bioteacher Loc: Brooklyn, NY

I use 2 Windows computers (Win 10 & 11) and was wondering if there was a way to sync my Lightroom edits between computers? TIA.

DL Loc: St. Petersburg, Fl and Island Park, Idaho

Use the Lightroom for the cloud and not Lightroom Classic. Your library and edits will be on both computers and your phone.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Actually, there are several options, including your subscription-purchased cloud 'work area' that is available to LR Classic. At a high-level, you create a shared collection and place the images to share into the collection, up the the size limit of your cloud-storage, 20GB for the $9.99 monthly plan. That shared collection needs to exist in both LR-classic installs on both computers and both computers need to be connected to the internet. The 2nd computer, when connected to the internet, should see the files in the cloud and download. You can then move the images elsewhere within the LR catalog so they're not in the shared collection and using up a portion of that cloud storage.

The process above is to implement the incremental / ongoing 'syncs'. To get started, just decide which computer is the 'master' version of the catalog. On that computer, find the LRCAT location. If unsure, use Edit / Catalog Settings / General inside LR Classic. The high-level folder that includes your LRCAT, copy that entire folder (all the files and subfolders) onto and into the secondary computer, replacing the same files on the target. Your image files need to be in the same places on the target computer. You can update the LRCAT copied onto the target, if needed, to identify the different location(s) for the same images.

Adobe help / google search will give the detailed steps for setting up the shared collection, try: google share lightroom classic collection

If you want to skip the cloud, you can periodically copy the entire catalog folder between the computers as discussed above.

Or, enable the XMP option and copy the image files and XMP sidecars between computers, importing / updating the target LRCAT.

Or, sort images by edited date on computer-1, select-all the relevant images, export as individual DNGs, or into a new 'transfer' catalog. Then, copy the results to computer-2 and import.

bioteacher Loc: Brooklyn, NY

thanks

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I added a few additional methods. Consider <quote reply> for targeted responses.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Paul,

Have you got that multiple Lightroom Classic installation syncing system working on your computers?

Bill

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

The traditional way to use Lightroom Classic on multiple computers is to keep your image files and your catalog files on a rugged external drive. Then move it from computer to computer. It used to be felt that doing that slowed down Lightroom Classic. But, if you use the newer, faster (more expensive!) solid state drives, speeds are better.

Adobe's promotions will insist that their preferred multi computer solution is Lightroom (the cloud model). There are versions of that for computers, phones, tablets and browsers and all will stay synchronized.

As Paul explains, you can have "shared collections" out of Lightroom Classic that sync with Lightroom (cloudy). I do some of that for a few favorite images that I want to link further to the Adobe "Portfolio". Syncing can be slow, especially if you are using RAW files. But, depending on your workflow, smaller RAW previews are what get can be "synced".

I've never seen, in Adobe's forums or elsewhere, the method Paul describes where you have two computers running Lightroom Classic and use Lightroom (cloudy) as a "bridge" between smart, synced collections. It sounds like it might work, but it might take more time getting it to work reliably than is worth it.

For reference, Adobe's instructions explain sharing from Lightroom Classic to Lightroom (cloudy): https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/help/share-comment-feedback-collaborate.html

bioteacher Loc: Brooklyn, NY

Thanks

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Clearly, I'm more cutting-edge and future-forward than these Luddites I'm dealing with on another thread ...

Alas, although I have the 2 computers, I don't have the software needed to show that not only should this collection-sync work, but that it's how Adobe intends it to work.

Our OP could also use a single connected portable drive and place the LRCAT folder and all the image files onto the drive, and just connect the drive onto the 'active' computer as needed. The LR software would reside on both computers. That's what, five (5) options so far?

bioteacher Loc: Brooklyn, NY

I would like to thank everyone for their suggeastions

bioteacher Loc: Brooklyn, NY

I would like to thank everyone for their suggestions

steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA

Paul, do you know if your suggestion(s), or that of bsprague, would be applicable to 2 macs?

My mac is running Mojave, which is incompatible with the latest version of LRC. If I update my OS, other software I have installed will not be compatible. My wife's mac is running Big Sur, which the newer LRC can run on.

The computers are on the same network and can be linked (presently mine can connect to hers, but hers cannot connect to mine). I mention this because my photos are on 6 external hard drives connected to mine, which I do not want to be physically moving from one to the other.

I would still do 95% of editing on my own computer, but for those rare occasions that I need some of the newer features of LRC, I would use hers.

Are there any problems I am overlooking if I just open the connection from hers to mine, install LRC on hers, do the occasional edits there, and save back to mine?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Steve, personally, what I do here at the Digital Bear Cave is the following:

1, My Win10 desktop is my primary image editor, in an office with a large UHD monitor (color calibrated).

2, All my images reside on a USB-connected 4TB WB external harddrive.

3, The LRCAT resides on the local C: drive of the desktop.

4, Periodically, I copy (back-up) the LRCAT onto the primary 4TB drive and onto a second clone 4TB drive, along with new & updated images.

5, From a Win10 Laptop, I've both "shared" the connected primary 4TB drive and set-up remote desktop access to the primary Desktop.

So, my configuration differs from the OP's request to have two concurrent and active machines sharing images and current edits inside two unique installations of LR Classic. For me, I treat the Desktop as primary and I just remote into that machine if I want work in another room via the laptop. When I travel, I bring the 'cloned' HD as a connected device to the laptop and then just merge any updates from the road into the primary desktop when I return to Chicago. LR Classic is installed on the laptop, and configured to access the LRCAT and image files on the connected USB device.

Regarding Mac's sharing abilities of drives / computers over a 'home network', I'd expect the same options as described above. But, I'm a windows-only shop, so I defer to others about 'how' such a home-network can / should be constructed. And, I have the added wrinkle of running older LR6 software.

steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA

Just wanted to say thanks before heading out, I'll have to study your answer later on and wrap my head around it.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

A key issue for many is, as CHG_CANON mentions, you'll have to pay for additional cloud space from Adobe.