Lightroom 5 Catalog back to Lightroom 4?

[futureal33]

Evening all,

I am working on a laptop running lightroom 5, and want to export the catalog back onto my PC which is running lightroom 4. Before I spend too long processing the files on LR 5 can anyone tell me if this will work and be backwards compatible?

Thanks

 

[arad85]

I don't think so. Try it on a couple of experimental images.

 

[Jayst84]

I would guess not, complete guess though. Maybe a silly question, but why not just install LR5 on your PC?

 

[futureal33]

Ah there lies the problem. I'm on a work laptop in Saudi and my PC is at home in Preston Haha. I've got a full set of wedding pics I'm wanting to process here at night but worried it won't reimport back onto my pc

 

[Jayst84]

I'm on a work laptop in Saudi and my PC is at home in Preston Haha.

Hah, that'll do it.

 

[neil_g]

pretty sure theyre not backwards compatible.

its one of the reasons why you shouldnt beta test with a current cat for example.

 

[Buck]

Nick

5 to 4 isn't backwards compatible unfortunately. When you convert your LR4 to LR5 it updates all the processing alogarithms.

If you use your LR5 catalogue in LR4 I read that some of the processing will work but some will look really 'off' as it is processing using the new elements of LR5.

Just a thought - Can you download a trial/copy of LR4 from the net and use that to maintain compatability?

 

[dalex_257]

The Lightroom catalog is just an SQLite database and can be opened and browsed through the tables with any SQLite capable tool. They usually similar between the versions but not exactly the same. Sometimes the tables change structure sometimes they have just a few columns added/changed. Going back may be possible but not easily and would probably involve a lot of tinkering.

 

[sk66]

I don't know about LR5, but in 4 I have older processes available under the camera calibration tab. If you have process "2012" available (the LR4 default process) and you use that I *think* they will open fine in LR4.

It's when you "downgrade" a process (i.e. open LR5 processed images in LR4) that things look weird...but the images will still open.

 

[dalex_257]

I don't know about LR5, but in 4 I have older processes available under the camera calibration tab. If you have process "2012" available (the LR4 default process) and you use that I *think* they will open fine in LR4.

It's when you "downgrade" a process (i.e. open LR5 processed images in LR4) that things look weird...but the images will still open.

The catalog structure has little to do with process version - it changes regardless and this is why it takes some time to start it first time after upgrade. It is also the reason that following that the new version of LR keeps the copy of old version of catalog.

 

[sk66]

It should still be doable using the earlier process.
If you have LR5 write the changes to xmp files and then import the images into LR4 it should read the xmp files for the images and they should have the "right process."