With computers, you just never know what’s going to happen, so “Be prepared” is a good motto. If your computer crashes, it won’t be nearly as painful if all your photos are safely backed up someplace else. Thanks to Elements’ Photoshop.com service, you can back up your files automatically. Then, in the event of a problem with your home computer, you can restore your backed-up photos.

The Photoshop.com-as-backup system has two main downsides, however. First, it only comes with 2 GB of space; if you want more than that, you have to pony up for more storage, as explained on Editing Your Photos. You can back up your whole catalog if you want, but for most people that means a paid account. If you have a small catalog or a paid account, go to Organizer?Edit?Preferences?“Backup/Synchronization” and click the “Backup/Sync Entire Catalog” button. (You need to be signed into your account to see this button.) The other big drawback is that Photoshop.com doesn’t understand version sets, and if you aren’t vigilant, you run the risk of accidentally overwriting a file you wanted to keep. See the note on Note for more about this.