Networking Lightroom

I am considering using adobe Lightroom to organize and manage about 15,000 photos in a way that all of my employees can access, search, and easily attach photos to e-mails and use in other projects. Is it possible to network Lightroom in such a way that multiple users can access and manipulate the same catalog of photos?

No. Lightroom is not a multi-user application.
Consider using a true multi-user application such as Daminion

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NETworking Lightroom ... how I survive, and organize folders

fyi: I am networking my data files in LRv1 on a NAS and a USB2 drive being shared on a WinXP Pro OS.
My problem is we cannot "share" the Lightroom Database.lrdb file. (I do realize to do it right will be complicated ... if you wanted to share only "some" folders or make some folders read only) ... but I do wish Adobe would even have a simple share available.
Now, for how I do it.
First my Folder organization on my Hard Disk, I feel it is important because I want it to be the same on my HD as in LR.
* by Year
* sub-folders of the year ... by DAY
* If I have more than one shoot for the DAY ... I will make another Day folder with a slightly different name ... 2007-03-04 Model2
(and I Keyword like crazy on import of each day's shoot ... because that is the best & easiest time to keyword ... that by the way is my argument of why folders by shoot is best)
Part of the reason I have it organized in LR this way is because ... that's the way it is on my Hard Drive ... but also it is easy to have many years listed in LR and only have one year open.
* It also allows me to put only one year on some Networked computers ... LR will only have the current year imported on them (nothing else)
Also the folder and style structor is on the LR drop down menu's ... so less typing and faster on the import.
1) When I import from a CF reader ... I have LR convert to DNG from my camera's RAW file > when it does the copy to my Network Drive.
So, I end up with only one copy of the DNG files on my network NAS Drive that is being Mirrored.
So, I end up with a folder that is ... 2007\2007-03-04
2) On my Main computer ... I use a LR Library that is on my "Data drive"
D:\Adobe LIGHTROOM LIBRARY\Lightroom (also has a DEVELOPS & SORTBOX folders as per Keven Yong's tip) ... It makes it easy to find, copy and back up to the NAS.
3) I do the LR thing .. then crop,clone ... Run my Export/Actions from LR ... STACK them just soooo.
4) Then I use PowerDesk PRO (file manager) ... that can open two windows in a Pre-Set way on a click of a hot key / button ..
( http://www.v-com.com/product/PowerDesk_Pro_Compare_Windows.html
* one window with D:\Adobe LIGHTROOM LIBRARY ... the other window with \\Network Computer\D:\Adobe LIGHTROOM LIBRARY
* and I just copy over the whole folder.
5) I open the Network computer's LR with the D:\Adobe LIGHTROOM LIBRARY on it's local drive
6) Go to 2007 (in red) ... and FIND folder on the NAS ...
* what is COOL ... is that LR fill find ALL the sub-folder's in 2007 that I had imported on my Main Computer ... and ALL the Crops,Clone's (a given with DNG) ... but ALSO the Stacks & Virtual copys ... will be there. And it's does it pretty fast. (we are running Raid 0 on the HD)
Not truly networking LR Library as a share ... only one person on the network can work with LR at the time (IF, they are stacking or using virtual copys that we want to share)
* If, they are only doing Adjustments & Crops no problem because we are using DNG. (p.s. virtual copys need to be inside DNGs)
*** So, who ever work's on LR last needs to copy to the other's computer. (scary)
IF, anyone has a better way ... please Post it here ...
Mahalo from Hawaii ... HG

John,
LOL ... you got that right!
Basically at this point ... my share and copy of the LR library is to eliminate the need for others on the Network, to have to import folders that have already been done, and the stacks organized.
Most cases for me, I am doing all the copying of the LR Library "out" to there computers over the network. Not really having it go back to my personal one and overwriting it (so at the very least, I will not have to cry, lol).
Others on the Network (not many in my case) ... can store a personal copy of a LR library with there Name. (but, mine is the main one with the default name, lol)
Normally any Output from someone on the network, that is of value to me ... will be put on the NAS in the form of a PSD or JPG.
But, if I need more than that ... I plan to use
the tip/link given to me by Sean McCormack
"It's in the new V1 video H-G on Liminous Landscape.
He covers some of it here to: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/lighroom-illuminated.shtml"
* will just make copy of "there" LR library ... and have multipe one's so I can just flip to it and use what I need.
I am just hoping ... some "really" smart person ... will find a better workaround and tell me ... pleeeze?
The "best" I can do ... right now, is "limit" how much changes others do & have them do virtual copys for themselfs.
*** imho, most sharing issues on a "small" network can be helped if Virtual copys & clone/heal where within DNGs.
And a bonus would be, if there is a easy way to Lock all changes to the original DNG within LR via password, "except" for a Virtual Copy.
If someone invests the time to do a clone/heal on a DNG ... I want to be able to use it. That's just me. :)
HG

