Lightroom 6 map module is not working anymore

I process my raw files with Capture One, but additionally have been using Lightroom for years to organize my geotagged photos and assign them to the specific and oftenly remote places in the map module. The map functionality has been an important and helpful feature for me to prepare my presentations, publications etc. Unfortunately C1 doesn't offer this feature to date.
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The map view has always worked flawlessly with my standalone LR 6.1.4 version. However, by trying to open the map module in LR for some photos recently taken in Antarctica,  I now out of the blue get the warning message  

"Oops! Something went wrong. This page didn't load Google Maps correctly. See the JavaScript console for technical details"

After searching for how to even find the JavaScript console and a futile attempt to resolve that issue, I finally came across the following infornation

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/ma ... orted.html

IMO, that's another scandel with Adobe the more as the LR Version 6 recently has still been available from retail outlets.
I paid for the software including the map view functionality but Adobe removed this feature without apparent reason obviously just to force the users to the subscription model. The map view doesn't work anymore for the photos in older collections either, of course. It's another proof Adobe cannot be trusted to be fair in the years to come. Who knows, if at some point they will also drop CC Classic for the totally cloud based version and ransom your photo collection for more and more cash.

But complaints won't change anything, of course. So there's the question if anyone knows a strategy to circumnavigate this issue by another (open-source) software or plugin rather than the alternative to copy and paste the coordinates of each specific file into a second browser window of Google Earth ? To have to enter each image out of thousands separately is untenable, though

The useful interactive map in LR where you can see flags for all your thousands of photos showing where you took them definitely is  lost.

In fact, very frustrating news. I can only hope that PhaseOne soon will offer a similar map view and that they don't to go the same route as Adobe.

Wolfgang

This is caused by:

A) Google changing how servers like the ones LR goes thru at Adobe to get to Google communicate and authenticate with the Google maps.

B) Adobe not accomplishing any work in Anything older than Lightroom Classic CC v8 ( at the time, now 8.1). As they previously stated, they ended support for the old versions.

Advise you click on Help in Lightroom, then Lightroom help to get to the web page, and communicate your displeasure, or perhaps at https://feedback.photoshop.com/photosho ... _lightroom

goldingd wrote:This is caused by:

A) Google changing how servers like the ones LR goes thru at Adobe to get to Google communicate and authenticate with the Google maps.

B) Adobe not accomplishing any work in Anything older than Lightroom Classic CC v8 ( at the time, now 8.1). As they previously stated, they ended support for the old versions.

Advise you click on Help in Lightroom, then Lightroom help to get to the web page, and communicate your displeasure, or perhaps at https://feedback.photoshop.com/photosho ... _lightroom

It's useless and wasted time to communicate a displeasure there because Adobe doesn't care if I'm displeased - they ignore numerous customers who paid for the standalone version. It's evident that they want to force all users into the lifetime subscription. That's the strategy -  the changes in Google's API would cost them a few minutes to adapt to LR 6.x after they did it for the CC version. It's just a pretense.

That said, I surely can understand that older software will not be updated with new features and even accept that i.e. the support of new cameras isn't implemented anymore. However, it makes a huge difference for me if I buy the license for a software with the agreement of the functionality of all parts but some important components simply are removed or disabled afterwards without no real reason. There are no new or advanced features added to the map module. That's why just the original status and advertised functionality could have been (and should have been) maintained  - that's the reasonable claim and expectation based on the payment for it. So the refusal to fix that issue and the treatment of longtime customers who paid Adobe is unethical, at least.  Anyway, I was primarily asking if anybody knows an alternative plugin or work-around

Wolfgang

Adobe cares only about one group of people - institutional share holders!

As long as you continue to pay them $10 per month (or whatever it is in your region) there is absolutely no incentive for them to change. They are among the very worst companies I have ever dealt with from a customer service standpoint, still have the same bugs they had 20 years ago in their software, and continuously show a contempt for their end users second to none - yet the majority of people reading this, continue to pay them...

E.J. Peiker wrote:Adobe cares only about one group of people - institutional share holders!  

As long as you continue to pay them $10 per month (or whatever it is in your region) there is absolutely no incentive for them to change.  They are among the very worst companies I have ever dealt with from a customer service standpoint, still have the same bugs they had 20 years ago in their software, and continuously show a contempt for their end users second to none - yet the majority of people reading this, continue to pay them...

Very true, in fact you cannot trust them. What they promise today isn't necessarily valid tomorrow anymore, as proved now again. As said, I can understand that new features will not be implemented in previous versions. But just to disable an existing key functionality you relied on and trusted in at the time you bought the standalone application and furthermore based your work on it  - or even made the decision of the purchase for that feature, - is a different approach and a no go for me. That experience shows, even if you decide to go for the subscription model you cannot be sure that at one point they change their strategy and i.e. drop CC Classic as a whole, too, in order to force everyone to the totally cloud based version and hold your files and catalogues for ransom. That easily could be their long time goal and it's maybe to late for a wake up call by then.
So what can you do if you depend on the map functionality to a certain degree ?
For now, I can only copy and paste the coordinates of each geotagged file into Google Earth, I guess. Nobody knows if and when Google wants you to pay for that in the next round, too. Anyway, I hope that CaptureOne will offer a useful map functionality in the future and PhaseOne generally will remain a company you can trust in. I wasn't happy with the price increase for the upgrade from v11 to v12. But after an extensive test, I think it's worth it and C1 is still the best raw converter, followed by DxO, IMO. But that's OOT here.

