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Peakoverload
Known Participant
October 20, 2018
Question

Multiple Different Versions of Photoshop CC Installed

  • October 20, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 2468 views

This is possibly a dumb question but I'm not sure how or why this is happening and only just noticed it.

I have Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC (I use Lightroom Classic CC) and I've used both programs for years in earlier versions and each time Lightroom updates to a new version it looks like it overwrites the existing one. i.e. on my iMac under Applications there is one Adobe Lightroom Classic CC folder containing the app.

Photoshop appears to be different though. I've just found that I have an Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 folder that doesn't contain an app anymore but it does contain a plugins folder with several of my plugins inside. I also have a Adobe Photoshop CC 2018 folder. This does still have the app plus several other folders like configuration and plugins etc but the plugins folder doesn't contain any of the plugins that are in CC 2017.

Finally I also have an Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 folder, again with app, folders and the again the plugins folder doesn't include any of the plugins that were in CC 2017.

So the question are, why isn't each new version of Photoshop overwriting the previous version or is this how it's meant to be? Can I uninstall CC2017 and CC 2018? What do I do about the plugins that are in the plugins folder of CC 2017?

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    3 replies

    Noel Carboni
    Noel Carboni
    Legend
    October 20, 2018

    By the way, there's a place that if you install your plug-ins each new version of Photoshop CC will find them...

    For 64 bit Photoshop on Windows, it is this folder:

    C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Plug-Ins\CC

    -Noel

    JJMack
    Community Expert
    JJMackCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 20, 2018

    Welcom back Noel  On windows the third party plug-in folder is

    "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop(VERSION)\Plug-ins\"

    In "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Plug-Ins" You may see a CC and CS6 folder and in thoes folders a File Fotmats folder and in them you will find the ACR Plug-in shared between Adobe applications like Photoshop and Bridge.

    JJMack
    J
    jackr8181164
    Participant
    December 17, 2019

    Hi JJMack,

     

    With regards to you previous post,

    I have a few different versions of PS too.

    my question is, where would the best place to save downloaded brushes, etc.?

    i only have one folder which is 2018 PS but im using 2020 version.

    but i have to manually import stuff from the previous folder each time i want to use it in 2020 PS

     

    Thank you

     

    KR

    Jack R

    Noel Carboni
    Noel Carboni
    Legend
    October 20, 2018

    One good reason for the new version not overwriting the old one is that there may be something that the new release doesn't do the same and you'd like to go back to use the previous version.  Or maybe you have an action installed that you've not saved.  Or perhaps you'd like to test with an older version to see if something you've noticed seems to be working differently really was different...

    A good example is that there was a version where Oil Paint (which can serve as a nice anisotropic filter) was dropped, then it was resurrected in a subsequent version.

    I just looked:  Between 32 and 64 bit editions I have 25 different Photoshops installed.  LOL

    -Noel

    Chuck Uebele
    Community Expert
    Chuck UebeleCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 20, 2018

    When you install a new version of PS 2018, 2019, etc, there is an option to remove previous versions. So if you did that, the app will be removed. What won't be removed are any folders containing plugins, presets, and a variety of things that you installed while using that version, which is why you see folders, but no apps.

    JJMack
    Community Expert
    JJMackCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 20, 2018

    And when a version of Photoshop  is removed there is often thing left behind like Third Party Plug-ins you install into Photoshop Plug-in folder.  The uninstalled will not remove these for Adobe installer did not installed them so Adobe's Photoshop Plug-in folder and third party plug-in files will not be deleted. They well be left dangling.

    JJMack
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