[buz]

Just wondering why HPPE isn't backward/forward compatible. I was ok with PSE2 and HPPE2 (and maybe should downgrade) but moving to PSE3, it's frustrating that my HPPE2 book, cd and tools are no longer useable.

My understanding is that I must also get HPPE3, for the tools I already have to work? Is this correct?

Thank you

Mac OS 10.4.11; PSE1, 2 & 3; HPPE2

[DannyRaphael]

I feel your pain. Seems like there's no end to the $$ one can spend on all this digital hardware, software, training, add-ons, etc.

Disclaimer: I don't own Elements or the HPPE tools, but I'm generally aware of how some of this stuff works... or at least how it's supposed to work.

It's my understanding that after Elements 1.0 and 2.0 Adobe has changed the underlying architecture of this program with each new version. As a result I'm not surprised by your report that the HPPE 2.0 tools aren't upward compatible to 3.0.

I just found the following verbiage (http://hiddenelements.com/elements_5.html) confirming the need for version specific HPPE tools. Although written for 5.0 it conceptually applies to 4.0 and 3.0 as well:

"What is new in Elements 5:
As with the previous editions of Elements, Adobe chose to change the implementation of add-ons, along with making some improvements to the program. This means those who purchased and previous version of Hidden Power will need to upgrade to the Hidden Power 5 package to access the tools."

I guess it's kind of like auto manufacturers when they change models each year: Last years' engine parts don't necessarily fit/work in this years' engines. Seems like they should, but in many cases they don't.

To Richard's credit he crafted these add-on tools that Adobe left out in order to make Elements an even more capable program. To make the tools work with new versions he had no choice but to comply with Adobe initiated changes and requirements over which he had no control.

So don't blame the author. Blame Adobe for changing the architecuture each time and/or for leaving out the functional goodies whose gaps Richard's tools fill.

Looking down the road if you decide to upgrade to Elements 4.0 or 5.0, be prepared for the same thing. What can I say?

On a cheerier note, Seaside, OR is one of my favorite cities to visit. (I used to live in Portland.) It's simply a wonderful town in one of the nicest areas on the planet -- winter or summer.

[Richard_Lynch]

I think Danny got that all right, but I'll continue...

When things change in the program to which attachments are attached, the tools themselves have to change to fit it. It is somewhat like, if you are into cameras at all, you don't buy an Olympus lens for your Pentax camera. Things change, and the tools must be changed to fit. If not, you end up like Microsoft, retrofitting programming over old DOS just to rig it to work -- instead of maybe making a better experience for the user. Other examples, you wouldn't buy the wrong RAM for your laptop, you don't use a Mac program on a PC, you don't plug a 120 volt computer into a 220 line, you don't use a phillips head screw driver when you need a standard slotted one.

If you try installing the Elements 2 tools into Elements 3, they will not work because Adobe changed the way they implemented the files I hooked into. It is that simple. It takes me time and effort to update/upgrade tools. I also support them, help people install, and try to answer questions -- even from books I wrote 10 years ago and no longer make a dime from.

So. I am left to offer tools for not just versions these days, but versions on versions. When Microsoft came out with Vista, they changed where the files got stored. The Windows XP installer no longer works. I work on a Mac -- and Adobe decided to stop making Elements for Mac. Unless I wanted to buy another computer (and eventually i will) or work in a cludgy setup running Windows and Vista on my Mac, and update my machine to handle all that, it becomes that much harder to keep up. I'll invest thousands to do it, and fight an uphill battle to make it known I have a product...because, of course, mentioning it on another forum is called 'advertising' or 'spam'.

It isn't a very pleasant proposition...and sometimes I wonder why I bother.