# Free up space on CC - confused !



## PeteGB (Sep 28, 2019)

I've reached my 20GB limit and for the life of me can't figure out how to reduce it, despite quite a few postings on this forum and others.

I mainly use LR Classic (8.4). I download files from my Canon 5D IV directly into LR on my desktop. For some I then create a collection and sync to the CC. I then access these from my iPad for assorted culling/editing etc. Over the last few years the number of files synced and the storage usage has been gradually creeping upwards. Yesterday I got the warning that I'd used 19.2 of my 20GB.

I set about deleting old collections. In classic I create a duplicate collection that is not synced then deleted the original. I get the window warning below.






Despite doing this for some 4000 files the disk usage crept up to the full 20GB.

My understanding is that deleted files still being held for 60 days in trash don't count against your quota but to be sure I permanently deleted them using the 'Permanently  Delete All' menu item in LR mobile.

I've still got 20Gb used and can't find a way to free up the space.

What am I misunderstanding ?

Thanks in advance.


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## Paul McFarlane (Sep 28, 2019)

Did you delete just the Collections? Or delete in All Synced photos too? It needs to be the latter. Also, anything synced UP from Classic will be Smart Previews, they don't count towards the 20Gb, so it's ones that cam via the cloud you need to concentrate on (if necessary stop those syncing / remove from All synced then add back after when they will simply be SP's)


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## clee01l (Sep 28, 2019)

In the warning message that pops up when you delete Sync’d Collections is a checkbox labeled “Leave photos in “All Synced Photo...”. Leaving this unchecked will also remove these same photos for the pool in the cloud. 
You can also go to “lightroom.adobe.com” on the web and delete from there. Look for Videos and any file that might have been uploaded from an iDevice using Lightroom mobile. When you delete from Lightroom on the Web you will be deleting from the cloud storage (both the 20GB and the unlimited smart previews)and this will sync back to Lightroom Classic and Lightroom on all of your mobile devices.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## PeteGB (Sep 28, 2019)

Paul McFarlane said:


> Did you delete just the Collections? Or delete in All Synced photos too? It needs to be the latter. Also, anything synced UP from Classic will be Smart Previews, they don't count towards the 20Gb, so it's ones that cam via the cloud you need to concentrate on (if necessary stop those syncing / remove from All synced then add back after when they will simply be SP's)


Paul,

Thanks for reply. When I delete a collection and the dialog box comes up I leave it unchecked, as I read it that should deleted from 'All Synced Photos'. 

So far as I know there are only pictures synced up from Classic, and I assume are smart previews, so if they don't count toward the 20GB I'm now really confused.

The only other route is iPhone pics/videos which also end up in Lightroom.


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## PeteGB (Sep 28, 2019)

clee01l said:


> In the warning message that pops up when you delete Sync’d Collections is a checkbox labeled “Leave photos in “All Synced Photo...”. Leaving this unchecked will also remove these same photos for the pool in the cloud.
> You can also go to “lightroom.adobe.com” on the web and delete from there. Look for Videos and any file that might have been uploaded from an iDevice using Lightroom mobile. When you delete from Lightroom on the Web you will be deleting from the cloud storage (both the 20GB and the unlimited smart previews)and this will sync back to Lightroom Classic and Lightroom on all of your mobile devices.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Thanks Cletus. I'll go give that a look and see if I can make sense of what's going on here.

Once I understand things it will be clear as day, but at the moment I'm lost in a fog of confusion !


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## clee01l (Sep 28, 2019)

PeteGB said:


> ...Once I understand things it will be clear as day, but at the moment I'm lost in a fog of confusion !


This is how I understand Adobe Lightroom Cloud:
Adobe stores all images that are sync’d with Classic and mobile devices in the Cloud. Originals are sync’d from mobile devices (including Lightroom 2.4.1 for PC/Mac). These are counted against your storage limit. Smart Previews are sync’d from Lightroom Classic and available from the cloud to all mobile Lightroom apps. 
Your mobile device will always show a Smart Preview unless it originated the image that was sent to the Cloud. 
Lightroom Classic will always receive an original copy from anything origination in a mobile version of Lightroom. It will only sync Smart Previews to the cloud. Once you have received originals into LR Classic, you can delete them from the cloud and any replacement will be a Smart Preview originating from Classic. 



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## PeteGB (Sep 28, 2019)

Paul/Cletus,

Many thanks for your help, although I've not got my head around this totally I've had a eureka moment.

I've got LR Mobile on my iPhone set to import pictures from Camera Roll to LR mobile and thus to CC and Classic.

I have an App called FilmicPro on my phone I use for video and last version it introduced an option to save video files to Camera Roll (previously they remained on the iPhone until you accessed them via iTunes).

This means all Camera Roll files, JPEG and Video are being sync'd to the Adobe CC. 

Because I only ever use LR Mobile to interact with  the Adobe CC Cloud, and LR Mobile doesn't do video, I'd no idea that my video files were in the CC cloud. I didn't know that smart previews didn't count against quota and therefore assumed that my storage was gradually being consumed by my collections.

It transpires that a sudden upsurge in using  FilmicPro had resulted in a large number of video files ending up in Adobe CC and consuming 12GB of quota. I have no need of them to be in the Adobe CC, they are already on the phone and in the iCloud. Deleting them dropped me to 8GB used from 20GB used.

I need to work out what the 8GB comprises but there are 14,000 JPG files, presumably from my iPhone over the years. It's not just pictures I've taken it's every image that I get via Msg or WhatsApp. I can go study Cletus wise words in detail and get a better understanding of this whole Adobe CC system.

So the drama is over, I've plenty of CC quota to get on with my normal workflow, I've learned several things and once again the LR Queen forum and it's experts has come to the rescue of a user in distress.

Many thanks esp Paul and Cletus.

Pete


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## Jim Wilde (Sep 28, 2019)

There are settings in the LR Mobile app that allows you to stop videos and/or other files being imported automatically into LR Mobile, and thus synced to the cloud. Turning at least video off would perhaps be a sensible thing to do.


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## PeteGB (Sep 29, 2019)

Jim Wilde said:


> There are settings in the LR Mobile app that allows you to stop videos and/or other files being imported automatically into LR Mobile, and thus synced to the cloud. Turning at least video off would perhaps be a sensible thing to do.


Thanks Jim - good call.

In a final twist to the complexity of modern Cloud based computing I found that LR Mobile on  iPhone I use to take pictures and videos is set to import pictures only. However, the iPhone syncs Camera Roll to the iCloud which in turn means that my iPad gets a copy, and LR on the iPad was set to import video. 

So I think I'm on top of this now - but you really have to be on your game in this connected world !!

Thanks again


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## Jim Wilde (Sep 29, 2019)

iCloud brings in complications, which is why many of us turn off syncing photos to iCloud if using LR mobile on several devices.


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