# Workflow Advice Needed (CC and Classic) with multiple compters



## kbutler84 (Nov 25, 2019)

I'm sure this has been covered before, but I can't seem to find the steps to the workflow I'm trying to accomplish.  I have 2 computers with Lightroom Classic (actually 3 if you include my laptop) - 1 at home and 1 at work.  I would like to use Lightroom CC so that I can make edits on my ipad/phone, and either have the edits sync to both (or choose which computer it syncs to), or have the ability to download only the xmp files of my edits, so that I can remove the images from Lightroom CC after editing, but still retain my edits.  That way I could reimport to lightroom classic later if needed.


----------



## clee01l (Nov 25, 2019)

Welcome to the forum.    Others may have different ideas that work for them but I recently made Lightroom (Cloudy) a part of my workflow.   Before that I had a travel laptop and a travel catalog which I would merge into my Master catalog when I returned to my desktop. So, far, it seems to be working  well. 
What I do now is that I have replaced my laptop with an iPadPro. Although either will suffice with Lightroom Cloudy.
Lightroom Classic remains on my Desktop and it remains my master catalog.  I do not use Lightroom Cloudy on my desktop.  Although I have it, it is just not in my workflow.


Begin with Lightroom Classic on the primary (at home computer)
Designate your one catalog as *Master*.​
Decide which images in Master you want to see in the cloud and on any Device running a mobile version of Lightroom (cloudy)​
Put those images in a static collection that you sync with the cloud.​
Lightroom will sync "SmartDNGs" of those images
The "Smart DNGs". will not count against your 20GB limit



Any mobile device including laptops and computers running Lightroom (cloudy). will have access to those sync'd  images and you can develop edit, keyword, add (some) metadata, rate and pick in Lightroom (cloudy) and these will update the master catalog in Lightroom Classic.
Adding new images to Lightroom via the Lightroom (cloudy) app will sync full size images in their original format back to Lightroom Classic.
Adding new images to Lightroom via the Lightroom (cloudy) app will affect your cloud storage limit.
If you have a 20GB limit you will need to delete these  from the cloud once you have sync'd the to the Classic Master catalog and have them stored locally.
If you want these images to be available to the mobile devices, you will nee to add them to the sync collection on the Master (So the master will send smaller "SmartDNGs" back to the cloud to replace the originals

The iPhone Camera roll and the Lightroom App will store the same originals (twice).  I recommend that you abandon the iPhone camera app and only use the Lightroom Camera directly.


----------



## kbutler84 (Nov 25, 2019)

Thank you for the response, Cletus.  My problem though, is this:  I want to be able to add RAW files via Lightroom (Cloudy), make my edits, and then export the XMP files so that I can remove the job from Lightroom (Cloudy) but have the ability to reimport those RAW files to Lightroom Classic  on another computer other than the one where my Master catalog is located.

I know I can export original + settings in Lightroom (Cloudy), but I that means I could potentially be exporting 100Gb of RAW images, only to need the xmp files.


----------



## johnbeardy (Nov 25, 2019)

You can  import raw files in Cloudy or LRiOS, and these will sync into the synced Classic catalogue which should be the heart of your workflow. Cloudy or LRiOS can't export XMP files.


----------



## kbutler84 (Nov 25, 2019)

johnbeardy said:


> You can  import raw files in Cloudy or LRiOS, and these will sync into the synced Classic catalogue which should be the heart of your workflow. Cloudy or LRiOS can't export XMP files.



Well, technically, it can.  It's just that it forces you to export the RAW file along with the XMP.

All I'm trying to accomplish is save the changes to my RAW files that I make in Cloudy, so I can remove them after I'm done editing them.


----------



## clee01l (Nov 26, 2019)

kbutler84 said:


> Well, technically, it can.  It's just that it forces you to export the RAW file along with the XMP.
> 
> All I'm trying to accomplish is save the changes to my RAW files that I make in Cloudy, so I can remove them after I'm done editing them.


Sorry, this is the way the Lightroom Cloudy schemes have been designed to work The RAW files and the XMP adjustments all sync back to the Classic Catalog via the cloud.   The only other option is to do everything (that you can) in Lightroom (cloudy) and eliminate the Classic catalog. 
When away from your home network, you can turn off sync'ing until both computers are in the home network. You. will still make a round trip to the cloud storage and back, presumably with your fastest internet being your own ISP.


----------



## RobOK (Dec 7, 2019)

clee01l said:


> Welcome to the forum.    Others may have different ideas that work for them but I recently made Lightroom (Cloudy) a part of my workflow.   Before that I had a travel laptop and a travel catalog which I would merge into my Master catalog when I returned to my desktop. So, far, it seems to be working  well.
> What I do now is that I have replaced my laptop with an iPadPro. Although either will suffice with Lightroom Cloudy.
> Lightroom Classic remains on my Desktop and it remains my master catalog.  I do not use Lightroom Cloudy on my desktop.  Although I have it, it is just not in my workflow.
> 
> ...


