Substituting PSE5 for Photoshop?

  • Thread starter Thread starter newbert
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
N

newbert

Guest
I don't have Photoshop on my system, but I DO have PS Elements 5. How can I get LR2.3 to list PSE5 instead of "Edit in Adobe Photoshop (not found)" at the top of the "Preferences/External Editing" tab? I use other apps (Capture NX2 and Nik Color Efex) as external editors, so I'd like PSE5 listed at the top.

I suspect that the problem may be my software installation order: I already had PSE5 (full version) installed when I installed the trial version of PSE7 (which co-existed just fine with PSE5). I didn't like PSE7, so I decided to try Lightroom and installed the trial version of 2.3. I subsequently deleted the trial version of PSE7, bought Lightroom and applied the s?N Key to activate the trial version. I suspect that perhaps I either have to a) re-install PSE5 so that LR2 sees it as my most recent version of "Photoshop" OR b) re-install LR2.3.

I'd like to avoid doing either, if possible, since it may involve also having to reinstall PSE plug-ins such as Topaz, Nik, Raw plug-in, etc. I also don't want to risk losing my LR catalog (which I'm still building) if I need to reinstall Lightroom.

Anyone have any thoughts on how to get PSE5 recognized as the top editor, without having to re-install PSE5 or Lightroom?

Thanks!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Lightroom is now at version 2.4, so download the update and install. (its a free update). I believe it should recognize PS E5 as the main editor. Backup your catalog before you install the update, just in case, the update will not interfere with the catalog and other preference settings.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi newbert, welcome to the forum!

Reinstalling Elements will be your easiest option, and you should be able to backup the plugins folder so that the reinstall of the plugins is literally a case of copying the plugins folder back, if they do go walkabout.

The alternative is to edit the registry entries - and that depends on how computer literate you are.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Breyman,

Thanks for that link. While it looked promising at first, closer inspection reveals that it's made to work with PSE versions 6 and later. Unfortunately, I have Version 5.

On the bright side, I was able to configure PSE5 as one of the external editors in LR. While it would have been nice to have PSE "substitute" for Photoshop at the top of the menu, this workaround will work fine for me.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.

Bert
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi Bert,

As you've noted I've only tested the Elemental plugin against PSE 6 and beyond. The reason for this is PSE 6 is the earliest PSE version that supports upgrading to Camera Raw 4.6 and beyond. This means Elements can open files adjusted in Lightroom without rendering (exporting) them first, provided you have saved the files (i.e. Metadata is marked as up to date).

If PSE 5 can use Camera Raw 4.6 and beyond (I don't believe it can) then it should work for you. Do you know what Camera Raw version you have installed? You can see it in the About -> Plugins menu in the PSE Editor.

Thanks,
Matt
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
[quote author=DawMatt link=topic=7134.msg5'533#msg5'533 date=1249'24348]
Hi Bert,

As you've noted I've only tested the Elemental plugin against PSE 6 and beyond. The reason for this is PSE 6 is the earliest PSE version that supports upgrading to Camera Raw 4.6 and beyond. This means Elements can open files adjusted in Lightroom without rendering (exporting) them first, provided you have saved the files (i.e. Metadata is marked as up to date).

If PSE 5 can use Camera Raw 4.6 and beyond (I don't believe it can) then it should work for you. Do you know what Camera Raw version you have installed? You can see it in the About -> Plugins menu in the PSE Editor.

Thanks,
Matt
[/quote]

PSE5 most definitely can use ACR4.6.

If PSE5 was installed prior to Lightroom being installed, LR should recognize PSE5 and make it an external editor. If not, you might want to try un-install LR and then re-install.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi,

[quote author=dj_paige link=topic=7134.msg5'544#msg5'544 date=1249'43935]
PSE5 most definitely can use ACR4.6.
[/quote]
Are you speaking from personal experience? In the absence of having a PSE 5 install to test against I based my version compatibility upon the Adobe's Camera Raw download page.

They state:
The latest version of the Camera Raw plug-in available for Photoshop Elements 5.' (Windows) is Camera Raw 4.5.
Click to expand...
If this is inaccurate can you please let me know what is the maximum Camera Raw version that will work with PSE 5?

