hassle to keep the cc version. Not sure what to do and not sure the best route to take regarding being able to use LRC on both machines. My question is would I have to move the catalog, library and originals to an external drive to do this or only the original files. The second question is, how would I migrate away from the cc version since I created the albums in cc and 4-5k of my images are stored in the cloud and on my iMac internal drive. Adobe is of no help whatsoever. Thanks in advance.
 
One other possibility which I don't think has been mentioned is to sync the catalog and smart previews between iMac and MacBook by using a Dropbox-type method. It carries some risk, but many users have successfully worked that way. Get it to work correctly and it probably ticks all the boxes.
I’ve thought about that but it just makes another possible area for mishap. I’ll just use the Lightroom for now on the MB. I appreciate all the advice. Hopefully in the future Adobe will put more functionality into the web based version for people like myself that use both versions.
 
What you call a "Smart DNG" or "Smart proxy" isn't "derived" from a smart preview, it IS a smart preview, my point being that I don't understand why it's necessary to use different terminology to describe the same thing. That's potentially confusing.
Smart DNG is a term that I picked up from the Adobe site for the DNG files sync'd from Classic. I am not able to find that Adobe reference atm.

By derived, I could have (and to satisfy you) used the term Copy since the file stored in the cloud is not the same file stored locally with the Classic Catalog I think it is equally confusing to call Classic Smart Previews and Cloud proxy files Smart Previews.
 
So if I decided to get an external hard drive to keep the catalog and originals on, how would I go about reinstalling LRC on the MacBook since it opens a new catalog whenever you install it? Also, would I need to have the catalog and originals on the external disk? When I used an external drive with one computer I left the catalog on the internal drive. Also would I just leave the Lightroom originals on my internal drive since I’m only needing the external drive for images that were uploaded thru LRC? Sorry for all the questions, just want to make the best decision, thanks.
 
So if I decided to get an external hard drive to keep the catalog and originals on, how would I go about reinstalling LRC on the MacBook since it opens a new catalog whenever you install it? Also, would I need to have the catalog and originals on the external disk? When I used an external drive with one computer I left the catalog on the internal drive. Also would I just leave the Lightroom originals on my internal drive since I’m only needing the external drive for images that were uploaded thru LRC? Sorry for all the questions, just want to make the best decision, thanks.
After putting the catalog and images on the external drive, connect that drive to the MacBook and navigate to the catalog using Finder then double-click on the catalog (.lrcat) file. That launches LrC with that catalog opened, then make sure that on the Preferences>General you set that catalog to be used on all subsequent launches.

I don't really understand your other questions, as the options have all been discussed earlier in the thread. If you don't want to use the Lightroom desktop app on the MacBook instead of LrClassic, anything other than putting both the catalog and images on a shared external drive will involve creating some issues which will need to be worked around. Leaving the catalog on the internal drive means having two copies of the same catalog on the two different systems, which in turn means developing some way of keeping both versions in sync. Leaving the images on an internal drive means developing a means of getting the new images from the MacBook over to the iMac. So it's all extra work, and likely involves manual effort with the risk of making a mistake along the way.
 
When I used an external drive with one computer I left the catalog on the internal drive. Also would I just leave the Lightroom originals on my internal drive since I’m only needing the external drive for images that were uploaded thru LRC? Sorry for all the questions, just want to make the best decision, thanks.
You can only use one catalog and one copy of images with Lightroom Classic on multiple computers to get what you are trying to achieve. That is why it is recommended that you put both the catalog file (where the edits are stored) and the image files associated with this images on a single portable disk drive.

If you want to use Lightroom Classic on both computers, catalog and images on a portable disk is the best way to achieve this. If you use the portable disk you don't need Lightroom (cloudy) in your workflow. If you don't use Lightroom (cloudy) you will want to gather ALL of your images inside a Lightroom Classic Catalog and store these images on the disk with the catalog.
 
