Photoshop CS3 Beta Special Report: CS2/CS3 launching and opening discrepancies (images open in wrong app)

In some cases, after installing the Photoshop CS3 beta, all Photoshop documents (regardless of which version created them) open, by default, in Photoshop CS3. Some users have reported that even after switching the "Open With" option for specific files (accessible by selecting a document(s) in the Finder and pressing Command-I or selecting "Get Info" from the file menu then using the "Open With" drop-down menu) back to Photoshop CS2, the documents still open in CS3.

This problem also manifests when opening images from the Bridge. In other words, the link between the CS2 bridge and Photoshop CS2 is severed by installation of Photoshop CS3.

When users attempt to click the "Open" button in the Bridge, the file(s) is automatically opened in Photoshop CS3. You can change the associations back to Photoshop CS2 (go to Bridge's preferences, and select "File Type Associations from the left-hand pane), but the file(s) will still fail to properly open in CS2.

One option is to select the desired individual file in Bridge while holding the control key (or right-clicking) to bring up a contextual menu that will allow you to select Photoshop CS2 for opening.

In addition, Adobe has posted a potential solution for this issue in its Adobe Photoshop CS3 beta FAQ that involves deleting the following directories:

• /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Launch/photoshop/10.0/
• /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Launch/bridge/2.0

Another potential solution to this problem (albeit inconvenient) may be to remove Photoshop CS3 completely then reset Mac OS X's Launch Services.

There are a number of ways to reset the Launch Services database.

The easiest is to use a utility like LSRefresh. Several general-purpose Mac OS X maintenance utilities, including AppleJack, can perform this function as well.

You can also manually delete the Mac OS X Launch Services caches from the directory: /Library/Caches/. Delete any files that are named as such:

• com.apple.LaunchServices-[...].csstore
• e.g.: com.apple.LaunchServices-015501.csstore

Also, navigate to ~/Library/Preferences and delete the file:

• com.apple.LaunchServices.plist

then restart.

Alternatively, you can use this AppleScript, provided by a member of the MacFixIt forums.

Index:

• "Program error" messages -- fixes
• Cropping tool/rotation bug
• Brush size indicator not displayed when running in Intel-native mode -- workaround
• CS2/CS3 launching and opening discrepancies (images open in wrong app)
• Highlights from FAQ
• Individual image auto-correction gone
• Installation problems: fix
• Installation volume confusion
• Lightroom/CS2/CS3 interaction
• PowerPC plug-ins will not work on Intel-based Macs unless launched in Rosetta
• Release notes
• Serial number rejection, workarounds
• When the beta expires

Resources