will Photoshop elements 2021 work with the new M1 chip and big sur

[Martin1957]

will Photoshop elements 2021 work with the new M1 chip and big sur I am thinking of buying a mini mac that has the new M1 chip in would it work.

[Patricia356]

I have the same question.

[Greg_S.]

I know almost nothing about Macs.  Here is the latest Adobe Help article regarding Elements and Big Sur. 

I don't think anyone yet knows about problems with the M1 chip and Elements, but in my quick Google search, it looks like Adobe is not currently supporting it with any of its software.  I expect that will change in time.

This does not mean that Elements will not run with this hardware and OS.  But if you are an early adopter, you should not be surprised if you run into problems.  If you have already bought a computer with the M1 chip, you can download a free trial of Elements before buying it.

[Nitajk]

 I downloaded a free trial of photoshop elements for my m1 mac air. It does not open and there are no answers on the net or in any forums. 

[Medha_Sharma]

Hello @Nitajk,

If you're on macOS Monterey 12.3, please refer to the workaround shared here

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements/kb/startup-crash-on-monterey.html

Regards,

Medha Sharma 

[Nitajk]

Thanks Medha. I will try it out.

[Nitajk]

Hi Medha,

I followed the instructions exactly but it is not working. The Photoshop Elements Editor Workspace does not load. 

If you have any other suggestions, do tell. Thanks.

[Medha_Sharma]

That's strange because these steps worked for most of the users.

Anyway, could you please share a screenshot of the folder where you'd have renamed the 'sniffer' file? Also, do you get any error message/crash report when you try to launch Elements Editor? Please confirm your OS version as well.

Regards,

Medha Sharma

[Nitajk]

Hi Medha. Thank you for your reply.

I have a Mac Air - macOS Monterey, version 12.3 with an Apple M1 chip. (not really relevant here, but I have elements 18 working on my previous mac but elements 2018 cannot be loaded on the new one. That's why am trying to load the elements 22 version. I am so used to working on elements that it's hard, to adjust to affinity.)

Attached is the screenshot you requested, of the folder which has been renamed.

I get no error message at all. The icon wiggles a bit as it's going to open and then the editor is supposed to be "loading" but nothing happens. It doesn't open.

[Medha_Sharma]

Thanks for sharing the details, @Nitajk 

Can you check if the application is already running in the Activity Monitor? If so, please quit it and then try relaunching it again.

In case you don't find it running in the Activity Monitor, please try the following steps:

1. Navigate to Applications > Adobe Photoshop Elements 2022 > Support Files > Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor

2. Right-click on the application and choose 'Show Package Contents'

3. Navigate to Contents > MacOS 

4. Double-click on the executable file named 'Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor'

Some logs would be printed on the terminal after performing step 4. If the application doesn't open even now, please share these logs with me for further investigation.

Regards,

Medha Sharma

[Nitajk]

Hi Medha,
I followed the steps you outlined but the photoshop elements editor did not
open.
Attached is the terminal data.
Thanks.
Nita.
<links to unrelated external websites removed>

[Nitajk]

Hi Medha,

I followed the steps you outlined but the photoshop elements editor did not open.

Attached is the terminal data.

Thanks.

Nita.

[Medha_Sharma]

Thanks for sharing the logs, @Nitajk.

The logs indicate an issue with the fonts on your system. Can you confirm if you are using any specific custom fonts on your system? 

Also, it might be helpful if you share some additional logs with us. To enable logging, please perform the following steps:

1. Go to ~/library / preferences /com.adobe.PhotoshopElements.plist
2. Edit this plist and add a new entry: LogFileMsgLevel= 5 [Number]
3. Restart the Mac machine.

The logs will be generated at the following location: /Users/labuser/Library/Application\ Support/Adobe/Photoshop\ Elements/20.0/

(The filename will be of the type PSELog-xxx.txt)

Let me know if you need any assistance with the aforementioned steps.

Regards,

Medha Sharma

[Nitajk]

Hi Medha,

I have no custom fonts. I have a brand new machine and have made no changes except for the update. Regarding the plist file, it does not open so not possible to edit. Have attached a screenshot.

I tried choosing "notes" to open it, but that does not work.

[Medha_Sharma]

Hi @Nitajk,

You need to install plist editing applications to edit this file. One such application is PlistEdit Pro. Please visit https://fatcatsoftware.com/plisteditpro/ and download the free trial. Or you can also install XCode if you're looking for a long term solution to edit list files.

Once this application is installed, please add a new key as specified in my last reply. Here's a screenshot in case that helps you.

Regards,

Medha Sharma

[Nitajk]

Hi Medha, 

Unfortunately, the system is not allowing me to make changes. Attached is a screenshot of the problem.

[Medha_Sharma]

Hi @Nitajk,

It seems that you're editing the plist file located at /Library/Preferences. You need to edit the one that's present at ~/Library/Preferences location.

Hope you don't receive any error messages when you modify the correct file.

Regards,

Medha Sharma

[Nitajk]

I modified the correct file and have attached a screenshot.

Then I restarted my machine. However, unable to find the log files. I have attached a screenshot so you can check that I went to the correct place in the users file. There is no "Elements/20.0/" but there is Adobe Photoshop 2022 in the Application Support folder. 

[Medha_Sharma]

Hi @Nitajk,

Can you please check for logs at this location: ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Photoshop Elements/20.0 

Hopefully, you should find the logs here.

Regards,

Medha Sharma

[Nitajk]

Hi Medha,

There is no photoshop elements there, in the library, only adobe photoshop 2022 and 2021. Screenshot attached. And yes, photoshop elements has been downloaded on my mac. Maybe that's the issue. It's been downloaded (screenshot attached) but not really showing up in the library. Maybe there is an issue with the download. Its not downloading fully on a mac with a m1 chip. 

[Nitajk]

Hi Medha, After searching the forums for more answers I finally stumbled upon a solution. I uninstalled Adobe photoshop elements 2022 and installed the 2021 version. Then I renamed the sniffer file and elements actually opened. It's the trial version. What I need to ask you is whether elements will continue to work if I update or do I have to continue to use this version? I don't want to pay for elements and then find some glitch.

[John Waller]

Adobe's article on the M1 and app compatibility. 

https://helpx.adobe.com/au/download-install/kb/apple-silicon-m1-chip.html

[wolft13526352]

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021 is not runnig on my Mac Mini M1 

After start Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021 me get an error. Adobe Photoshop is running, but not native, but it better than nothing...

[Martin1957]

I can now have a Mini Mac with the M1 chip and big Sur and I haven't run into any problems yet using Photoshop Elements, but it is early days if I have any trouble with it I will keep you up dated.

[John Waller]

You're running Elements on an M1 Mac running Big Sur?