Lightroom catalog and version of LR out of Sync

[beckyb2224653]

Hello,

I have been running creative Cloud (LR) for a couple of years now, but all of a sudden I started getting the attached error message and I now can't launch the app or download my photos. I have tried to call the help desk a couple of times but they are never open when I have time to trouble shoot this issue so I'm 10 clicks past frustrated because I have tons of photos on my camera that I can't get to.  Can someone please help me?  Thank you!!! 

Error message:  basically says that Lightroom Catalog is too new to be used with this version of LR

I have been using my same LR catalog since 2015 and my creative cloud is completely updated so I'm don't know what I am doing wrong.

Can you please advise?  Thank you!

[Jim Wilde]

The implication behind that message is that you are inadvertently opening an older version of Lightroom. This occasionally happens when an update removes the dock icon, leaving an older dock icon remaining. How do you normally start Lightroom? If using the dock, hover the cursor over the dock icon(s) and make a note of what it shows in the tool-tip pop-up and let us know what it says.

[beckyb2224653]

Thanks for your reply, Jim!!  So, I took a class that suggested not to go in through LR, directly, so that I don't inadvertently open the wrong catalog.  Instead I go in through 

my overall computer file (beckyB)---> then my pictures -> -then I have a file for Lightroom 4 ---> then I open up the lightroom4 catalog file (.LRCat).  I am opening the one I thought was the latest version (from 2016 -not actually 2015).  In the dock when I hover over it, it just says "Adobe PS LR 4."

I tried to create a catalog for 2018 but it's empty and nothing is in there.... I can probably download my new photos into that, but it still leaves me unable to get into my existing catalog of thousands of photos and I prefer not to have multiple catalogs.

OY.  Any suggestion?  Thank you!!! - Becky

[cmgap]

Your screen shot shows that you have several older catalogs in your Lighroom folder back to Lightroom 4. To avoid getting this message again you can

1. Change your Preferences to Prompt you when opening the catalog so that you see which catalog you are opening

2. Once you're sure the catalog you've opened is in good working order - delete the older versions.

[beckyb2224653]

Thank you cmgap​!!  I appreciate your reply.  I was always afraid to delete those old files, but I will do that as soon as I figure out the right one to open. 

[cmgap]

If you expand the folder and look at the Last Opened date that may be helpful. I wouldn't recommend that you create another new catalog to add to list that you already have.

Try opening the Lightroom Catalog-2.lrcat and let us know if that is the correct one. Please let us know if that places a second Lr icon in your dock.

[Jim Wilde]

We're at risk of getting in each others way and confusing the OP. I think we should be focused of getting the correct version of Lightroom opened, then we can start opening catalogs to find the right one.

[cmgap]

When Lightroom Classic was installed it appended your Lightroom catalog with a -2 to the lrcat file. If you want to open the Creative Cloud version open the Lightroom Catalog-2.lrcat. Then take note that the icon in your dock will have a black dot under it. If you Right-click on the icon and check Keep in Dock and use this to open Lightroom you will open the version you are paying monthly for.

Once you are certain that the catalog is as you expect it to be with the correct number of images in the catalog you can safely uninstall the older versions of Lightroom as well as outdated catalogs.

[Jim Wilde]

The problem you've got at the moment is not figuring out what catalog you need to open, but rather what version of Lightroom you are opening. Repeating what I said earlier, that message means that the catalog that you are trying to open is NEWER than the version of Lightroom that you've tried to open it with. So we need to concentrate on the application first, catalog second.

So, with that said, what version of Lightroom do you think you have installed? "Latest" doesn't mean anything, we need specific version, be that Lightroom 4, Lightroom 5, Lightroom 6/CC2015, or Lightroom Classic. In the Finder, click on the Applications item and show us a screenshot of the Adobe items listed.

[beckyb2224653]

JimWilde​  Hi Jim - Okay -- understood.  I thought I was using the creative cloud (LR CC), but now I see there are two versions of that. I can tell you, if something newer came out in the last year 1/2, I'm not using that version.  The version I know is about 2 years old and I definitely make sure it's creative cloud that is updated on my laptop and that is what I'm paying for.  My naming convention for my catalog of Breslin_LR4 was only because that is how I set up that catalog back in 2015ish.  Here are the screen shots.  Does this help?

