Problems With Apple's New Photo App

[Schatz]

Hello everyone,

I need some good advice. Yesterday morning I found the new Apple Photo app on my iMac, and apart from the fact that, for my modest purposes, the old iPhoto was quite sufficient since I combined it with an older Photoshop Elements to do things like stitching together obverses and reverses, I find the new one lacks some of the old one's better features as there are a sidebar with a list of the folders and albums and simply a better arrangement of the pictures.
My real problem is that I now can no longer open pictures I want to work on in Photoshop Elements (my version is 6). I have tried all the tricks I could come up with, but when I hit 'Open' in the drop-down menu PSE simply shuts down and I get a screen telling me that PSE 'shut down unexpectedly'. How can I access my pics in PSE to work on them? Does anyone have a good idea, apart from recommending the latest version of PSE? I don't mind the expense, I rather resent having to chuck something that is perfectly useable and has done the job I need done. Also, I have no guarantees that PSE 13 will work.

Perhaps one or two of you have run into a similar problem and could discuss options.

Schatz

[Schatz]

I know it is considered bad form to answer one's own questions, but just in case there is someone else out there with a similar problem, I am doing just that.  Here's what happened:  After several hours of scouring discussion forums I managed to retrieve the old iPhoto app via 'Finder', but, of course, the old link between it and my PSE was gone and I could still not open my images in PSE by using the "File' drop down menu. What one needs to do is drag the image highlighted in iPhoto (or, probably in Photos, which I have not tried yet) and drag it to the PSE icon in the dock. Then your image is accessible in PSE and ready to be worked on. Once you are finished you will not be able to export it to or import it from iPhoto, even if you try to do it via the hard drive. Perhaps there is a way, but I will probably not want to spend the time trying to figure it out.  But you can transfer it to Photos, the new app.  In other words, Apple no longer supports iPhoto, one can use it for the time being, but in the long run one will have to get used to Photos and, if one does not want to do all that dragging, invest in the current PSE.

Schatz

[Callimachus]

I have been watching this post since i too use Photoshop Elements 6 to process my pictures. However, I do not use the iPhoto program that came with my computer.

If your computer came with CDs of the operating system and applications, perhaps you can find the "original version" of the iPhoto application on them and just download it back onto your computer.

You write "Yesterday morning I found the new Apple Photo app on my iMac . . ."  How did that happen without you knowing about it?  Perhaps you should look around in your system preferences and change them so that programs do not just automatically download the newest version.

[dougsmit]

I own and have used happily Photoshop Elements 2, 6 and 10 for several years.  I just bought  a Windows 8.1 computer and was informed that PSE 10 will not load on it but that 11 and higher should.  I bought PSE 13 which works.  The difference between the layout and details of the programs are considerable and I have not yet learned the thing needed to say if 13 is an improvement or not.  10 was a great improvement over 6 so I have hopes that 13 will not be a step backwards.  Time will tell. 

While the above did not please me, I was more unhappy that my databases in Microsoft Works format had to be exported in tab/comma separated files since WIN 8.1 also orphaned that program I have been using for years. 

[Schatz]

 Hi Callimachus,

it happened quite simply when I clicked on the little window in the upper right corner of the screen that tells you that upgrades are available.  Perhaps I do not employ the necessary care (such as checking which upgrades are offered) but I certainly did not expect something as incisive as an app change. Now that I have been able to retrieve my old iPhoto I will just plod along and try to prepare for the time when both iPhoto and PSE 6 are no longer usable with my OS.

Hi Doug,

I think one can order PSE 13 for a free 30 day test run. That should be enough time to determine whether it does what one needs, and in a simple way. All I need for my coin stitching is a very bare-bones version of PSE, that's why I want to stick with the old PSE 6. Would you mind keeping us abreast of your experience with PSE 13? You are such a wealth of information, I liked your experiment with microscope ring light very much. It works well with silver coins if you want detail, not so much for the natural artistic look, but detail is what you want when you archive your coins.

Thanks for your input,
Schatz