Is there a way to downgrade from 9.3? It’s damn near unusable with the frequency in crashes when trying to mask - I have had it crash multiple times when using the auto brush, brush (add), and brush (subtract). I cannot get a decent workflow moving when it’s crashing every 3-5 mask manipulation attempts.
I have restarted PL and PC and have even uninstalled and reinstalled PL which seemed to have helped for a little while, but has since returned to what it was pre uninstall.
On macOS, we’re happy to get full installers. Download the package after each update and keep it for fallback or any other reason.
In Windows, installation is done with a setup application that is only 400MB compared to the 2400 MB of the Mac installer. Whether an old setup will load the old app or a new one, I can’t say. That is something that e.g. @John-M could possibly test and write about.
Downloads from the shop account always provide the current version.
On Windows, I put each point update installation program in a different named subfolder under the folder for the original downloaded installation software version. Easy to find and no renaming necessary.
I know that we’re in a Win thread, but here it comes nevertheless:
On Mac, PL9 changed the database when build numbers went from 2x to 3x.
This means that downgrading writes a new database (unless you ca restore a suitable backup) and that sidecars aren’t backwards compatible, all of which makes all the AI masks made in builds 3x witnesses of lost effort.
Luckily, PL 9.2.0 was the first 3x build and nothing should be lost from that point of view. Whether the latest masks will work correctly im PL 9.2 needs to be tested.
As I don’t usually rush in with new features, I’d opt to redo the masks or leave them for the time being, hoping that a future PL9.x will accept them without issues. This should be the case, as it represents the usual dot update.
Didn’t check that for Win, but that’s another good point about downgrading. Sorry to forgot about that. Luckily, never had to even try.
Currently PL/Win installation is split into two parts – executing downloaded binary and downloading/installing AI models and FilmPack resources into the ‘Dependencies’ subdirectory during actual installation phase. This is probably to keep the primary download relatively small (below 1GB), while the second part may be required every 3(?) months or so. For example, my PL9.3 ‘Dependencies’ directory is 2.66GB, while my PhotoLabSetup 9.3.exe is 371MB. Hence, I’m not sure what you have to do with this directory before downgrading. While I never had to do it, IMHO it’s a must for DxO for specify how to downgrade painlessly (including possible database schema problem mentioned above). It’s for their own public image safety, after all.
I’m not sure, which hopefully I’ve pointed out already. Never experimented with downgrading, but even if I tried something, it might work only for specific version pairs. That’s for DxO to document, if they have this topic in their functional specs. My guess is that they didn’t bother about it but I might be wrong.
For PL9.3/Windows, directory sizes as seen in File Explorer ‘Properties’:
2.66GB – ‘Dependecies’
Subdirectories:
782M – FilmPackResources
753MB - DeepRaw*
83.6 - MultiScale*
1.08GB - SAM*
“Can you say whether an old setup app will load old components? This is just to make sure.”
On Win, it appears to do so.
In trying out the various versions of PL9, I have back tracked to previous versions. So, currently, on my Graphics computer, I went from 9.2 to 9.1 which was previously installed. This removed the crash problems that I had with 9.2.
On my Office computer, I went from 9.1 to 9.0
I hate using the terms upgrade and downgrade as, based on my experience, a change in software versions is seldom an upgrade - usually, a few changes and more bugs.
I do that as well, but in Windows, if you right-click the .EXE, pick ‘Properties’, then go to the tab “Details” the version is there. For instance, with Viewpoint 4.29 (latest version AFAIK) the ‘Details’ tab lists ‘File Version’ as ‘4.29.0.19’ - and the same for ‘Product Version’. Renaming makes it easier to find the version you want, but if you haven’t renamed them you don’t need to guess which one to try.
