amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

If you, like me, have tried to keep your LR6 up to date, but had trouble finding the update, here's some info I got from the Lightroom Queen that appears to work.

If you search the Adobe site for Lightroom 6 updates, they will try to install LR CC or LR CC Classic. STOP! You don't want to install that unless you want to purchase a subscription in order to activate and use it.

If you already have a licensed copy of LR6 that you just want to update, instead go go to THIS PAGE (which Adobe has done a great job hiding).

Now scroll down to "Download Photoshop Lightroom 6" but only click on the arrow to the left, which will open a long list of the updates with the newest at the top (and full versions in the boxes). There's choice of Mac OS or Windows. Pick which you need, then you'll probably want "Lightroom 6.14", the latest and greatest... and last update Adobe will offer for LR6. Double click on it to download. (Optionally download the associated "Release Notes", if you want them. But the same info is available elsewhere.)

Once the download is complete, open the folder it's in and double click AdobePatchInstaller.exe

You will probably be told that the files need to be unzipped first. Click to do so and let it unzip in place. You will probably then see a folder called "Payloads", but you don't need to do anything with that. The Patch Installer will use whatever contents it needs from that folder.

You'll probably be asked if Adobe can make changes to your computer... click yes and follow your usual installation procedure.

This will "patch" your existing LR6 to update it, rather than completely replacing it with the CC version and being forced to purchase the subscription.

You may be asked to enter your activation serial number. Hopefully you have that, but if not you can get the info from your account on Adobe.com (assuming you bought it there or registered it there after buying it elsewhere). If you don't have an Adobe account and don't have the serial number noted somewhere, download, install and run Belarc Advisor, which will search your computer and compile a report that shows the serial number for various software you have installed (among a lot of other info).

I was not asked to enter my serial number when I did the update (but maybe that's because my LR6 serial number matches what's on file in my account on Adobe.com and because I bought it there a couple years ago).

Further up on the page linked above there appears to be a more complete version that may be needed if doing a complete re-installation or moving and installing LR6 onto a different computer. It's upwards of 700MB (the patches are 382MB for Windows, 482MB for MacOS). I have not downloaded and installed the full version. Maybe someone else has and can tell us if there are any tricks to the installation.

Hope this helps folks just trying to update! And thanks to the Lightroom Queen (www.lightroomqueen.com) for finding the links and posting them on her blog!

(Now if I can just figure out why Adobe is saying my Photoshop CS6 license is invalid! Maybe I should just leave it alone, since it's working fine.)

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Ten bucks a month, amfoto. Just sayin’ - I used to throw out that much a month in expired chemicals.

Andy

ncshutterbug

Thank you so much for that VERY helpful information. If I had ever found it by myself, I'm sure I'd have become so frustrated that I'd have given up and decided to live without the upgrade. When the CC version first came out, I made up my mind I wasn't going to go the subscription route because everything was charging us left and right. Now, with the dirty tricks they pull to trick you into it, I won't do it just out of pure spite.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

I understand how you feel, that was my initial reaction too. But nose, face?

This is the model that virtually all software companies are moving to, and we really can't stall it much longer. I've had to update to Office 365 in order to be compatible with my work suite, and we recently went that way with AutoCAD and our Loan Management software. Even my beloved spec-writing, construction management, and contract management software is moving to a subscription model. This is a small, three person company, and they can no longer support the old software when it gets "buggy" with newer computer systems and integration with printers, word, PDF, etc. I think everyone from them up to Microsoft is having the same basic problem. A steady and predictable subscription income, possibly with a much expanded customer base, just makes sense when it takes thousands of thousands of hours of design and debugging time for each upgrade. It's affordable to most everyone (I spend more on Starbucks, and I don't often drink there) and it may attract a whole new market of phone-camera shooters with the mobile features.

I can't say that I like it, but it's inevitable. If they attempt to "boil the frog slowly", by gradually raising subscription prices, I think there will soon be competitive packages at lower price points. But I think the days of "buy it and use it forever" have gone the way of the Sears Catalog, General Store, and Pony Express.

Andy

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Here is a "no dirty tricks" Adobe sponsored public forum where one of the posts is a directory of direct download links to most everything Adobe.

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2478335

On the Adobe Lightroom forum, the usual remedy is to click "Update" on the LR Help menu.

One of the incremental "dot" releases had a flaw that routed users to the CC section. Adobe issued a public apology and fixed it. As near as I can tell, all but one of LR6 dot releases Help menus work correctly.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

And then there was the cost of film itself!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Oh go ahead and bite the bullet Alan- it won't bite back. And the software is much more awesome than LR6.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Amen!

I've got an SD card in my camera right now that cost about 30 bucks and holds more than 1,000 RAW and JPEG images, or about $0.03 per image. As best I recall, Kodachrome was the most expensive color film of its day in 1970, running seven or eight bucks for a 36 shot roll, another three or four for processing. For ease of math, let's say that you could get the finest color transparencies for about $10 per 36 exposure roll, or $0.36 per shot.


That $.36 is $2.33 in today's dollars!

Andy

ncshutterbug

Well, I just gave it a try and was taken to the CC log in. Of course, I don't have CC and there was no other option. It's not the money that upsets me, it's the sneakiness!

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

"...it's the sneakiness."

I wish I could figure out where the sneaky part is. My post was a link to a user forum. Users there are like users here. They have no use for underhanded, unethical behaviour. That post was for direct links to most of Adobe's software from Adobe on Adobe servers.

How was it that Adobe tried to sneak you into a contract.

Believe me that I am not wanting to be "snarky" or insulting.

If something is going wrong with an update to perpetual LR6.* to LR6.14, I promise you I will find something that works where you are not coerced into a subscription.

Jesu S

That's fine if you are a heavy duty user. What about the occasional user? What if, say, HP said you could only buy ink cartridges by monthly subscription?

ncshutterbug

bsprague, I'm sorry if it sounded like I was blaming you or your links. I was referring to the "Help" selection in lightroom where you click "updates". It takes me to the CC login. That's the sneakiness I was referring to. Your link did download the update, but it's in DMG format, which Windows can't open on my computer.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

ncshutterbug,

Have you been able to get 6.14 installed yet? Or not? If you want it, I'm sure a solution is there somewhere.

If the Help menu approach takes you to the wrong place, try this link: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/keeping-lightroom-up-to-date.html

There are links on that page that take you to a direct download.

I have copied that link to paste here: http://swupdl.adobe.com/updates/oobe/aam20/win/AdobeLightroom-6.0/6.14/setup.zip Clicking on it should immediately launch the download of the Windows 6.14 version in a zip file.

Bill

tcthome Loc: NJ

. I agree. If someone didn't post a link , I would have never found it. I' ll probably subscribe eventually.