What happens when cancelling CC Photography?

I've looked around for the answer but can't seem to either find it or wrap my head around it. I currently have a perpetual copy of LR5 but was looking to buy the photography CC subscription for the new LR6 and start using PS. What I'm worried about is what happens if I decide to cancel that subscription? I know that Adobe says your files will still be accessible to view but not edit and that's fine but is it backward compatible in that I can take the files with the edits done in LR6 and continue to work on them in my LR5?

For example...I import images into LR6 as DNG's, do some edits, backup the catalog and then quit the subscription model. What happens to those images? Can I point LR5 to that catalog and continue editing them?

Also, when installing LR6 CC will it automatically import all of my LR5 catalog as well? I've seen some posts on here where some say it asks to do that and some where it seems like it just automatically does it. If that's the case, what happens to all of my LR5 work? Will additional edits done on it in LR6, or just the fact that it was "converted" to LR6, make it non-compatible for extra editing in LR5 if I cancel?

I'm sure this isn't as confusing as I'm making it or maybe its not that big of a deal but I just don't get it. I thought I was a at least a bit tech savvy but some of this I can't just wrap my head around and there doesn't seem to be a clear answer out there. I'd hate to lose all my work (or the ability to continue working on it) just because I cancelled a subscription. Thanks.

The new catalogue format is different to the old one, and offers no backwards compatibility option. So any work done in the new version will not be able to be back ported to the old LR version using catalogues. I do though believe that there may be a work round for this. If you have LR write the data to a sidecar file, or the DNG, then import the images into the old version of LR, LR should read the processing data from the sidecar/DNG file, and apply it to the image. If the file includes commands that are not available in that version it should just ignore them. At least this is what seems to happen when you open a file in an old version of ACR. I see no reason why it should not work in LR too.

Alan

BigAl007 wrote in post #17531725
The new catalogue format is different to the old one, and offers no backwards compatibility option. So any work done in the new version will not be able to be back ported to the old LR version using catalogues. I do though believe that there may be a work round for this. If you have LR write the data to a sidecar file, or the DNG, then import the images into the old version of LR, LR should read the processing data from the sidecar/DNG file, and apply it to the image. If the file includes commands that are not available in that version it should just ignore them. At least this is what seems to happen when you open a file in an old version of ACR. I see no reason why it should not work in LR too.

Alan

Yup, it works. I just did Ctrl+S (write metadata to XMP) to a DNG in LR6 that was shot yesterday and therefore was never previously imported to LR5 and then imported it to 5.7.1 (I haven't uninstalled it yet). It opened with all the edits I had done in LR6. If I had a CC subscription but thought I might terminate it, I would turn on automatic XMP writing in Preferences and I would be insured - at least for those edits that LR5 can support.

BTW, I also have PS Elements 12 and the same applies to it.

Thanks. I'll have to give that a shot if I do get it. I guess the same would happen if I used the RAW file with an XMP sidecar as well? I've always just converted to DNG to save some hard drive space.

What about the "automatic" import of my old LR5 catalog? Does it give you the option to keep it separate or will it automatically import it? And if it does import them, as long as I don't do any edits in LR6 wouldn't I just be able to point my old LR5 catalog to newly created folder if I unsubscribe?

Again, I have a feeling I'm thinking about this all wrong in how it works but I'm just trying to make sure I'm not stuck just looking at pictures without the ability to do any other edits with them besides starting from scratch should I cancel.

When LR moves to a new version it will take the old catalogue file and convert it to the new format, leaving the old catalogue file sitting next to it unharmed (although you did back it up somewhere else first didn't you?). In order to tell them apart they append a -2 to the end of the file name. I missed out on LR5, but even so my new LR6/CC catalogue file name is Aviation-2-2.lrcat, I started with the LR3 trial just before the LR4 Beta 1 was released so started with a LR3 catalogue. Oh and yes it will work with .XMP files, I just temp forgot the file extension, so just used the generic term sidecar.

Alan

In regard to XMP files, the only difference between CR2 and DNG is that Adobe can't change a CR2 in any way because they don't have the code, only Canon does and they are not sharing. So the XMP has to be outside the CR2 as a sidecar, separate but linked by having the same name. DNG, however, Adobe does have the code for - it's their code that they wrote (and they do share) - so they can embed the XMP inside the DNG file. I have always thought that if you move or copy files regularly, the internal XMP is more convenient.

But without the XMP, a CR2 or a DNG, even if it has been edited in LR6, will be an unedited virgin for LR5. That's why I suggested turning on in Preferences automatic XMP writing.