This is a really good explanation and is what I currently do.

I sometimes still do a LR Classic catalog and merge it manually to my Master.

Your step 3 makes me uneasy, It does sync them back but to a different folder right? And then I am left with an uneasy feeling of which set is the "real" master, Do you (or anyone who wants to respond) actively do that, a mix of CC and Cloudy ingests?

Thanks,
Rob.


----------



## clee01l (Dec 7, 2019)

RobOK said:


> ...Your step 3 makes me uneasy, It does sync them back but to a different folder right? And then I am left with an uneasy feeling of which set is the "real" master, Do you (or anyone who wants to respond) actively do that, a mix of CC and Cloudy ingests?
> 
> Thanks,
> Rob.



I actually am doing this as I reply. I shot some photos today in my backyard. I came inside and my iPadPro was downstairs and my iMac with my master catalog was upstairs. I have 1TB of Cloud storage so I don’t worry too much about filling up the cloud with 45-50 mb RAW NEF images. I inserted the camera card into a XQD card reader connected to my iPadPro. Opened Lightroom, chose “Add Photos” and selected “Files” as the source. Lightroom found my camera card an presented me with the iPadOS files dialog. Once I imported these photos into Lightroom I did some basic edits and I was done When Sync’d the original NEFs will be in my Lightroom Classic catalog showing the edits done in Lightroom on the iPadPro.

If I import from a camera card into Lightroom Classic on the iMac, the RAW NEFs are stored as usual. If I put them into a Collection that syncs with the Lightroom Cloud, Smart Previews (proxy images) will get sent to the Adobe Cloud and these can then be viewed or worked on my iPhone or iPadPro

To sync from a Collection in LR Classic, you have to turn on the Sync for that collection.  Then Proxy files (Smart Previews) will be sent to the cloud.   In the Catalog Panel there is a special collection that lists ALL of the file sync’d with the cloud.  This includes full size original image file that were generated and sent to the cloud  as well as Proxy files (Smart Previews) that originated from Lightroom Classic. 

In LR Classic preferences, there is a setting to tell LR Classic where to catalog the originals that come from the cloud.  The Default option is Date named folders and if you use this option when importing directly into Classic, then All of the files are stored  by date no matter where they originate.  Another option is a special Mobile folder that LR generates on the fly with a unique Machine generated UUID folder name.  

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## RobOK (Dec 8, 2019)

So your Classic imported and your Cloudy imported are interspersed in the same set of folders (on your classic machine)?

Thanks for the further explanations. I am not sure why I didn't think the NEFs would transfer over to classic, I thought it was only SmartPreviews or I was just confused.

Thanks!


----------



## clee01l (Dec 8, 2019)

RobOK said:


> So your Classic imported and your Cloudy imported are interspersed in the same set of folders (on your classic machine)?
> 
> Thanks for the further explanations. I am not sure why I didn't think the NEFs would transfer over to classic, I thought it was only SmartPreviews or I was just confused.
> 
> Thanks!


Until recently I had similar confusions.  I got straightened out and I'll share that with you. 

Smart DNGs are sent to the cloud  from Lightroom Classic.  These are proxy files that are smaller and with dimensions  limited to 2048px  2560px on the long edge.  They are unedited RGB files just like the original RAW file demoasic'd and imported into Lightroom Classic or the original JPEG.  On all mobile devices running Lightroom (cloudy) they are a sufficient substitute  for the original when editing .  Most important, they do not count against the 20GB storage limits that come with the basic Photography subscription. 
Going in the other direction, Lightroom (cloudy) only sends full size unedited files to the Cloud storage area on your subscription plan.  These DO count against your plan storage limits.   So if you upload full size RAW files from your camera to your Lightroom (cloudy) on an iPad, iPhone, Android or laptop, These full size files are available in the cloud to sync back to Lightroom Classic.  And that is what Lightroom Classic catalog receives. Edit Adjustment instructions and other metadata (flags rankings etc.) are transferred separately .


----------



## Jim Wilde (Dec 8, 2019)

clee01l said:


> These are proxy files that are smaller and with dimensions  limited to 2048px on the long edge.


2560px on the long edge.


----------



## RobOK (Dec 8, 2019)

Great, I think it is making sense now.

So if i Delete from my laptop or iPad what were once the originals, do the NEFs from Classic get deleted? (I think you are saying NO in step 4.1 in the original post, but i just want to be sure!


