Raw SmithTutorial
Start on iPhone, finish on Mac: sync with iCloud
Raw Smith keeps one library across your iPhone, iPad and Mac through your own iCloud. In this tutorial you'll turn sync on, import photos on your iPhone, start editing there, and finish on the Mac, where the same photos appear with every edit, rating and album. Original RAWs come down only when a device needs them, so a big library doesn't fill a small phone.
What you need
- Raw Smith on at least two devices, for example an iPhone and a Mac.
- Both signed in to the same Apple Account, with iCloud Drive on and room in your iCloud storage for your RAWs.
Step 1: Turn on sync on your iPhone
Open Settings in Raw Smith, go to iCloud, and turn on Sync photos with iCloud.
On iPhone, Settings is in the More (⋯) menu of the library; on iPad it's at the bottom of the sidebar. The same page shows the sync Status and Storage Used, split into originals, previews, and edits and albums.
Step 2: Turn on sync on your Mac
On the Mac, choose Settings… (⌘,), open iCloud, and turn on Sync photos with iCloud there too.
Sync is set per device, so turn it on everywhere you want the library. Photos already in each library start syncing as soon as it's on.
Step 3: Import on the iPhone
On the iPhone, import a few RAWs with Import RAWs, from Files, Photos or a card reader.
Each photo uploads a preview first, so it shows on your other devices quickly; the original RAW follows. While anything is moving, a sync button appears in the toolbar. Tap it to see what's Uploading and Downloading and when the library last synced. When everything is up to date, the button goes away.
Step 4: Start the edit on the iPhone
Open one of the photos, pick a profile, set the light, and give it a rating.
Anything you do syncs: edits, flags, stars, colour labels, keywords, captions and albums. Try adding the photo to a new album as well, so you can see the album appear on the Mac.
Step 5: Finish on the Mac
On the Mac, open the same photo. Your iPhone edits are already there; carry on from them.
The photo appears with its edits, rating and album. If its original RAW is still in iCloud, Raw Smith edits from the preview, and the photo shows Original in iCloud with a Download button. Most edits work from the preview. Noise reduction and sharpening happen in the RAW decode, so the Detail panel asks you to download the original before you set them. Exporting, or viewing at full size, downloads it automatically.
Step 6: Choose where originals live
In Settings › iCloud, turn on Download Originals on This Device on the devices that should keep every RAW, such as your Mac.
With it off, photos from your other devices show and edit from previews, and each original downloads only when you export it or view it at full size. That suits an iPhone with limited space. To free space later, Remove Downloaded Originals… deletes the local copies; the originals stay in iCloud.
Step 7: Check the edit came back
Back on the iPhone, open the photo again: the changes you made on the Mac are there.
Each thumbnail can carry a small badge showing its sync state, such as uploading or downloading a newer version. If the toolbar says iCloud sync needs attention, open it and choose Sync Settings… to see why; a full iCloud storage is the usual reason. Remember that deleting a photo deletes it on every device.
Where to go next
- iCloud sync in detail: what syncs, previews and originals, and the status badges.
- The library: albums, smart albums and keywords, which all sync.
- Presets, which sync too.
- Export from whichever device you're on.
Questions
Do I need a Raw Smith account to sync?
No. Raw Smith syncs through the iCloud account you're already signed in to, using your own iCloud storage. There's no Raw Smith account or server.
What syncs between devices?
Photos, edits, ratings, flags, colour labels, keywords, albums, smart albums and presets. Deleting a photo deletes it on all your devices.
Does every device download every RAW?
Not unless you want it to. Photos from your other devices show and edit from their previews, and the original RAW downloads when you export it or view it at full size. Download Originals on This Device keeps them all locally.
Why isn't a photo on my other device yet?
Check that sync is on in Settings › iCloud on both devices and that they use the same Apple Account. A photo appears once its preview has uploaded; the full RAW can take longer on a slow connection.