So if I decided to get an external hard drive to keep the catalog and originals on, how would I go about reinstalling LRC on the MacBook since it opens a new catalog whenever you install it? Also, would I need to have the catalog and originals on the external disk? When I used an external drive with one computer I left the catalog on the internal drive. Also would I just leave the Lightroom originals on my internal drive since I’m only needing the external drive for images that were uploaded thru LRC? Sorry for all the questions, just want to make the best decision, thanks.
The other question is regarding Lightroom cloud originals that are separate from LRC originals. They’re stored by default in two separate folders so I was wondering if I need to put those originals on the external disk as well. I have lightroom cloud set up to keep originals in the cloud and a copy on my internal hard drive for redundancy. Hope that clears up the question.
 
The other question is regarding Lightroom cloud originals that are separate from LRC originals. They’re stored by default in two separate folders so I was wondering if I need to put those originals on the external disk as well. I have lightroom cloud set up to keep originals in the cloud and a copy on my internal hard drive for redundancy. Hope that clears up the question.

Lightroom (Cloudy) originals are stored in the cloud. You may have a second copy of these on your MBP but these are copies of the images in the cloud. If you sync the Adobe Cloud storage with Lightroom Classic, then you get a copy of the cloud images that is imported into Lightroom Classic. And is manages by Lightroom Classic. If you have both Lightroom Classic and Lightroom Cloudy on a computer that is running MacOS, the you could have two copies of the images on the computer and another copy of the same images in Adobe Cloud Storage.

If you have made the decision to run Lightroom Classic on 2 machines, then you do not need Lightroom (cloudy) on either computer and you can remove all images that were put there by Lightroom (cloudy) BEFORE you do that, make absolute certain that you have completed the sync process between the the images stored in the Adobe Cloud and your Lightroom Classic catalog.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Lightroom (Cloudy) originals are stored in the cloud. You may have a second copy of these on your MBP but these are copies of the images in the cloud. If you sync the Adobe Cloud storage with Lightroom Classic, then you get a copy of the cloud images that is imported into Lightroom Classic. And is manages by Lightroom Classic. If you have both Lightroom Classic and Lightroom Cloudy on a computer that is running MacOS, the you could have two copies of the images on the computer and another copy of the same images in Adobe Cloud Storage.

If you have made the decision to run Lightroom Classic on 2 machines, then you do not need Lightroom (cloudy) on either computer and you can remove all images that were put there by Lightroom (cloudy) BEFORE you do that, make absolute certain that you have completed the sync process between the the images stored in the Adobe Cloud and your Lightroom Classic catalog.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Yes whenever I set up cloud in 2017 I chose the option ever since to keep an original copy within the Mac as well as in the cloud and sync collections between LRC and LR. Only the images uploaded thru LR cloud have originals in the cloud. So you’re saying just use the LR on my phone and such and remove it from both machines correct?
 
Yes whenever I set up cloud in 2017 I chose the option ever since to keep an original copy within the Mac as well as in the cloud and sync collections between LRC and LR. Only the images uploaded thru LR cloud have originals in the cloud. So you’re saying just use the LR on my phone and such and remove it from both machines correct?

Yes, If I want one LRC catalog on two computers, I would not use Lightroom (Cloudy) on those two computers. If I wanted to see and work with images from my master catalog using my phone or other mobile device, I would sync those images to the Adobe cloud from my Lightroom Classic master catalog and use a mobile Lightroom app on the mobile device to view and work with these images.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Yes, If I want one LRC catalog on two computers, I would not use Lightroom (Cloudy) on those two computers. If I wanted to see and work with images from my master catalog using my phone or other mobile device, I would sync those images to the Adobe cloud from my Lightroom Classic master catalog and use a mobile Lightroom app on the mobile device to view and work with these images.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I could just delete the LR cloud originals from my internal hard drive since they're already in the cloud and just migrate my LRC originals to the external drive? Once I have that setup and running I can enable the store originals locally option again in lightroom cloud. So once I get a new drive I just format the drive and connect it to my iMac and create another folder for that drive in LRC then drag and drop the files from the iMac drive or is there a more efficient way? One aspect that confuses me with Reinstalling LRC on the MBP is LRC is going to make a catalog during install, so how do I get it to recognize the current catalog that will be on the external disc? I promise no more questions LOL.
 
