Skip to main content
Participant
August 6, 2026
Question

Catalog doesn't import from another catalog

  • August 6, 2026
  • 5 replies
  • 53 views

“Lightroom can’t import this catalog because of an unexpected error” 

I shot a festival last weekend, did some on site editing on my laptop. Now i want to import the festival catalog to my main one. 
specs of the main one and the festival match, they’re both:

Lightroom Classic-versie: 15.5 [ 202607291506-b8869fa7 ]

Licentie: Creative Cloud

I can open both catalog on my computer i can optimize them, close one, open the other all without problem. So they both seem to be working. I’ve put them in the same folder. So in folder x is a folder current catalog and a folder festival catalog. But everytime i click File → import from a different catalog, i select the festival catalog and immediately i get the error “Lightroom can’t import this catalog because of an unexpected error”. 

Somebody who can advise me? 

    5 replies

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 6, 2026

    Are you sure you’ve selected the catalog (.lrcat) file? Sometimes people select another file, like the .lrcat-data file and then get this error.

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
    Participant
    August 6, 2026

    Yes it’s the .lrcat file. It’s also the one, of Lr is closed that would open the program with the right catalog.

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 6, 2026

    Sorry, but I don’t understand what you mean with “It’s also the one, of Lr is closed that would open the program with the right catalog”.

    -- Johan W. Elzenga