I need instructions for installing Elements5 Hidden Tools in Windows Vista.

Old instructions didn't work.

1. I don't have Elements or HPPE 5 myself. I'm wondering if Vista is specifically mentioned anywhere in the HPPE 5 instructions/documentation? If not it could mean it's flat out incompatible. I did a little web surfing with Google... no hits anywhere on a fix.

2. Found this: http://www.hiddenelements.com/elements5_requirements.html

If it was (or could be made to be) Vista compatible, I would expect this page would have been updated by now.

If anyone can do this, however, I'd bet the farm on Richard's ability in this regard.

I have been waiting an answer for 5 five months. :-(

The author , Lynch, doesn't seem to read this site at all.

Sometimes, 3-4 months ago he replied to one of my messages, but didn't answer my original question. :-(

I've lost my hope.

Goodbye. :-(

I'll try once again, if Mr. Lynch happens to see this:

I have Elements 5 and Windows Vista Home Premium.

I cannot install Hidden Tools.

Install program makes all the directories and copies files into them. But I cannot find them in Elements.

Sorry for not getting around here more, the forum changed, my notifications stopped, and I was very very busy with many projects. The upshot: I didn't come by as I thought no one was asking questions. I am hoping that problem has been fixed.

I have not had the opportunity to explore Vista, as I am not one to make a quick entry into new operating systems. The question has come up before, and I will likely either need to make an additional installer or provide manual options. The current installer will allow you to get the files, and all you need to know is where to put them. I may have the opportunity to check out a vista machine today, and I'll try and give the installation a whirl--who knows it may get me going on finishing up the tools for the post-vista releases!

Thanks for the question and coming back...please forgive the delay!

Sorry for not getting around here more, the forum changed, my notifications stopped, and I was very very busy with many projects. The upshot: I didn't come by as I thought no one was asking questions. I am hoping that problem has been fixed.

I have not had the opportunity to explore Vista, as I am not one to make a quick entry into new operating systems. The question has come up before, and I will likely either need to make an additional installer or provide manual options. The current installer will allow you to get the files, and all you need to know is where to put them. I may have the opportunity to check out a vista machine today, and I'll try and give the installation a whirl--who knows it may get me going on finishing up the tools for the post-vista releases!

Thanks for the question and coming back...please forgive the delay!

Installing actions (tools are actions...) in Vista:
http://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31536&highlight=vista

Thanks, that's helpful. I actually finally had some time to explore yesterday and not only made actions, but got them installed as categorically Hidden Power. Seems I'll be trying to catch up now ;-)

Installing actions (tools are actions...) in Vista:
http://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31536&highlight=vista

I checked your link, but it was for ELE 6.0.

Those directories do not exist in 5.0. :-(

In 5.0 it would seem the paths either have to be for vista or Windows XP...so it would be:

Vista:
C:\ProgramData\Adobe\PhotoshopElements\5.0\PhotoCreations\ImageEffects

Windows XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\special effects

Simply changing the paths does NOT guarantee that add-ons will work reliably and correctly. There are also fundamental differences in functionality between Elements 3, 4, 5, and 6 which may need to be addressed before things function at all.

I would be glad to work with those that have ideas but no idea how to implement them. I have tried before and several times it has worked against me...but I am convinced that two sets of hands can do so much more than one. But I hope, at least, that my one will be able to catch up now that I've had time to do some research.

I think there's a mistake:
Vista:
C:\ProgramData\Adobe\PhotoshopElements\5.0\PhotoCreations\ImageEffects

Originally there is two directories:

C:\ProgramData\Adobe\PhotoshopElements 5.0\
C:\ProgramData\Adobe\PhotoshopElements\5\

I made a path
C:\ProgramData\Adobe\PhotoshopElements\5.0\PhotoCreations\ImageEffects and copied HIddenTools files there, but it didn't work.

As Richard said, there must be another place, where directories must be found. Maybe Vista's register?

There is not necessarily a mistake. There are several other files involved, including a DB file that needs to rebuild--which may have to be deleted. Also, thing will never take effect without first closing out of Elements and re-opening at the very least.

Your abbreviated paths may suggest a variety of things, including that Elements gets stored differently in 5 (which I dd not check) and 6 (which I did). Instead of creating the path (which I think is a mistake), what happens if you search for "PhotoCreations" or "Photo Creations"? Is the followig path valid?:

C:\ProgramData\Adobe\PhotoshopElements\5.0\PhotoCreations\specialeffects

What is in:
C:\ProgramData\Adobe\PhotoshopElements\5.0\ ?

Answers to these will locate the issue.

