# LRm and travel/laptop workflow



## camner (Jul 23, 2017)

Prior to starting with LRm, based on this advice here from John Beardsworth:
_Before going away, there is no need to export the main catalogue (your "desktop catalogue"). Just copy its lrcat file, and the smart previews folder. While away, you are using your main catalogue with the smart previews plus new photos. When you return, there is no need to "export the entire laptop catalog, checking "include originals"". Instead, you just replace the desktop catalogue, and fix the link to the new originals.
_
I'm thinking about how the addition of LRm to the mix affects this.  My primary reason for using LRm is to have photos taken with iDevices sync with the LR catalog, without the more convoluted steps one needs to take to move images off of iDevices and import into LR.

LRm can only sync with 1 catalog at a time, but since I plan on copying the catalog from my desktop to the laptop, presumably LRm will now sync images from the cloud to my laptop while I'm away.

After returning home, and after copying the catalog back from the laptop to my desktop, how do I handle the synced images?  Do I simply copy the Lightroom Mobile.lrdata file from the laptop to the desktop?  That will move any new images synced while away. BUT, to carry that off, I would also need to copy the Lightroom Mobile.lrdata before leaving home from the desktop to the laptop, no?  

And, since the file hierarchy on the laptop is not the same as on the desktop, while using the laptop I had best not move any of the LRm synced files until getting back home, yes?

I feel there are probably some pitfalls here I'm not anticipating, as well as perhaps some way of doing this more simply.  Perhaps the best approach is to pause syncing before leaving and not let LRm do any syncing to the "desktop catalog" that is on the laptop?


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## Jim Wilde (Jul 23, 2017)

camner said:


> I feel there are probably some pitfalls here I'm not anticipating, as well as perhaps some way of doing this more simply.  Perhaps the best approach is to pause syncing before leaving and not let LRm do any syncing to the "desktop catalog" that is on the laptop?



I'd agree with this. I did a bunch of testing of the "sync to an exact copy of the currently synced catalog" scenario back in the LR5 cycle, and it was very inconsistent (which means risking losing the currently synced assets). Since then I've left it alone, but I suspect the developers have done more work in trying to closedown the possibility of fooling the system into syncing to multiple instances of the same sync catalog. 

So, unless you really need new pictures taken on your phone to be imported into the travel catalog, you're probably better off not trying. No need to pause sync on your desktop catalog, just make sure it's paused on your laptop copy.


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## LouieSherwin (Jul 23, 2017)

Jim,

Am I understanding correctly that you did your testing on LR5 and not LR6/CC? If so has anyone done any testing with the current releases? 

-louie


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## Jim Wilde (Jul 23, 2017)

Yes, that's right, Louie. There was a lot of internal discussion about whether syncing to an exact copy of the currently synced catalog would/should work, although it wasn't really designed that way. So I tried it a few times with mixed results, but IIRC it was incredibly easy for things to get messed up. Now that I use LRmobile more seriously I'm reluctant to try it using LR6, though I might be able to cobble something together using a second Adobe ID. Not high on my list of priorities at the moment though, so if someone else is prepared to risk it I won't complain!

Not aware of anyone else trying it using LR6/CC either, though if Victoria hasn't then probably nobody has.


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