Location of original images - NAS possible?

[macmanred]

I already know that it is possible to save a copy of all LR CC Images locally.

But is it possible to select a NAS to save these copies?

That would be a crucial demand for me, before I would consider LR CC.

I don't mean the LR library, I know that this file has to be on the main drive (or on a USB-drive with a symlink).

[hifimacianer]

OK, I just installed the trial and tried it by myself.

It doesn't work!

A message pops up, that the path I choosed is not valid.

That's a bummer. I only use SSDs as external drives, and I'm not willing to buy into 2TB SSD drives in the next 2 years.

The 1TB drive I already use was expensive enough.

Good bye Adobe - that was your last chance to convince me to join the ship, and let me switch from my C1 + Apple Photos Cloud Library. Now I will invest my 120€ in CaptureOne 11, that has no problems with files on NAS drives.

[Victoria Bampton LR Queen · Accepted solution]

This brand new baby cloud-native Lightroom CC app does not allow photos on a NAS at this time. Lightroom Classic CC does.

[hifimacianer]

Thank you Victoria.

I tested Lightroom last year, even paid the full year plan (prepaid), but never got used to it.

The cluttered modules and the overall GUI wasn't for me (I came from Aperture).

Capture One feels better to me, but is limited in it's DAM and the flexability (3rd party PlugIns, exporting to services, cloud-sync), that's why I used it in combination with Apple Photos. But the "double-work" also isn't ideal. That's why I hoped for LR CC. In theory it's a perfect combination of both, even the limited adjustment tools compared to LR classic are OK for me. But it's limitations when it comes to storing the files etc. are a real drawback for me.

I can't believe that Adobe released this without the basics in file management.

[Victoria Bampton LR Queen]

hifimacianer  wrote

I can't believe that Adobe released this without the basics in file management.

It's designed for a cloud-native audience, rather than as a replacement for Lightroom, which is file management based (although they certainly confused that with their naming!!). I'm sure it'll become much advanced over time though, so watch this space.

[hifimacianer]

I didn't meant the classic file management (e.g. referenced etc.). But if they provide the possibility to save a copy of the originals, they should at least offer more options WHERE to save them. I mean, that's no rocket science, just a simple copy task. The same is the case with the LR CC catalog, that actually has to be on the main drive, wich is a big problem today, where Notebooks often only have smaller SSDs.

Hands down, I would even pay for a 2TB CC plan, but only if I could save the originals on a NAS.

[Victoria Bampton LR Queen]

Yeah, I'd like to see that feature too. Make sure you add your vote to this feature request, as it's looking a bit unloved at the moment. The more votes, the better its chances. Lightroom CC: Feature Request - Photo Original Location Change - Make Network Drives Available | Pho...

[Miggity42]

It is possible, at least on Window 10 Pro with the Lightroom CC 1.1 20171201 build. It requires a bit of symbolic link trickery to make it work. Lightroom CC checks that the folder you use for your originals is on a local drive, but only when you first choose the location. I have a copy of the photos sync’d to USB storage, and after checking that this worked, I moved them back there. I’ve got a Synology NAS that comes with a sync tool and I’ll probably end up using that to accomplish the same thing, but if you’ve got a use case for this, try it at your own risk.

Here's what I did:

1. Create a temp directory on a local drive – you will delete this later so it doesn’t matter what you call it.
2. Decide on a logical link location to your originals – I used d:\Lightroom CC Library. I didn’t put it under one of the default profile folders because I didn’t want my backup software to automatically pick it up, as my NAS is already running its own.
3. Open up a command prompt as administrator. Use mklink to create a soft link to the temp directory like so:
   mklink /D “d:\Lightroom CC Library” “d:\temp folder”
   Save time and leave the command prompt open.
4. Open Lightroom CC and change the storage location for originals to the link you just created (d:\Lightroom CC Library in this example). Restart Lightroom CC.
5. Lightroom will start checking your photos, but will give you the option to cancel until next time. Select this to stop the scan/move operation. Exit Lightroom.
6. Delete the link and your temp folder.
7. Back in the command prompt, recreate the link, but this time point it to the desired location on the NAS:
   mklink /D “d:\Lightroom CC Library” “\\MYNAS\Photos\Lightroom CC Library”
8. Launch Lightroom CC, and let it move the originals to your NAS

[embergabor87]

Lightroom now seems to use the volume label instead of the drive letter, also it recognized that the link targeted a network location, so this method didn't work for me. I had to use a folder instead of a link in the 3rd point of your description, then delete it and create a link with the same name as the folder and LR didn't notice any difference. Thanks for the idea.

[embergabor87]

The April 2018. update of Lightroom CC now support Network Drives.