Troubleshooting
Things To Do When PSE/PS Goes Wonky

by Jen White

Your software can (and likely will) act up from time to time. That's just the nature of electronics. So when it does, here are some things you can try before contacting support:

1. Restart Your Software
   Restarting your software will often give it the attitude adjustment that it needs. It may even help to talk sternly to it.
   
   
2. Restart Your Computer
   The issue you're having may go deeper than just the software. If that's the case, it's easy to just turn off your computer (don't just restart it), let it rest for a couple of minutes, and then turn it back on. We could all use a little reset once in a while, right?
   
   
3. Take a Break--Sleep On It
   Don't take this personally, but a lot of times, the issue you're having is user-error, and the only way you can see the problem is to walk away and look at it with fresh eyes in the morning.
   
   
4. Reset a Tool
   If the problem you're having involves a tool that is misbehaving, it will likely help to reset that tool. Here's how:
   1. In Photoshop Elements, choose Reset Tool from the flyout menu in the Tool Options.
   2. In Adobe Photoshop, choose Reset Tool from the Tool Preset Picker flyout menu, which is located in the Tool Options.
   3. The images above show how to reset the Brush tool, but the process is the same for other tools.
      
      
      
5. Reset Preferences (Less Common)
   I personally hate to reset my preferences, so I only recommend doing this if all else fails, including contacting customer support. But if you were told to reset your preferences, here's how to do that:
   1. In Photoshop Elements, press Ctrl K (Mac: Cmd K) to get Preferences. Click on Reset Preferences On Next Launch and click OK. Close your software and then reopen it.
      
      
   2. In Adobe Photoshop, press Ctrl K (Mac: Cmd K) to get Preferences. Click on Reset Preferences On Quit and click OK. Close your software and then reopen it.
      
      
      
6. Do a Hard Reset of Your Software (Less Common)
   This solution does more than #5, but less than #7. It will not only reset your preferences, but it will reset all other settings as well. Here's how:
   1. Close your software.
   2. Holding down Shift Ctrl Alt (Mac: Shift Cmd Opt), start your software. Keep holding down those keys until you're asked if you want to delete the current settings.
   3. As harsh as it sounds, doing a hard reset will not remove any previously loaded styles or actions.
      
      
      
7. Reinstall Your Software (Less Common)
   This is another solution that I would rarely have you do because it's so time consuming and harsh. But, sometimes it's the only thing that will help.
   
   
8. Contact Customer Support
   1. I would be happy to help you solve your problem. Click here to Contact Digital Scrapper's Customer Support.
   2. Contacting Adobe may be your only solution. It's really not as bad as it sounds, and if you get a person that's not helpful, you can always hang up and call again!