keeping two version of Lightroom Classic....

[dbur971]

I need to do this since I have a project catalog I work in occasionally that needs to stay in sync with another computer that only works up to ver 14.0.1.

ChatGPT says it should ask if I want to keep an old version when updating but it did not.  Adobe support says that's right no option is given and it will always remove an older version.

My idea is to change the CC program file location, then re-install the old version I want, then change the location back.  Is that going to work or will Adobe still find a way to disable my current updated version?  Adobe support says they don't know if that will work.

Windows 11.

[JohanElzenga]

Yes, it is possible to have two versions of Lightroom Classic installed. There should be no side effects, but you need to be careful which version opens which catalog. I would advice to set in the preferences that Lightroom should ask. Both Lightroom versions will use the same preferences file however, so make sure they do not run at the same time.

Simply changing the location will probably not work, but what you can try is first install Lightroom Classic 14. Then make a copy of that version, rename the copy and zip it. Now upgrade to Lightroom Classic 15. After the upgrade is finished, unzip the Lightroom Classic 14 copy. If there is an update, then zip the Lightroom Classic 14 copy again before updating. One note: this works on a Mac, but I am not sure if it works on Windows with its registry stuff.

[dbur971]

So how did you manage to get two versions installed if it automatically removes old versions without asking when you update?

I think I can handle the versions for each catalog by opening LR by clicking the catalog link rather than the app link.  You can set the catalog link 'open with' path to make sure it always opens with the correct version of LR.  This is how I managed different catalogs in the past, though not with different LR versions yet.

[JohanElzenga]

The install won't remove a zipped copy. I added some info to my original message that you may not have seen.

[dbur971]

OK, thanks for the ideas.

[Per Berntsen]

As far as I know, having several versions of LrC installed on Windows is not possible.

Installing a new version will always overwrite the old version.

LrC is an exception here – you can have several versions of Photoshop, Bridge, and InDesign installed –  and probably most other Adobe applications.

Changing the install location back and forth to trick Windows into accepting two versions will most likely not work, but will probably create some serious issues. You might end up having to uninstall everything Adobe, then run the Creative Cloud cleaner tool, and reinstall everything from scratch.

[dbur971]

Actually a search seems to indicate the preferences file may not be compatible between versions, and also that the file location cannot be changed from default.  That may cause problems with two versions on the same computer...???

[AxelMatt]

@dbur971 I agree with @Per Berntsen. There are many references in the Windows Registry that will be set/actualize on installing Lightroom. So only the latest installed version of Lightroom will work.

What you can do is install a second operating system on your computer and configure a boot menu accordingly. You can then install an older version of Lightroom on the second system.

However, sufficient disk space must be available for this.

[JohanElzenga]

Deleted

[johnrellis]

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For purposes of testing my plugins and filing LR bug reports, I regularly keep and run very many versions of LR Classic on both Mac and Windows.  After I install a newly released version using the Creative Cloud desktop app, I immediately copy the application folder to an archive folder. 

To run an old version, I exit the currently running LR, open the archived version's folder, and double-click "Adobe Lightroom Classic.app" (Mac) or "Lightroom.exe" (Win).   If I'm switching major versions, then it will tell me that the most recently opened catalog isn't compatible or ask me to upgrade it, but usually I navigate to a saved catalog for that version.

I've been doing this for years.

  

[johnrellis]

I also have many Parallels virtual machines, but I only use those for running different virgin versions of operating systems and occasionally virgin installations of LR. For example, I currently have a virtual machine for Mac OS 26 I use for testing my plugins, since I'm not foolish enough to upgrade my production machine to Mac OS 26 before the 26.2 version comes out.

But usually, when I want to run an older version of LR, I start it up on my production Mac or Win machines.

[JohanElzenga]

Good to hear, John. I was quite surprised by the remarks that this could not be done on Windows. It's similar (and even easier) than the method I suggested (zipping the old copy was just to make sure the installer would not remove it, but moving it to an archive folder obviously also keeps it away from the installer).

[dbur971]

Thak you very much for that information!