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Lightroom update for Leopard users on the way

Adobe plans for mid-November update, says users not bothered by minor glitches could still use some functions.

Candace Lombardi
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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Candace Lombardi
2 min read

An update to make Lightroom 1.2 fully compatible with Leopard Mac OS X 10.5should be available mid-November, Adobe has announced.

The company says photographers can continue using the photo management software in Leopard without too much issue, but stressed that the current version of Lightroom 1.2 is not fully compatible with Apple's new operating system.

Adobe recommends that users refer to a list of known compatibility issues published on Adobe's Lightroom Journal Web site before deciding whether to use the current version of Lightroom with Leopard. It also issued this warning:

Apple

"The interaction between Leopard's Time Machine and Lightroom's catalog files is unknown at this time. Running Time Machine backup or restore operations while Lightroom is in use is not recommended until more information can be obtained," Tom Hogarty, Adobe Lightroom Project Manager, said in a statement.

Most of the Lightroom/Leopard compatibility problems involve visual issues with the interface rather than functionality. For example, users may have to open and close left-side panels to get the Develop module to display properly. Other glitches are more serious, such as the Print module not loading at all for some Leopard users.

Adobe stated previously that its Creative Suite 3 versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks are safe for continued use in Leopard.

While not directly related to the use of Adobe Lightroom, photographers commonly dealing with frequent backups and file sharing should also be aware that Leopard's Time Machine will not support AirPort Extreme's AirPort Disk. This is the feature that allows users to plug an external hard drive into AirPort Extreme and share its files over a secure network.