LR5 Smart Preview Portability Question : Can files be edited remotely?

I understand how Smart Previews work. What I'm unsure of is...will we be able to edit these files remotely, separate from the host computer? For example, I'm an image editor and I live 500 miles away from the photographer that I work for. Can they (the photographer) download the images after shooting, create Smart Previews then send me the 'Smart Preview' folder of images, I edited them on my own computer then return the Smart Previews back to them fully edited?

You don't actually edit smart preview files. Meaning: you edit the photos in the catalog, it's just if they have a smart preview they don't need to be online. In other words, the smart previews are tied to the catalog, and exist in it's bowels - edits are never stored in them, and you can't detach them from the catalog and do things with them, like send them to somebody. If you edit an offline photo by way of it's smart preview, the edits are stored in the catalog and/or the xmp of the photo, just like if you'd edited the actual photo.
So what your photographer would have to do is send you a catalog which includes smart previews, and you would return an edited catalog to them (without the smart previews), to import .
eh?
R

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Can not remove ? from external hard drive folder in LR5 & can't link smart preview & original pic

I have LR5 and a MacBook Pro OSX 10.8.5 I have an external hard drive that when I imported photos from my cameras memory card I selected the hard drive as the source to move the pictures to. I forgot if I clicked ADD, MOVE, or COPY.
In the library mode in LR5 the external hard drive shows up under folders, but has a question mark on every folder on the external hard drive. I control clicked on the question mark for the first folder (the parent folder?) and choose “Find missing folder”. I then navigated to the external hard drive and clicked on that same folder, then clicked choose. Nothing happened. I tried this same method with individual folders and the same, I control click on the folder with a question mark, navigate to the same folder on the hard drive, click on it (I tried both just clicking on the folder so it was highlighted and actually opening the folder), and select choose, the question marks remain.
1. How do I link the two to remove the question mark?
Second question, possibly related. I have a collection in the library mode that has only previews, the originals were added to the same external hard drive as above. When I navigate to the hard drive via my finder (not in LR5), the originals are there. When I am in the library mode in LR5, in this collection, and click on the preview square in the top right corner of an individual picture in that collection, it says “image can be edited using its smart preview but the original file can not be found. Would you like to locate it".
The original location of it shows below this statement and is correct; it shows the path to the external hard drive and the folder where the original is contained that I mentioned previously. I navigate to that picture on the external hard drive and select it. I get another notice box pop up that says “the file is associated with another photo in the catalog. Each file can only be associated with one photo.” I select show in library and it brings me right back to the image that is a smart preview only. I am stuck in this loop and cant figure out how to associate the original on the external hard drive with the smart preview in LR5.
1. I have the originals still on my camera memory card, do I import again? I am afraid I will loose all my edits.
I hope I gave you the right info. Every link I find to answer this question is related but not quite the same, any link you know of is apreciated. Thanks!
Ashley

Have you ever re-named files using duplicate file names e.g. names that have been used previously?
See if this link helps to locate missing files and near posibilities:
http://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/help/locate-missing-photos.html

Can I use my lrdata smart previews file on another Mac and then take the edits back to the original?

LR5 CC user. I have tried to use Smart Previews for the first time. I followed what seemed the best advice but now not sure since most of the guides feature working with a single computer and offline files. I am away travelling for over a month. I have a Mac Pro with many thousands of images. I exported my 5000 "best" as smart previews in a lrdata file to use with my macbook pro laptop while travelling. i took the lrdata file with me on a hard drive. Not the catalog file. Now it seems I can import these files (by double clicking on the lrdata file) but I am concerned that if I edit them the editing will be lost when I go back to the original. They have different file names. Have I basically lost the chance to do any editing? Or is there a way to edit and then send them back to the original catalog?