Network Lightroom Catalog

Is there anyway to network a Lightroom Catalog as I work with both a desk top and Wacom tablet

That is probably one of the most requested features that we see. But, unfortunately, isn't possible. Some people resolve the problem by putting the catalog in a dropbox folder. Another alternative is to put the images and the catalog on an external drive. I can't give you any details about the dropbox idea because I've never tried it. Using an external hard drive has worked well for me in the past. But Lightroom does not support the catalog being on a network drive.

When "Edit in Photoshop" in lightroom photoshop opens the picture but without the changes I made in lightroom

when "Edit in Photoshop" in lightroom photoshop opens the picture but without the changes I made in lightroom
Please help me

Hi mariad91843143,
To enable the non-destructive workflow and the powerful features of Photoshop CC, the RAW image will need to be opened into Photoshop whilst, in the meantime, keeping our Lightroom changes so that we can work on them later. Instead of using the ‘Edit in Adobe Photoshop’ option in Lightroom – CMD +E (Mac) or CTRL +E (PC) – the option ‘Open as Smart Object in Photoshop’ will be used.
This is a very useful tutorial to understand how to manage the workflow between Photoshop and Lightroom Canon Professional Network - Lightroom & Photoshop CC workflow (Pt. 1): Smart Objects ....

Sending photos to Lightroom over network - what works, what doesn't?

This weekend, my wife and I are helping with a photo shoot (member's photo directory for a local non-profit).
Here is what we've done in the past with Picasa and what we're trying to duplicate:
Photographer takes photos, which are saved onto his Windows laptop via Firewire in the studio.
SyncBack SE running on two networked Windows PCs make copies of the photos from the laptop onto the local hard drives.
Picasa automatically detected the newly-taken photos with its "Watch Folder" feature.
My wife and I do some cropping, adjusting, etc, so that the photos can be quickly reviewed and selected by the customer.
We exported the edited photos into folders in JPEG format.
The photographer takes the JPEGs and uses them to guide his re-edits of the raw photos with PhotoShop.
Ouch! Re-editing wastes a TON of time!
This time, we plan to use LightRoom; this will ensure that our cropping and editing will go right into PhotoShop easily (or so I'm told--I haven't USED LightRoom much yet!)
Big show-stopper: testing (by the photographer) caused duplicate photos in the LightRoom library, mitigated by a manual step or two to import as a work around some LightRoom quirks. And LightRoom doesn't really play nicely with network drives, or so it seems.
I think what we're aiming for is to have a "local catalog" in LightRoom, and have the photos stored in a network drive which it will "watch". That way, all we need to do is export our cropped/edited LightRoom catalogs, which the photographer can import into LightRoom, then it's a quick jump to PhotoShop.
... or is this not the tool for the job?

Per documentation Lr is not a network operation and per several posts in this forum is stated as such. I stopped using Picasa when Lr came out for the public. With PsCS5 another tool comes up as Bridge which I have not used. I have only read the basic Adobe description. Though I do know several Pro Photographers do use Bridge with multiple users even in different states. I do not see why you are editing jpegs for Proofs and as samples for a Photographer to re-edit in a different format, no matter which software you use. My workflow uses RAW files and an Import as DNG along with make a second copy to another folder in Lr and archive of RAW files after a double check of files and I only Export as jpeg after processing. But I only use 1 Lr Catalog and not a network solution.
My way of course is just my opinion of how my service works. Does anyone here also use Adobe Bridge?

I cannot create a catalog because everywhere I try on my computer, it comes up with cannot Lightroom cannot create a catalog on network volumes. And is there any way to contact Adobe directly? Would you be able to give me a phone number and/or email add

I cannot create a catalog because everywhere I try on my computer, it comes up with cannot Lightroom cannot create a catalog on network volumes. And is there any way to contact Adobe directly? Would you be able to give me a phone number and/or email address?@@

The short and direct answer to your question about catalogs on a network drive is that you can't do that. The catalog must reside on a local drive.
Here is a link to a list of telephone numbers. Choose one that is appropriate:
Adobe Connect Support phone numbers

Can Lightroom references files in a network folder? And can multiple people all share a Lightroom catalog?

