# Lightroom CC -> Lightroom Classic CC catalog?



## criscokkat

*So here's a big question: I have way too many pictures to pay for storage for all of them every month forever. However I have lots of key photos I'd like to have available in the cloud, along with my current projects do I can have them available anywhere.

Is there any way to export a catalog with final edits and originals, metadata etc so I can import it on my Lightroom Classic catalog?

*


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## Johan Elzenga

If you sync photos from Lr Classic, they will be available (in smart preview size) in Lr CC and all mobile apps. If you add/import photos in Lr Classic, the originals will be stored in the cloud and will get downloaded into Lr Classic (assuming the Lr Classic catalog is synched).


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## Linwood Ferguson

JohanElzenga said:


> If you sync photos from Lr Classic, they will be available (in smart preview size) in Lr CC and all mobile apps. If you add/import photos in Lr Classic, the originals will be stored in the cloud and will get downloaded into Lr Classic (assuming the Lr Classic catalog is synched).



I think there's a typo in there: "If you add/import photos in *Lightroom CC (new thing)*".

I would urge people to be very cautious in trying to use Classic with CC (New thing).  

I would strongly urge people with 2015.x not to try to use it with the new CC at all, especially if it's not 2015.12 but older.

Classic and new CC are not designed to have seamless operation; most attention appears to have been paid to migrating (once) from Classic or 2015.x to CC, not working on them together.  Yes, they work together, but kind of like metric tools sometimes fit an english nut.


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## Johan Elzenga

Yep, typo indeed.


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## Linwood Ferguson

JohanElzenga said:


> Yep, typo indeed.


I can't imagine why, the names are so clear and self-explanatory.


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## criscokkat

I plan on updating to LR Classic CC, but I'd be interested in uploading on occasion from a mobile machine with the cloud version then archiving them down to my classic machine for more permanent storage and such. 

It sounds like "no" unfortunately.


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## criscokkat

I should note mostly because of this statement on adobe's FAQ: 
Yes, all the work you have in Lightroom CC (except for keywords) automatically syncs back to Lightroom Classic CC. ​The keywords are precisely why I want to do online.


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## tspear

Ferguson said:


> Yes, they work together, but kind of like metric tools sometimes fit an english nut.


That is a classic. Maybe a classic cc, I have to remember it...

Tim


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## tspear

criscokkat said:


> I should note mostly because of this statement on adobe's FAQ:
> Yes, all the work you have in Lightroom CC (except for keywords) automatically syncs back to Lightroom Classic CC.​The keywords are precisely why I want to do online.



look closer. The new thingy (Lr CC) only supports a flat keyword structure. That will likely make any sync really messy. Let alone synonyms...

Tim


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## Johan Elzenga

That's exactly the reasons why they don't sync.


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## PhilBurton

JohanElzenga said:


> That's exactly the reasons why they don't sync.


And it's also a major shortcoming, for a program that includes a Digital Asset Management subsystem. This point alone makes the new CC cloud version a show-stopper for me for serious work.  I still need an easy way to integrate all the phones from my iPhone and my wife's iPhone, etc.


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## stevevp

What an absolute cluster ....


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## Linwood Ferguson

stevevp said:


> What an absolute cluster ....


There are some issues, but the starting point people should use is that Adobe has no intention for old-LR-now-Classic to be used side by side with the new Cloud offering.  Yes, there is some inter-operability, but the paradigm I think used for the design is one migrates your local catalog into the cloud and never looks back.

I think people will find useful inter-operable scenarios, but it takes great care not to get tangled up in idiosyncrasies such as which was the originating system, what kind of metadata, what file sizes are involved (Classic has some limitations there).

The people who will find an easy path forward, and one reasonably well planned by Adobe are those who: 

Move from LR6/2015 to Classic.
Move from LR6/2015/Classic to New LR CC (cloud) once and done and stay there (at least those with modest size archives)
Start fresh with new LR CC (Cloud) and stay there.
Those paths work smoothly and nicely.   We who were looking for a way to have the power of classic and sync of the new CC are the ones who will use the word "cluster" a lot.


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## stevevp

Indeed!


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## tspear

Ferguson said:


> are the ones who will use the word "cluster" a lot.


Anyone who tries to deciefer the product names and select the correct product will use "cluster" a lot. 
Have you been to the Adobe website? It is inconsistent with the name Lr Classic vs Lr Classic CC. Further, they go and hide Lr Classic CC way down the product list, far separate from Lr CC. Pretty much as if Lr Classic is an after thought. 
They really are pushing the Lr CC only.

Adobe pissed me off with the import dialog fiasco. I think those feelings have been resurrected as part of the Lr CC roll out.
Classic really is an after thought.   