10greenmen wrote:
import these files (by double clicking on the lrdata file) but I am concerned that if I edit them the editing will be lost when I go back to the original.
One should not import & edit smart preview files (the lossy dngs with names like 7/7FB5/7FB580F4-00BB-4C39-8DE5-C09490BA6CB8.dng), instead of the photos they "represent".
But if you do, here's how to transfer settings and/or metadata from imported/edited smart preview files back to the original photos which you should've edited in the first place:
o Note: you have to import the directly-edited smart previews into your main catalog when you get home (import from travel catalog, or save xmp first and just import files - either way works).
* Download and install RelativeAntics plugin (free by me).
* Choose 'Imported Smart Previews' preset (in plugin manager).
* Select the imported smart preview files.
* Run 'Relative Antics' (File menu -> Plugin Extras).
* Deselect all items in 'Define "Related" section, *except* 'Custom Relative'.
* choose whether to transfer develop setting and/or metadata..
* and do it - this will copy settings and metadata from the selected imported/edited-smart-preview to the photo which should have been edited in the first place (the "related" photo).
Example:
==========
Rob

Feature request: selective per-file Smart Previews in LR5

I would like to be able to selectively enable Smart Previews on a per-file basis, rather on entire directories.
It would be great if I could do this after importing files, too.
I am using:
Lightroom 5.0 64-bit
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

You can BUILD smart previews on a per-file basis by clicking the original photo button in the lower left corner of the histogram. In grid view of the Library module, it will build smart previews for all the photos you have selected. In Develop module, it will build a smart preview for the most-selected photo. Not sure if this is what you want.

How to copy catalog from external hard drive to computer hard drive to use smart previews when not connected to external hard drive?

I am very new to LR5. I have LR5 set up so that my catalog and photos are on an external hard drive. I found out that when not connected to the hard drive, LR5 cannot find my catalog, therefore, I cannot do any editing in smart previews unless connected to the external hard drive. How can I fix this issue so that I can edit photos without being connected to the external hard drive. Is there a way of copying the catalog off the hard drive on the computer hard drive or do I need to reestablish a new catalog using LR5? Does the catalog always need to be loaded on the hard drive? Thank you in advance.

Yes that is correct. The LR catalog must be on the computers internal drive. Then when you have Smart Previews enabled you can edit image without having the drive they are on connected. Then when you connect that drive the images will be updated.
Just COPY those 4 folders over to your internal drive to a folder called Lightroom Catalog that you create. Then Open LR and go to the File menu item and select Open Catalog. Browse to the folder you created called Lightroom Catalog and select the Lightroom 5 Catalog.lrcat file and click Open. Once Lightroom restarts open the preferences, Edit>Preferences, and on the General Tab in the Default Catalog section make sure "When starting up use this catalog:" area lists where you have copied those folders. Something like Macintosh HD/Wherever you created that folder/That folder name/Lightroom 5 catalog.lrcat.

Is there any benefit for me to use smart previews if my Lightroom 5 catalog, previews and media are all on the same external USB HD?

I keep everything on 1 External USB3 HD so that I can pug it into my Mac at home or my PC at work and just keep working without syncing anything to the local machine. So is there any benefit with Smart Previews in this case? I heard somewhere that it might make the Develop module a little quicker, but is this only when using the Smart Preview and not the full res image?

Lr uses smart previews instead of ACR cache for initial develop-module view when photos are online - amount of benefit is, in my experience, very minor (not noticeable without using a stop-watch..).
But if photos are offline, you may experience more substantial savings.
Note: smart previews are reduced resolution - smart previews of raw files are 2560 x (say) 1920, so if your original raws were say 5120 x 3840, then you/Lr are dealing with 1/4 the number of pixels when editing via smart previews.
Anyway, if you are willing to give up zoom for one edit pass, you can resize the smart previews so 1:1 fits in your allotted display space (e.g. 1280 x 960, which would be 1/8 number of pixels..), e.g. using the PreviewExporter plugin - then things may be significantly faster in develop module. PreviewExporter also has a feature to take originals offline, and put them back online.
To be clear: the amount of savings may or may not be dramatic - how much there is depends on your system, size of raw vs. smart preview image, number and type of edits applied, etc..
Why don't you try it and tell us what you think?!
Cheers,
Rob

Pros and cons of 'smart preview' over ordinary preview?

