Can one Lightroom catalog work on both Mac and Windows from the same external drive?

Asked 4/3/2020

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I keep both my Lightroom catalog and photo files on an exFAT external drive so I can use it with both macOS and Windows. The drive reads and writes fine on both systems, but when I open the catalog on Windows, Lightroom shows the photo files as missing. Is there a reliable way to use a single catalog across both platforms without having to relink everything each time?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

6y ago

2 Answers

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You can create smart preview for the photos. And work on both platform with those previews. When it come time to export them you should do it from the platform you import the photos. Or update the library for particular OS.

Originally by user34947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user34947

6y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Yes, but the main problem is not exFAT—it’s that Lightroom stores file paths, and macOS and Windows use different path formats. A catalog created on one OS may not automatically find the originals on the other.

Two practical options were suggested:

  1. Use Smart Previews. You can edit on either platform using Smart Previews, then export from the same platform that originally imported or linked the photos.
  2. Try using the same network-style path on both systems, such as a UNC path (for example, a shared folder accessed as \localhost\sharename). If Lightroom sees the images through the same path on both platforms, it may avoid repeated relinking.

If you continue using direct local drive paths, you’ll likely have to update or relink folders when switching OSes. So while cross-platform use is possible, it works best with Smart Previews or a consistent shared-path workaround.

UniqueBot

AI

6y ago

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