Greyed out tools

I was having the same problem so switched to the Selection Brush and when I tried it, I got the message, "Could not use the Selection Brush because the target layer is hidden."  Ah ha! Clicked on the right layer and the "Select Subject" box was no longer grayed out! I hope that your fix also.

I am having the same problem only the choices in the drop-down menu can't be seen at all unless the cursor is hovering over them.  I've never had this problem with PE in the years I've worked with it, but I came across it in one of the computers at the museum where I work. I tried everything to find a way to fix it, but I had to give up and order another copy of PE.  This time the menu items are greyed out.  I was in Expert mode and had a picture I was trying to work on, so that isn't the problem. I am using a Lenovo laptop.

Sounds like you're in quick mode.  Gotta be in expert mode to not have stuff greyed out.  You could  be in the guded edit mode, but my money is on you're in quick mode.

And, if that isn't it, please post a screen shot showing the problem, and tell us which exact tools you mean. Have a photo open, but make sure it has no personal or private info in it, as the world will see.

Hi John, I am a Windows user but I assume that PSE works pretty much the same Windows vs Mac. The editing tools on the top menu bar will be greyed out if you do not have a photo open in PSE. Open a photo and then look at those tools and you'll probably see that they are available for use.