# LR plugin for laptop users



## johndegree (Jan 24, 2012)

Hi, I think that this is right place for this topic. I developed a plugin that allows free internal hdd of heavyweight raw files and put them on reliable storage(nas, ftp, samba etc.). It's free, you can get it on my site - http://toptechphoto.com/products/ . Let me know if you have any questions here or using support form http://toptechphoto.com/support/.

Thanks and have a nice day.


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## Victoria Bampton (Jan 24, 2012)

That looks interesting John.  So the idea is that the photos themselves are on a remote drive, accessed over FTP, is that right?  How do you find the speed is impacted?


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## clee01l (Jan 24, 2012)

How does this plugin differ from using a regular local Network Share?  I can't see any advantages to the plugin for use in a LAN.  I've used NAS drives with LR since my first day with my first catalog. If this makes a WAN transparent to the LR catalog then I do see some possibilities.  And is it clear that the catalog still needs to remain on the local HD?


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## johndegree (Jan 25, 2012)

@Victoria
Yes, right, the source files are on FTP. Speed of the catalog itself is a bit faster because you're working with previews, so LR doesn't load with source files updates checking and preview updating. Regarding access speed to the files in case if you need to change something, it depends on your connection speed. But as for me I don't bother to wait 10-30 sec to download source file while the plugin brings me collaboration features and free up about 200 Gb of storage on my HDD.


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## johndegree (Jan 25, 2012)

@clee01l in case of the plugin you're working with previews and your source files are totally disconnected from the LR catalog. If your files are on network share and they're visible to LR that continuously checking for updates made in the sources, this process is killing LR performance and network bandwidth, sure you shouldn't care if you're only one in gigabit network. But some users do care. One more advantage is that your storage becomes accessible from the internet and you can get access to your files wherever you are.
And yes, you're right - catalog itself should be on local drive. To be clear what I'm talking about - I just checked and my LR catalog eat 15 Gb of the HDD. That's a lot... But this is DB of more than 15 000 RAWs with 1:1 previews, at the moment all these picture sources taking more than 200 Gb, I just can't load all of them to my laptop. And they are still available wherever I can connect to the internet.

Thanks.


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## Victoria Bampton (Jan 25, 2012)

That's a very interesting option, thanks John.  So when does it try to access the main photos, when your plug-in is in use.  Clearly for Develop, Export, but are you saying it just prevents some of the background checking?

So just clarify for me how this is different to just having the photos offline?  Just the fact that it saves you then connecting when you do want to use an original, or is there more to it?

Don't get me wrong, it sounds interesting - just trying to get clear in my head the kind of scenarios that might cause me to recommend it.


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## Chris_M (Jan 25, 2012)

Victoria Bampton said:


> That's a very interesting option, thanks John.  So when does it try to access the main photos, when your plug-in is in use.  Clearly for Develop, Export, but are you saying it just prevents some of the background checking?
> 
> So just clarify for me how this is different to just having the photos offline?  Just the fact that it saves you then connecting when you do want to use an original, or is there more to it?
> 
> Don't get me wrong, it sounds interesting - just trying to get clear in my head the kind of scenarios that might cause me to recommend it.


If I understand correctly, he means you can go anywhere with your Laptop that you can connect to the net with, and work on your photos, _without_ actually having to have the physical files with you on location.

That being the case, it sounds to me like a very useful tool for someone that shoots a lot, or a professional who's on the road a lot.
Meaning I like it, but do not have a need for such a thing, unless at some stage I started storing my files offsite.

I have bookmarked John's site, and will be keeping an eye on this, just in case.

Actually, Victoria, if you go to the first of the two links, it seems to explain things a little better than the forum post.


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## johndegree (Jan 26, 2012)

Chris_M said:


> means you can go anywhere with your Laptop that you can connect to the net with, and work on your photos, _without_ actually having to have the physical files with you on location.



Thanks Chris, you're absolutely right.


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## johndegree (Jan 26, 2012)

Victoria Bampton said:


> So just clarify for me how this is different to just having the photos offline?  Just the fact that it saves you then connecting when you do want to use an original, or is there more to it?
> Don't get me wrong, it sounds interesting - just trying to get clear in my head the kind of scenarios that might cause me to recommend it.



Hi Victoria this is the same to having the photos offline, but the plugin helps to connect over the net from any location. 

Actually this is the very first version and I'm just checking is there any demand on such idea. It seems that people interested so more features are coming.


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## Victoria Bampton (Jan 27, 2012)

That was the bit of the scenario I was missing, thanks John.  Yeah, I can imagine net access could be useful.  One thing that crossed my mind is people who keep backups on online backups like Crashplan, but I don't know whether you could get suitable access to those files.  Now I understand where you're going with this, I'll definitely bear it in mind when these situations come up.


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