Photoshop Elements 9: 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 not only describes some things you can do to ensure a smooth installation, but also provides cures for most of the little glitches that can crop up once you’re using the program.

Installation is another aspect of Elements that works quite a bit differently depending on whether you have a Windows computer or a Mac. Partly, this is due to the differing ways that two platforms install programs. But another big difference is that, on a Mac, you get asked to create an Adobe ID (see Installing Elements on a Mac) during the installation process; the installer then registers your copy of Elements. In Windows, on the other hand, you create an Adobe ID from the Welcome screen or from within Elements itself when you run the program for the first time (see Photoshop.com).

Regardless of what kind of computer you have, you need to install Elements when you’re logged into an administrative account on your machine. (If you’ve never done anything to change your account and you have only one account on your computer, it’s almost certainly an administrative account.)

Note

If you have a previous version of Elements on your computer, you don’t need to remove it before installing Elements 9. All versions of Elements run completely separately, so you can keep older versions, too, if you want.

Make sure you have your Elements serial number handy before you start the installation ...