No Artwork & Effects Pallette

[conner]

Help! I'm completely freaked! :eek:
I was using my Elements yesterday and loaded a graphic file that I purchased from an Adobe CS3 training session that I went to yesterday. The company at the show was graphic authority. The file was a .psd file and it openend in elements. Shortly after that my Artwork & Effects Pallette is completely empty! Graphics are there, menu's are there but show blank. When I click on a blank menu it shows blank and an error message comes up "could not complete your request because of a program error". I tried to reset all defaults, but that didn't work. I tried to close it off and reboot, but that didn't help.

I did notice that the program was acting a bit funny a few days ago, like not on-screen previewing a text change until I hit commit; and also having problems after saving a file (the little picture in the layers menu where you see your picture under background was all grey until I clicked on it then it would show-up).

Do I need to uninstall and re-install? and if so, will it reactivate all my pictures?

Yikes!. Can anyone help? :eek: Thanks a million.

[AngelicKim]

Hi Connor, I am assuming you have Windows here. But before you do anything as drastic as a re-install, try doing a Windows System Restore back to before you start having trouble a few days ago first and see if that helps.

[Chuck S.]

Another suggestion: try the "reset preferences" routine:


Shut down Elements
Press and hold the Ctrl, Alt and Shift Keys (with one hand)
Restart Elements
You'll get a window that asks if you want to delete the Photoshop Elements Preferences file. Click "Yes" (it will rebuild on startup)
Elements will start up.Then you can check to see if the missing features have been restored.

PS: Try Wendy's approach (next post) first!!

[Wendy]

Hi ...

If that doesn't work then try restarting Elements but hold down the Shift key whilst it is restarting ... that will force the Artworks and Effects to rebuild :)

Do let us know how you go on with this :)

Wendy

[GaryK]

Conner

Were you at the convention center with Tony and I and we missed you???:eek::eek:

[conner]

Thanks to everyone, but no luck yet.
I tried the Windows restore. It was successful but no change.
I tried the ctrl, alt, shift, and it asked me to load a catelogue. I entered a new name and it created a new file, but still no change.
I tried just the shift whilst I openend up Elements, but same thing, it asked me for a new catalogue file. There was no change in my pallette.
.
In case I didn't make myself clear, i'm referring to the Artwork & Effects while I'm in the Editor is the problem.
What's next? :(

PS. Yes, i'm working in Windows XP.

[conner]

Hi Everyone and thanks for your suggestions.
I tried the Windows restore and it worked, but did not change my problem.
I tried the ctrl, alt, shift suggestions, but it came up with wanting me to load a new catalogue file. I gave it a new name and it loaded up again, with nothing in my catalogue display and still no change in the Editor, Artwork and Effects pallette.
Same request came up when I held down the shift key whilst starting up Elements. It did not ask me anything else.

Just to be clear it is the Artwork and Effects while in Full Edit that I am missing. When I put the cursor where the samples should be, I get a circle with a line through it.

What next? :(

PS> yes, I'm working in Windows XP.

[conner]

IT WORKED!
I tried the "shift" solution by Wendy, but this time I held it down while I opened the Editor and lo and behold, it rebuilt my pallette.
I am so relieved, you have no idea.
This is the greatest forum ever.!!! :D

Thanks everyone so much for your speedy and helpful suggestions.

[AngelicKim]

Connor, so glad it finally worked for you. It does sometimes take a couple of tries to get it to rebuild with holding the shift when opening editor. I have had it open holding after starting and other times I have had to hold the shift and then open. Gotta love technology.

[Wendy]

Hi Conner ...

I'm so pleased that you now have it sorted out ... and sorry I forgot to mention that you needed to start up in the Editor. I'm a Mac user and we don't have the Organiser in our version so I tend to forget that Windows people have the choice of starting up in either :o

Wendy

[ridon127]

This is strange. I had the same problem this morning. I was trying to download the Luce plugin, with no luck, so I deleted it and all my artworks and effects weren't working. I came here, panick struck, and there was my answer. I tried Wendy's suggestion and it worked. Thanks
Donna

[Wendy]

Hi Donna ...