Tim


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## Johan Elzenga

criscokkat said:


> I plan on updating to LR Classic CC, but I'd be interested in uploading on occasion from a mobile machine with the cloud version then archiving them down to my classic machine for more permanent storage and such.
> 
> It sounds like "no" unfortunately.



The answer is actually 'Yes'. You can do that (in fact you can already do that with Lightroom CC2015).


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## criscokkat

JohanElzenga said:


> The answer is actually 'Yes'. You can do that (in fact you can already do that with Lightroom CC2015).


I just updated from LR 4 to CC a month ago...  When I upload to cloud can they then be keyworded then those keyword edits can be pulled back down?


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## Johan Elzenga

criscokkat said:


> I just updated from LR 4 to CC a month ago...  When I upload to cloud can they then be keyworded then those keyword edits can be pulled back down?



No, if you are talking about Lightroom Classic. Keywords don't sync with Lightroom Classic. Yes, if you are talking about the new Lightroom CC, because Lightroom CC *is* the cloud.


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## RobOK

Ferguson said:


> There are some issues, but the starting point people should use is that Adobe has no intention for old-LR-now-Classic to be used side by side with the new Cloud offering. Yes, there is some inter-operability, but the paradigm I think used for the design is one migrates your local catalog into the cloud and never looks back.



Please continue to post and elaborate on this. Without having gotten into it much yet, I envision wanting to be home based on Classic, but be able to us LR CC on travel (whether work or holiday) or when I need to do a quick edit from work or something.

If I ingest everything on Classic that might work, but if I ingest into CC LR on the web or on iPad then it won't come back into Classic?

I'm still not 100% on how these scenarios might work or not work.

Thanks,
Rob.


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## Linwood Ferguson

RobOK said:


> I'm still not 100% on how these scenarios might work or not work.



First, I have not tried a lot of this, only some.  here is what I think I know will and will not work.

[Certain] The new features cannot be used to sync two versions of Classic.

[Certain] Images ingested on Classic will not flow as originals to the cloud, only smart previews.

[Certain] Images ingested on LR CC (desktop also, so it could be the same PC as Classic) will sync the originals to the cloud.

[Somewhat certain] Images ingested in LR CC will sync back to Classic as originals. The straightforward situation is simple and works, but if you are doing things like migrating (or worse experimenting with subset catalogs) and uploading them to the cloud, and let it sync back to your original catalog, it gets very confusing, and I have no idea how I got to the situations I did a few times.  I think the simplest way to avoid this is dive in fully and migrate the whole catalog (and leave it alone until done), or do not migrate at all, only have the cloud be things you ingest in LR CC as a way to come back.

[Certain but incomplete understanding] Metadata does not work the same way.  LR CC keywords for example are flat, no hierarchies. But I think some sync activities work (e.g. initial migration will flatten the keywords then upload), but subsequent changes may depend on origin of the image and/or will not sync at all. I just have not explored this very well.

[UNCertain entirely] Once you get an image on both sides, i.e. LR CC and LR Classic, with originals on both (meaning it started in LR CC), what happens from them on is very mysterious in almost any kind of activity other than edits: What happens on Classic if you delete it on LR CC, what happens if you edit-in-photoshop on LR Classic and edit original (if it was a TIFF) (Note if you make a new copy I think Classic DOES move that to the cloud, but I think there is a size limit), what happens if you delete it on LR Classic?  What happens if you change it (e.g. edit capture time in raw) on Classic?   What happens if you edit in LR CC but had it in a published collection, does it change?  Does it know it changed?  Just to make it worse you might not notice if you actually have smart previews in the cloud instead of an original (e.g. origination in Classic not Migrated), and so do the wrong thing, or even lose your original thinking it is safely in the cloud.

If you stay out of classic this is all pretty straightforward, everything syncs to a master on the cloud.  Even corner cases like purposely trying to do simultaneous edits on two devices is fairly easy to understand (latest wins).  

But subtle quirks can affect the Classic to LRCC connection, even something as unexpected as file size.  Operations on Classic are just different concepts from LR CC (especially something like editing in photoshop, or worse editing in a plugin).  

None of these things are random -- I do not mean to imply it is flakey or buggy.  All these issues seem to operate consistently, but just not intuitively.  You have to try them (or if lucky find them documented) and be sure before you depend on them you do EXACTLY those things each time, and not improvise without checking the improvisation to see what it really does.


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## arbitrage

I'd be happy if they just let us sync full RAW files (instead of just Smart Preview files) out of Classic as we see fit.  Basically how its been for awhile with Lr Mobile but with full RAW backup.  I shoot wildlife/birds so I'm often importing 500-1500 files in one day.  Obviously I can't have all of those start auto syncing to the cloud.  Usually I delete 80-90% of them and then edit 1%.  I just want my best keepers stored in the cloud for easy sharing and to have full RAW backup (I already have clone of Raw files onsite and offsite but not in the cloud).  I can do this now out of Classic but only SPs.


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