LR CC local storage/ back up

[pschefz]

i have my local storage on my macbook pro, the files in the cloud, i also have the files on a external HD which is backed up to backblaze.....but those last two are not ideal because the files are not synced and really outside of LR (settings,....) i was thinking about exporting all finished projects (albums/whatever) as originals to the HD which will then back up to backblaze....that would work but it a pain and really for a while, the latest files would be the most vulnerable....

setting the external HD as local storage (and saving an original copy there) seems strange to me because i work a lot away from that HD and want my LR library accessible and with me at all times...that is the whole point of LR CC to me....

so i actually asked adobe tech support.....they said it would just fine....could not answer any of my detailed questions about it but said it should work .....right there, "it should work" is not something i want to hear form somebody holding TBs of my work:)....

adobe tech support says that: pointing local storage to an external HD (and keeping a copy of all originals there) will be fine even if:

i am away from that HD, i will still be able to work with LR CC

i will be able to import files into my existing LR CC catalog/library, they will upload to the cloud and copy to that external HD when it is connected again

which sounds great to me, but doesn't that mean that the actual previews and catalog/library file/data is not in the same location as that designated "local storage"?

any ideas anyone?

[Jim Wilde]

pschefz  wrote

i will be able to import files into my existing LR CC catalog/library, they will upload to the cloud and copy to that external HD when it is connected again

which sounds great to me, but doesn't that mean that the actual previews and catalog/library file/data is not in the same location as that designated "local storage"?

any ideas anyone?

Yes, the previews/library are stored in the default location on your system drive which cannot be changed. If you haven't specified a different location for any stored originals, they too will be stored in that default location. Note that even if you have NOT elected to store originals locally, new images that are added will always need to be (temporarily) stored locally until they have been successfully uploaded to the cloud and backed up there. They will be stored in that default location or elsewhere (e.g. your external drive) if you have so specified in the Preferences.

But if you HAVE elected to store originals locally, AND that location is on an external drive, AND that external drive is not connected, then when you add new photos they will initially be copied to the default location whilst they are uploaded and backed up. They will then remain in that default location until the external drive is reconnected, at which point those originals stored in the default location will automatically be MOVED (not copied) to the external drive.

So in the setup you have, you will have data stored in two locations....the default system drive location will hold the LRCC library (previews, "catalog", etc.) and potentially some originals if you have added them while the external drive is not connected. The external drive will only contain the local copy of the originals.

[pschefz]

thank you for your reply, adobe tech support says something slightly different....that the library/preview/catalog file(s) are in the cloud and if i set that location to an external drive, LR CC will ask me for that location if the drive is not connected....

they also said that only the originals added AFTER i check the "store a copy of all originals" box will actually be added to that external location.....checking that box will not create a mirror back up of my cloud (and all originals)....

[Jim Wilde]

Yes, the library (catalog, previews) IS held in the cloud (of course it has to be), BUT there is also a local copy (for performance and for running when you have paused sync or have no internet connection) which is, as I said, in a specific location on the systems drive and which cannot be changed by the user.

Regarding the "store a copy of all originals locally" setting, I would be surprised if that only affected new images added after first checking that option. It doesn't make sense to me that it would operate in that way, but easy enough to test I suppose.

[pschefz]

so you are saying that checking that box only affects the way LR CC works i that it from that moment on stores originals in that chosen location.....the previews, library and such would still remain on the boot drive anyway, there should not be a performance issue or change but a backup of originals would be performed every time that external HD is connected?

[Jim Wilde]

We need to be careful here, as you've rolled two separate issues/questions into one sentence, which is confusing. So let's keep them as two separate questions, and to be honest I don't know how I can make the answer to the first any clearer. There will always be a local library on the system drive (you can accidentally delete it, but LRCC will recreate it from the cloud on next launch). The performance aspect that I was referring to is that it will obviously be faster to load the preview of an image if a copy of that preview is in the local library and therefore doesn't have to be downloaded from the cloud first. But I didn't say there wouldn't be a performance issue in general, I hope there won't be but I wouldn't guarantee it.

The other question was how LRCC will deal with new imports IF the preferences option to store a copy of all originals locally is checked, AND the location is set to an external drive, AND the external drive is disconnected at the time of the import. In that specific circumstance I said that I'm pretty sure that the originals will temporarily be stored in the default local library location, and that they would then be moved to the external drive when it's next connected. I also said that I think if you set that option to store locally sometime AFTER you've already uploaded some, that a copy of those would also be downloaded to the local store. This last bit seems contrary to what you've been told by Adobe, but as I said that would be easy to test.

[pschefz]

what is so frustrating about all this is that asking adobe directly, via chat and clarifying on the phone not only causes more confusion but also provides flat out wrong information......

i now set the location to an external HD.....it looks like i had 3500 originals on my internal SSD which were copied over right away to the new external location (adobe said this would not happen)....right now it looks like LR CC is downloading all other originals from the cloud into the external location (adobe said this would not happen).....

i still have the LR CC library on my boot drive in the original location (adobe said this would not happen)...

i obviously have to wait and see if all originals actually will be downloaded (probably take a few days) and what actually happens when i shut LR CC down and re start it.....

i will go with your assumption that if the external HD is not connected and i import new files, they will be stored in the original location on my boot drive, uploaded to the cloud and backed up to the external HD when it is connected.....which make sense, but again adobe said this is not how it would work....

[pschefz]

update: one day later, LR tells me that 100000+ images as syncing....as far as i can tell no files where downloaded to the new back up location on the external HD.....but if i disconnect the external HD, i get a warning asking for it again.....

i don't know if LR CC has to go through my entire library before actually starting to download originals?

again: what is so frustrating is that i don't understand why there seems to be no adobe tech support to answer what should be a pretty straight forward question.....like " what is actually going on here right now? what are the library and the cloud doing right now?" i have no problem waiting for a few days if i know that this is the process....but according to adobe none of this is even doable....or is it? it could just be that some of the information i received IS correct...and some is not....and pick and choose which is which.....

[Jao vdL · Accepted solution]

>but according to adobe none of this is even doable....or is it?

Yeah Adobe is simply wrong here. When you check to locally store it will download everything from the cloud. Surprised they don't know this simple fact. I am pretty sure Jim is right.

[pschefz]

the good news today is that the files are downloading now, should be done in a few days....

the bad news is that the sync was definitely stuck and only started up after several restarts and no real indication of anything being wrong....

i read the post about smart previews yesterday and checked the box (requiring a LR restart), i later moved the mbp and HD to a different location in the house (LR restart), read the latest post and un checked the smart previews box(restart), moved it again this morning (restart), and at that point the network started showing topped out upload speeds, checked LR and the external HD and files were being added....but for that whole time before, there was no indication that anything was wrong, anything was being prepared.....no progress report to give any indication of what was going on....other then "syncing xxx files" and the little blue icon lower right on each thumbnail showing "downloading" but again no sign of anything actually happening and nothing actually happening....