Wolfgang

Take a look at HoudahGeo.
Or https://snafu.org/GeoTag/

One workaround for the GPS data, not for the actual map, found in:
https://laurashoe.com/2018/11/25/users- ... ap-module/

Bit tedious

Also the following link, but be forewarned that support might not last due to funding issues (read the update history)
http://regex.info/blog/lightroom-goodies/gps

By the way, you may want to, if not already, join https://forums.adobe.com/community/ligh ... classic-cc

I have, just posted a discussion: https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2584600

Thank you for your comments and hints so far

HoudahGeo and snafu.org/GeoTag obviously is for OsX but I'm using Windows on my Desktop machine that has PS and LR installed.

I've seen Laura Shoes's site and and Regex, too. Regex seems to be pretty complex but I maybe will give it a try. Basically I just need the map view now disabled in LR 6 in order to assign the GPS data recorded with my cameras to the corresponding geographical locations in the map and organize the files taken at the same places. In LR, this functionality was convenient to show and group the photographs. I have not yet checked if Regex offers this functionality, too.

Wolfgang

WJaekel wrote:Thank you for your comments and hints so far

HoudahGeo and snafu.org/GeoTag obviously is for OsX but I'm using Windows on my Desktop machine that has PS and LR installed.

I've seen Laura Shoes's site and and Regex, too. Regex seems to be pretty complex but I maybe will give it a try. Basically I just need the map view now disabled in LR 6 in order to assign the GPS data recorded with my cameras to the corresponding geographical locations in the map and organize the files taken at the same places. In LR, this functionality was convenient to show and group the photographs. I have not yet checked if Regex offers this functionality, too.

Wolfgang

Have you considered using an online map as offered for instance by Flickr for this purpose? You'd need to upload the images to Flickr of course. But you don't have to make them public if you don't want to publish them via their site...

Joerg

Joerg Rockenberger wrote: Have you considered using an online map as offered for instance by Flickr for this purpose? You'd need to upload the images to Flickr of course. But you don't have to make them public if you don't want to publish them via their site...

Joerg

Joerg, thank you for the hint. Maybe this could be an option if you just have a limited number of specific files you want to assign to the map. However, I don't think that it would work for hundreds or even thousands of files you eventually just want to check the location of in the map view, to organize them all or build an itinerary from, because of the limited space that flickr etc. offers and the additional effort to convert all files from raws to Jpegs, resize and upload them. In my workflow, I normally just convert the specific raws of my collection to 16bit prophoto masterfiles through Capture One. But the map view of LR had offered the possibility of a quick check where the photos had been taken prior to the conversion. I came across an announcement that flickr is now limiting the upload to 1000 files and the overall space in the free version, too. There are probably more options if you're ready to pay for the flickr pro version, though.

For now, I think it is the easiest workaround to shift+Alt click on the arrow near the GPS coordinates in the meta data panel of the library module in LR to open Google Earth in a separate Browser window. Of course, that has to be done for each single file in question. The useful interactive map in LR where you can see flags for all your thousands of photos showing where you took them definitely is gone with the map module in LR 6, unfortunately.

Anyway, thank you again

Wolfgang

There is a note in Jeffrey Friedl’s Blog under Jeffrey’s “Geoencoding Support” Plugin for Lightroom Version History section that Google has ended some formerly free functions.  I still use Lightroom 6 and miss the map function, but if Google is now charging Adobe for some mapping functions, it is understandable that Adobe will no longer be supporting those functions on older software.
 
http://regex.info/blog/lightroom-goodies/gps


John

jwaif wrote:There is a note in Jeffrey Friedl’s Blog under Jeffrey’s “Geoencoding Support” Plugin for Lightroom Version History section that Google has ended some formerly free functions.  I still use Lightroom 6 and miss the map function, but if Google is now charging Adobe for some mapping functions, it is understandable that Adobe will no longer be supporting those functions on older software.
 
http://regex.info/blog/lightroom-goodies/gps


John

I would agree to the cost argument if Adobe had removed the map functionality in the recent LR Classic CC version, too, because they are charged by Google. If I try to open the map module in LR 6 via a geotagged file I sometimes get a very short map view for a fraction of a second before it's gone and the javascript error message is displayed. So I'm pretty sure that it's the same script as implemented in LR CC and it would not require much efforts to make the functionality available in LR 6, too. I also doubt that this would lead to additional costs for Adobe since they have to pay Google for the functionality anyway. That's why I think that the cost argument isn't valid and the blocking of the map functions is a very welcomed pretence to force even more people to the subscription.

Wolfgang