TIPS and FAQ

 Installation   

   While my extensions are all designed to run on the latest versions of Adobe Photoshop CC (2019.1 as of writing) they have all been extensively tested and confirmed fully compatible both on Windows 10 and Mac platforms.  If in doubt, check the adobe store for specific compatibility (all store items are tested by Adobe before publishing).

    However, with the extraordinary amount of machine configurations and user setups, there will be the occasional odd scenario.  The following guide will hopefully help solve any issues.  

     

Make sure you have the latest installer.       

If you’ve bought the extension through a third party market (Gumroad, Creative Market, Cubebrush) you will need to install the extension using one of the the installers listed in the accompanying installation instructions.  Both ZXP installer and Anastasiy installer are exceptionally well made and maintained, but as the installation requirements are updated with Adobe releases, they need to be updated too.  Installation errors are often a case of assuming an already installed version will suffice.    


Initiate the installer with Administrator Privileges.   

    On very rare occasions the underlying framework for the installation will require administrator privilege to install correctly.  To do so: simply right click on the installer and select “run as administrator”.     As mentioned, this is very rare - I’ve seen it needed less than a handful of times, but it’s good to know.    


Extension cannot be installed as a version is already installed.

       This odd scenario can usually be attributed to uninstalling a version of photoshop CC without fully removing its extensions. This includes changing version numbers to prior versions which may not have compatibility.     

   There are a couple of possible solutions: 

Make sure you have the latest installer (see above).  I find that the Ansastasiy installer is able to sort this out intelligently (at least on any cases I’ve encountered).

 Manually delete the extension database ExMan.db file. 

  On windows this can be found in
  c:\ProgramData\Adobe\Extension Manager CC\Configuration\DB\ 

   On Mac it can be found in
  /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Extension Manager CC/Configuration/DB/    



Make sure you’re running legitimate software. 

      Illegitimate copies of Photoshop have some known issues with extensions. On the whole, extensions run fine, but those naughty hackers have a habit of stripping down “non essential” features.



Windows Ink   

While Wacom, bless them, try to make sure we’re covered for all eventualities, they do leave some silly problems unsorted.   One of them is the horror called “Windows Ink”.  
 If you have windows ink enabled for Photoshop, for gods sake turn it off.  You’ll thank me for it.  (and once you’ve turned it off, go back and check it really did turn off.  Sometimes the sneaky checkbox doesn’t register the first time). 

  Now, once you’ve done that you’ll lose pressure sensitivity in Photoshop.  Or so they want you to think.  

  Navigate to     C:\Users\“YOURNAME”\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC2018\Adobe Photoshop CC2018 Settings\   
 and modify the file called PSUserConfig.txt (create a new file if it doesn’t exist). You need to add the following lines: 

# Use WinTab
UseSystemStylus 0   

Now reboot, and I promise you, a lot of mystery issues you may have had (like the inability to drag UI elements) will disappear.  Life is just better without it.   




  Brush Lag 

  You didn’t turn off Windows ink, did you ?        

        -Rico Holmes