I would like to use Lightroom 5 at work to organize and manage photos. There are 10 people that consistently access the photos and videos. All of the photos and videos are on a network folder/drive. Is it possible for all 10 people to have a copy of Lightroom on their computers and then have a single catalog that all of the computers references? I guess the first question is whether Lightroom can references files on a network folder (if not than my first question isn't really relevant). If it is possible, what happens if two people (or more) have Lightroom open at the same time? Does that cause problems with the database? Please let me know if there is some way to make this work. Thanks..

Photos can be stored on Network Drives.
Catalog files cannot be stored on Network drives, and there is no way to allow multi-user access.
If you need multi-user access, you might want to consider software that allows multi-user access, such as Daminion. (Note: I am not endorsing Daminion, as I have never used it. I simply state that it claims to have a feature you are asking about)

I am unable to get Lightroom Mobile to work on my home network. The Ipad says "There are no collections to sync, enable lightroom mobile on your computer", but it is enabled. I got it to work one time on another network but not at home where I use Lightr

I am unable to get Lightroom Mobile to work on my home network. The Ipad says "There are no collections to sync, enable lightroom mobile on your computer", but it is enabled. I got it to work one time on another network but not at home where I use Lightroom.

Hi,
could you please give us some info on what kind of network you have?
Can other application communicate with the web?
Thanks,
Ignacio

Using Lightroom on a Network Drive...a workaround for Mac.

I may have figured a workaround, sort of, to use images from a network drive in Lightroom.
I am using a Mac and work in a marketing office. We have an image library of several thousand photos. I did a test with a few images to try and it worked.
Take the images that you want and bring them into Lightroom. Export the catalog of images to your computer. Take that folder and save it to your networked drive. Then from the other computer you are trying to use to access the catalog, go into the networked drive and pull ONLY the catalog file out of the exported folder. Save that to your desktop. Open Lightroom and select the newly copied catalog from your desktop as your catalog to run from. It will open and say that the images are not found, and under the folder drop down on the left the folders will be listed in red. Right click on the red folder name and select the link missing file option. From there, it will allow you to navigate to your networked drive and into the Lightroom catalog folder you exported initially with the image folder there. Link to that and bam, you should be golden. I am still testing this but I am looking for input and such on if this is a viable way to work around the non-networking capablities of Lightroom. Let me know! Thanks!
-Adam

Hello Adam,
I am already using this method to give a view to my photo library to my wife. I sync the lib from time to time. So, It is also working here.
Regards,
John.

Lightroom loses files on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) drive

I am using Lightroom 5.7 on a PC in Windows 7 64-bit.
A couple of weeks ago I installed a Network Attached Storage (NAS) system as I was running out of internal hard disk space. I set up a logical drive on the NAS for Photos. In Lightroom, I dragged the photo files over onto the new drive. The catalogue and backup files remained on the internal hard drive.
My photos are arranged chronologically, in directories (years) and subdirectories (days, named using the format "2014_12_31").
Since moving the files to the NAS, Lightroom has been giving me error messages when in the Develop module that it cannot find files. The previews view fine in the Library module, and the files are still there when I look for them in Windows Explorer. The errors do not occur within entire directories (years) subdirectories (days) - only some files within individual subdirectories are affected. And, only files from 2015 seem to have the problem. And, when I drag the directories back to my internal hard drive (again, within Lightroom), the errors disappear and everything works fine.

Yes, right clicking on the problem folders and showing in explorer does show the connection is to the correct folder location.
A couple more points that may be worth mentioning:
When I was having this problem earlier this week, the missing photos seemed to be spread randomly within different folders and subfolders (folders are year, with subfolders for each day I have photos). I followed the advice in the document you referenced yesterday, and went back through each main folder (there are about a dozen of them, one for each year plus a few miscellaneous folders) and used the "update folder location" function. This worked well I thought - except I realized later on that one year (2014) still had the photos missing - but this time, it seems to be all photos within that year folder, not just a few random ones. There is no "?" on the folder, or "!" on the individual photos, they show fine in preview, but clicking on the develop module every photo has the message "cannot find file". When I right click on the folder, or individual files to follow the location of the file in explorer, the location is correct - and as far as I can tell the locations and structure is consistent with the folders for all the other years which Lightroom has no problem finding. That is, I can see nothing "unusual" about the folder for 2014 in the way it sits within my filing structure.
And here's the kicker - last night I made a copy of the entire 2014 folder that was on the NAS external drive (where Lightroom can't seem to locate the files) back on to my internal drive (this took a couple of hours). This morning, I forced Lightroom to lose the link to the folder on the network drive by simply changing the name of the folder from within windows explorer, and then the "?" and "!" warnings popped up in Lightroom indicating it could not find the folder and files. I then used "update folder location" to point Lightroom at the copies that were now on the internal drive, and the problem disappeared (all files were located).
Finally, I then broke the link to the folder on the internal drive by changing the name of the folder on the internal drive from within explorer, renamed the folder on the NAS drive back to "2014", then opened up Lightroom again (and of course it indicated the files were missing) and used the update feature again to point Lightroom back to the folder on the NAS. And, again, the missing files errors pop up for every photo within that folder - but no "?" or "!" warnings are shown (recall these are an exact copy of the files that it had no trouble finding on the internal drive).
I tried playing various games with Lightroom last night, forcing it to break linkages by renaming folders, etc, and every time when I use the update file location feature it has no trouble reconnecting, whether the folders are on my internal drive or the NAS. So, this functionality seems to be working within Lightroom and I know how to use and abuse it. BUT, it steadfastly refuses to reconnect with the 2014 folder when it's on the NAS, but has no trouble reconnecting when pointed to an exact copy of the same folder on my internal drive.
I'm kind of at my wits end here. There seems to be some sort of bug in Lightroom that makes it lose it's wits when connecting to photos on a NAS drive. Or, I'm doing something really wrong that isn't obvious......

