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Lina_Rodriguez24
Lina_Rodriguez24
Participant
March 13, 2026
Question

Catalog compatibility.

  • March 13, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 58 views

Hello everyone! I am in a bit of a pickle, and I'm wondering if anyone can help me. 

I have two computers, one desktop (which is hwere I editmost of the time due to its massive screen), and a Laptop, which I only use to edit when I am not home. Note that I have my catalogs and files always in an external SSD, so I can easily switch from one computer to another.

Recently I was traveling, so I opened the catalog on my laptop, and I received a promt to upgrade the catalog for compatibility, which I naturally did and proceeded to work, however, when I came back home and wanted to continue working on my desktop, I got an error message saying that “the catalog cannot be opened because it’s too new to be used by this version of Lightroom”. The issue is that I cannot upgrade Lightroom on my desktop, because the newer versions of Lightroom are not compatible with my MacOS, and I cannot update my MacOS anymore, because my Mac is old… 

So, I have two questions:

1. It seems like Lightroom did not create a copy of the catalog when it was upgraded, so I can no longer open it on my desktop at all! And the backup copies seem to be too old, they are missing a lot of files and works… Any ideas of how can I “transfer” it from the newer version (laptop) to an older one (desktop)?

2. Do you have any suggestions for my workflow, considering this Lightroom version incompatibility issue?

I know the “easiest” solution would be to work on the laptop only going forward, but I really don’t want to give up my desktop as it is a 27 inch 5K screen, which I really love, compared to the 13inches on my laptop, apart from its higher capacity and improved graphic card.

 

Your input is highly appreciated.

​​​​​​​:)

    2 replies

    dj_paige
    dj_paige
    Legend
    March 13, 2026

    And the backup copies seem to be too old ...

     

    This is something that you need to fix, now, not in a few weeks or whenever you get around to it, and not only when you upgrade. Backups must be made automatically (via some program, not via human action) and on a regular basis, either daily or weekly.

      Lina_Rodriguez24
      Lina_Rodriguez24Author
      Participant
      March 14, 2026

      Hi!

       

      Thank you very much for your response. I do have weekly auto backups activated, but there seems to be something wrong with them, because they are not updated, I also checked the “Old Lightroom Catalogs” it’s dated 01.03.2026, however, it is missing all my sessions from 2026! But when I check the upgraded version on the laptop, all 2026 sessions are there, so I have no idea what happened there 😩.

      Also, to answer your previous comment, unfortunately I cannot upgrade LrC on my desktop, because the macOS is too old for it, and I cannot update my macOs, because the hardware is too old for it ☹️

      I will for sure downgrade the laptop at some point to be able to work on both computers, however, I need to find a way to transfer these missing sessions from upgraded catalogs to old versions before I do! Any ideas? 

      Thank you!

      dj_paige
      dj_paige
      Legend
      March 14, 2026

      I will for sure downgrade the laptop at some point to be able to work on both computers, however, I need to find a way to transfer these missing sessions from upgraded catalogs to old versions before I do! Any ideas? 

       

      In the new version of the catalog, select all of the desired photos, then write all the metadata to .xmp (Metadata menu->Save Metadata to files) and then import the files into the older version of the catalog. Any new features that were introduced into Lightroom Classic in the newer version of LrC will not transfer this way; these new features cannot be transferred. Also, collections, virtual copies, pick flags, sequence of edits, and a few other things will not transfer this way.

       

      I also checked the “Old Lightroom Catalogs” it’s dated 01.03.2026

       

      The date on the folder may not be relevant, it is the date on the files inside the folder that is relevant.

       

      I do have weekly auto backups activated, but there seems to be something wrong with them, because they are not updated

       

      As I said, this needs to be fixed immediately.

      dj_paige
      dj_paige
      Legend
      March 13, 2026

      A copy of your catalog is always created when you upgrade. On my Windows PC (yes, I know you are on a Mac) it is in a subfolder of the folder where your catalog is stored. The subfolder name is particularly obvious, it is “Old Lightroom Catalogs”. 

       

      Workflow suggestion: re-install the older version of LrC on your laptop Mac. Work with the same version of LrC on both computers. Alternatively, upgrade the desktop so you can run the current version of LrC on both computers.

       

      PS: You should refer to the software was Lightroom Classic (not Lightroom) or LrC.

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