Single library accessed via multiple macs?
Hi,
I wrote a post about this 24h ago but it seems to have disappeared or been deleted so I will try again.
I've been looking forward to Luminar 3 with libraries with great anticipation and I am wondering if it is possible to create a single library (via a cloud service such as iCloud or Dropbox) that can be accessed on multiple Macs for editing?
I.E. My ideal setup is to have the master library on my iCloud/Dropbox folder on my iMac but aslo be able to access it via my MacBook Pro when I am traveling so that I can edit these photos while on the road.
Is this possible and if so, how to I set it up so it runs well and smoothly?
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I think it's currently not supported to move the location of the Luminar metadata/catalog files. What you could do is move the folder with metadata from your ~/Pictures to your cloud storage (one that's accessible through the finder) and create a symlink to it in your ~/Pictures folder. Haven't tested this though, but if standard I/O functions were used, this would be no issue.
Only thing to note is that you probably don't want to use the catalog on multiple Macs at the same time, as you might get synchronisation errors and a broken database.
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@Jorick Thanks for your input
My current setup is that I haven't installed Luminar 3 yet. Right now I only have a regular folder structure in Finder with all photos stored per year and date so not sure how this would impact setting up Luminar and the metadata file?
Regarding workflow, I don't see how I would ever access the catalog simultaneously from different computers. I envision that travelling on the road, I would move photos around, tag them, edit them, etc. and I would envision that being back home this changed would be reflected/synced in the background on the iMac and reflected in the library view on said computer.
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This doesn't work. I put all my photos in:
Dropbox/Luminar Photos/
And I put my catalog in:
Dropbox/Luminar Catalog/
Everything is synced, but on the second computer it shows offline file errors on every folder and every image. What is strange is that the catalog knows they're there. I can export just fine. I can "Show in Finder" just fine. I can even make most edits (no crop tool). But I'm still getting the exclamation points.
If anyone discovers a workaround that works, please let us all know.
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Good point; didn't try that yet. But judging by that data, my guess seemed correct. The paths table has relative paths and references the volumes table which in turn has the unix device name and UUID of volumes:
{"kBSDNameSerializationKey": "disk1s1","kIsInternalSerializationKey": true,"kEjectableSerializationKey": false,"kVolumeUUIDSerializationKey": "C2A671A8-FA69-381A-9078-BF4B8BD3089A","kIsKeySensetiveSerializationKey": false,"kMountPointSerializationKey": "\/"} -
Hi Everyone,
Sorry for the delay in responding here.
You should be able to keep your Luminar Catalog and Images on a shared drive (such as Dropbox where the files are locally synced) and be able to access your images and edits across multiple machines. However, we've been hearing of isolated instances where this isn't working so if you're having issues please contact us at Skylum.com/Support so we can investigate.
It is worth noting that multiple computer support is currently only for Mac - Mac or Windows - Windows. We are working to introduce some cross-platform compatibility in the nearest updates.
We will also be bringing back .lmnr project files in one of the upcoming updates for those who wish to work on individual projects, rather than an entire catalog.
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Hi, I have similar issue as described.
I use Synology NAS and Synology Drive to sync the Files & Catalog on both macs.
On the second mac I got the error, just like the Scott described.
Paths are the same on both macs (same user).On the other hand, everything looks okay, and exporting is also working fine.
Editing too..
What is interesting, on the second mac, I added a photo to an album, and on the first mac, there was no error.
I think this issue should be addressed ASAP, in the case of the drive failure, there is risk of having broken catalog. -
@Boris I. - Could you please specify if on the 1st Mac you have Luminar running while you are trying to connect the library on the 2nd Mac? If so, please close the app on the 1st Mac and see how it works then. Also, we are going to release an update shortly. You can wait till then and see if the issue persists.
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