I'm pondering how to use smart previews, and the only drawback I can see of using smart previews instead of traditional previews is that there's no 100% smart preview - the images are downsized to 2048 for smart previews, whereas traditional previews can be 1:1.
Aside from that, the smart preview seems better in every way.
I guess they can work in tandem - the 1:1 preview rendering the image quickly in loupe view comes to mind - but does it make sense to generate both smart and traditional previews?
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance,
- Steven

nevetssf wrote:
there is some overlap
Not much. Smart preview is unbaked substitute for raw file, used for develop/export (i.e. when rendering is done). Regular preview (aka library preview), is for a quick view - no rendering done.
nevetssf wrote:
so for me they're often taking the pace of regular previews.
I dunno about "taking the place" but it's true if photos are offline, regular previews will be created by rendering smart previews, instead of raw file.
Rob

Lightroom wont see smart previews

hi! so I am helping out a nother photographer by editing some of her work. She sent me the LRCAT file, then later sent me the smart previews folder for me to edit. However when I open up the LRCAT file, it does not read that there are smart previews. How do I tell LR where they are?
thanks!
~mike

I think I lied to you - I believe you need her regular previews folder too - preferrably that containing the same cross-section of photos she exported for you as catalog (instead of the whole kit-n-kaboodle).
Reason: the smart previews have the same "ID" as the regular previews, which Lr gets from the regular preview database.
Sorry - we're kinda figuring this out together - such was a recent discovery for me.
Note: the simplest thing would be to have her export a fresh catalog for you, which includes everything you need, including smart previews.
Note: the simplest thing would be to have her export a fresh catalog for you, which includes everything you need, including smart previews.
* Select photos
* File menu -> export as catalog.
(exclude "negatives")
Rob

I have been using LR5 on a Mac mini. The LR was installed on an external drive. Now I would like to use Smart Previews on my Internal drive to take advantage of the speed. When I make previews they go to originals. How can I put them on the internal drive

when started with LR 5 on my Mac I used advise from Adobe's LR5 book, I installed it on an external drive, processing originals was a little slow so I decided to make smart previews on my internal drive to get faster processing. However the smart previews hook up with the originals and so there is no advantage just a bigger file. Is there anyway when I make the previews stay on the internal drive or am I locked in with the current setup. I can find no LR5 folders on the internal drive.
Thanks,
John Sr.

Are you doing a lot of spot removal or brushing?
This doesn't sound like a disk drive issue at all. Once Lightroom reads the file from the disk, and you are editing, the disk plays no further role. Using a faster disk drive here will not make the slightest difference.
So, I would check your graphics drivers to see if they are up to date. I would also temporarily disable your virus checker and firewall.
How much memory does your computer have? What CPU do you have?
How big (in megapixels, not megabytes) are the photos you are editing?

Smart Previews issue. LR5 catalog saying "The file could not be found" for entire collection. How do I "sync" or "find" the smart previews?

I created an LR5 catalog with 1:1 previews and smart previews. I then placed the catalog along with the previews and smart previews files into dropbox.
Came home to work remotely, opened the catalog from dropbox and I can see the photos in library mode. But once I go to develop, LR is saying "The file could not be found"
Smart Preview cache file is there right below the lrcat file.
Anyone know how I can make the catalog find that smart previews cache?

Thanks for the quick response.
There are ? next to the folders but that's to be expected because that drive is not connected to my comp.
And there are exclamation points next to each image.. but again.. drive is not connected. But I've used smart previews before and that was the fix to working without the original raw images available.
However the smart previews don't seem to be working this time as I cannot edit the images.