[beckyb2224653]

and this one from the creative cloud dock

[beckyb2224653]

btw...I'm so grateful for the help, but if you guys feel this is too complex to do over the forum and I need to do this with the helpdesk, I completely understand and can try to call next Friday when I'm back from my business trip.  Thank you so much for your help thus far.

[Jim Wilde]

Looking at those screenshots you've still got LR3 and LR4 installed, as well as the latest LR Classic. So there's no way that Classic was open when you had the first problem (it's the latest version, so there can't be a newer catalog).

Suggest you click on the Open button against Lightroom Classic CC in the Creative Cloud app. That should open the latest catalog that it was using when last opened, so see if that works (i.e. look over the catalog that's opened to ensure it's the up-to-date catalog). After that we can figure out why an older version was opened.

Do you have any "LR" icons in the dock?

[beckyb2224653]

This worked!!!  JimWilde​ ....I went up to the top of my screen and opened LR Classic CC and it opened my latest catalog!  Great news!  cmgap​ --you are right that there is now a black dot under it and it appended the catalog with a -2.  I so appreciate your help...this has been months that I couldn't get into this.  So, my question now is...do I uninstall the old catalogs or the old versions of LR or both?  I'm a little worried about this so I want to make sure I do it right.  Also, to ensure I am opening the right catalog and version going forward, is it best to launch from the Creative cloud at the top of my desk top or is there another path to ensure I get to this catalog moving forward?  THANK YOU!

[beckyb2224653]

This is where I just launched this latest version and where I do all my updates. ---at the top of the page is the CC icon--I click that.

[Jim Wilde]

To start Lightroom, you can certainly use the "Open" option from within the CC desktop app, or you can add the LR icon to the dock so that a single click on that icon will launch Lightroom. But you have to be sure that the icon is associated with the correct version. To do that, close Lightroom first then check the dock...are there any LR icons showing there? If there are, right-click on it/them and select Options>Remove from Dock from the pop-up menu.

Then start Lightroom as you did before from the CC app, when it's active the LR icon shows in the dock with the black dot to signify an active application. Right-click on that icon, select Options>Keep in Dock. When you close LR that icon will stay in the dock, and a single click will start it again.

To remove the older versions of Lightroom which are still installed, from within the Applications folder in Finder you can simply drag them to the Trash Can (or right-click and select Move to Trash). To be clear, it's just the Adobe Lightroom 3 and 4 applications that need to be removed.

The older catalogs.....personally I'd create a new folder called something like "Old Lightroom Catalogs" in the Pictures folder, then drag and drop all the older catalogs (just the files ending in .lrcat) out of the existing folder into the new folder. Just make sure you leave the current catalog in place! Optionally you could also zip those old catalogs to save a bit of space, then in say 6 months time if you haven't had any need to go looking at any of the catalogs in that folder you could consider trashing it. Trash any existing Previews caches (ending in Previews.lrdata) as well, but not of course any associated with the current catalog!.

[cmgap]

You may have missed the part of my response where I mentioned to right-click and keep in dock. Once you've done that you can always open Lightroom from there. Also removing the old versions of Lr's icon from the dock is the same process (right-click > remove from dock).

Once you confirm that the -2.lrcat is working properly you can uninstall the older version(s) manually by going to the folder and moving the lrcat and its associated file to the trash. If you upload a full view of the Lightroom folder I can point you in the right direction - again after you confirm your catalog is working as expected... plugins, presets etc.

[Jim Wilde]

cmgap  wrote

Once you confirm that the -2.lrcat is working properly you can uninstall the older version(s) manually by going to the folder and moving the lrcat and its associated file to the trash.

Uninstalling older versions needs more than simply trashing older catalogs and previews, the applications themselves need to be trashed. See my earlier response.

[beckyb2224653]

okay--back at it --thanks again for all the help!

cmgap​ and JimWilde​

so, I uninstalled LR3 and LR4 because all my images are in my new catalog.

So, I guess that's my question...I didn't actually mean to create a new catalog called -2--I think it just did that by virtue of using the new version--is that right?  So, I made a file called "old LR catalogs," but does the one I had been using up until yesterday beckyb_Lightroom4 go into that old catalogs file and my new, working catalog is actually the one named beckyb with the -2 by it?  I just want to make sure that a new catalog was, indeed, created by going to that creative cloud classic version?  See screenshots below and thank you, again!!

I also did what you suggested CMgap -which was to prompt me with what catalog is being used every time LR is opened. 

[beckyb2224653]