----------



## RobOK (Dec 8, 2019)

OK, one more question. On LR Cloudy on my laptop, how can i tell which albums are syncing "down" from Classic vs. which ones I might have added from the laptop?  If I imported from a camera (card reader), where locally would LR Cloudy put the NEF?

Thanks,
Rob.


----------



## Jim Wilde (Dec 8, 2019)

RobOK said:


> OK, one more question. On LR Cloudy on my laptop, how can i tell which albums are syncing "down" from Classic vs. which ones I might have added from the laptop?


You can't tell in Lightroom where a *collection* was created, which is fairly logical as any collection, no matter where created, can contain images which were added in Classic (thus Smart Previews) *and* images which were added from any of the Cloudy apps (and thus originals). However, you can determine where the *images* originated by the image status icon which appears at the bottom right-hand corner of the image thumbnail in the Square Grid. A "hatched" icon indicates a Smart Preview, a solid icon indicates an original. 



> If I imported from a camera (card reader), where locally would LR Cloudy put the NEF?



Initially they will be copied to the local hard drive location, determined by the preferences setting on the Local Storage tab. The default location is inside the local LR Library on the system drive, though that can be changed by the user to a different location (for the image files only, not the rest of the local library files). From that initial location they are of course uploaded to the cloud, after which the local copy becomes eligible for eventual deletion if the user has not elected to store a copy of all originals locally.


----------



## RobOK (Dec 9, 2019)

Great answers, I learned a lot in just this thread!
I had never used the Square Grid, i use the one to the left which i guess is called the Photo Grid. Very helpful to have those icons.
I am using both Lightroom Classic and Lightroom (Cloudy) on my laptop, but I am cleaning up to no longer use Classic I think/hope!


----------



## RobOK (Dec 9, 2019)

Ah, and then i just found the Filter can filter based on Sync Status. Another tool for me!


----------



## RobOK (Dec 9, 2019)

RobOK said:


> Ah, and then i just found the Filter can filter based on Sync Status. Another tool for me!



The filter does not do what i expected. I found a set of photos that I had ingested in Lightroom Cloudy. If i click on an individual photo and click the "i" icon, it says "Local: Original File   Cloud: Original Backed up ". When I filter on "Original Stored Locally" nothing is returned. I guess that means Original local and NOT backed up.

So I gather now my "original" is in the cloud which is hard for me to get my arms around, but it is starting to sync in (pun intended).


----------



## RobOK (Dec 9, 2019)

RobOK said:


> So your Classic imported and your Cloudy imported are interspersed in the same set of folders (on your classic machine)?



Any thoughts on this? Right now my Cloudy files are in folders like this:

LrMobile
2019​2019-01​2019-01-24​​I don't think that folder naming was my choice.

My Classic ingested are in:

Pictures
2019​01​24​
Which is how I chose to do it over many years.

So I don't know if it is a better practice to have them all in one integrated set of folders, or if that is even possible?  Right now most of the Mobile are from my iPhone and most of the Classic are from dedicated cameras (Nikon, Fuji, etc.).

Thanks,
Rob.


----------



## clee01l (Dec 9, 2019)

RobOK said:


> Any thoughts on this? Right now my Cloudy files are in folders like this:
> 
> LrMobile
> 2019​2019-01​2019-01-24​​I don't think that folder naming was my choice.
> ...


In Lightroom Classic preferences set the Lightroom Sync Location like this:


----------



## Jim Wilde (Dec 9, 2019)

RobOK said:


> The filter does not do what i expected. I found a set of photos that I had ingested in Lightroom Cloudy. If i click on an individual photo and click the "i" icon, it says "Local: Original File   Cloud: Original Backed up ". When I filter on "Original Stored Locally" nothing is returned. I guess that means Original local and NOT backed up.
> 
> So I gather now my "original" is in the cloud which is hard for me to get my arms around, but it is starting to sync in (pun intended).


Understand that any "originals stored locally" are *copies* of the "master originals". The latter are *always* stored in the cloud, which really shouldn't be a surprise as that is the way the ecosystem is designed.

The Sync Staus filter for "Originals Stored Locally" will only return any images that the user has *specifically* requested to be stored locally, either by the preference setting to store a local copy of all originals, or by downloading a copy of all images in a specific album (option in the album right-click menu). Any such images will have a solid blue status icon, rather than the solid grey icon of "normal" originals. Other originals that have been temporarily stored locally, e.g. by ingesting, are not included in this filter.

"Original Backed Up" means that the cloud server has backed up your images in the cloud. Any locally stored copies are not regarded by Adobe as "backups", that's purely a user designation, they are simply local copies that can be helpful in performance terms and also to better facilitate offline working.


----------



## RobOK (Dec 9, 2019)

Ok it’s making sense, it’s a different mindset.


----------