How can I edit lightroom 5 smart previews on mac book pro (mbp) when the lightroom 5 master image files are on my external hard drive is disconnected from the mbp

How can I edit lightroom 5 smart previews on mac book pro (mbp) when the lightroom 5 master image files are on my external hard drive is disconnected from the mbp? So far when I try to disconnect the external HD from the mbp, I get the following pop up window: The disk "external hard drive A" couldn't be ejected because "Lightroom" is using it. Quit that application and try to eject this disk again. When I do that and restart Lightroom 5, the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom - Select Catalog screen pops up but doesn't list my external hard drive A as a choice.
I've reviewed Adobe's Lightroom Help | Smart Previews Lightroom 5 web page and still haven't been able to figure what I'm doing wrong. Any help would be appreciated.

Your internal HDD. by default, is named 'Macintosh HD'. From what information you supplied, it looks like there is already a Lightroom catalog installed on you local (internal) HDD using the standard naming convention Adobe uses as well as a Lightroom catalog on your external drive which you created. To be sure of which catalog Lightroom is loading when it starts up, To do this, start Lightroom as you normally would. After it starts, select the Lightroom menu item, then select the Catalog Preferences item and finally, navigate to the General tab. The Location information will tell you exactly what catalog Lightroom is opening by default. This will likely be the Photography Mac Book Pro Versions catalog on your external HDD. Once that is confirmed, you are ready to proceed. As an additional test/verification, you can shut down Lightroom and, this time, start Lightroom while holding down the ALT/OPTION key. This will cause Lightroom to pause and display a screen which will allow you to chose a different catalog to open. Navigate to the /Users/[user name]/Pictures/Lightroom folder and select the Lightroom 5 Catalog.lrcat file. When Lightroom comes up, there should be no previews or folders as this catalog should be empty. Now you can be certain which catalog is being used and which catalog has all your data and you are ready to migrate your current catalog. Shut down Lightroom.
To migrate your current catalog, use Finder to locate your Photography Mac Book Pro Versions folder on your external drive. Select the folder and select COPY from the context menu. Next, use Finder to navigate to the /Users/[user name]/Pictures/Lightroom folder on you internal HDD. You can start at the Macintosh HD level and work your way down by opening each level (Macintosh HD/Users/[user name]/Pictures). Select the /Pictures folder and then select PASTE... from the context menu. When the COPY/PASTE is complete, you should see the following files on the Macintosh HD:
Macintosh HD/Users/[user name]/Pictures/Lightroom/ and
Macintosh HD/Users/[user name]/Pictures/Photography Mac Book Pro Versions
The Macintosh HD/Users/[user name]/Pictures/Lightroom folder will contain the empty default catalog the Adobe created when Lightroom was installed and Macintosh HD/Users/[user name]/Pictures/Photography Mac Book Pro Versions will contain a copy of the catalog you created on your external HDD.
You are almost done now. Make sure your external drive is still attached for this step. Restart Lightroom using the ALT/OPTION key again. When the Select Catalog screen appears, select the Choose a Different Catalog button (lower left side). When you do, a Finder window will open to allow you to navigate to a catalog of your choosing. Navigate to Macintosh HD/Users/[user name]/Pictures/Photography Mac Book Pro Versions and select the file Photography Mac Book Pro Version.lrcat. This is the copy you just created. Select the Open button and Lightroom should start. You should see all of your previews and settings just as before. Also, in the left hand panel, all of your folder should show up and none of them should be dimmed and none of your previews should display a small exclamation point badge. Either a dimmed folder name or an exclamation point badge indicates that Lightroom can't find the associated image file. If everything looks good, go to the Lightroom menu, select Preferences and then select the General tab. Under Default Catalog, select an option to either load the LAST catalog opened or select the Users/[user name]/Pictures/Photography Mac Book Pro Versions catalog from the drop down. Shut down Lightroom and then restart it normally. This time, when Lightroom starts, you should be viewing the new copy of your catalog. You can confirm this by looking at the General tab on the Catalog Preferences screen (Lightroom/Catalog Preferences menu items). Shut down Lightroom once again and this time, eject your external drive before restarting. This time, your folders in the left hand panel will be dimmed but you should be able to work with your smart previews. If Lightroom should display a Select Catalog screen with the external drive detached, double check your settings as it indicates Lightroom is still looking at the copy of the catalog on the external drive rather than the new copy you made.
Finally, if you are seeing dimmed folders and/or exclamation point badges with the external drive attached, this indicates a problem. You can select any folder and select Update Folder Location from the context menu. This will allow you to navigate to the copy on the external drive and select it. Lightroom will then update the catalog (select to synchronize the content). This will not only clear the dimmed folder problem but also remove the exclamation point badges for all photos in that missing folder. However, it may indicate that not all went well with the copy of the catalog so make sure to verify all went well. You can use the Get Info option on the two folders. You should see the same number of files/folders for both the copy on the internal drive as well as on the external drive but you can't rely on the byte count because of the possibility of differences between the geometry of the two drives. Hope this all helps!

