Today’s Question: Sometimes when I open an image in Camera Raw I see a warning symbol with an exclamation point at the bottom-right of the image. I understand that Camera Raw is trying to tell me there’s some sort of problem, but what is it?
Tim’s Quick Answer: That warning icon indicates that the image is set not set to the most recent process version, meaning in effect it is still being adjusted based on an older version of Camera Raw. You can update to the latest process version by clicking the symbol, but be aware that the appearance of the image may change to some degree as a result.
More Detail: With Camera Raw (as will as Lightroom and Lightroom Classic) there are process versions that basically relate to a specific version of the various adjustments available. With certain updates to these applications over the years, the image processing has been updated or expanded, resulting in a new process version.
If you open an image in Camera Raw that has never been opened before, it will default to the current process version and you’ll have access to all the latest adjustments. If you had previously processed the image with an older version of camera raw with an older process version, that older process version will be retained when you open the image with Camera Raw again. This is to ensure that the image is processed the same way and with the same appearance as when it was original optimized.
You can find the process version in the Calibration section of the Edit panel in Camera Raw. You can update the process version as needed by choosing the most recent (currently Version 6) from the Process popup. However, if you open an image that is set to an older process version you’ll also see a warning symbol of a triangle with an exclamation point in it at the bottom-right of the image preview area. You can also click that warning icon to update to the latest process version.
Because a process version relates to a different version of the adjustment engine for Camera Raw (or Lightroom or Lightroom Classic), changing the process version can cause the appearance of the image to change. In some cases that change can be somewhat significant. It is therefore important to pay attention to the image when updating the process version, and then to revisit the adjustments to get the image looking its best again. By updating the process version, however, you’ll also ensure you have access to all the latest updates and adjustments for processing your photo.
