Cannot open RAW files

[Kenneth_in_UT]

I am trying to open Canon RAW files created on a Canon R100 which have a .CR3 extension in Photoshop Elements V. 19 from 2021.  When I click on Open Camera Raw in the Editor, I got the message "Could not complete your request because it is not the right kind of document".  When I looked at the menu in Help/About Plus-Ins/ Camera Raw, I seen that ACR v. 13.0.0.612 is installed.  So I go to the Adobe website and download and run the installation wizard for v. 15.5; it completes installation.   After installation it is the same ACR version as before, and get the same massage.  What's going wrong?

[Greg_S. · Accepted solution]

Your camera requires ACR version 15.3 or later.  Installing the latest ACR version from the Adobe site only updates the installation for Photoshop CC.  In order to install the plug-in into Elements, you must follow the instructions found here exactly.

[Kenneth_in_UT]

OK, done. Thank you.  My goal in being able to use RAW was to crop a few images while that image that still has the 24 Mb file size, and not just ~8 Mb after JPEG processing.  So Mr. Paris' warnings about the Elements version not being full-featured do not concern me much.

[MichelBParis]

OK, done. Thank you.  My goal in being able to use RAW was to crop a few images while that image that still has the 24 Mb file size, and not just ~8 Mb after JPEG processing.  So Mr. Paris' warnings about the Elements version not being full-featured do not concern me much.

By @Kenneth_in_UT

Hi@Kenneth_in_UT 

Yes, I did mention that because many PSE users want to upgrade to a more recent ACR version to take advantage of the powerful new options only available in the full PS ACR or Lightroom.

In your case, the other bonus of the limited PSE ACR is the ability to crop non destructively. Enjoy it!

To be clear, I consider the "limited" features of the PSE ACR as "fondamental" rather than as "basic", but the reason to upgrade PSE ACR is to accomodate a new camera, not to get new features.

[MichelBParis]

In addition to what Greg explains, keep in mind that:

- the ACR plugin in Elements is a severely reduced version of the full PS ACR.

- Most of the time it is updated (automatically ONLY) later than the PS version to accomodate newer camera models;  and only for the current PSE version.

- The workaround mentioned by Greg is to provide support for new camera, no new features.

- The free solution for Elements users is to download and install the free Adobe DNGconverter. It's not a plugin, but a batch converter allowing you to batch convert a whole folder of prpprietary raw files to the open raw format DNG. A batch process, but free with the same quality.

- The current PSE2023 does not support your camera, but the soon to come next version may support it. Keep an eye when it is ready.

- The PS version of ACR you have downloaded will be used it you try the workaround, but you won't get any new feature, only the camera raw support;

[cheerful_aura45137]

None of these reccomendations help. I've been stuck for hours.  The strange thing is this has worked sporadically for the last couple of weeks. I even went as far as doing what was suggested above - converting all my DNG files using Adobe DNV Converter.  That made no difference. Neither did reinstalling the ACR plugin. I've used both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements for many years, but I've never had so many problems as I'm having with these latest versions in 2024.  Adobe is going downhill on quality control.  Wasting my time!