I could just delete the LR cloud originals from my internal hard drive since they're already in the cloud and just migrate my LRC originals to the external drive? Once I have that setup and running I can enable the store originals locally option again in lightroom cloud. So once I get a new drive I just format the drive and connect it to my iMac and create another folder for that drive in LRC then drag and drop the files from the iMac drive or is there a more efficient way? One aspect that confuses me with Reinstalling LRC on the MBP is LRC is going to make a catalog during install, so how do I get it to recognize the current catalog that will be on the external disc? I promise no more questions LOL.
It is not clear when I said "I would not use Lightroom (Cloudy) on those two computers"? You do not have Lightroom (cloudy) originals on your hard drive. When you checked the box labeled "Store a copy of the originals at the specified location" you are storing an extra copy. The original remains in the Adobe Cloud until you delete them from the cloud. That extra copt is superfluous and is just taking up local storage. The file should be a duplicate of another file managed by Lightroom Classic and also stored locally.
 
This thread is meant to be if I go forward with the current path of using LRC on one machine and Lightroom on the other. Again not trying to offend anyone just wanting to weigh my options thoroughly before haphazardly making a definite decision.
 
This thread is meant to be if I go forward with the current path of using LRC on one machine and Lightroom on the other. Again not trying to offend anyone just wanting to weigh my options thoroughly before haphazardly making a definite decision.
Earlier you indicated just the opposite:
So if I decided to get an external hard drive to keep the catalog and originals on, how would I go about reinstalling LRC on the MacBook since it opens a new catalog whenever you install it? Also, would I need to have the catalog and originals on the external disk?
This is why I might seem frustrated. Either path is possible. There is even a third path with a master catalog on the home machine and a travel catalog on the portable machine. I'm just trying to answer the question that you ask. I can't make your decision for you. You will need to make the choice and stick with it.
Each option has benefits. There is not a choice that is better than the others. Although a master catalog and a travel catalog that gets imported into the master catalog on a regular basis is the older option and the most complicated and for this reason I would no longer recommend it.

If I were to define rules, rule number 1 would be to install only one app (LrC or Lr) on each machine.
2.) If you decide to install LrC on only one machine, then it becomes the master and your LrC catalog is the ultimate manager for all of your images.
2a.) If you decide to install LrC on two machines, then you should install your master catalog and your master images on a portable disk drive to be shared between the two machines.
3.) Lightroom (cloudy) as an only option is when you want ALL of your images stored in the Adobe Cloud. Your images the are accessible by any mobile device running Lightroom (cloudy). However with this option you are limited to the toolset that is available in Lightroom (cloudy) not the full range to option in Lightroom Classic .

Whether you choose option 2., 2a or 3., you can use Lightroom (cloudy) on any mobile device that you have to access any images stored in the cloud. If you have a master catalog and are using LrC, then you can choose which images to sync with the Adobe Cloud to be available to any mobile device that can access the Adobe Cloud via the mobile Lightroom App or Lightroom for the Web.
 
Earlier you indicated just the opposite:

This is why I might seem frustrated. Either path is possible. There is even a third path with a master catalog on the home machine and a travel catalog on the portable machine. I'm just trying to answer the question that you ask. I can't make your decision for you. You will need to make the choice and stick with it.
Each option has benefits. There is not a choice that is better than the others. Although a master catalog and a travel catalog that gets imported into the master catalog on a regular basis is the older option and the most complicated and for this reason I would no longer recommend it.

If I were to define rules, rule number 1 would be to install only one app (LrC or Lr) on each machine.
2.) If you decide to install LrC on only one machine, then it becomes the master and your LrC catalog is the ultimate manager for all of your images.
2a.) If you decide to install LrC on two machines, then you should install your master catalog and your master images on a portable disk drive to be shared between the two machines.
3.) Lightroom (cloudy) as an only option is when you want ALL of your images stored in the Adobe Cloud. Your images the are accessible by any mobile device running Lightroom (cloudy). However with this option you are limited to the toolset that is available in Lightroom (cloudy) not the full range to option in Lightroom Classic .

