What do you do if nobody answers?

[Smorf]

What recourse do you have if you post questions and nobody has responded a couple of weeks later?  Just SOL?

Thanks.

[John T Smith]

This is primarily a user-to-user forum, not Adobe support

Which means that you will only receive an answer if...

A - you have a descriptive message title AND good information in the message for people to read

When you ask a question you need to provide some basic information

-Forum quick start https://forums.adobe.com/docs/DOC-5601

Mac or Windows, and EXACTLY which version of the operating system?

Recent Mac AND Windows operating systems have been known to cause "odd" problems

Are you using a computer Administrator account with full read/write permission?

Exactly which version of the program do you have that is causing problems?

What is the exact error message that you see?

B - some other user has an idea or an answer

[Smorf]

Thank you.  I didn't realize you have to provide all that on each post, but as you can see here, How do I control what displays on which of two monitors? (Elements 15) , I met at least some of the requirements you list.  In response to your specific list, though,

     --I listed the version of the program in the subject line of the question post, Elements 15

     --There is no error message at all, just odd an quirky behavior like I've never seen in software before

     --Yes, I have administrator access to the machine, at all times

     --The OS is Windows 7 Premium

     --The graphics card is an ATI Radeon HD 5770

[Peru Bob]

Just curious:

Do you have an unanswered thread?  If so, can you post a link to it?

[MichelBParis]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Peru+Bob  wrote

Just curious:

Do you have an unanswered thread?  If so, can you post a link to it?

Peru Bob, I can see from the 'activity' of Whatahassle that there is indeed an unanswered post about dual monitor setup.

How do I control what displays on which of two monitors? (Elements 15)

I remember reading it, but I don't have experience in customizing dual screens in Elements or any other softwares. I simply tested it by curiosity a few years ago, and stopped for lack of space in my desktop... but that's all.

I don't think there is any way to customize from within Elements, only from the OS and graphic card.

My guess is that not even 1% of Elements users use dual screens, and from those how many have the same requirements?

So hoping an answer from fellow users seems very optimistic.

I also imagine that Adobe staff would answer this is not a feature for the 'consumer' product which Elements is... and suggest to post it in the feedback forum... where it will be read and ignored for lack of popular demand.

Photoshop Family Customer Community

[Smorf]

Thank you for your comments.

I have experience using Microstation, which is a CAD package, very similar to Autocad; in fact the two products are direct competitors for the same market.  Since Autocad is a product of, oh, yeah, Adobe, I assumed that the Photoshop Elements routines for menu placement on the screen and for assigning their positions on monitors would be incorporated directly from Autocad.  I'd expect them to be standard across all similar Adobe products, if for no other reason that doing so would save Adobe the cost and effort of creating different routines for identical tasks in each product. It would be only good management.

I also assumed that Elements, and all similar products, would be readily configurable for two monitors. Working on only one monitor is a major pain in the patootie, just as it is in CAD software, where having two monitors makes everything so much easier that everybody would be doing it.  Silly me.  I found a few messages here and there about working with Elements on two monitors, but they were all for earlier versions of the software, and murky and unclear, all of which is why I posted the question.  I had the impression Adobe would step up if no one answers.  Thanks for straightening me out on that one, as well.

The user manual is murky and unclear, too, in many places, so much so that although I keep trying to RTFM I often leave it no wiser than when I started.  Adobe won't answer. Web searches produce nothing useful.  Therefore if a search on here produces no useful results, I'll figure that means that nodoby's doing it and it's not worth posting a question.

Thank you, MichelBParis, your answer isn't at all what I'd expected or hoped for, but it's very helpful.  I appreciate it.

[MichelBParis]

Whatahassle!  wrote

Thank you for your comments.

I have experience using Microstation, which is a CAD package, very similar to Autocad; in fact the two products are direct competitors for the same market.  Since Autocad is a product of, oh, yeah, Adobe

Really?

See:

https://forums.adobe.com/welcome

and search for Autocad. It's a product from Autodesk???

I assumed that the Photoshop Elements routines for menu placement on the screen and for assigning their positions on monitors would be incorporated directly from Autocad.  I'd expect them to be standard across all similar Adobe products, if for no other reason that doing so would save Adobe the cost and effort of creating different routines for identical tasks in each product. It would be only good management.

In the Adobe world, you find mostly applications which have been developped independently, bought or taken over by Adobe, so that the problem is not to create similar routines, it's to progressively make them relatively compatible. The shortcuts are different among the main programs, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, Indesign, Webweaver and twenty others...

Even the two components of Elements, the editor and the organizer have been developped separately. Just have a look at how both can handle the new HiDpi 4k displays...

Working on only one monitor is a major pain in the patootie, just as it is in CAD software, where having two monitors makes everything so much easier that everybody would be doing it.

That makes me understand better your request. Unfortunately, today's trend is to work (or play...) on laptops, smartpads or smartphones, not in a controlled desktop environment which would be still more important for color accuracy and reliable printing. Posts about dual screen setups are not uncommon in the Lightroom forum.

In my previous answer, I told you not to be too optimistic about an answer from Adobe if you post in the feedback forum. That does not mean you should not do it: such feature requests are always read even if not answered and could be taken into account in future versions.

[Smorf]

Well, my face is red. Thanks for straightening me out, yet again.

Ah, I see. I didn't realize that Adobe's software collection didn't

originate with them.

Eesh! Trying to edit photos, work with layers and layer masks, brushes,

detailed selections, and so on, on a laptop, a tablet, or (the horror!

=8-O) a smartphone, sounds progressively worse with each of those steps.

It's bad enough trying to do it on just one desktop monitor.

Thanks for the hint, but as far as I can tell (they never explicitly say

one way or the other), Light Room is only available as an online

subscription, where you have to pay a fee in perpetuity to have access.

And I haven't explored it, but probably they insist that you give them a

credit card or bank account they can dip into at will, rather than having

you pay on your own. I don't love that model as much as Adobe apparently

does. Elements is bad enough, constantly "phoning home" to tell Adobe

every time I open either Organizer or Editor, then phoning home several

times during each session, and yet again when I close it, I assume so it

can report everything I've done and for how long. I wouldn't mind paying

quite a bit more for the software if I could use it on my own computer

without Adobe looking over my shoulder constantly, but I'm just not a fan

of being spied on as much as using software "in the cloud" entails.

Besides all that, I live out in the country with a slow DSL line.

Depending on every mouse click being transferred to the Mother Ship and

waiting for a response would be torture too cruel.

Thanks so much for your helpful answers. As a newbie to all this it's

enormously useful to get the broader perspective. I expected way more than

Adobe is prepared to deliver. I'll just lower my expectations and trudge

on. Hey, in the worst case I can give up on Adobe entirely and use Gimp.

Thanks again!

On Sun, Apr 23, 2017 at 2:35 PM, MichelBParis <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

[John Waller]

as far as I can tell (they never explicitly say one way or the other), Light Room is only available as an online

subscription, where you have to pay a fee in perpetuity to have access.

Lightroom is also available as a perpetually licensed product for a one time payment. It's known as version 6 Standalone.

Download and install Lightroom 6 (Single App license)