LR5 1:1 Previews workflow question

I don't work with 1000's of images at a time, so I build 1:1 previews on import to speed up the editing process. After editing, I do want to discard the 1:1 previews to save disk space, and I usually do it manually on the keepers and have the prefs to delete after 30 days as well. My question is: If I delete an image from the disk before I discard the 1:1 preview, does the preview data automatically get deleted from the catalog file as well? Or should I delete the 1:1 preview first before deleting the image from the disk? Does it even matter? I'm just not sure how the catalog preview data gets synced with a photo when it gets deleted. Thank you.

No, I'm afraid you're not reading my explanation right....so let me try again.
When you work in the Library module, you are seeing what are effectively jpeg previews of your raw files (assuming you are using raw of course, though the same principles apply for other file types). These can be built at several points, e.g. import or post-import, and can be built in several sizes, e.g. minimal, standard, 1:1. When you open an image in Library LR will fetch and load the appropriate preview for the size of the image display area and the zoom factor being used. If one doesn't exist for the viewing mode (e.g. zooming to 1:1 when no 1:1 previews have been pre-built), there will be a delay whilst it is built.
When working in Develop, however, those previews aren't used (except momentarily when you first select an image). Instead the raw file is converted, and the converted image "preview" is cached only, and this is what you see on your screen, and which is then updated in real-time as you move sliders. Note that this reading and conversion of the raw data happens every time you load an image into Develop (apart from maybe the last one or two images which might still be in the cache if you go back to them). In order to help speed-up this conversion, a variety of methods are used....for DNG files there is the option to build "Fast Load Data" which is written into the DNG header during initial conversion and then read when you open the file into Develop. For proprietary raw files there is the ACR cache entries, which are small files (similar to the DNG Fast Load Data) containing partly-processed raw data. This is a very simplified explanation of the process, which with LR5 is further complicated by the introduction of Smart Previews.
OK, the issue here is: when are those ACR cache entries for proprietary raw files created? As I tried to explain earlier, an off-shoot of the rendering of Standard or 1:1 Library previews is the creation of the ACR cache entry (if one doesn't already exist). However, when you open a file in Develop and Lightroom finds that there isn't already an ACR cache entry it will be created then at the same time as the full raw conversion is done. In other words, every time the actual raw data is read, be it Library preview rendering or Develop image loading, Lightroom checks for the existence of the ACR cache entry and creates it if it's not already there. Which is what I said earlier.
It logically follows, therefore, that opening a file into Develop when the ACR Cache entry isn't present would be slower than if it does already exist (though you might struggle to see the difference).
Now does that make more sense? And it doesn't contradict elie-d.

LR5 Smart Preview Portability Question : Can files be edited remotely?

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