Whether you choose option 2., 2a or 3., you can use Lightroom (cloudy) on any mobile device that you have to access any images stored in the cloud. If you have a master catalog and are using LrC, then you can choose which images to sync with the Adobe Cloud to be available to any mobile device that can access the Adobe Cloud via the mobile Lightroom App or Lightroom for the Web.
So if I just decide to leave things as is then I should remove Lightroom cloud from the iMac that has LRC installed and leave Lightroom on the MacBook? Then use the app on the phone and iPad like I’ve done for years now. I’ve always had both apps on my laptop but I see your point that only one should be installed. The only thing you’re not clear on regarding workflow is importing images. Is it okay to import thru either app or should I only import originals thru LRC. Adobe told me recently that if using both Lightroom’s that it’s best to import only thru Lightroom and not LRC but I have little faith in most Adobe reps I’ve spoken to over the years. You certainly seem more knowledgeable than anyone I’ve ever discussed Adobe products with.
 
The only thing you’re not clear on regarding workflow is importing images. Is it okay to import thru either app or should I only import originals thru LRC.
While images can be imported into your Lightroom Classic catalog from with source, you need to be mindful of the Subscription plan cloud storage limits. The 20GB plan will exhaust all of the plan storage with one camera card worth of image data. As long as you sync your master catalog to the cloud, is does not matter how this master images get into the catalog.

I use a combination of both (and I have a 1TB plan so I don't need to worry about cloud storage so much) . About 2 years ago, I replaced my 13" MBP with a 12.9" iPadPro. When in the field, I import through the iPadPro. If I have a fast internet connection in the field, the images are imported into my LrC catalog by the time I get home. When I am home, I can use the iMac and a card reader to import directly from the camera card.
 
While images can be imported into your Lightroom Classic catalog from with source, you need to be mindful of the Subscription plan cloud storage limits. The 20GB plan will exhaust all of the plan storage with one camera card worth of image data. As long as you sync your master catalog to the cloud, is does not matter how this master images get into the catalog.

I use a combination of both (and I have a 1TB plan so I don't need to worry about cloud storage so much) . About 2 years ago, I replaced my 13" MBP with a 12.9" iPadPro. When in the field, I import through the iPadPro. If I have a fast internet connection in the field, the images are imported into my LrC catalog by the time I get home. When I am home, I can use the iMac and a card reader to import directly from the camera card.
I have the 1tb plan as well. This is why I have Lightroom set up to also put a copy of my originals on my local drive as well. So in my case I also import into both programs but more often into LRC. My understanding of LR cloud is if you import directly into that program and plan on editing in LRC that you have to have the save a local copy enabled in LR cloud so this is why I’ve been doing that. You told me last night that this isn’t necessary.
 
My understanding of LR cloud is if you import directly into that program and plan on editing in LRC that you have to have the save a local copy enabled in LR cloud so this is why I’ve been doing that. You told me last night that this isn’t necessary.
Yes this is not a correct understanding. The Images stored locally by Lightroom (cloudy) are not used by Lightroom (cloudy) or any other app. I think Adobe decided to offer that as an option on the MacOS version of Lightroom so the user could have a backup copy of the image files. If the user decides to cancel their subscription to the Adobe company disappears without warning, there is a local copy of the originals. If you are using LrC to among all of your images, there is no need for a Lightroom (cloudy) local copy as this is duplicating LrC efforts
 
Yes this is not a correct understanding. The Images stored locally by Lightroom (cloudy) are not used by Lightroom (cloudy) or any other app. I think Adobe decided to offer that as an option on the MacOS version of Lightroom so the user could have a backup copy of the image files. If the user decides to cancel their subscription to the Adobe company disappears without warning, there is a local copy of the originals. If you are using LrC to among all of your images, there is no need for a Lightroom (cloudy) local copy as this is duplicating LrC efforts
Yeah dealing with Adobe over the years has created more confusion than any help whatsoever. I’ll go ahead and delete those originals by changing that option in Lightroom. No need in using 150gb of storage needlessly. I’m definitely going to leave things as is and hope the functionality improves over time in Lightroom but it’s functionality is already ok for most photos. I just loathe the issue of having to tote an external drive around just to use a program I already have on one machine. So as far as importing, importing into either is fine correct?
 