These two directories and their contents exists in C.\program Files\Adobe:

Directory of C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 5.0

23.11.2007 21:29 <DIR> .
23.11.2007 21:29 <DIR> ..
22.12.2006 06:29 678 056 ACE.dll
22.12.2006 06:29 989 352 AdobeOLS.dll
14.09.2006 06:55 4 374 528 AdobePhotoshopElementsMediaServer.exe
22.12.2006 06:29 520 872 AdobeUpdater.dll
22.12.2006 06:29 481 448 AdobeXMP.dll
22.12.2006 06:29 1 812 648 AGM.dll
09.10.2007 08:15 <DIR> AMT
22.12.2006 06:29 104 104 Aoc.dll
09.05.2007 20:15 <DIR> apd
22.12.2006 06:29 137 384 apdboot.dll
22.12.2006 06:29 17 064 apdhook.dll
22.12.2006 06:29 112 808 APDPreferences.dll
22.12.2006 06:29 67 752 apdproxy.exe
22.12.2006 06:30 272 552 ARE.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 252 072 asn.er.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 133 288 asneu.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 21 555 368 AuthorScript.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 1 648 808 authplay.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 157 864 AXE16SharedExpat.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 157 864 AXE8SharedExpat.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 309 416 AXEParser.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 579 752 AXSLE.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 186 536 Bib.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 223 400 BIBUtils.dll
09.05.2007 20:16 <DIR> Browser
09.05.2007 20:16 <DIR> Components
22.12.2006 06:30 2 169 000 CoolType.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 329 896 DetectionUtils.dll
14.09.2006 06:55 7 420 248 Detector1.bin
14.09.2006 06:55 7 506 708 Detector2.bin
09.05.2007 20:17 <DIR> DigitalHome
22.12.2006 06:30 44 200 DiscWriter.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 149 672 epic_eula.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 125 096 epic_pers.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 178 344 epic_regs.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 311 296 EpJpegUtil31.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 262 144 EPPIM2.DLL
14.09.2006 06:56 245 760 EpTiffUtil31.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 2 178 560 EspionAlbum.dll
22.12.2006 06:29 51 368 eularesen_GB.dll
22.12.2006 06:29 51 368 eularesen_US.dll
22.12.2006 06:30 477 352 ExtendScript.dll
22.12.2006 06:31 219 304 Famgr.dll
22.12.2006 06:29 161 960 FAMgrRes.dll
22.12.2006 06:31 669 864 FileInfo.dll
09.05.2007 20:15 <DIR> filters
14.09.2006 06:56 1 712 128 GdiPlus.dll
09.05.2007 21:42 <DIR> GeoMapThumbs
22.12.2006 06:31 211 112 iaccore.dll
09.05.2007 20:15 843 install.adb
22.12.2006 06:31 567 464 JP2KLib.dll
09.05.2007 20:17 <DIR> Legal
14.09.2006 06:56 1 032 266 libmmd.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 217 088 MainConceptMPADecoder.dll
09.05.2007 20:15 <DIR> Microsoft.VC80.CRT
09.05.2007 21:12 <DIR> moxplugins
22.12.2006 06:31 3 721 384 MPS.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 487 424 MSVCP70.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 499 712 MSVCP71.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 344 064 MSVCR70.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 348 160 MSVCR71.dll
22.12.2006 06:21 65 536 OperaMgr.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 1 139 pconfig.dcf
22.12.2006 06:31 67 240 pdf2img.dll
22.12.2006 06:31 4 102 312 PDFL70.dll
22.12.2006 06:31 129 192 PdfPres.dll
22.12.2006 06:31 186 536 pdfsettings.dll
22.12.2006 06:29 55 464 persresen_GB.dll
22.12.2006 06:29 55 464 persresen_US.dll
22.12.2006 06:31 5 044 392 PhotoDownloader.exe
09.05.2007 20:18 425 PhotoDownloader.ini
09.05.2007 20:17 <DIR> photomail
14.09.2006 16:57 43 612 Photoshop Elements 5.0 Read Me.html
22.12.2006 06:31 796 840 Photoshop Elements 5.0.exe
22.12.2006 06:31 1 325 224 Photoshop.dll
22.12.2006 06:31 26 704 040 PhotoshopElementsEditor.exe
22.12.2006 06:31 108 712 PhotoshopElementsFileAgent.exe
22.12.2006 06:31 27 699 368 PhotoshopElementsOrganizer.exe
22.12.2006 06:32 149 672 platform.DLL
09.05.2007 20:17 <DIR> Plug-Ins
22.12.2006 06:32 48 296 Plugin.dll
09.05.2007 20:15 <DIR> plugincodecs
09.05.2007 20:17 <DIR> Presets
14.09.2006 06:56 163 840 primosdk.DLL
22.12.2006 06:32 2 201 768 PSArt.dll
09.05.2007 20:18 65 375 Photoshop Elements-installer-diagnostic-report.txt
22.12.2006 06:32 604 328 psecontact.dll
22.12.2006 06:32 460 968 PseProxy.exe
22.12.2006 06:32 121 000 pspluginsupport.dll
22.12.2006 06:32 1 972 392 PSViews.dll
22.12.2006 06:22 2 932 736 Qt3Support4.dll
22.12.2006 06:22 2 306 048 QtCore4.dll
22.12.2006 06:22 5 246 976 QtGui4.dll
22.12.2006 06:22 364 544 QtNetwork4.dll
22.12.2006 06:22 208 896 QtOpenGL4.dll
09.05.2007 20:15 <DIR> QtPlugins
22.12.2006 06:22 258 048 QtSql4.dll
22.12.2006 06:22 299 008 QtXml4.dll
22.12.2006 06:29 796 840 regsresen_GB.dll
22.12.2006 06:29 796 840 regsresen_US.dll
09.05.2007 21:12 <DIR> Required
22.12.2006 06:32 350 376 ScCore.dll
09.05.2007 21:12 <DIR> shared_assets
14.09.2006 06:56 22 800 shfolder.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 332 800 SonicMCDVD_32.DLL
14.09.2006 06:56 518 656 sonicmcmpgdec.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 233 472 sonicmpegin.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 278 528 sonicmpgaout.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 98 304 sonicmpgcap32.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 24 576 sonicmpgcheck.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 102 400 sonicmpgmux.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 914 432 sonicmpgvout.001
14.09.2006 06:56 923 648 sonicmpgvout.002
14.09.2006 06:56 923 648 sonicmpgvout.003
14.09.2006 06:56 925 696 sonicmpgvout.004
14.09.2006 06:56 14 848 sonicmpgvout.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 24 576 sonicpcmaout.dll
09.05.2007 20:15 <DIR> sonicresources
09.05.2007 20:15 <DIR> sonictext
22.12.2006 06:32 112 808 spc.dll
14.09.2006 06:56 745 472 stlport_icl8046.dll
22.12.2006 06:32 759 976 svg2pdf.dll
22.12.2006 06:32 2 803 880 SVGCore.DLL
22.12.2006 06:32 3 020 968 svgre.DLL
22.12.2006 06:33 104 616 Track1Filter.dll
22.12.2006 06:33 104 616 Track2Filter.dll
09.05.2007 20:17 <DIR> Tutorials
22.12.2006 06:22 150 644 TypeLibrary.tlb
108 File(s) 165 341 532 bytes
22 Dir(s) 53 175 549 952 bytes free


