How Can I Use Two Computers With Lightroom

[bjc]

i have a LT and a DT but i put all my photos on my EHD.... i load my photos from the cf card to the computer using Lightroom.... if i do this and am using my LT the photos are in my EHD but if i switch to my DT i dont see the photos or any changes i have made to them in Lightroom ( ubt of course can see them thru the edh on my computer) ...hoping this is making sense here.... so if i switch computers how do i let lightroom know that i want the info that was on the other computer...????

[DDecker]

Most computer programs allow you to install on ONE desktop and ONE laptop. Do you have it installed on both and having this happen?

[bjc]

yes i have lightroom on both computers...the problem is if i download my photos on one computer and make some changes to the photo thru lightroom...but then plug the ehd into the other computer then on that computer the photos dont show up in lightroom,

 

i need to be able to copy whatever i had already done from one computer to the other... that is what i am trying to find out how to do

[sarabethp]

I am having this same issue. I use a desktop upstairs and a laptop downstairs. I will be watching this thread.

[bjc]

I am having this same issue. I use a desktop upstairs and a laptop downstairs. I will be watching this thread.

 

i think there is a way but just have to find someone to tell us the way! LOL

[J9Buckles]

Find out where Lightroom has placed its catalogue folder, which contains your changes. Mine is in my "My Pictures" folder and is called "Lightroom 2 Catalog.lrcat". You can move the entire folder to your EHD. Then it's just a case of telling LR where it you put it.

 

Just go File>Open Cataloge and navigate to its new home.

 

Hope this helps!

[J9Buckles]

Hint: Make a copy before you move it....in case it doesn't work for you! I have two catalogues on my laptop that I move between so it should work fine but making a copy of something is always a good idea when you intend to make changes.

[bjc]

hate to ask a dumb question but how do i find the catalogue folder.... and is there one for my lr on the lt and one for my lr on my dt?

[bjc]

still trying to figure this out...so i am bumping my own mb up..lol..

 

how do i find the folder that LR has the catalogue in???

[bjc]

i am desparately trying to make it work so that i can have all my photos seen by LR from both computer, DT and LT...i found a folder on my EHD that is called LR so i guess i tried this once but couldnt get it to work...any way ..there are a lot of different sub folders in there and i am so confused now which is the correct catalogue...i dont want to mess up my DT which runs great..but now my LT doesnt see anything and i dont understand it enough to know which folder to direct it to if i follow the directions above here...i am attaching a screen shot of the subfolders in the Lightroom folder...can any one help me?

 

as you can see in the screen shot there is a folder called lightroom and then the second screen shot is a sub folder within the lightroom folder called lightroom that i have opened... in the first folder called lightroom there are a bunch of files called catalog so all this is just too confusing for me...

 

thanks

[bjc]

didnt see this in new postings so i am bumping it up again..cause i am losing my mind over this...it must be simple but i dont get it

[bjc]

Find out where Lightroom has placed its catalogue folder, which contains your changes. Mine is in my "My Pictures" folder and is called "Lightroom 2 Catalog.lrcat". You can move the entire folder to your EHD. Then it's just a case of telling LR where it you put it.

 

Just go File>Open Cataloge and navigate to its new home.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

heres another place i am confuse...besides these folders i showed the screen shot of that are on my ehd i have a folder on my DT hard drive in my pictures called Lightroom...like you have suggested.... do i just copy the subfolder lightroom catalog2.lrcat or do i copy the entire folder..when i went to copy the entire folder it said it would take 15 minutes and it looks like it has a lot of stuff in it..is that all my photos? i am so challenged by this stuff and hope someone comes along with something that can help clear it up for my old foggy brain... i am hitting my head agaisnt the wall and havent done any scrapping..

[sarabethp]

I have no idea, but I'll bump this up for you. I would love to know.

[bjc]

ok... now my brain finally got into full gear to figure this out... here is the happy ending....i found another folder as janine mentioned on my C drive on my DT that had a folder lightroom...so i copied that one to my EHD calling it lR ehd so as not to confuse it with the LR folders on my ehd... why and how they got there i dont know...anyways..i digress...

 

when i directed LR to use the copied folder lr ehd it all worked...both computers, lt and dt have been directed to use that folder and now i think i am in business to do both computers with one catalog on the ehd...i am off to download some new photos and see if this works...i am confident now that it will

 

thanks to everyone... and my brain determined to figure this out i think we have a happy ending story.... and i am going to reward myself with a little chocolate..LOL~

[sarabethp]

I'm so glad! I'll have to poke around some more, but I'll find it.

[bjc]

I'm so glad! I'll have to poke around some more, but I'll find it.

 

thanks for bumping this up when i was so frustrated... and anyway i can pass along the help just give a holler ( or a pm!)

[bjc]

okay..maybe i got too excited that i got this thing all figured out.... i added some photos thru LR on my DT ...( photos saved to EHD) ...but when i put ehd conected to the LT i dont see them...now i am thinking maybe that is cause there hadnt been a LR backup since this morning...could that be it???

[bjc]

ok... more confusions...hope someone can help me...i followed the directions that janine gave...i copied and pasted the catalog into my ehd and that works fine...i can direct LR to that folder...but here is the hitch...i just uploaded new photos...they are not going to that new Lightroom folder on my EHD so the DT is reading the folder from the my pictures...lightroom folder... and then when i hook up my ehd to the LT it only sees the folder on the ehd so it doesnt have the newest photos.... hope this makes sense to someone...or janine comes along.... the funny thing is the actual photos are on the ehd... but how do i tell my DT that when it goes to upload them???

 

thanks, b

[bjc]

finalllllly...got it ....i used the helpful info here from janine and also this from a google search

 

http://digitaldailydose.wordpress.com/2009/04/03/lightroom-working-on-two-or-more-computers/

 

so i am sharing it as it seems others would like to share computers with their LR catalogue..

 

i think what i hadnt done was hit ctl as i launch lr to get it to now select the catalog i had moved to the EHD

 

NOW i think i deserve some chocolate.... LOL

[April Showers]

Happy to hear you've got it figured out! I only have it installed on my desktop.

[bjc]

thank goodness for sg and being able to find topics/posts from the past....way back in oct i had a prob trying to figure out how to use my ehd to store my photos and have my dt and my lt work with them thru LR ...so i posted here and got good advice including finding a link i shared above in post 19...well today i opened my LT and when i went to LR i couldnt find my photos so i knew that it wasnt reading the catalogue...but couldnt remember how to get it to that...so i just went to old topics i had and found it...thanks sg once again