So as far as importing, importing into either is fine correct?
Yes.

About that Lightroom (cloudy) local storage. Once Lightroom puts an image there, it is unmanaged. If you have an image I'm the Adobe cloud, and decide to delete it. Lightroom(cloudy) does not go to the local storage and delete the copy of the image there. I just check this. Because I need to answer questions about Lightroom v4.3, I have that installed on my iMac and I have local copy turned on. Images that I delete from Lightroom summing on my iPadPro or from Lightroom Classic that is sync'd to the cloud do not get removed from the Lightroom (cloudy) v 4.3 local storage. It is for this reason that you want to turn off the local storage option for Lightroom (Cloudy) IF you are using Lightroom Classic as your primary image management tool.
 
Yes.

About that Lightroom (cloudy) local storage. Once Lightroom puts an image there, it is unmanaged. If you have an image I'm the Adobe cloud, and decide to delete it. Lightroom(cloudy) does not go to the local storage and delete the copy of the image there. I just check this. Because I need to answer questions about Lightroom v4.3, I have that installed on my iMac and I have local copy turned on. Images that I delete from Lightroom summing on my iPadPro or from Lightroom Classic that is sync'd to the cloud do not get removed from the Lightroom (cloudy) v 4.3 local storage. It is for this reason that you want to turn off the local storage option for Lightroom (Cloudy) IF you are using Lightroom Classic as your primary image management tool.
Thanks. I did not realize it didn’t delete the local copy as well. I’ve had it set up this way since I installed it in 2017. Learn something new every day.
 
Yes this is not a correct understanding. The Images stored locally by Lightroom (cloudy) are not used by Lightroom (cloudy) or any other app. I think Adobe decided to offer that as an option on the MacOS version of Lightroom so the user could have a backup copy of the image files. If the user decides to cancel their subscription to the Adobe company disappears without warning, there is a local copy of the originals. If you are using LrC to among all of your images, there is no need for a Lightroom (cloudy) local copy as this is duplicating LrC efforts
No, this is not totally correct. The images stored locally ARE used by Lightroom whenever the user starts to edit an image or even zoom into 1:1, and if there isn't a copy of that image already stored it is downloaded from the cloud and stored in that location. If the "Store a copy of all originals...." option is UNCHECKED, the downloaded image is meant to be only stored temporarily (though that can still mean that the image will stay locally stored for months, as the automatic deletion depends on some apparently complex rules). If the "Store a copy of all originals..." option is CHECKED, then that is the source of all images for local editing and zooming, and of course it's a permanent store until that option is unchecked.

It is NOT an option provided just for MacOS users to have a backup copy of the images, it's an option available on both Mac and Windows platforms. The primary purpose of that option is not backup, instead it is provided to allow the user to work offline while retaining full edit access to the originals, or as a performance aid where the user's internet performance is very slow.

It is also supposed to be managed by Lightroom, i.e. if the original is deleted from the cloud, the local copy is also meant to be deleted.....but only when the deleted image is finally deleted from the Deleted album (either when the 60-day timer expires, or the user permanently deletes the image from the Deleted album).
 
It is also supposed to be managed by Lightroom, i.e. if the original is deleted from the cloud, the local copy is also meant to be deleted.....but only when the deleted image is finally deleted from the Deleted album (either when the 60-day timer expires, or the user permanently deletes the image from the Deleted album).
Then I was not paying attention to the Deleted album. Images that I deleted in Classic were deleted from the Adobe Cloud and were still present when I checked the Lightroom v4.3 local storage. So as you say this would be the case since they were deleted less than 60 days ago. Thanks for that clarification
I did not mention Windows and Lightroom (cloudy) v4.x because the OP is not a windows user and I am trying not to interject facts that may confuse. In Lightroom on my iPadPro the deleted images are still in the Deleted album with 57 days remaining.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top