Directory of C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 5

09.05.2007 20:13 <DIR> .
09.05.2007 20:13 <DIR> ..
09.05.2007 20:13 <DIR> Adobe Photoshop Elements
09.05.2007 20:05 <DIR> Adobe Solutions Network
09.05.2007 20:13 <DIR> Customer Support
09.05.2007 20:05 <DIR> Goodies
05.08.2006 00:59 6 250 How To Install.css
05.08.2006 01:05 4 263 How To Install.html
14.09.2006 00:45 43 612 Photoshop Elements 5.0 Read Me.html
17.08.2006 21:06 454 046 Product Highlights.pdf
12.09.2006 00:41 41 630 678 User Help.pdf
5 File(s) 42 138 849 bytes
6 Dir(s) 53 173 133 312 bytes free

C:\ProgramData is not the same as C:\Program Files. The former is a vista format for the former C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\

Are you on Vista or Windows? The two as I have experienced are very different.

OK. My mistake.

This is one directory:

c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\APDLogs\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Editor\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Flash Galleries\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Locale\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Music\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Slideshow Graphics\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\readme.htm
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\ThumbDatabase.db3
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\MediaDatabase.db3

And this is a subdirectory:

c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\artwork\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\photo layouts\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\samples\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\special effects\

c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\text\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\themes\


This is the contents of Photo Creations directory:

c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\special effects\filters\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\special effects\hidden power\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\special effects\layer styles\
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\special effects\photo effects\


And deeper:
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\special effects\hidden power\fREE from hiddenelements\

And there lies all Hidden Tools files.

So, Suomalainen...

Are you telling me you have Vista and that Elements 5 installs over the old path:

c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\

?

I was assuming this was not the case as people who have vista and install Hidden Power tools for 5 have suggested that these do not show up in Elements. Do yours?

If this is the case, delete these two files and restart:

c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\ThumbDatabase.db3
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\MediaDatabase.db3

They will take a while to rebuild.

That should solve the issue...LET ME KNOW.

You were right! Hidden Tools now works fine.

ThankYou very much!

Well, that's good to know! I can get that up on my website in the troubleshooting for Elements 5 on Vista! Thanks for checking.

There might be one diffuculty for Vista-beginners:

Directory C:\Documents and settings is very well hidden in Vista.

It took a long time to make it visible because I'm not an expert, I just try everything and sometimes it goes right. ;-)

SO, do not ask me, how I did it. :-)

I can include that in the instructions...HOWEVER, you said the paths did not have "C:\Documents and setting" in them...You quoted:

c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\ThumbDatabase.db3
c:\Users\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\MediaDatabase.db3

Please clarify!

I do not understand, why the path wasn't right. I copypasted it and now it seems to be all right:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\special effects\

he DB3 files are here:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\ThumbDatabase.db3
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\MediaDatabase.db3

?

he DB3 files are here:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\ThumbDatabase.db3
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\MediaDatabase.db3

?

Yes. That's right.

I should be able to get the installer to auto-delete. Thanks for the help!

Just to summarize...
Install to here on vista:
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\special effects\

if the installation is complete and you restart and the tools do not appear after thee rebuild (or the rebuild does not occur) delete these files and restart Elements:

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\ThumbDatabase.db3
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\MediaDatabase.db3