I have been unable to get the ftp link to download these, despite following the instructions on the website. The email sent to me just contains a link back to the main Hidden Elements website. Am I missing something here or are the tools not actually free and the donation mandatory rather than optional? Thanks.

All these views and no one knows? I think I got my answer, which is what I suspected anyway. Free means free and these tools are promoted as such on many forums. The small fee is reasonable, but it should just be upfront that's what it costs...

i dont know if this is the case with what you're seeking here or not, but some sites advertise 'free downloads', which means you can download the software for free but sometimes have to pay to unlock it. this is one of those little idiot advertising tricks we all know and lov...hate.

'free download' can mean two things, in other words; free to download (some sites actually charge you to just download) and free software. and they dont always tell you which is the case.

but again, i dont know if this is the case or not with the 'free tools'.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. One person out of so many views, this forum is unique to say the least. I made an assumption that on this part of the forum the people here were all using these tools and the author's books, but maybe that was an error on my part.

These tools are clearly promoted as free on many sites, and since other Elements plug-ins are free, not an unusual tact, perhaps to encourage a book purchase in order to get the "full" benefit of the free offering. I am very internet savvy, and it clearly states you will be sent an email with an ftp site link to upload the file and it states the file. That doesn't happen, so I don't know if the website is not functioning properly, although the server does generate the email only it is not as stated, or the whole thing is a run around. Not exactly shocking after all this is the web.

I am certainly not adverse to paying for things, do it all the time. Not a biggie, it seems I really don't need these plug-ins anyway, as I have already gotten some of the components, for free, yes free, and Graffi has a great site with plug-ins, not for free but you get a lot for what you pay.

Well, here is why I did not give you an answer: I have used the tools for Elements 4 and most of all I have learned so much from the book that I was eager to know what the 'free' tools were like. I thought fit to make this very small 'donation', so I cannot give an answer since I don't know what would have happened otherwise!
It seems that Richard Lynch does not receive automatically your posts, why not try to email him directly (his email is on his site)?

Michel B

Thanks Michel. I just tried again for fun and it's clear it doesn't work for free and that the "donation" is mandatory. A donation is something that is given freely ( there's that word again), so by definition not a donation either. It's cool, a bit deceptive, but cool... You can get the color channels and the masks and the transform tool and a great curves plug in for free elsewhere anyway. These all get Elements features closer and closer to Photoshop, which is the goal anyway.

The donation is NOT manditory; the tools are ABSOLUTELY FREE (at least the free ones are, others are clearly marked). The same exact link is used for the free download and the donation download -- they are just delivered differently (one via email, and one via the paypal site). I have not answered as I have been on vacation and I am the only guy working for me--I decided to take a real vacation, where I had to pack my laptop in a backpack and ride 6 miles or so if I really had to do some work...I don't get any money to support the free downloads. And free IS free. I have no idea why you can't get it to work. If you got a link via email, the link should work UNLESS :

1. You are using the wrong browser (the browser needs to be able to navigate to FTP sites; IE6 and Firefox seem to work just fine and both are free). It says this on the website.

2. Your security settings are too high (you can lower them without harming anything, or lower them just for the visit).

3. Your email client does not handle email with embedded links.

Thousands of people have downloaded the tools successfully--Free. My email address is right on the site in many places and it is fine to contact me if you have trouble, however, reading the troubleshooting and doing your own if you can works best, as all I do is follow my own instructions. In most cases (99% from what I can tell) downloads and installs work just fine.

Photoshop -- in the future if you have questions about specific versions of the tools, please post them to the appropriate area in the forum. Thanks!

i dont know if this is the case with what you're seeking here or not, but some sites advertise 'free downloads', which means you can download the software for free but sometimes have to pay to unlock it. this is one of those little idiot advertising tricks we all know and lov...hate.
I don't pull 'idiot tricks,' sir. My tools are free and have been since I introduced them. There are no hidden fees for the free tools and the download works if you try it. Moderators should use a little care in dealing with other moderators of the same forum...

Sir, I clearly never stated you were trying to "cheat" anyone out of the $5, in fact I stated it was a reasonable fee. Anyone clicking the donation button knows they are agreeing to pay $5 for your tool set...

Mr Lynch has attempted to resolve this issue with me. The only thing I implied in these threads is that the "freebies" may be a lure, not exactly rare on the web and not an unreasonable conclusion under the circumstances. If I was wrong, I apologize to Mr Lynch for that implication.

If one, of the unbelievable high number of views of this thread on such an inactive forum, would have verified that they were able to download the free tools (even though I am unable to)this could have been avoided. Like I said before, this forum is unique to say the least...

The thread is getting a lot of hits probably because it was not posted to the Elements 5 Hidden Power thread...I have moved it. The title itself is perhaps alluring to some...and when they have no idea what it means they skip on to something else. As I said in an email, If you copy and paste the link from the source of the email into your browser, it is likely to work. There is probably some type of disconnect between your email client and the browser.

I am an author and I've been at this almost as long as Elements has been around. About 10,000 people have downloaded the free versions of various tools. It would do me NO GOOD to lie to potential clients, and if I wanted to charge for tools I would not call them 'free'. I do not need to dupe people.

I would be very interested if you would foreward your email to me (thebookdoc@aol.com). I have just tried the FREE download on both mac and PC and it works on both. I would be glad to clarify the issue and solve it.

Sir, I clearly never stated you were trying to "cheat" anyone out of the $5, in fact I stated it was a reasonable fee. Anyone clicking the donation button knows they are agreeing to pay $5 for your tool set...
You said:
"Am I missing something here or are the tools not actually free and the donation mandatory rather than optional?"
"The small fee is reasonable, but it should just be upfront that's what it costs..."

Unless I misread, you are suggesting I am duping people into believing there are free tools and then I ask for a fee -- and you can't get the tools unless you pay. This is completely wrong. The link should be in the email...it is provided in the email under the words " download Free Hidden Power for Elements 5.1 Tools" if you have an email reader that does not translate links or if you read text-only in your email browser, that could be the issue. The link is there for those who use HTML email.

richard,

my apologies if i've in any way implied you were trying to dupe people. basically, all i'm saying here is that IF you are saying, or if anyone is saying, 'free download' instead of 'free software', this can be read two ways.

but, you're right, i shld have checked first to see for myself. had i looked a little more closely and seen that it was yours i would have known better.

I use the latest version of firefox and my email program is Thunderbird. I have never had a problem with going to a browser page from a link in the email program....I have registered twice and not received an email period. I looked in the junk mail just to make sure it wasn't there also. I just cannot even get it to send me the email???????

Please ignore the previous post..I did get it downloaded but not installed.

I just tested it and got the email right away. sometimes there is a few minutes delay. If you are getting to the page that confirms, you should be getting the email. However, I do not have a check in there to valudate the email by making you type it twice. Is it possible you had a typo? I can check my records if you tell me what email address you used.