Lightroom 2015.14 - where did it go...?

[seanmcconaghy]

I got into Lightroom about a year ago. I downloaded and installed LR on my Primary MacBook and ended up with three different versions:

• Adobe Lightroom CC
• Adobe Lightroom Classic CC
• Adobe Lightroom

For whatever reason, I ended up using the one called Adobe Lightroom which apparently is Lightroom 2015 and is the one highlighted with a green tag in this photo.

And this is what it looks like on my Primary MacBook via the Adobe Creative Cloud drop down list:

Primary MacBook

So far, so good.

However.... I recently got a Secondary MacBook - installed the Adobe Creative Cloud on it, but can't open Lightroom CC (2015) - instead, the Adobe Creative Cloud looks like this:

Secondary MacBook

So my question is:

• how do I get Lightroom CC (2015) to open on the Secondary MacBook via the Adobe Creative Cloud...?

or

• how does one get Lightroom CC (2015) to appear with the Open button next to it (like it does on my Primary MacBook)

obvs there isn't an available folder for Adobe Lightroom 2015 in my Applications list - otherwise I'd just open the app from there, but it isn't there either...

Any help, guidance, or info is much appreciated!!

Thx community.

[gary_sc]

OK, settle back, this is confusing.

First understand that each major iteration of Lightroom has changes in the database so that if you have a 2015 copy of Lightroom and take that catalog and open open it up in a 2016 copy of Lightroom, that catalog will be upgraded to work with LR 2016 and after than will no longer work with the 2015 copy of LR. It is what it is, that's it.

Now that we have that settled, the older copies of LR (e.g., LR 5 and LR CC (2015) should be considered old and irrelevant as of this point and can be uninstalled (do not just delete them in the trash, they should be uninstalled either via Adobe Creative Cloud app or the folder that has the LR copies should have an application called "Uninstall Adobe Lightroom..." If you run that application, you will successfully remove it from your system.

Now, from the Adobe Creative Cloud application, install the latest version(s) of Lightroom Classic (the new name for what was Lightroom in the past) or Lightroom CC WHICH IS A WHOLLY DIFFERENT ANIMAL, er. software.

The simple way to think about the difference between the two is that Classic is a desktop focused application. CC should be considered a joined-based application between your phone (iPhone or android), tablet, and desktop. While that sounds great there are limitations with both. It's up to you to decide which is better for your workflow.

I know I didn't really answer your question but unfortunately the answers do not match your specific question.

BTW, a big big thanks for adding your screenshots, that helped me a lot to answer your questions.

[seanmcconaghy]

Awesome sauce. thx for the info Gary.

So going forward:

I should just forget about Lightroom CC (2015) and carry on with the Lightroom Classic CC version...? And this might be a very beginner question:

• is there anything I need to do or know in regards to my photo library when going from Lightroom CC 2015 to Lightroom Classic CC?

[JP Hess]

When you first installed/upgraded to Lightroom Classic CC, it should have prompted you to upgrade your catalog. If you allowed that to happen, and you are now using Lightroom Classic CC with all of your previous work intact, then the only advice would be to carry on. Major upgrades, such as happened when you switch to Lightroom Classic CC, requires an upgrade in the database engine which drives the catalog. And that requires Lightroom to create a new catalog. After that happens, it's pretty much business as usual except for the new features of the new program. Not sure what else you need to know.

[gary_sc]

Hi Sean,

That's an excellent question/concern about your current library. The good news is that absolutely nothing SHOULD happen to it.

We're talking computers here and I'm as paranoid about losing my images as anyone. Here's what I do: I have all of my images on a separate hard drive. I also keep the catalogue there as well. I also have a separate same sized hard drive that I back up everything from A hard drive to B hard drive. I also have everything on my computer and external hard drives backed up to the clouds. The first two items, the two hard drives keeps me going if one of the two should fail. The cloud keeps me going if the house should burn down.

Now, in regards to LR, I do a Catalog backup every time I quit after doing a big work session. These are stored in a folder called "Backups" that are contained in the same folder as where your catalog files are kept. I have this set to backup every time I quit LR but I only run it when I've done a lot of work.

So, what I would recommend (because I'm a scaredy-cat) is to do a backup of your images in LR 5 and then open that catalog in LR Classic. If everything went well, than you can toss your older catalogs.

Hope that makes sense.