Photoshop Elements 13: The Missing Manual

Appendix A. Installation and Troubleshooting

Elements is easy to install and is pretty trouble-free once it’s up and running. This appendix describes some things you can do to ensure a smooth installation, and provides cures for most of the little glitches that can crop up once you’re using the program.

Regardless of whether you’re using a Mac or a Windows computer, you need to install Elements when you’re logged into an administrator account on your machine. (If you’ve never done anything to change your account and there’s only one account on your computer, it’s almost certainly an administrator account.) You also need to have an active Internet connection when you install the program, or you won’t get past the “enter a serial number” step.

Note

If you have a previous version of Elements on your computer, you don’t need to remove it before installing Elements 13. All versions of Elements run completely separately, so you can keep older versions if you want.

Make sure you have your Elements serial number handy before you start the installation process. You can install Elements without a serial number, but only as a 30-day trial; when your 30 days are up, the program stops working. If you have a retail version of Elements (in other words, you bought it as a CD in a box), the serial number is on the label on the install disc’s case, or there may be a redemption code on your receipt instead, which you use to obtain a serial number (the directions for how to do this should be listed along ...