Lightroom 5.4 not importing cr2 files over a network?

Well, this is unfortunate.
Brand new iMac, just out of the box, OS updated.
Brand new Adobe CC subscription, everything updated.
Neither Lightroom 5.4 or Photoshop CC can import CR2 files stored on my NAS.
The Mac connects to the NAS just fine. I can see the photos and copy them to my new PC, but can't import.
I know LR doesn't allow storing CATALOGS on a network, but I've never had problems with the original raw files stored there.
Any advice?

Solved it!
I'm not sure why it makes a difference, but once I mounted the network folder and gave it an alias on the desktop, LR5.4 was able to import.
Here are the steps:
http://osxdaily.com/2010/09/20/map-a-network-drive-on-a-mac/

Why can't Lightroom open or create a catalog on a network drive?

I just filled up my external drive and spent over $1300 on a Drobo NAS to find out Lightroom can't open or create a catalog on a network drive? EPIC FAIL!!!!
How do I store over 8 TB of catalogs on my NAS and still be able to access them? Do I need to copy the catalogs and pictures from a local drive to a NAS, then copy them back to my local drive if I ever want to use them?
I can't believe this is the case. There really is no reason you shouldn't be able to store a catalog on a network drive. How do I fix or get around this?

Yes, I really have 8 TB of photography. Its from the past 10 years of dozens of worldwide photography jobs. Granted, not all of it is in Lightroom yet, but much of it is. I used Aperture until Apple abandoned all of its professional software development and have been moving to Lightroom for a while now. Aperture is able to use the NAS as a storage drive, no problem and it uses a database as well, so I really don't see why Lightroom can't do it.
I have an 8 TB Drobo connected by Firewire to my iMac and storing photos on it for Lightroom (and Aperture prior to that) and it works fine. But it's filling up and I wanted some archive storage so I didn't have to have Lightroom catalogs and Aperture libraries on it I really don't use on a regular basis. So I got the Drobo FS800 loaded up with 12 TB of space as a network storage server to make sure everything is safely backed up. I am slowly converting my old Aperture libraries to Lightroom, one at a time as well as using Lightroom for everything I have done for about the last two years.
But it is completely impractical to have to store the pictures and catalog on the NAS Drobo, then have to copy it all over to a local drive if I ever want to find a photograph in on a Lightroom catalog. It will takes hours if not a day to do that, just so I can open it. So I may see if I can store the pictures on the NAS Drobo but keep the catalog on the local Drobo. But I hate the idea of not keeping everything together. It something happens and the shots getting separated from the catalog, I have no idea what will happen or if it will be easy to re-connect the media. I also want to keep a backup of the catalog, but I think the built-in catalog vaults will do that.
But again, Apple's Aperture could keep everything together and has not problem pulling it off a NAS, local drive or anywhere. Really hard to imagine why Adobe can't do the same thing, especially since Aperture is overall so obsolete in every other way to Lightroom by now. Guess I need to try a few things and see if I can make this work. But really not comfortable splitting catalogs up on different drives than the picture files are located.

