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Participating Frequently
March 18, 2021
Question

Lightroom in two different computers with different OS X versions

  • March 18, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 803 views

Hello! I have a few questions about Lightroom.

- As i have LRC (photography plan), could i use it in my two computers with different OS X versions? One is a MacBook Pro with OS X 10.9.5 and the other is an iMac with macOS Catalina 10.15.7. Could i install Lightroom with the registration i have in Adobe Creative Cloud, in both computers, having to install different versions of Lightroom cause the old one can not have the latest Lr version?

- If the answer to the first question it's "yes", would there be a problem to use the same Catalog file (.lrcat) in the two computers with different Lightroom versions? I mean, to use only one Catalog (located in an external drive) in both computers with different os X and Lr versions?

Hope someone can help me with this.

Thank you! 😉

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2 replies

DdeGannes
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 18, 2021

Please also be aware that only one computer can open the Catalog file at a time. The best way to achieve this is to have the images and the Catalog file on an external disk.

 

Regards, Denis: iMac 27” mid-2015, macOS 11.7.10 Big Sur; 2TB SSD, 24 GB Ram, GPU 2 GB; LrC 12.5,; Lr 6.5, PS 24.7,; ACR 15.5,; (also Laptop Win 11, ver 24H2, LrC 15.0.1, PS 27.0; ) Camera Oly OM-D E-M1.
Participating Frequently
March 18, 2021

Thank you! Yes i understood that already. When i'm able to work in both computers will not be at the same time, and will have the catalog (and the photos) in an external drive.

Do you know if with only one registration in Adobe Creative Cloud, i can install the same programs in my both computers?

Rob_Cullen
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 18, 2021

Yes, you can INSTALL Adobe CC Desktop App and your subscribed programs  in any number of computers (1, 2, 3, 4, etc). But you can only ACTIVATE in TWO computers. ( ie. you can only Sign in on two computers). Then you should only use ONE computer at any one time.

ACTIVATION ANSWERS

Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.0, Photoshop 27.0, ACR 18.0, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0 .
DdeGannes
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 18, 2021

Each time there is a major version upgrade of Lightroom the Catalog file is upgraded so a LrC 10.x Catalog file cannot be used by LrC 8.x nor can the catalog file be downgraded.

 

Regards, Denis: iMac 27” mid-2015, macOS 11.7.10 Big Sur; 2TB SSD, 24 GB Ram, GPU 2 GB; LrC 12.5,; Lr 6.5, PS 24.7,; ACR 15.5,; (also Laptop Win 11, ver 24H2, LrC 15.0.1, PS 27.0; ) Camera Oly OM-D E-M1.
Participating Frequently
March 18, 2021

Thank you!

So it means that the ONLY way it's to have the same OS X version in both computers to be able to have the same Lightroom version as well, to use the same Catalog, right?

And then, with my registration in Adobe Creative Cloud, i can install the same programs in both computers? (Only with one registration).

Thank you again!

John Waller
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 18, 2021

>>>So it means that the ONLY way it's to have the same OS X version in both computers to be able to have the same Lightroom version as well, to use the same Catalog, right?

 

You need to be running the same Lightroom version but Lightroom supports several versions of the macOS operating system. Provided you're running a supported version of macOS then Lightroom will run fine.