P: "Adobe Community Help" keeps popping open (Windows)

[Garconis]

Adobe Community Help keeps popping open when working within Adobe Photoshop CS5. I'm not sure if I'm doing some sort of shortcut that causes it to open, but sometimes (maybe once instance, during a 40hr week) Adobe Community Help will open in a Window while I am doing stuff in Adobe Photoshop CS5.

I'm not sure what causes it, but I'll close the Community Help window, and then continue working in Photoshop, and it will open again. Only way to keep it from opening back up again is to close and restart Photoshop. This has happened to me on my home PC as well, and in previous versions of Photoshop, if I remember correctly. I am using Windows 7 now, but I think I've had this happen on XP too.

Is it because there are updates available? Is it because I'm doing some sort of weird shortcut that I don't know about?

An example: I was transforming an object (using the mouse, clicking, using shift button while moving the cursor, using the space bar while panning, etc.) It just opened again. Guess it's time to restart Photoshop...

[Brett N]

The only keyboard shortcut to open Help in Photoshop is F1.

You may want to check if this has been modified though. Go to Edit>Keyboard Shortcuts, then check under the Shortcuts For: Application Menus. Expand Help and check Photoshop Help. Or, you can just use the Photoshop Defaults Set.

Image is not available

If your keyboard shortcuts haven't been modified, you may have an application on your computer that does it for you. Try shutting down applications that run in the background.

[_mark3]

Garconis, can you let us know if reassigning keyboard shortcuts as recommended by Brett solves the problem?

We're seeing a flurry of comments on Help itself about this issue. If reassigned shortcuts aren't the cause, there may be a conflicting third-party utility on your system, which we'd like to work with you to identify.

Thanks!

[Garconis]

It's funny, because it happened again today after an hour or so of using Photoshop at work. However, unlike most times it happens, I was not able to get it to happen again. I simply closed the Community Help window that popped up, and it didn't re-open like it usually does when I continue to Photoshop away.

After it happened today, I checked my Keyboard Shortcuts, and they are all set to default. I personally have not done anything with setting shortcuts for any of the Adobe programs. I just changed a few of the preferences from default, and created a workspace that I use. I do have an extension installed in Photoshop, but I'm fairly certain it was happening before that too -- as I'm fairly certain it's happened on my XP machines, before I upgraded to Windows 7 a while ago.

[_mark3]

Hmmm... if shortcuts are untouched, this likely is related to a specific software conflict on your system.

What's the Photoshop extension? Can you temporarily uninstall it and see if the problem recurs?

Thanks again. If we get to the bottom of this, we could help out hundreds of Photoshop users.

[Garconis]

It's one that another user on here created, from this topic:
http://feedback.photoshop.com/photosh...

This is the actual file:
http://sites.google.com/site/davidjen...

I can try disabling it tomorrow when I get to work. Though, I have grown quite accustom to using it.

Also, the files I work with are on a network drive. Not sure if that could have anything to do with Community Help opening "randomly".

[Garconis]

I disabled the extensions a about a week and a half ago. Today, the Adobe Community Help opened up again. I was using the Color Picker and while I was selecting the color I wanted, with the mouse/cursor, the window popped open. Wasn't touching the keyboard or anything. I attached a screenshot of the window that opened.

I had 5 PSD files open in Photoshop. The following programs were open: Windows Explorer (2 windows), Chrome (2 windows), Microsoft Outlook, Adobe Photoshop CS5, Adobe Illustrator CS5, Google Talk, and FileZilla.

Image is not available

I closed the window, and then used the picker again. Window opened up again.

[Garconis]

It happened again today under certain circumstances. I had the color picker open and everytime I clicked, the Community Help window would re-open. I initially closed it, and no matter where I clicked (even if it was just somewhere on the main Photoshop toolbar) the Community Help would pop open. So I decided to not close it, and still no matter where I clicked within PS CS5, the window would come to the fore-front (note that it wouldn't open another window, it would just bring up the one that was already open). To stop this craziness, I had to close the Color Picker. Then, finally, Community Help would stop re-opening.

[graphicstop]

Here is what I noticed. The message pops when I'm changing values of an effect. I've had that when I used the color picker in gradient tool. I've been using the trial version on CS5.5. I've had the software crashed while I kept closing the window.

[_mark3]

We experienced this recently here at Adobe, and the only unusual thing installed on the machine was a Wacom tablet.

Garconis and RazmikM, do you possibly have a Wacom tablet installed?

And RazmikM, are Google Talk or FileZilla possibly installed on your machine?

[graphicstop]

no I don't.

[Garconis]

I do not have a Wacom tablet installed.

[graphicstop]

No Google Talk or FileZilla.

[_mark3]

Thanks for the quick replies. We'll continue to try and identify common variables here.

What's the make and model of your PC's? Perhaps the vendor has pre-installed a conflicting background app.

[graphicstop]

I'm using windows 7 professional, due to my request only the standards apps have been installed on my machine. It's an intel (R) core (TM) i7 CPU 950@3.07 GHz

Hope this helps.

[Garconis]

Dell Vostro 430. Windows 7 Professional (Service Pack 1). Intel Core i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz. 8GB Memory (RAM). 64-Bit.

I have an array of software installed on the PC. My co-worker who has the same software, says he has this same issue too sometimes. Some programs I have include TortoiseSVN (64-bit), twConfig (1.2.6.4), WinVNC (UltraVNC Win32 Server 1.0.8.2), VMware Player, etc.

[_mark3]

Thanks for those details. RazmikM, do you have a Dell box or another make?

[graphicstop]

You are very welcome. No, I don't have any of those.

[Garconis]

Well what make PC do you have?

[graphicstop]

It's a custom made computer by FINE COMPUTERS ( It's an intel (R) core (TM) i7 CPU 950@3.07 GHz 6GB of RAM. Let me know, how else I can get the information you might need.

[darkhelmet1234]

Happens to me too.

WIN 7 ULTIMATE 64BIT
ALIENWARE M17XR2
6GB RAM
GEFORCE 285GTX SLI 1GB

[_mark3]

DJ, might you have a Wacom tablet installed?

We're trying to narrow this down to common variables across different customers' systems.

[darkhelmet1234]

Keyboard and mouse only.

[Garconis]

It's clearly not a Wacom issue.

[graphicstop]

community help window opened up today when I was changing blending mode on layer style window.

[Noel Carboni]

It'a a very old glitch that seems to recur from time to time, across all versions of Photoshop.

My gut tells me it means memory is being corrupted by something. That something, from everything I've seen and read, appears most often to be display driver glitches.

The advice is to visit the web site of the maker of your video card and download/install their updated driver. If you have an ATI card I have a particular recommendation: Avoid Catalyst 11.8 (it won't be current for long) and instead install 11.7 or a newer version.

-Noel