Choosing Blender Versions

I need  direction on which Blender version to use: I began with 3.5 then switched to 4.0....Now I see there is an 4.02 which I also downloaded.  If  I understand correctly, any work I create on a particular version, stays with that one. 

 I don't want to loose any of my projects I have created...   

1) What is the 'long term' support version? 2)  Can I  auto upgrade to the current version any time?  Would it save or upload 'my work/ projects ' from the previous version?   3) What are the limits, if any,  that would move one to discontinue  the "long term" support version or not bother with it?    

  • Omar Domenech replied

    There is much to be said about the Blender versions and which to use, to avoid being repetitive, I'll link you up, it's been discussed here:

    Which Blender Version To Use

    And a handy great article that should inform you of all your inquiry:

    https://cgcookie.com/posts/top-7-tips-when-starting-to-learn-blender

    But in short: You can open any file with any Blender version, your file and your work doesn't have to stay with the Blender version you created and worked with. That said since there are a few changes here and there between versions, if you used a new feature that is not present on older versions and you open that on a old version that lacks that feature, you're going to get a couple of warnings. That is not a common problem though. 

    Yes you can upgrade to any new version at any time. Long term support is more for if you're working on a long production like a movie that will take years, your everyday person doesn't really need to worry about the long term supports. 

  • Martin Bergwerf replied

    And add 2)

    Yes it is possible to have Blender auto upgraded (although I, for one, wouldn't recommend it) via Steam.\

    I myself, just leave all the Versions that I've downloaded on my computer (they don't take up a lot of space).

    And, although switching between versions in one project is often possible, I would normally avoid it. If you want, you can put the version you used to create a project in the name, you Save it with, or something like that.

  • Jonathan Lampel replied

    Also note that minor versions are generally fine to upgrade to, like from 4.0 to 4.0.2, since the only changes are bugfixes.