Do you ever get this message?

[BrendaC]

"Could not complete your request because of a program error"
Any ideas why I get this? Thanks.

[Wendy]

Hi Brenda ...

I have come across it before.

Is yours a new install or has it worked OK in the past ??

Wendy

[Jeff Perry]

Brenda, in addition to Wendy's question, please advise...

What you were doing (or trying to do) when the error occured?
How big of an image were you working on?
Does it occurr all the time, at the same moment doing the same thing with every image?

Are you using a PC or Mac?
How much installed RAM?
How much total hard drive space?
How much free hard drive space?
What operating system (and version)?
What version of Elements?

Go into Elements, and under Edit>Preferences>Perfomance...

What does it say for:
Available RAM: _______
Let Photoshop Elements Use: _______
Scratch Disk Free Space: _________

This error message plagues Elements and Phocotshop CS users alike, on both Macs and PCs, and is often attributed (rightly or wrongly) to hardware and/or operating system weaknesses (e.g., resource shortages).

It is frequently thrown during a File Save operation, but may occur at other times as well.

By providing as much information about your system as well as how and when the error occcurs may help others diagnose where the problem may be.

Jeff

[BrendaC]

Wendy,
Nope, it's not a new install.

Jeff,
Using a PC
Available RAM 1652MB
Let elements use 908MB
169.27 GB free disk space
And I usually get it during a File Save operation. Can you explain if I have enough RAM and disk space? I am not very computer literate. Thanks.

[ricklepage]

I get this from time to time as well, although a lot of the time it's when trying to paste something into Elements from another program (Elements hates Apple's Pages, for example).

The only thing I've ever been able to do to fix it is to restart everything, and for some things it keeps coming back up.

Rick

[Jeff Perry]

Brenda, here is what I found on the Adobe Knowledgebase site...note that this applies to PSE 5. If you have a later version, the same fix may apply, at least it is worth a try.

Program error when you save a JPEG file in Photoshop Elements 5.0

Issue

When you save a JPEG file in Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0, you receive the following error message:
"Could not complete your request because of a program error."
Solution

Re-create the Photoshop Elements preferences file.
To re-create the Photoshop Elements preferences file:

1. Quit Photoshop Elements.
2. Locate the preferences file for the Editor in Photoshop Elements:
3. • On Windows XP: Documents and Settings\[user]\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Editor\Photoshop Elements 5 Prefs.psp
   • On Windows Vista: Users\[user]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Editor\Photoshop Elements 5 Prefs.psp
4. Rename the extension for the file (for example, to Photoshop Elements 5 Prefs.old).
5. Start the Editor in Photoshop Elements. Photoshop Elements creates a new preferences file.

Note: This procedure requires you to locate the Photoshop Elements preferences file by its full name, including the extension, which is located inside a hidden folder. By default, Windows Explorer doesn't show hidden files, hidden folders, and file name extensions that it recognizes.
To show hidden files, hidden folders, and all filename extensions in Windows Explorer:
On Windows XP:

1. In Windows Explorer, choose Tools > Folder Options.
2. Click the View tab in the Folder Options dialog box.
3. In Advanced Settings, select Show Hidden Files And Folders.
4. Deselect Hide File Extensions For Known File Types.
5. Click OK.

On Windows Vista:

1. In Windows Explorer, choose Organize > Folder And Search Options.
2. Click the View tab in the Folder Options dialog box.
3. In Advanced Settings, select Show Hidden Files And Folders.
4. Deselect Hide Extensions For Known File Types.
5. Click OK.