Photoshop Elements 4: The Missing Manual

Opening Stored Images

If you've got photos already stored on your computer, you have several options for opening them with Elements. If the file format is set to open in Elements, just double-click the file's icon to launch Elements and open the image. (If you want to change which files automatically open in Elements, see the box on Section 2.2.1.) You've also got a few ways to open files from within Elements:

• From the Organizer, for files not yet in the Organizer. Go to File → Get Photos → From Files and Folders, or press Ctrl+Shift+G, and then select your file. The other options in the Get Photos menu (like opening files stored on a mobile phone) are covered on Section A.1.

  You can also select an image that's stored in the Organizer and open it directly in the Editor. To do so, in the Organizer, click the file's thumbnail, and then press Ctrl+I, or go to Edit → Go to Standard Edit. If you'd rather go to the Quick Fix (see Section 4.1), choose Edit → Go to Quick Fix instead.

• From the Editor. Go to File → Open or press Ctrl+O and select your file.

  Note

  If you've used earlier versions of Elements, you may be wondering where to find the Editor's File Browser. The File Browser has been retired—it's not in the current version of Photoshop (CS2) either. (It's been replaced by the Adobe Bridge application there.) In Elements 4, the Organizer has taken over all browsing and searching tasks.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION: Picking the File Types That Elements Opens

How do I stop Elements ...