Lightroom catalog together with network

Hello, i have a home network with Lightroom on my base computer. The Lightroom catalog is also stored here. The pictures are on a central server, connected to the network. This works fine. But: i want to use a second computer in another room with Lightroom installed to see the pictures by using the Lightroom catalog. But this is not possible, because the catalog is not allowed to stay on a network server!!! It should be there so that it can be used within a network (therefore i have one!) Does Adobe or anybody has a solution? Thank you very much

To: Bill
thanks for the tip on substitutiary locomotion for LR using a catalog across a network (obscure kid's movie reference there!). I tried it, and it works. On WinXP, that is.
For everyone viewing this, the process is as follows:
You have an LR catalog on another computer in your local network, that you want to access from your computer.
In Window's Explorer on your computer, "map" the network drive (on the other computer) that holds the folder with the catalog, or perhaps even specifically that folder, to a virtual or single-letter drive on your computer, say "x". (And note, the quotes I place around things are there by me to delineate exactly what you type, do not type them in yourself. Only type what is BETWEEN the quotation marks.)
Then access the command-line (DOS level) editor on your computer through the menu system, "Start | Programs | Accesories | Command Prompt".
Type "cd\c:\"
(The above step may not be needed, but I was taught to make my commands from a main-drive location, not a subfolder. Back to the little routine.)
At the prompt, "c:\ ",
type "subst p: x:\"
where "p" stands for any free local drive letter on your computer, and "x" is the local drive letter you mapped the other computer's LR catalog drive or folder to. NOTE THE CLEAR SPACE BETWEEN P: AND X.
Now, open LR on your computer, tell it you want to open a new catalog, and choose the drive-letter that you typed where I use "p" as the drive to find it on, navigate to the folder that has the ".Ircat" folder on it, select it, click on "open".
If you get a message that it cannot access files across a network, simply click on the drop-down box to the right titled "choose" and select the folder-path on the "p" drive and it will now load.
It takes half the time to do this that it does to read it!
I tested this by exporting a small folder as a catalog, copying that folder to another machine, doing the mapping\substitutiary routine above, and accessing it (only from one computer at a time) sequentially from both computers, changing a couple things each time, without saving back to the XMP either manually or automatically.
After doing several changes I then closed the catalog without saving either manually or automatically to xmp. All changes were there immediately on opening the catalog with the other computer. Virtual copies, exposure changes, ratings, labels, keywords ... all saved from both computers to a local drive on the one computer, and readable and useable from the other computer.
You do need to keep from using both at the same time, like duh, but then, we've managed to use file-sharing across our network here for several years with up to 5 people accessing files without both being on the same file at the same time in ANY program, CS, word processing, whatever.
Of course, anything one EVER does it always at your own risk.
Neil

Lightroom to Photoshop Over a Network

I use my Macbook Pro as my main computer and have been testing out keeping my files on an HD connected to my old G4 with the catalog on my laptop. It seems to work out OK except for when I try to edit files in Photoshop. I get a dialog box that says that the files are in use or left open, and I can't save them. Is there any way around this?
I'm using 10.4.11 on both computers, and I'm connecting over ethernet.

Be very careful trying to use Photoshop over a network. There are some major bugs in how PS handles files on network servers that can corrupt your files entirely. The bugs used to be fixed but came back recently. Not everybody has them, but it is dangerous enough to not do it. In my experience Lightroom itself works fine if you have images on a network server. You just need you catalog file to be on a local harddisk.

RE: sharing photos across a network with Lightroom

I own Lightroom but haven't starting using it, mostly because I've heard that it doesn't work if you accessing photos from multiple computers across a network. Is that correct? Or is there a way around this?

I do use Lightroom on multiple computers that can work on a single network and, I believe I have the same question. So let me see if I can ask it in a bit clearer fashion to get more complete advice from others.
My workflow for LR has been to use the licenses on my desktop and on my laptop.   That works fine once my postprocessing flow is done and the processed raw files are exported in jpg form to working folders and incorporated into the LR Catalog.   Those ppd images can be transferred by Windows across the network and the exported jpgs can be imported into both LR catalogs and both catalogs are easily synchronized.
Where the workflow seems to break down is for the unprocessed RAW files. If, for instance, I use my laptop for pping the images, than the actual processed raw files only appear with their changes on my laptop and in its LR catalog. If I use my desktop for processing, the Raw files on the Desktop have the processing changes embedded but those changes don't appear in the RAW files in the laptop. So I end up with raw files on 2 computers and only the LR catalog that actually processed the image has its processing data saved.   The other computer only holds unprocessed Raw files.
Is there anyway to transer the processed raw files from one LR catalog to another along with their processed data?   Currently I find myself processing the Raw files on the other computer a second time quite often, which seems redundant.
To the OP, is this what you were thinking about?
Perry

Networking Lightroom

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