arathorn357 Loc: Sydney, Australia

The Lightroom Queen (and there may be a few contenders for that title) today reports that while LR v6 (the standalone, pay for once licensed version of Lr) is 64 bit, its installer and licensing code in that version are 32 bit, meaning any re-install or re-activation (such as moving to a new computer or new hard drive) will mean you either stay with OS 10.14, or upgrade to Catalina and then either go with the Adobe monthly subscription, or find yourself a Lr v6 replacement.

Have trialled various replacement image editors to Lr as put forward and debated here in UHH many times, and I think the replacement editor that works best for me is Luminar - appreciate that others here will have differing views on choice of an editor, all of which will be perfectly valid.

Best solution would be for Adobe just to do a simple 64 bit upgrade to the offending bits of v6 of Lr (and charge for it appropriately), but I suspect porcine aviation has a greater chance of taking off than Adobe supporting its loved but now abandoned child.

What does fuss me and I suspect others who use and like Lr v6 a lot is the inability of the replacement programs to do the digital asset management job Lr does so well - by metadata, keywords, collections, preservation of original files and a whole bunch of DAM functions I will find it hard to live without.

Anyone know of a Lr DAM replacement that integrates with an image editing program in the mac world that they recommend? The files Library in v3 of Luminar is basic but OK, but without that catalogue function in Lr I suspect on a transfer to a new editor an awful lot of useful search and management data will be lost.

Just not upgrading from OS 10.14 is I appreciate an alternative, but one I suspect that will have a limited lifespan.

If anyone has the same issue, have they worked out the solution?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

You mean the 64-bit program I bought will be 32-bit if I install it again? That's like paying Adobe with a check for $100 and having the check change to $50 later. Sneaky!

I suspect the alternates to LR will gradually add more features in future upgrades.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

No, that's not what was said....read it again.

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

As my iMac tells me every time I shut it down and turn it back on all Adobe products have 32 bit initiation files. I am running Mojave 10.14.6 and Adobe is not the only program that is going in the toilet.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

Can I read this to mean that Mac isn't supporting Adobe?

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

Yes. Lr/Ps CC 2019

jcboy3

Welcome to Apple World. I have been a Mac user since 1986, and I can tell you, every once in a while it's a revolution, not an evolution. My advice: get a Lightroom subscription and move on. Old software is never an option with Mac.

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

I just looked on my iMac and have 52 pages of programs on it. The pages have 7 programs listed on each page. Each page is printed on one side only. 23 programs are 32 bit and most of them I haven't used in 3 or 4 years. Both my printers have 32 bit programs and they are both 5 years old. There are probably 12 or 15 of the programs that are less than 10mb and most of them are installers/un installers. It looks like a cleaning session is in order. Lightroom 6 is a 64 bit program but has 32 bit installer/un installer.

arathorn357 Loc: Sydney, Australia

Hmm - a quick click on the Apple symbol in the top left corner shows rather a lot of apps on my mac are still 32 bit - sequence to see that is -

About this mac / system report / software / legacy software / reason : 32 bit

Luminar 3 is already 64 bit, but Skylum says they will have a paid upgrade to v4 "this fall" - on the Luminar user forum pages that Skylum themselves sponsor there is much unhappiness about promises made for v3 but not delivered, and then moved to v4, but as yet no definitive list from Luminar of what upgraded features v4 will contain - even though Skylum are pre-selling v4 as a "pig in a poke" to use that old time expression - responses from mostly grumpy v3 users are here -

https://community.skylum.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/360000158652-News-Updates

(You may have to register first to see them).

I think I will just stay with the old stable v6 Lr and use Luminar v3 as a plugin in it on the odd occasion I need a layer for editing, and wait until the cannon smoke clears to see who is left standing after "this fall".

And yes it would be easier to just give in and pay the monthly Adobe subscription - but that would be a surrender to the evil Empire ....

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

No that is not what Adobe is failing to do. Adobe is taking advantage of the upgraded Apple OS, and not recoding/recompiling outdated versions of Lightroom.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Of course, you can use Apple Photos and install Affinity Photo as a plugin. But Photos is a primitive DAM, and hides your originals in a package file. That can drive folks crazy. Still, I know folks who work this way. It's probably the budget alternative.

MANY developers of 64-bit applications have used the same 32-bit installers for years and years. There's a whole market for installer software, so developers seldom write their own.

Until now, of course, it didn't matter. Mac OS would run the 32-bit installer and install the 64-bit app. Oh, for the last couple of versions, you got a "nastygram" message warning you that future versions of Mac OS will be 64-bit only, and that you'll need an update or replacement for the 32-bit versions.

The wonderful thing about Adobe and Microsoft subscriptions is that they keep your software up to date, automatically installing (or telling you to install) the latest patches, updates, and version upgrades. All of that is included in the subscription fee, so long as you subscribe. (And NO, you don't have to keep anything in the Cloud, and NO, they don't hold your files hostage!)

For several years, now, I've had Adobe's $9.99/month Photography Bundle (BOTH Lightroom CC AND Lightroom Classic CC, Photoshop CC, Bridge, and some other goodies) and Microsoft's $120/year Office 365 package (all platforms of MS Office installed on up to ten machines by all family users). Heck, each of them is about the cost of one fast food meal per month, or one sort-of-decent bottle of wine. I haven't regretted the choice at all.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

It's not sneaky it is progress. Adobe has made it abundantly clear that they no longer support Lr6 and what that end date was. Software can't realistically be supported forever for free, and Adobe's alternative is a pretty good deal. Forever support and upgrades for $10 a month IS dirt cheap! Remember WordPerfect or Dbase III? And NO, Lr6 will not become 32-bit, but it's installer is. So, if you continue to use Lr6 on your current machine, with NO upgrades, it will continue to work, with its then current list of cameras, until it doesn't. If that doesn't work to your liking, please switch to something else, but I do wish folks would quit whining like Adobe is out to get them. Actually, Adobe has a superior product that many of us love and are happy to pay $10 a month to continue to use. Best of luck.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

I don’t see why that would be the case. Lots of options for moving to a new computer/hard drive where you don’t have to reinstall.

You can simply copy the existing installation to the new drive/computer or use Apples migration assistant or time machine, or make a clone on the new drive/computer.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Time will tell.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

I am not following what you mean. You think Apple will suddenly release an OS where Migration Assistant, time machine, or cloning are not viable? That makes no sense.