Program Error has come to CS3

BZ
Posted By
Bill_Zimmermann
Jun 16, 2007
Views
477
Replies
6
Status
Closed
If you get the error message: "Could not use the clone stamp because of a program error" it is probably not really a program error.

I would have saved a half day of searching forums, knowledge base and reinstalling Photoshop CS3 and technical support would have saved an hour of their time (having me test services, create a new user to test permission problems and reinstalling Photoshop a second time) if the error message had been more accurately worded to say "Could not use the clone stamp because nothing has been selected."

Then, we all would have quickly discovered that the Alt key I was using to make a source selection was not functioning and there was nothing wrong with the program.

This error message will also appear if you switch to another source button in the new Clone Stamp palette and have not yet selected a source for that button. This is probably the reason the error message was created but in that case the only error is "nothing has been selected" so you are again led in the wrong direction to solve the problem.

System was Windows XP Pro if that matters to anyone.
Zimm
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Daryl_Pritchard
Jun 16, 2007
Bill,

I’ve seen similar things, with that dialog appearing when things aren’t there for it to work with. For example, opening a file from the recent files list which I’d deleted. Other cases have occurred in the case of selecting an area containing no data to select, such as when I’ve been using the magic wand tool and click in an area of transparency. Fortunately it is no true program error and the dialog can be OK’ed to clear it, but it is a nuisance to see such a dialog in contrast to those of CS2 which were more meaningful.

Daryl
Z
Zog
Jun 17, 2007
It surprises me that trying to select transparency would create an error, Daryl. Trying to make a copy of transparency, yes, that’s difficult, but just selecting for empty should work.
B
babaloo
Jun 17, 2007
This particular bit of obscurity has been in PS for at least 2 versions. It would be more helpful if simply said, "You cannot perform that operation on that layer."
DP
Daryl_Pritchard
Jun 17, 2007
Zog,

Perhaps there was more to it than what I said, Zog. The image where I was observing the errors was an animation, and the multiple layers made it a bit hard to be definitive about the issue being related to selecting transparent pixels, so I tried duplicating it. I did so easily.

The nuisance program error dialog apparently occurs if you attempt to reselect part of a currently active selection on a hidden layer using what I’m guessing to be any selection tool. I only tried it with the marquee, polygonal lasso, and wand tool. To duplicate it, simply create a new transparent image and hide the layer. Then, perform a selection with your tool of choice. Now, within that selected area attempt define a new selection, and the error dialog will appear. I simply selected a rectangular area and, upon clicking to define the start point of a smaller rectangular area within that space, the error appeared.

This is on Windows Vista, so I’ll check it out under XP also, to see if the same problem exists.

Daryl
Z
Zog
Jun 17, 2007
Tried it and it’s the same here with XP and CS1 ("Could not complete your request because the target layer is hidden"). It seems to me that creating a selection with the selected layer hidden isn’t more illogical the second time around.

With both of these actions I get an advice that sort of explains the problem. For yours, Bill, it says: "Could not use the clone stamp because the area to clone has not been defined (Alt-click to define a source point)."

Could be a problem with retrieving the error text.
GB
Ginger_Batta
Jun 19, 2007
I am experiencing a similar problem with "save for web & devices". When I call on this, I get the error message, "Could not complete the Export command becuase of a program error".

I had this problem with CS, so we updated to CS3 hoping it would solve the problem, but it didn’t. We did a fresh install of CS3 and have tried deleting the preferences multiple times to no avail. I called tech support about this yesterday and was walked through their basic troubleshooting of testing different users on the local machine and stopping certain services; however, none of this fixed the problem. I have been scouring the web looking for a solution to this problem for a few days now and am currently sitting on hold with tech support again hoping to solve this.

Any new ideas out there???

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