Photoshop Elements 2018 and Premiere Elements 2018 Not Working Together

[valp28344731]

I am posting as a last resort. I have spent two days googling, watching you tube videos, and reading user manuals. I finally called an 800 number and went through all the menus. They told me my wait was 6 minutes. I have been on hold now for 1 hour and 46 minutes!!! I went with Adobe because I thought there would be good support. What a mistake.

I created an ok slideshow in Photoshop Elements and am supposed to be able to bring it in to Premiere Elements to enhance it. I purchased the two programs together. When I try to drag the slideshow from the Organizer into Premiere Elements, I get a red circle with a diagonal line and can't move the slideshow. Alternatively, I am supposed to be able to right-click the slideshow and select Edit in Premiere Elements, but I don't get that option. Finally, I am supposed to be able to import the slideshow into Premiere Elements by clicking on Add Media and selecting the organizer. When I do that, some but not all of my albums come up but the slideshow is not there. 

Any advice? I am willing to pay for technical support but haven't even been able to figure out how to do that. 1 hour 52 minutes and still holding!!!

[John T Smith]

You need to ask in the specific program forums

https://community.adobe.com/t5/Premiere-Elements/bd-p/premiere-elements

and/or

https://community.adobe.com/t5/Photoshop-Elements/bd-p/photoshop-elements

[Greg_S.]

I believe the problem you are having is that the Slideshow feature went through a complete re-write in 2018, and you are probably looking at Google, Youtube and User Manuals for earlier versions.

In essence, the newer version of Elements Slideshow is intended to produce a self-contained template product which can be viewed and edited in the Organizer's Slideshow Editor or exported to a video mp4 file.  You cannot create a slideshow file in the Organizer and then edit it further in Premiere Elements.

There are a number of editing features that are a little hard to find in the Slideshow editor.  Please let us know what it is you want to edit in your slideshow and maybe we can give you a workaround.  For example, you can export your slideshow to an mp4 file which can be edited in a limited  way in Premiere Elements.  Depending on what you want your final slideshow to look like, and how much editing control you are looking for,  you may be better off starting the project from scratch in Premiere Elements.

Premiere Elements can only create or edit a slideshow-video using original video and photo files.  (It is true that in older versions of Elements, a slideshow could be broken apart and edited in Premiere Elements. However, IIRC, that created a very complicated video to edit.) 

So, based on your description, Elements 2018 is behaving as designed.  If you think I am wrong about my conclusions, please provide a link to what you have seen online that you think you should be able to do in Elements 2018 and can't.

[valp28344731]

Greg_S., I am so grateful for your reply! I have been tearing my hair out for days over this. I don't see how to add an attachment here, but the user manual I've been referring to is called "Adobe Premiere Elements Help", last edited 2/2/28, that I found on the Adobe website. The manual begins with what's new in Adobe Premiere Elements 2018 and lists technical requirements for that edition, so I assumed the contents applied to Premiere Elements 2018. The only other manual I could find was for Premiere Elements 2019. Please tell me what is the best source of information for the version I have.

What I am trying to do is very simple. I used to be able to do it in Microsoft's free software, Movie Maker. I want to sync various sections of my slideshow with specific music. I was able to add the three audio files I wanted to use to the slideshow I created in Photoshop Elements, but couldn't find a way to adjust the length of each track or time the slides so that the music fit with the photos. Is that possible?

If not, what would you recommend? Could I get the earlier versions of the programs? Is there another Adobe product that would do what I want? I am only a home amateur, not a professional, but I dislike the way control is being taken away from the user in favor of quick and easy templates that don't fit my needs. I am not interested in making short videos for Facebook or You Tube. I am making fairly long travel videos for my husband and me and burning them to DVDs to share with friends. Old fashion, I know!

Again, thank you for getting back to me. It is wonderful to have help from a human being and I hope to hear from you again.

[valp28344731]

P.S. I should have mentioned that I am working primarily with jpegs and only an occasional video.

[Bill Sprague]

"but couldn't find a way to adjust the length of each track or time the slides so that the music fit with the photos. Is that possible?"

All video editors that I know of have tools to manage the coordination of audio and video tracks.  That includes Premiere Elements.   The solution is probably to skip any Organizer slideshow functions and use Premiere Elements from the beginning of the project.   All still images and audio tracks can be managed in length and relative position, especially in the Expert mode. 

[valp28344731]

Thank you for the information. Not what I wanted to hear, but at least now I know the limitations of what I purchased. Where do I find documentation specific to the 2018 editions of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements?

[Bill Sprague]

Online instruction manuals are available.  Documentation also exists through links in the Help menu. 
Photoshop Elements:  https://helpx.adobe.com/pdf/photoshop-elements_reference.pdf

Premiere Elements:  https://helpx.adobe.com/pdf/premiere-elements_reference.pdf

[valp28344731]

These are the documents I was using and they say the programs can do something that the 2018 programs can't. That's why I've been struggling with this for days on end. I need something written specifically for the 2018 programs. Or a manual that indicates if a certain function doesn't apply to 2018 programs.

[Greg_S.]

Valp said:

These are the documents I was using and they say the programs can do something that the 2018 programs can't. That's why I've been struggling with this for days on end. I need something written specifically for the 2018 programs. Or a manual that indicates if a certain function doesn't apply to 2018 programs.

Unfortunately, the online help files have been created dynamically and seem to apply to more than one version.  Can you give us a link to the page(s) you are referring to?  Do not use the grey reply button next to this post, but respond using the blue Reply button next to your original post.  That will open a full text editor that has an icon which allows you to upload a screenshot or create a link.

[valp28344731]

Greg_S.,  I'm sorry but I don't know how to link to a specific part of the manual. This is the manual I was using: https://helpx.adobe.com/pdf/premiere-elements_reference.pdf . See P. 1: What's new in Premiere Elements 2018. P. 6: System requirements for Premiere Elements 2018. P. 82: Add media using embedded Elements Organizer. I was also looking at this: https://helpx.adobe.com/elements-organizer/using/using-elements-organizer-premiere-elements.html. It was last edited Oct. 4, 2018. I think you can see how I thought my 2018 software should be able to do this. It is very discouraging to think of all the time I wasted and to discover that there apparently isn't documentation specifically for the programs I bought. It's rather inconceivable, frankly. What is a consumer to do? The manual isn't specific for the program(s) you are using, nor are the online help screens. There's no one to call. There's no one to chat with. It's been utterly frustrating. Fortunately, I finally found this support community. Thank you for taking the time to look into the issue. I realize you have moved on to 2019, so this may no longer be an issue for the larger user community.

[Greg_S.]

You are looking at the current Help files that were supposedly updated for Elements 2019: 

Create a slideshow in Elements Organizer with captions, transitions, effects, music, narration, graphics, and titles. After creating the slideshow, bring the slideshow into Adobe Premiere Elements for further editing. Or, bring individual photos or video files into Adobe Premiere Elements, and create the slideshow there.

As far as I am concerned, this passage that you referenced is inaccurate and applies to earlier versions of the slideshow.  I can understand why you were misled.  I will bring it to the attention of the powers-that-be for correction.  Hopefully, it will be fixed so that others do not suffer the same frustrating experience as you. 

[valp28344731]

Thank you for looking into the problem. Can you help me with one more thing? If I start my project over from scratch in Premiere Elements 2018, will I be able to sync the music and photos? I have chosen one song for one group of pictures, another song for another group, etc. The program I used previously (not available on Windows 10) would automatically time the photos to fit the music. If Premiere Elements won't do that, is there another program that will?