Today’s Question: How do I preserve my catalog and presets when uninstalling and reinstalling Lightroom Classic?
Tim’s Quick Answer: Your catalog will not be removed when you uninstall Lightroom Classic. To retain preferences and other settings you’ll just want to be sure to choose the “Keep” option when uninstalling.
More Detail: There are a variety of reasons you may want to uninstall and reinstall Lightroom Classic (or other software applications), such as to troubleshoot odd behavior or other issues. Uninstalling and reinstalling Lightroom Classic is often recommended when plug-ins aren’t working properly, along with reinstalling the affected plug-ins.
You can uninstall Lightroom Classic (or other applications in your Creative Cloud subscription) using the Creative Cloud application. If you select “All apps” from the left side of the Creative Cloud window you’ll see your installed applications at the top of the list on the right side of the window.
To uninstall an application within the Creative Cloud application click on the ellipsis button (the three dots) to the right of the name of the application you want to remove. From the popup that appears choose “Uninstall”.
In the confirmation dialog that appears be sure to click the “Keep” button, which will cause preferences and other settings to be retained. If you click the “Remove” button those preferences will be removed and therefore reset when you reinstall Lightroom Classic.
After the uninstall is complete you can go to the Photo category on the left side of the Creative Cloud window and click the “Install” button to the right of Lightroom Classic. When the installation is complete you can launch Lightroom Classic, and you’ll find that your existing catalog and all settings will be just as you had left them.
