Is it possible to perform "Offline Editing" in Lightroom?

Question

Is it possible to perfom "Offline Editing" in Lightroom? I use the word "offline" like one would in video editing, to mean that I would use low resolution versions of my images to perform super-fast edits and stylizations. I don't mean that the images would actually be missing when I say "offline." The workflow process would go something like this:
I would use Photoshop's Image Processor to quickly make low resolution copies of all of the images in a folder. Then I would send that (much smaller) folder of images to another person (in another city) to edit and stylize on their machine, using their own copy of Lightroom. Once they have completed their work, they would send me their decision data, which I would bring into my copy of Lightroom, to be rejoined with the high resolution versions of the images.
Please tell me this will work. I'm trying to figure out a way to distribute my rapidly growing workload among multiple persons, while maintaining a master catalog of high resolution files.

Answer 1

LR stores it's edits in the catalog. It can also store the edits in the file as xmp data or as sidesar files in the case of propitiatory formats. Makes no difference to this process what the original format is, in the case of JPG the xmp data is stored in the file. LR uses previews it builds of the files to show you what these edits will look like when applied to the files. These edits are only applied to a new file created on export. The original file is left untouched. LR is primary designed for editing RAW files or 16 bit tiffs, rather than JPGs. It can of course edit JPGS but although LR is non destructive during editing when the changes are applied to the JPG file on export sever deterioration of the file will occur. JPG is a finished format and really shouldn't be edited if it can be avoided.
Off line editing in LR relates to editing image that are not actually connected to the catalog at the time. Such as being on an external disk that is no longer plugged into the computer. LR can work this way but new images cannot be exported from the catalog without the originals being connected.
You can edit "smaller" versions of an image if you want and then copy the changes to "larger" files. There would be no advantage however in doing this in LR and those changes may be completely different given that the files themselves are different. Someone else can work on original files in a separate catalog and either export the files as a catalog which you can import or save the changes to the files themselves which you can then read into your catalog using the read metadata from file command.