# LR sync question in regards to multiple catalogs



## Greg R (Jun 8, 2017)

I have a Desktop, Laptop, and an iPad.  I've been syncing a collection between my Desktop and iPad without issue. I recently installed LR on a new Laptop and tried to sync a collection that was created on the Laptop.  I received a message that basically said I was already syncing a catalog and if I wanted to switch catalogs.  

My intention is to always have the Desktop as the base LR which contains all my photos.  But there may be times when I'm using the Laptop at a remote location where a new collection of photos are imported first. I want to have the option of syncing that collection with my Desktop back home or my iPad for social sharing. Should I be using one main catalog instead of multiple catalogs?  Will this make workflow process easier?  

What is the best way to do this?  

Thank you,
-Greg


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## Jim Wilde (Jun 8, 2017)

Hi, welcome to the forum.

At the moment you can only sync one LR Desktop catalog at a time, switching to a different one will mean the removal of all currently synced images. So while you can have many iDevices (i.e. phones and tablets) syncing into the same ecosystem, it's just the one Desktop catalog. So in the situation you describe, i.e. maybe wanting to access the currently synced images (or upload some more) from your laptop, you can't do it via the Lightroom Desktop application. 

You can, however, do all that on the laptop by using LRWeb via an internet browser....that'll let you see (and edit) the synced images, and via drag and drop you can even upload new images. Worth a try?


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## Greg R (Jun 8, 2017)

So I cannot selectively sync a collection from the Desktop -> Laptop or visa-versa?  I'm confused.


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## Jim Wilde (Jun 8, 2017)

Correct. Sync is only from one Lightroom Desktop catalog to LRmobile or LRWeb, and vice versa, there is not and never has been Lightroom to Lightroom direct syncing. If you want a travel workflow using the full Lightroom application, you'll need to use the Export/Import Catalog method.


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## Greg R (Jun 8, 2017)

Thanks Jim. I wasn't aware of LRWeb. How much space do we have available to sync with it?  I know my Photography plan only has 2Gb for Adobe Creative Cloud space.


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## Jim Wilde (Jun 8, 2017)

The 2Gb limit is not part of the syncing system. Anything you sync will automatically be available in LRWeb, and I'm no longer certain of the actual limit....but I've currently got more than 10k images (around 200gb) synced, and there are others with a lot more.


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## Greg R (Jun 8, 2017)

Good to know Jim.  Thanks for your help today.


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