If Elements behaves badly from the moment you install it, something probably went funky during installation. That’s easy to fix: Uninstall Elements and reinstall it.

To uninstall Elements, first deactivate it (in the Editor, select Help→Deactivate, or just use the Deactivate checkbox on the Uninstaller’s first screen). Then, in Windows 7 or Vista go to Control Panel→“Uninstall a Program” (in Windows XP, Control Panel→“Add or Remove Programs”) and remove Elements. On a Mac, go to Applications→Adobe Photoshop Elements 10→Uninstall Adobe Photoshop Elements 10. Then reinstall the program.

Fortunately, Adobe makes good software that looks after itself pretty well. There is, however, one simple procedure you can perform if Elements starts acting funny: delete your preferences file, which is where Elements keeps track of your preferred settings for the program. Deleting this file fixes the overwhelming majority of problems you may develop. You’ll most likely need to delete the preferences file when dealing with Editor-related problems.