It seems to happen when occasional things are added ... not quite sure why ?? but thankfully using the shift key to rebuild seems to sort it out :)

Wendy

[GaryK]

It is one of those "odd" things. I have added things and artwork and effects rebuilt by itself, other times I had to hold shift, other times it looked like nothing happend, yet all was fine.:confused:

[Chuck S.]

It is one of those "odd" things. I have added things and artwork and effects rebuilt by itself, other times I had to hold shift, other times it looked like nothing happend, yet all was fine.:confused:

Sounds like operator error to me!:D

[GaryK]

Chuck

That MIGHT be a possibility.. I'll blame it on the kids:D

[TonyW]

Chuck: Either that on the gremlins that inhabit my computer. Funnily enough Gary and I saw Bert Monroy at work on Friday. He was the 6th person to have a copy of Photoshop - right after the Knoll brothers wrote the first version and we heard even him mutter operator error a couple of times. So even the great ones make the occasional operator error. It was quite comforting to know that :D

Tony

[Chuck S.]

Chuck: Either that on the gremlins that inhabit my computer. Funnily enough Gary and I saw Bert Monroy at work on Friday. He was the 6th person to have a copy of Photoshop - right after the Knoll brothers wrote the first version and we heard even him mutter operator error a couple of times. So even the great ones make the occasional operator error. It was quite comforting to know that :D

Tony

Tony, it happens to me all the time. Except the folks I work with, whose average age is less than one-half mine, are wont to exclaim "Senior Moment" when I trip up. Unfortunately, they're often right.....getting old isn't always fun....

[GaryK]

Chuck

I'm just waiting for the day I can hide my own Easter Eggs and have it be a surprise when I get up... what fun.:D

[Norwester]

I had a weird thing happen with my A&E palette the other day. Its usually docked at the upper right corner of PSE5 but it somehow became "un-docked" and the layers palette moved up into that space. Whenever I'd open the program it'd show up in a different spot,though I could move it. Tried the shift key trick but it didn't fix it. Finally deleted the "prefs" file,let it rebuild and its back where it belongs now. I'm still not sure what brought that on as it was fine the last time I'd closed the program. :confused:

[Wendy]

Hi Jeff ...

Occasionally Elements has a mind of its own and decides to go off and do its own thing :D:D

Wendy

[Chuck S.]

I don't get too attached to what I have in the palette well, because every time I use this laptop in its docking station with a monitor that has different (lower) screen resolution, the whole thing reverts to what seems to be the original configuration, i.e., layers and effects palettes only. I don't know whether the same thing happens with CS3, but maybe not because there's no palette well per se.

It annoyed me at first, but after a while I decided to go with "it is what it is"....or maybe "it's broke, but it ain't fixable"....

:)

[Wendy]

Hi Chuck ..

See you should have bought that Mac ... they are much better behaved :D:D

Wendy;)

[Chuck S.]

Hi Chuck ..

See you should have bought that Mac ... they are much better behaved

Wendy;)

HAHA!! It's been a while since you brought that up, Wendy!

:D:D:D

[Wendy]

Chuck ...

I thought I would let you think that I had forgotten it ... :) :)

Wendy

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hey Boys & Girls,

Don't beat yourselves up too much. It is hard to write a program that is bug free and impossible to write a big one perfectly. The pressure to release a new version is enormous on companies like Adobe, or even Apple. Discussion communities like this one helps to provide work-arounds. I asked some weeks ago if anyone from Adobe sits in on this NG. No one could recall an Adobe member or even a lurker. That is too bad. Perhaps we should copy Adobe on all of the quirks we find. On occasion I have suggested to people that they should follow up with Adobe. I have done that a few times.

I have given Microsoft permission to monitor my work. If Adobe asked me to I would give them the same permission. Now that may strike people as a gross invasion of privacy, but I truly believe that it makes software better. As someone who programmed for a living, I have much more sympathy for the people at Adobe than the average bear.

Cheers,

Bob