Lightroom between setups?

I edit raw photos on Lightroom 4.
My question is, since I go back and forth between my iMac and Macbook Pro, how do I edit on one machine and have the edits show up on another?

I mean, I usually put the raw photos on one computer, then I transfer them to the other. Is there anyway to edit on one of the machines, then when opening that raw photo on the other machine, lightroom can know what was done to that photo on the other machine?

The simplest solution that I can think of is to use an external HDD to store both the image files and the Lightroom catalogue file. That way you can plug it into either computer and open the catalogue with all of the edits applied. Only thing that would be important is to ensure that the external drive appears in the same place on each computer, so that the paths are identical. LR is really designed as a non networked standalone program running on a single computer.

Alan

BigAl007 wrote in post #15380857
The simplest solution that I can think of is to use an external HDD to store both the image files and the Lightroom catalogue file. That way you can plug it into either computer and open the catalogue with all of the edits applied. Only thing that would be important is to ensure that the external drive appears in the same place on each computer, so that the paths are identical. LR is really designed as a non networked standalone program running on a single computer.

Alan

You say, Lightroom catalog file. Is this the file where the applied edit information is stored? If so, is there a way to just transfer this file from one computer to the next?

By default, yes, LR saves the editing and other metadata in the catalog file. To "share" it to the other computer you can either copy the catalog file/folder to the second computer or use an external hard drive to keep your catalog and image files and just unplug it from the one and plug it into the other.

You can locate your catalog file/folder by going to Edit/Catalog Settings, and in the General tab/dialog it will show the location. You can copy using your system browser, but care should be taken to keep the images and catalog locations consistent, one reason why keeping the browser and image files on the one drive.

The alternative approach is to use the Lightroom "Save Metadata to File(s)" function. This function will write "sidecar" files alongside of all your selected images which contain the editing and other metadata info. So, to get that data to the other computer, copy the image folders over then in the other computer use the LR "Read Metadata from File". Or, if you are working on new images, you can use the LR Import function in the second computer and it should "pick up" the metadata.

Thanks so much for such an informative post TonyLong