# Anybody got tips of a Lightroom CC on Laptop Workflow



## pauljames34 (Jan 23, 2019)

I've got a good laptop, but upstairs in the loft I have my very good desktop.

I have my main catalogue on my desktop PC with the associated raws stored on a NAS.

I've been using classic on the laptop for quick imports and exports but am now considering a workflow that has me loading my shots into Lightroom CC on the laptop (with the raws in the cloud) and then at some point later transferring to the desktop PC in the loft and "moving" the raws from the adobe cloud to my NAS.

Anybody doing this have any tips? Particularly around moving the photos from the cloud to my NAS which I figure I'd do adhoc as needs be or as I fill up my cloud storage.

Regards,


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## johnbeardy (Jan 23, 2019)

You _can_ do it, but 

Only after you have verified that LRCC-imported originals have arrived in your LrClassic catalogue, unsync them - this removes them from the cloud and frees space. 
Don't delete anything in LRCC - Adobe have failed to implement any kind of trash feature in LRCC, so Delete means Delete - even if it was a mistake or you change your mind afterwards
Forget about entering keywords in LRCC - they won't sync to your catalogue
Alternatively, import into LrClassic on the laptop and choose a folder from the CC Files, the Dropbox-like space that comes with the subscription. Have automatic writing of metadata enabled. Upstairs, import the files again, moving them to the NAS. As well as avoiding the dumbed-down aspects of LRCC, the CC Files do have a trash feature. This is what I do.
And remember this, from Adobe's Ben Warde:





> "using both Lightroom and Lightroom Classic together in an ongoing fashion is not a workflow that Adobe recommends.  And while the existing sync features in Lightroom Classic will continue to work, sync is not a focus for Lightroom Classic so it's unlikely additional sync features will be added.
> While I understand that there are people who will use both together despite the recommendation not to, and will as a result occasionally get bit by things that don't sync, it's not really practical to add a warning for every case, as the list of things which don't sync between the two already extends well beyond just keywords, and is growing constantly. "


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## pauljames34 (Jan 23, 2019)

Thanks!

I'm not too worried any edits I do in Lightroom CC on the laptop are reflected into my main catalogue on my desktop as they'll be quick dirty edits just to get a pic out, I'll either redo them on the desktop PC, or if I want the pic straight away will haul myself up to the loft and do it properly on the desktop PC.

I *will *be deleting from the Lightroom CC cloud though as I'll fill it up relatively quickly, and I don't like keeping "live" originals in more than one place, so need a good way of knowing that a given original is in my main catalogue before I remove it from my adobe cloud account.

I'm sort of using the laptop as a quick way of getting images off my camera and sharing them before I put them in my real proper library as it were, not as a connected workflow.


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## pauljames34 (Jan 23, 2019)

I think I've got my workflow now.

I'm uploading to the cloud via Lightroom CC on the laptop, then on the desktop I'm using the Adobe Lightroom Downloader to bring the raws to my desktop's storage, then import them to my main catalogue which transfers them to the NAS (I've got a rename at this point to make sure the file names are unique). 

I've realised I have to pause the "Sync with Lightroom CC" task in Lightroom Classic otherwise it thinks the raws on the hard drive are duplicates.

Bit gutted it doesn't bring across the pick flag  from CC into my main catalogue, but no big deal. It does bring across the edits in the XMPs though, although I understand that's only some of them.

I'll see how I get on. The next challenge is cleaning down the cloud storage, but at the same time making sure I've got all the photos in my main catalogue on the NAS before I wipe them from the cloud!


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## johnbeardy (Jan 23, 2019)

I would not recommend using the Downloader for that. It's intended as a lifeboat, for when you are leaving the Adobe sync world, not as something intended for routine use and I wouldn't consider it reliable for that purpose.

"Bit gutted it doesn't bring across the pick flag  from CC into my main catalogue " - that's because Downloader does dump xmp sidecars but they don't include flags. Use ratings instead? But Sync with LRCC is the way to bring over flags. Use it, not the Downloader, and then you don't get those duplicates.

To clear the cloud, just unsync the photos in LrClassic.


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## Califdan (Jan 23, 2019)

Not clear on what you are actually doing on the laptop?  

You said you don't care about Keywords on the laptop and would only be doing rough cut image edits there.  You didn't mention anything about collections, folder management, slideshows, printing, publish services, etc.   If indeed you are not doing any of that, I think your workflow is overly complicated.  

Why not just use LR Classic on your desktop (with images on a hard drive or NAS that stays in the loft) and sync images to the Adobe Cloud.  Then on the laptop use the CC application (either the desktop CC app or the Web app).   Anything you import with a CC app on the laptop would sync back to the desktop (full RAW files).    Any images you import on the desktop would sync to the laptop if you added them to a Synced collection on the desktop.   Any image edits you do on either would sync to the other.  If you set your laptop CC app to "Store Locally" you don't even need have an internet connection to edit your images on the laptop (say on an airplane or remote mountain top)

While I am not a fan of the CC apps as a replacement for Classic - in your case, as all you really need is to be able to import new images along with seeing and perhaps editing other images on the laptop, I think this would work better for you (once you come up to speed on editing using the CC app) and wouold be much simpler and less error prone.  

