If you use a Macintosh, running Tiger OS X, then this might just come in handy some day -- and save you 40-bucks at the same time.
Never having to use Adobe support has been a blessing -- but can become a curse once things start happening that you cannot explain and that aren't covered in any of the Adobe forums or listservs.
Recently I was forced to do an "Archive & Install" on my iMac running Tiger. The main index had somehow become corrupted and caused all the Spotlight services to go down. Spotlight controls a lot more on your Mac than you think, including all the find functions both in the Finder and in apps like Mail, as well as picture thumbnails, etc.
So I completed a full backup after repairing the permissions and rand Disk Tools from the install CD to repair any problems with the drive -- which there were none. Then I initiated the "Archive & Install" using the original install CD, and immediately ran the Updater program to bring the OS up to current specs.
After that, everything was back to business as normal EXCEPT Adobe products. All of them.
My first hint was when Photoshop demanded to be reinstalled. Of course I didn't want to do that, so I compared the "Adobe Support" files in the "Application Support" folder.
Root > Library > Application Support > Adobe
The "Archive & Install" generates a folder at root level called "Previous Systems" which contains all the files the Mac considers not part of your essential user files -- which should have been transferred into their appropriate location in the new Library. Unfortunately, Mac had indeed transferred the "Adobe" application support files into the new system, and deleted them from the "Previous System" -- so there was no help in just moving files.
So, I was forced to do the install. That was the next snag. After loading the installer from the original CS2 DVD, and going through the anal registration process, I'm presented with a screen with all the apps grayed out -- and a message saying "These are already installed, you cannot reinstall them." So I'm hosed.
Poking around a bit, I discover that Photoshop does indeed work and open files, but ONLY from within the program using the File Menu > Open command. However, once the file begins to open, the next snag appears:
The program must be "Activated" before it would open an image. So, I re-activated it. I was starting to get steamed.
I limped along like this waiting for Adobe's left coast support offices to open, and thought I'd just use Photoshop Elements 4 for the project. I quit Photoshop and launched Elements. Same results -- and same work-around without the activation. However when I went to "Browse" I got this nice little communication:
So, at this point I was clued in that it's really not an Adobe problem but some Java script. The Updater loaded the latest version of Java, during the system update, so now I was afraid it had wiped out some essential scripts.
By now Adobe had opened ofices, so I just dialed in the 800 number for help. After about 20-minutes of authentication to determine I was really who I said I was, the tech guy discovered my account under a long-dead email address. The last time I had called Adobe was in 1994 for help on a product called Dimensions.
After clearly describing the conditions and situation, the tech guy said, "Oh, we can fix that" -- but much to my surprise, added -- "That will be just $39.95 for today's support session."
Now I was really steamed, but what could I do? I was moments away from the fix, so I rendered my charge card and he proceeded with the following:
* In the "Previous System" find a folder called "ScriptingAdditions"
Previous System > Library > ScriptingAdditions
In that folder are two files: "Adobe Unit Types" and "QXPScriptingAdditions.osax" ... you may have others depending on the software you've installed. The second one is for Quark XPress.
* MOVE the entire folder into the new system:
Root > Library
Note that it will COPY the folder, retaining the original in a LOCKED folder.
That's all there is to it. Move two files = $39.95
The problem was immediately fixed by re-booting, and I was off and running.
So if the above conditions ever happen to you, check those files BEFORE calling Adobe, and you can just send ME the $39.95.
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from the Editor:
I was delighted that day back in 1989 when Peggy Killburn called to ask if I could handle one more speaker in my "Great Graphics Tips & Tricks" session scheduled for the 1990 Macworld Expo. "Yes" was my response to her request to add Russell Brown to my panel. After all, we loved Adobe's young "Illustrator" program, and were quite anxious to try out their upcoming new product called "Photoshop." After seeing his demo, I was convinced Photoshop would be big. So the next month we added "Photoshop Tips & Tricks" to our regular DTG Magazine uploads to Compuserve, GEnie and AOL. The rest is history.
I only regret that I didn't trademark the name.
Editor / Publisher: Photoshop Tips & Tricks, DTG Magazine.