Lightroom Desktop: Please add plugin support for external editors

Agreed - even though HDR processing is there, I prefer to use external applications to do so. Without the plugin capability, I can't switch over to the new Lightroom CC.

Yes, absolutely agree! Please add external editors. That is a deal breaker for me. 

Also agree! Would like to switch over from Classic to CC, but until there is plugin support (Luminar, Aurora HDR), can't do it.

Same here, support for other apps such as Luminar or Aurora HDR would make me switch fully as well

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Lightroom CC (cloud) better workflow for using external editors.

I really like the user interface and sync of the new Lightroom a lot. However, sometimes I want to use external editors for some of my photos like Photolemur and Luminar. And the workflow for using external editors is terrible.

The current workflow:
1. Export photos.
2. Edit in an external editor.
3. Import photos back into Lightroom.
4. Add pick flag to new photos.
5. Add photos to correct albums.
6. Stack the photos with the original photo.
7. Make sure the new photo is the top of the stack.
8. Remove pick flag from original photos (this is required to prevent doubles showing up in shared albums).

I recently did this with 100 photos. Step 1-3 took just over an hour. Step 4-8 took 4 hours.
The end result is a mess and not really what I want.

The workflow I wish we had:
1. Export photos.
2. Edit in an external editor.
3. Import photos back into Lightroom as new versions/layers (lightroom automatically matches the photos up with the original and replaces the originals (original still available through history/layers), metadata is copied from the original to the new one, all flags/ratings are applied to the new one, it is placed in the same albums).

And no, plugins would not be a good enough solution.

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Need a way to work on a photo from lightroom cc in photoshop elements..

In lightroom cc I can right click a photo and say edit in photoshop.  I can then browse to elements and it will open the program, but it will not open the photo in elements.  Also a way to export photos to shutterfly or any other program without saving it first on my computer.  

Rachel,  

For RAW did you convert the RAW photos to TIFF or any other format?  Normally RAW photos are in 16 bit in the camera and on a computer until you print them, then the printer will want to change them to an 8 bit file.  Printers won't take a compressed 16 bit file as it goes to print.  Likewise, I wonder if your files are not being saved to another folder because you didn't convert their 16 bit to 8 bit.   I'm not sure what your JPG files are doing.   

SL   

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled External editor with Lightroom CC.

I have just started using Lightroom CC, having come from Aperture. To my dismay I find I can't use an alternative to Photoshop for an external editor, unlike Aperture. This is unduly restrictive on the part of Adobe, especially as it is available on Lightroom Classic. There is not an easy way to to get it into an external editor. I wish to use TIFF format, but my only option is to save it in original (RAW) format, which then doesn't bring the edits with it when I open in the external editor. Defeats the purpose of using Lightroom. Adobe, please add in the necessary code ASAP - should be easy to do.

+1 the flow of having to export and re-import is a pita especially since classic supported this reasonably well.

I can't switch to Lightroom CC because of this as well. At least on desktop, I want to be able to send videos and photos to separate external editors.