# WHAT IS THE WORKFLOW FOR SYNCED FILES USING LR MOBILE?



## rsynapse (Jun 12, 2017)

What is the correct workflow for raw images obtained using Lightroom (LR) Mobile with an iPhone 7 plus?  I have had difficulty figuring this out because images captured by my iPhone are synced directly to LR on my desktop Macbook Pro.  I do not have direct access to those images on my iPhone since they are only synced and do not appear elsewhere on my iPhone, e.g., in my Camera Roll.  On my desktop, these photos are stored in a hidden folder, Pictures/Lightroom/Mobile Downloads.Irdata.  Images in that location cannot readily be accessed from within LR, and, therefore, do not go through the normal INPUT SEQUENCE available to images present elsewhere, e.g., in a camera card or on the desktop.   I eventually ended up syncing over 300 raw images from my iPhone to my desktop LR.  These images occupied 6.9 GB on my iPhone.  I realized that I had to do something or else the memory on my iPhone would eventually be totally consumed by raw images.  I then devised the following procedure:  I went to the hidden folder on my desktop and copied all 300 plus files to my external hard drive.  (My intention was to eventually INPUT these images through the standard LR process.)  Then I REJECTED all 300 plus files from within my LR desktop, realizing that syncing would remove those files from my iPhone.  And, sure enough, all the files disappeared from my iPhone!  However, a quick check showed that LR still occupied 6.9 GB on my iPhone, even after I rebooted my iPhone.  I did not expect to see that.  Obviously, those 300 plus raw images were still on my iPhone, but I had no access to them.  My only option was to delete LR Mobile and reinstall it.  That worked.  There must be a better, more efficient, way to do this.  I look forward to learning from your response(s).


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## Johan Elzenga (Jun 12, 2017)

First of all, that 'Hidden folder' isn't hidden in Lightroom at all. It shows up in your folder panel as a separate device, however. As if it were a separate hard disk. You are probably looking in the wrong place, because you logically expect it to be under your internal disk. You can move images from that folder in exactly the same way as you can move images between other folders in Lightroom: by simple drag & drop. In the latest version of Lightroom, you can also reassign the Mobile Downloads destination. Instead of that special hidden package, you can use any folder on any hard disk, so you can let Lightroom download the images directly to your external hard disk. It's in the Lightroom Preferences.

If you removed images from the iPhone by 'unsynching' them, you probably have to use 'Clear Cache' before the space is cleared. Tap on the 'Lr' icon to get to the settings where you can do this.


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## rsynapse (Jun 12, 2017)

JohanElzenga said:


> First of all, that 'Hidden folder' isn't hidden in Lightroom at all. It shows up in your folder panel as a separate device, however. As if it were a separate hard disk. You are probably looking in the wrong place, because you logically expect it to be under your internal disk. You can move images from that folder in exactly the same way as you can move images between other folders in Lightroom: by simple drag & drop. In the latest version of Lightroom, you can also reassign the Mobile Downloads destination. Instead of that special hidden package, you can use any folder on any hard disk, so you can let Lightroom download the images directly to your external hard disk. It's in the Lightroom Preferences.
> 
> If you removed images from the iPhone by 'unsynching' them, you probably have to use 'Clear Cache' before the space is cleared. Tap on the 'Lr' icon to get to the settings where you can do this.



Thank you very much for pointing out the "obvious", which, obviously, was unknown to me!


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## Victoria Bampton (Jun 12, 2017)

Keep an eye on my blog rsynapse, as I have a long series of mobile posts starting next Monday.


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## rsynapse (Jun 12, 2017)

Well, that is exciting - thank you!


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## Andrew smith (Jul 14, 2017)

Victoria Bampton said:


> Keep an eye on my blog rsynapse, as I have a long series of mobile posts starting next Monday.


Hi Victoria
Just ordered yr book from amazon. Where is the blog you mention above? New to this so I'm not sure what I'm doing at all. Trying to sync or mobile to or desktop and save to hard disk but got some issues lol


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## DGStinner (Jul 14, 2017)

Andrew smith said:


> Hi Victoria
> Just ordered yr book from amazon. Where is the blog you mention above? New to this so I'm not sure what I'm doing at all. Trying to sync or mobile to or desktop and save to hard disk but got some issues lol


Lightroom mobile - workflow overview | The Lightroom Queen


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## Andrew smith (Jul 14, 2017)

DGStinner said:


> Lightroom mobile - workflow overview | The Lightroom Queen


Thanks


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