Move just catalog file to main PC?

[RaffScallion]

Hi guys,

Situation:
- Identical catalog file and image files on computer A (home desktop)
- Identical catalog file and image files on computer B (laptop whilst travelling)

Proposed approach:
1. Flag and work on photos on computer B whilst travelling (I won’t be taking any new photos and want to make use of the time)
2. Import just catalog file back to computer A when home

Will those flags and edits reflect on computer A?
Will culling (i.e deleting from disk) from computer B whilst I’m away before copying over the catalog file back onto computer A have any negative effect / ‘break’ this?

Hope this makes sense… Thanks in advance!

 

[gnpToday]

Yes you can do this. On my Mac’s I use ChronoSync. I have the same identical folder structure on both computers. I do an incremental backup to/from both, I do not sync my preview files as they are quite large and can always be rebuilt anytime I am going to do any more than casual edits. You do need to be careful with this method and closing the catalog on both computers (before sync) will generally keep you out of trouble. Just make sure you have backups at all times. I have been doing it this way for years

 

[gnpToday]

Any serious editing (PS, Topaz, PureRaw) will generally require the original files. That is why I duplicate my folder structure including my images folder.

 

[Viathelens]

Hi guys,

Situation:
- Identical catalog file and image files on computer A (home desktop)
- Identical catalog file and image files on computer B (laptop whilst travelling)

Proposed approach:
1. Flag and work on photos on computer B whilst travelling (I won’t be taking any new photos and want to make use of the time)
2. Import just catalog file back to computer A when home

Will those flags and edits reflect on computer A?
Will culling (i.e deleting from disk) from computer B whilst I’m away before copying over the catalog file back onto computer A have any negative effect / ‘break’ this?

Hope this makes sense… Thanks in advance!

You're talking about exporting and importing as a catalog? Whatever you do in one catalog, as they contain the exact same images, will change when you "import as catalog" into the other catalog. What I'd do in this circumstance is only export/import as catalog the image metadata I changed. It can take a long time for an entire catalog with images to load and there is no good reason to do this in the case you are talking about. You can make your edits, mark them with something, a flag, a color box, etc., then using the filter bar call them up, mark all of them for export using command A, then export just the edits as a catalog, not the actual image files. As long as the file names stay the same the metadata will overlay from the catalog you exported onto the correct files when you import it as a catalog. I do this all the time when I travel.

 

[RaffScallion]

You're talking about exporting and importing as a catalog? Whatever you do in one catalog, as they contain the exact same images, will change when you "import as catalog" into the other catalog. What I'd do in this circumstance is only export/import as catalog the image metadata I changed. It can take a long time for an entire catalog with images to load and there is no good reason to do this in the case you are talking about. You can make your edits, mark them with something, a flag, a color box, etc., then using the filter bar call them up, mark all of them for export using command A, then export just the edits as a catalog, not the actual image files. As long as the file names stay the same the metadata will overlay from the catalog you exported onto the correct files when you import it as a catalog. I do this all the time when I travel.

Yes exactly right, just importing the catalog file.

However, I wasn't sure of the behaviour in the below case:
1. 'Reject' photos and delete from local disk on computer B whilst travelling
2. Import catalog file into computer A when home
3. What happens to the photos that are still present on computer A but I rejected/deleted whilst out travelling on computer B? Does the catalog file include a 'flag' for deleted photos / will it 'know' that those are rejects?

Hope I'm making sense haha

 

[Viathelens]

Yes exactly right, just importing the catalog file.

However, I wasn't sure of the behaviour in the below case:
1. 'Reject' photos and delete from local disk on computer B whilst travelling
2. Import catalog file into computer A when home
3. What happens to the photos that are still present on computer A but I rejected/deleted whilst out travelling on computer B? Does the catalog file include a 'flag' for deleted photos / will it 'know' that those are rejects?

Hope I'm making sense haha

Since you are keeping two separate catalogs, what you do to one does not affect the other. It's like having two catalogs that have different photos, they don't speak to each other. I don't keep separate catalogs because I believe it can get very confusing and I like to keep things simple. In this case, you are just working on images and not adding new images, any image you change and then export/import will be affected by the new metadata. If you reject an image that reject marker will be put on the image in the desktop catalog when you export/import metadata. If you delete an image then there is no metadata to export/import so that image will remain on the desktop catalog. Any image you work on, then mark to export as a catalog and then import back into the desktop computer as a catalog, not importing the images themselves but just the metadata, will import as you marked them in the travel catalog. Read up on this process on the Adobe Lightroom website as it will help you to understand.

 

[RaffScallion]

Since you are keeping two separate catalogs, what you do to one does not affect the other. It's like having two catalogs that have different photos, they don't speak to each other. I don't keep separate catalogs because I believe it can get very confusing and I like to keep things simple. In this case, you are just working on images and not adding new images, any image you change and then export/import will be affected by the new metadata. If you reject an image that reject marker will be put on the image in the desktop catalog when you export/import metadata. If you delete an image then there is no metadata to export/import so that image will remain on the desktop catalog. Any image you work on, then mark to export as a catalog and then import back into the desktop computer as a catalog, not importing the images themselves but just the metadata, will import as you marked them in the travel catalog. Read up on this process on the Adobe Lightroom website as it will help you to understand.

Thanks this makes sense

 

[Anjin San]

I don’t need up deciding to go with the same method Steve uses…catalog on the road with just the trip photos and export/import back at home then delete them from the road catalog. Hudson Henry does it the other way…catalog on an external portable SSD that has current trip originals on it as well and smart previews for the whole catalog but the majority of originals ar on a NAS back home…and the trip originals get moved to the NAS back at home. I’ve done it both ways but settled on Steve’s approach…catalog and current year originals live on the internal SSD on my Mac Studio and older years out on an OWC RAID at home and road catalog and originals on the MBP with a pair of Samsung SSDs for road backup. If you export import you can tell it to skip duplicate photos on import…but something like the Chronosync 2 way sync might work to get the marked for deletion shots synced since the road catalog will have newer modification date…but if you actually deleted them in the road catalog then the originals will get synced from the home to road catalog since they’re not on the laptop…but the newer road catalog would mean that the deleted originals will still exist on both but will not be in the LR catalog. I would think the 2 way sync would get too confusing…at least for me.

 

[Viathelens]

I don’t need up deciding to go with the same method Steve uses…catalog on the road with just the trip photos and export/import back at home then delete them from the road catalog. Hudson Henry does it the other way…catalog on an external portable SSD that has current trip originals on it as well and smart previews for the whole catalog but the majority of originals ar on a NAS back home…and the trip originals get moved to the NAS back at home. I’ve done it both ways but settled on Steve’s approach…catalog and current year originals live on the internal SSD on my Mac Studio and older years out on an OWC RAID at home and road catalog and originals on the MBP with a pair of Samsung SSDs for road backup. If you export import you can tell it to skip duplicate photos on import…but something like the Chronosync 2 way sync might work to get the marked for deletion shots synced since the road catalog will have newer modification date…but if you actually deleted them in the road catalog then the originals will get synced from the home to road catalog since they’re not on the laptop…but the newer road catalog would mean that the deleted originals will still exist on both but will not be in the LR catalog. I would think the 2 way sync would get too confusing…at least for me.

Moving only metadata, not photos, ensures that there are no duplicate photos. The metadata will simply layer over the existing images in the desktop catalog as long as the name remains the same.