Thanks,
Matt
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
[quote author=DawMatt link=topic=7134.msg5'759#msg5'759 date=1249271697]
Hi,

[quote author=dj_paige link=topic=7134.msg5'544#msg5'544 date=1249'43935]
PSE5 most definitely can use ACR4.6.
[/quote]
Are you speaking from personal experience? In the absence of having a PSE 5 install to test against I based my version compatibility upon the Adobe's Camera Raw download page.

They state:
The latest version of the Camera Raw plug-in available for Photoshop Elements 5.' (Windows) is Camera Raw 4.5.
Click to expand...
If this is inaccurate can you please let me know what is the maximum Camera Raw version that will work with PSE 5?

Thanks,
Matt
[/quote]

And sometimes Adobe's own docs are wrong. I am running ACR 4.6 with PSE 5, and elsewhere, Adobe states that 4.6 works with PSE 5.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi,

[quote author=dj_paige link=topic=7134.msg5'791#msg5'791 date=1249298449]
And sometimes Adobe's own docs are wrong. I am running ACR 4.6 with PSE 5, and elsewhere, Adobe states that 4.6 works with PSE 5.
[/quote]
Thanks for the pointer. If that is the case then it is entirely possible the plugin will be useful to PSE 5 users as well. I believe Camera Raw 4.6 is the first version that understood LR2 metadata hence the previous compatibility statement. Anyone willing to try it out and either confirm or deny support for PSE 5?

Also given Adobe's uncertainty around Camera Raw compatibility for PSE 5, has anyone tested the Camera Raw 5.x versions to see if they work with PSE 5? It's worth a try.

Thanks,
Matt
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
[quote author=DawMatt link=topic=7134.msg5'977#msg5'977 date=1249453''9]If that is the case then it is entirely possible the plugin will be useful to PSE 5 users as well. I believe Camera Raw 4.6 is the first version that understood LR2 metadata hence the previous compatibility statement. Anyone willing to try it out and either confirm or deny support for PSE 5?
[/quote]

What do you mean by "entirely possible"? What do you mean "Anyone willing to try it out"? I already said "I am running ACR 4.6 with PSE 5". Adobe says it works, and it works.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Sorry, obviously I wasn't clear enough.

If that is the case then it is entirely possible the Elemental plugin will be useful to PSE 5 users as well. I believe Camera Raw 4.6 is the first version that understood LR2 metadata hence the previous compatibility statement. Anyone willing to try the Elemental plugin out and either confirm or deny support for PSE 5?
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi Paige,

Have you had a chance to test this out? Am wondering whether or not I can change the doco to state the Elemental plugin is PSE 5 compatible.

Thanks,
Matt
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I still have no idea what you are talking about.

What is the "Elemental plugin"??

And what do you want me to test? I already said (twice) that PSE5 and ACR 4.6 work properly together on my machine.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Upvote 0 Downvote
[quote author=dj_paige link=topic=7134.msg514'1#msg514'1 date=1249989'3']
What is the "Elemental plugin"??
[/quote]
See post #1' just above yours. The Elemental plugin is from Matt.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Oh, duh, sorry for not reading more carefully.

No, I haven't tested this plugin.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi Paige,

Sorry this hasn't been clear. I have been trying to avoid repeating material from earlier posts in this thread and this appears to have been part of the problem.

The Elemental plugin helps provide a similar level of integration between Lightroom and Photoshop Elements that full Photoshop users currently enjoy with Lightroom. e.g. Can open files up directly in a Panorama PhotoMerge dialog, open multiple files as layers in a single document, etc. It does this without having to generate intermediate files that permanently render your non-destructive Lightroom edits in pixels.

ACR 4.6 or better is a pre-requisite for this plugin to be useful. I didn't think PSE5 met this pre-requisite but you've told me it does (thanks for the confirmation). Now that I know the pre-requisite is there I was wondering if someone could try the Elemental plugin to see if it does fully work with PSE5. i.e. install the plugin in Lightroom, and test whether its features work when you point it at the PSE5 editor rather than a later version?

Elemental uses some features (JavaScript scripting, PhotoMerge dialog, Lens Correction dialog, Smart Objects) that I know are available in PSE6 and later. I can't remember whether they exist in PSE5. If a PSE5 user could test this for me it would be very helpful.

Thanks,
Matt
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top