Lightroom 6.14 functions well on macOS Catalina

[DONJON]

Lightroom Version Number

6.14

Operating System

1. macOS 10.15 Catalina

I upgraded to Catalina on a MacBook Pro (2014 edition) 15 inch model, and it seems to work as well as it did before under macOS Mojave. I would like to buy the 19 inch MacBook Pro which comes with Catalina pre-installed, but am concerned that Lightroom may not migrate to the new machine and require the 32-bit installer to function. I spoke with a specialist at Apple who said that Lightroom should install on the new machine as a mirror image of the old machine software since both the old and the new machine are running Catalina, but Apple could not guarantee it would. If anyone has had success with doing this, I would appreciate the feedback.

 

[Paul McFarlane]

Welcome to the forum! The difference between upgrading and installing is the need to use the installer, which is 32-bit and won't run on Catalina. So should 6.14 need re-installing on your current MBP, it won't. 6.14 is not supported by Adobe on Catalina.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

I upgraded to Catalina on a MacBook Pro (2014 edition) 15 inch model, and it seems to work as well as it did before under macOS Mojave. I would like to buy the 19 inch MacBook Pro which comes with Catalina pre-installed, but am concerned that Lightroom may not migrate to the new machine and require the 32-bit installer to function. I spoke with a specialist at Apple who said that Lightroom should install on the new machine as a mirror image of the old machine software since both the old and the new machine are running Catalina, but Apple could not guarantee it would. If anyone has had success with doing this, I would appreciate the feedback.

If you use Apple Migration Assistent to copy the contents of a Time Machine backup (or the hard disk of another computer) to the new 16” MacBook Pro, then it should work. If you start with this computer from scratch, so you would need to use installers to install the software, then indeed that will not work for Lightroom 6.14.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

It's not just the installer though, but the activation too, and even after using migration assistant, I suspect the activation might realize it's a new machine. It's an untested workflow, so if you try to, do so with the backstop that you might end up on subscription.

 

[teambergie]

It's not just the installer though, but the activation too, and even after using migration assistant, I suspect the activation might realize it's a new machine. It's an untested workflow, so if you try to, do so with the backstop that you might end up on subscription.

Thanks, Victoria! I just got my new MacBookPro 16" running Catalina 10.15.1 I was able to open LR5 ONCE! Now, if I try to launch LR from my app taskbar, I get the message that I need to download the Adobe Application manager; the link just takes me to the Adobe website to download the CC app manager. I had heard that older versions of LR5 (running fine on my 2011 machine) would NOT or would MAYBE run on the new 64 bit machines. Besides just dumping Adobe LR or paying the $9.99/month ransom, what are my alternatives? I have Luminar4 installed but ALL my years of file/folder hierarchy would be lost!

 

[LexS]

When you are talking about LTR5: that will never run: it is a 32bit app.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

When you are talking about LTR5: that will never run: it is a 32bit app.

Close. LR5 was 64-bit (has been since LR2) and does run on Catalina if it's already installed and activated, but there's likely a bunch of bugs. I only tested the very basics briefly. The installer and activation were still 32-bit until very recent Creative Cloud versions though.

Other than going to other software, the $9.99 subscription is the best option. When you actually factor in the purchase cost of other software and then its upgrades, $9.99 is pretty good.

 

[teambergie]

Close. LR5 was 64-bit (has been since LR2) and does run on Catalina if it's already installed and activated, but there's likely a bunch of bugs. I only tested the very basics briefly. The installer and activation were still 32-bit until very recent Creative Cloud versions though.

Other than going to other software, the $9.99 subscription is the best option. When you actually factor in the purchase cost of other software and then its upgrades, $9.99 is pretty good.

Thanks Victoria!
I'm going to go with the $9.99 subscription plan, but have some issues that maybe you or somebody here on the forum can answer:
1. Can the subscription plan version be used even though I am NOT connected to the internet all the time? Do my imported RAW images live on my hard drive, on the cloud, or both? I usually get to a library a few times a month to use a fast internet connection.
2. As I mentioned in my post above from Dec. 6, I was able to open LR5 once, then, after closing LR and re-opening it, my folders from 2017, 2018, and 2019 were gone. HOWEVER, the RAW images from that import are on the new hard drive, having been transferred from my old computer.
3. As shown in the attached screen shot, all the folders shown can be opened, viewed, edited, and exported using the L5 catalog.If this is working in LR5, how do I get the LR5 catalog to "find" the 2017,2018, and 2019 folders so I can view/edit them?
4. When I go with the subscription based version of LR, will that latest version be able to "find" those folders, or will I have to re-import them?
Luckily, before my computer died, I uploaded ALL my high-res jpeg exports to OneDrive so I have those images from those folders.
Any help will be appreciated!
Attached are screen shots that might be of interest.
Thanks

 

[Johan Elzenga]

1: Yes, you can use Lightroom Classic without an internet connection for up to 30 days. Then it needs to check your license again.
2: Your screenshot shows several catalogs. Is it possible that you opened an old catalog, one from before 2017?
3: If you really did open the newest catalog, then you may have to import those folders again.
4: Going subscription does not change answers 1 to 3.