What is the definitive way to transfer my edited photos from one computer to another?
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I can't find an updated solution to this. Some people say, just to move your Catalog along with your images to a folder in your new computer. When I do that I get the the broken link Exclamation Mark errors on my pictures.
One solution I found is that it is necessary to have Neo "Add a Folder with Images" first. Then drop your Catalog files into that folder and have Neo open the catalog in there. However, once I do that, I get duplicate thumbnails which I can get rid of by removing the previous folder from the Catalog...if that makes any sense. It's a rather unintuitive method.
I've spent half of my day sorting out the function of this software amidst all the hangups and issues, but I still have faith. The only reason I'm not giving up on this software is because the customer service is responsive and appears to be genuinely concerned.
Does anyone know exactly what the definitive steps are to move photos and edits from one computer to another?
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Hi Member!
The thing is that technically the catalogs are not designed to be used on several computers at the same time. However, there is a workaround. You can place your catalog (the whole Luminar Neo Catalog folder, not only the corresponding file) on an external drive, which is going to be connected to both computers. Make sure you have completely the same photo location layout on both computers, so the catalog works correctly. Please, note that the Catalog can be opened only on the same OS (for example, Win-Win). Then you'll need to open the Catalog each time you access Luminar from a different device via File>Catalog>Open.
And it goes without saying that the photos should also be there on your external drive. Then, when you'll see the exclamation marks, you will be able to reconnect the Lost Edits https://manual.skylum.com/ai/en/topic/reconnecting-lost-edits
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I never thought of needing to share the Catalog between two computers but essentially, that would be the same effective logic in wanting to backup the catalog and raw photos to an external drive. This way any Neo-installed computer could access the photos and their edits.
I haven't tried this but my issue was that simply accessing the folder that contains both the catalog and the raw photos isn't enough to get Neo to properly associate the photos with the edits. I get broken links. This is why I think Neo requires the new computer to "Add Folder with Images" first, then copy the Catalog files AFTER. Simply "Adding a Folder with Images" to an existing folder with a Catalog will overwrite the Catalog and you lose all your years of work. I've read about this happening to one of your patrons on this forum.
Anyway, I have found a solution but it creates duplicate thumbnails within Neo, which is easily resolved by removing the folder in the "Folder" section of the interface by right-clicking and choosing "Remove from Catalog." That seems to fix the issue. I'm just looking for a confirmation that Neo requires the step to "Add a Folder with Images."
Maybe I wasn't so clear, Let me write out the steps.
1. Create a folder with your photos
2. In File, select "Add Folder with Images" and select the folder from step 1
3. Now copy the Catalog from your other computer into the folder from step 1
4. Go to File>Catalog>Open, select the database file from within the folder inside of the folder from step 1
5. You'll get duplicate thumbnails...this is where I think the bug is in the software. Just right-click the folder under Folders on the left of the screen and select Remove from Catalog.Somehow the software wasn't designed to allow the user to just import a catalog like you can on Lightroom or Capture One Session. Those programs make it so easy to use any computer with their catalogs files without any "workaround" to get the job done. I can't find any other way to get a clean install of Neo to pick up a catalog other than the way I mention. Is this something you guys are working on now? I can't imagine that people won't be concerned with saving their hours and hours of edits. That's like taking notes in school just to through them away in the garbage after you pass the class.
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Member, please note that all your edits are saved in the current catalog, and you can simply open the catalog you've copied from the other computer as a new project. There's no need to add the previous catalog to a folder on your current catalog.
We recommend creating a new catalog for each of your projects. Working with several catalogs is pretty intuitive. You can create one per project, for instance, When you create a new catalog, you can add a descriptive name (e.g. France_2021_Luminar Neo Catalog) for quicker access. To switch between catalogs, you can click File > Catalog > Open Recent; in this case, there's no need to search around the folders looking for the Catalog. The app will suggest the last used catalog files.
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Hey David. Are you referring to taking a screenshot of the edited image from within Neo? Why not just export the image? I was talking about backing up the catalog and photos, and opening it on a new computer with Neo freshly installed. It seems that people are giving advice for doing variations of that task, like using a Catalog simultaneously on two computers. I didn't think about doing that but essentially, one can.
What's really frustrating is that, after i posted this issue, the next day Neo easily opened up a catalog without ccreating broken links. Magically, it works now. Very peculiar.
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