Now that Adobe Creative Cloud can store more than just Lightroom Smart Previews, the software giant is offering users an easy way to download Lightroom files from the cloud. Earlier this week, Adobe launched the Adobe Lightroom Downloader, software that grabs all those cloud-based files and saves them to the hard drive.
Adobe Lightroom’s Creative Cloud integration was previously only for Smart Previews, so you could start editing a shot on the computer and finish on your smartphone or tablet. With the launch of two separate programs, Lightroom Classic and Lightroom CC, The CC version can now also save the original version. While the cloud-based system has always allowed users to go in and download one file at a time, the system was lacking a way to download large quantities of images at once.
Adobe Lightroom Downloader is the company’s solution. After downloading the software and logging in to their CC account, Lightroom users can download their entire library at once. The library is downloaded as original files, and any edits are downloaded separately into an XMP file. When those images are imported into Lightroom, the originals will mix with the XMP to make those same non-destructive edits available.
The software will automatically organize the cloud photos into folders separated by the date the images were taken. Photographers using the new Lightroom CC have access to the original images, but using Classic, only the Smart Previews are saved to the cloud, which means only those files are available to download.
Adobe Lightroom Downloader is a free download available directly from Adobe. The program only downloads all backed-up photos (or Smart Previews) at once and requires enough hard drive space to accommodate those images.
The new program expands the use of the new Lightroom CC, making it easier for users to take advantage of the cloud storage with an easy way to download those photos in the event of data loss. Announced last month, Lightroom CC keeps the tools the same across Desktop and Mobile devices, with cloud-based backups of the original files. The Lightroom that photographers are familiar with then got the new name of Lightroom Classic.