Dan


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## Mickey (Jan 25, 2019)

johnbeardy said:


> You _can_ do it, but
> 
> Alternatively, import into LrClassic on the laptop and choose a folder from the CC Files, the Dropbox-like space that comes with the subscription. Have automatic writing of metadata enabled. Upstairs, import the files again, moving them to the NAS. As well as avoiding the dumbed-down aspects of LRCC, the CC Files do have a trash feature. This is what I do.



John - I'm a bit confused by your bullet point above.  Why import twice into Classic?  Can you explain a little more?
Mickey


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## johnbeardy (Jan 25, 2019)

Ideally I wouldn't import twice, but I often come home and want to review the images while staying downstairs where I keep the Mac laptop. I might delete images, add metadata, make adjustments, export a few etc.  I am not a fan of LRCC, and I can't set the GPS by dragging to a map, to give a single example. Adding locations or keywords in LRCC is a waste of effort because they won't sync too. Other stuff is half-baked in LRCC, so the caption is a single line, and keyword entry is primitive and inefficient.

So I use real Lightroom on the laptop, importing to the CC files folder (see Finder window in screenshot) which will sync via the cloud, and saving the xmp metadata back to the files. I could use Dropbox in the same way. And as shown in the screenshot, I have the comfort of CC Files or Dropbox storing any deleted files - the lack of any kind of trash is one of the worst failings of LRCC.

Next day I'll go to the upstairs and the CC files folder will have synced down to the desktop PC where I'll import again, moving the files to their long-term location. I have enough cloud storage, but moving the files frees up space. Moving files also means they will become missing in LR on the laptop - no big deal as my laptop catalogue is routinely emptied. What's more important for me is that in LR on my desktop I will have all my keywords and other metadata. Flags won't be, but I would have deleted rejects on the laptop and added stars to the better keepers, maybe colour labels too (another LRCC absence).

One aspect that is more specific to me is that I like to import using the embedded and sidecar workflow, as it's quicker to review Fuji images at 1:1. I wouldn't  usually have finished going through all the day's pictures on the laptop. So when I import into my main desktop catalogue, the images still have their embedded previews - which wouldn't happen if files sync from LRCC. Also, because Fuji raw files don't contain full size embedded previews, I shoot raw+JPEG and in LRCC these are shown as two files. With my CC files workflow the JPEGs stay hidden.

If I do use LRCC on the laptop, it's just as an alternative to using LrWeb or LrMobile to make odd tweaks to photos that I have synced from LrClassic.

Hope that's clearer.


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## JamesHarrison399 (Jan 10, 2020)

Hi.
I use LR Classic on a Windows laptop and desktop. I have recently upgraded both devices  and am rethinking my LR workflow. John Beardy's strategy, described in the previous post in this thread, or something similar, might work for me. With the passage of a year, and developments in both LR products, are there variations, or other approaches, that I should consider?

Here's what I do and  envisage doing with LR:
In the field, on the laptop: load newly-taken image files into LR Classic; triage them; do some editing; add keywords; share some images. I envisage moving raw files off the laptop frequently & emptying the catalog. (I haven't done that as systematically as I intend to.)

At home, on the desktop: keep my primary store of image files and a single cumulative primary LR Classic catalog; do most editing, some printing, etc; and manage backing-up.

Something that I don't yet do - but want to - is to use synchronization, cloud storage, smart previews and LR (not Classic) to achieve something like what John described. I envisage being able to do quite a lot of editing and perhaps other things away from the desktop, mainly on the laptop but perhaps also on other devices.

My laptop is a current HP Spectre 360 13  (0.5Tb SSD). The desktop is a fairly powerful Ryzen 9 machine. My main camera is a Nikon D850. I'm a hobbyist. 

I hope that this is an appropriate place to ask this question.

James


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## johnbeardy (Jan 10, 2020)

I wouldn't say much has changed in the last year, though I would remove the comment "the lack of any kind of trash is one of the worst failings of LRCC."  Adobe finally added a trash bin feature to Cloudy Lightroom, although I still import on the laptop via Classic and save the files in the Dropbox-like CC files folder.  So I am not using Cloudy LR for the initial import, and my view remains "If I do use LRCC on the laptop, it's just only as an alternative to using LrWeb or LrMobile to make odd tweaks to photos that I have synced from LrClassic."


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## PhilBurton (Jan 10, 2020)

pauljames34 said:


> I've got a good laptop, but upstairs in the loft I have my very good desktop.
> 
> I have my main catalogue on my desktop PC with the associated raws stored on a NAS.
> 
> ...


You could Export as Catalog from the laptop and then import that Catalog on your desktop.  After you do the export, copy that catalog over to your desktop system.  That approach will move the laptop catalog with edits, plus all the original RAW file.  It would be best if you used the same folder naming scheme on both systems.  I use yyyy/mm/dd, but there are other options of course.

I should add that you have to be very careful to do further edits on those photos only on your desktop system, unless you want to do another Export As Catalog for some selected photos so you can do further editing on your laptop.

Phil


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