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What's the Difference Between Adobe PSE 13 vs. Versions 12 & 11?

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Compare: Differences Between Photoshop Elements 13 vs. 12 vs. 11

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108 thoughts on “What's the Difference Between Adobe PSE 13 vs. Versions 12 & 11?”

  1. What precisely does support for high dpi screens mean? I have a Surface Pro3 with a 2160×1440 dpi display. I find that PSE 12 is almost unusable because the toolbar icons and text are too small to read. Will PSE13 resolve this problem by giving an option for larger icons and text?

    Reply
  2. Will the Mac version of PSE 13 have slide show creation capability? What are the functional differences between PSE 13 for Mac and Windows, if any?

    Reply
  3. I have never used any Photoshop Elements, but am looking for user-friendly software to make greeting cards that I can design myself with different size cards.

    Could I do this with Elements software and what size cards could I make?

    Deb

    Reply
  4. I am trying to see all the benefits of upgrading from Elements 9.0

    However, if I go to one of your older articles, the Complete Version Comparison Chart just links to the latest version at Adobe, just showing version 11 & 12 vs. 13.

    Do you have a cached version for the older releases, showing the comparisons between Elements 13 vs. earlier versions 9, 8, or 7?

    Reply
    • Hi Sven, that’s a great question – what happened is Adobe updated the content on their site since our previous article was written, so that now their comparison chart is for the three most recent versions of Elements…

      However, if you want to see what was there before, you’re in luck. While we ourselves don’t cache Adobe’s site, the Internet Archive does. So here is the old comparison chart between Photoshop Elements 11 vs. versions 10, 9, 8 and 7.

      You yourself will then have to supplement that with what’s been added and improved since PSE 11, from the article and updated chart above.

      Hope that addresses what you wanted to know, if not then just post back!

  5. Not interested in mobile or auto fix. What has changed in terms of tools for the expert level. The render filter seems to have been lost between 11 & 12. Are the further losses in expert in version 13 or are there enhancements.

    Reply
    • Hello Nance, Render Filters were not taken out of PSE 13, they are still there

      The only change there was last year when PSE 12 came out, “Lighting Effects” (under “Render” in Filters) was dropped then. Apparently Adobe did that because the Mac application became 64-bit architecture at that time, and that feature was removed from PSE12 because it was 32-bit-only.

      However, you may possibly be able to restore (bring back) this function on Windows by following these instructions.

      So as to your other question, is there anything that is newly missing or was taken out? Only this (quoting Barb Brundage again):

      “No more photo mail (a small price to pay for sane emailing), and if you have a 64-bit version of Windows then no more TWAIN scanning (though this is still available in the 32-bit Windows version and the Mac version).”

  6. So if I upgrade from PS Elements 9.0 to 13.0 for my 64-bit system, I won’t be able to scan photos directly into PS as I’ve always done before?

    Reply
    • Greetings Libbye – no, not necessarily. On 64-bit Windows there is no “Twain Acquire” option in the PSE 13 menus… So to be able to scan into Photoshop Elements on those systems you could use WIA instead.

      When you use WIA, Photoshop Elements works with Windows and your digital camera or scanner software to import images directly into Photoshop Elements.

      Another alternative is you could switch over to use the software that came with your scanner, directly, and work it from the other end.

      You can also try “File > Import Images from Device” from within PSE and see if that meets your needs.

      In the 32-bit Windows and Mac OS versions of Photoshop Elements 13, you just need to install the TWAIN plugin, as it is still available.

      Another way to do it on a Mac is you could scan in Image Capture and set it to send the scans to the PSE editor automatically.

      So, why did Adobe make these changes regarding the TWAIN driver plug-in? Here is their official response as to why.

      Finally, if you want to try it (and everything) out in the new version before buying it, then just download the free PSE 13 trial first.

    • Yes, definitely Maureen. Most of the basic concepts and features from Photoshop Elements 12 will continue to apply to Elements 13…

      The new features in Elements 13 won’t be covered of course – but since the updated CiaB volume for Elements 13 isn’t out yet, the Elements 12 edition should work fine for now.

  7. Great article thanks. I presume the Organiser still uses all those breeze files to store data outside of the PSE catalog? I also presume that the saving of metadata from Organiser to files is an append-only with no option to replace/overwrite metadata (which unless I am missing something drives me crazy)? If you can answer either or both that would be great.

    Reply
  8. Hi

    I have a tablet so don’t have CD capabilities. I have been told I can purchase PS. Then put the free trial onto the tablet and then use registration key somehow to install the full program.

    I also want to put it on to my laptop, again with no CD capabilities. Can I run the same registration key on 2 devices?

    thanks in advance
    Ann

    Reply
  9. Looking to buy a photoshop for my daughter for Christmas. I am looking for a comparision between photoshop cc and element 13. Could I get some advice or recommendation. Looking for a Pro level, but not wanting to invest in CS6. My understanding is that CS6 was replaced by CC.

    Reply
  10. So from the information I see in your Photoshop Elements 13 review, I will still get the popup to either convert my 16-bit layer photo to 8-bit or flatten it to be able to use it in PSE 12.

    I have Elements 10 and get this popup, but thought Adobe would have upgraded by now. My software creates a 16-bit PSD file that I need to open in Elements to convert to a JPEG file but I always get the popup.

    Reply
    • Hey there Don,

      Photoshop Elements has been very gradually creeping towards 16-bit image editing, but you still can’t do layers or some of the filters in 16 bits – so if that’s what you’re looking for, then the answer remains the same with PSE 13. You can apply things like sharpening and levels to a 16-bit file, but overall there’s not a great deal of difference vs. PSE 12 besides a few more filters working.

      What we’d suggest is just downloading the free Elements 13 trial and trying it out to see if it does more of what you want… It will install and run side-by-side with earlier versions with no problem, and you can easily uninstall it once the 30 free days are up.

      Either that, or consider upgrading to the full Photoshop CC 2015 desktop release (which does everything) with Adobe’s new Photoshop + Lightroom Plan. The products included in that package used to cost over $1,000 upfront to buy, but you can now get for $9.99/mo. with ongoing upgrades included. Free trials are also available here.

  11. Will PSE 13 be compatible with Pretty presets and Montana sky presets. I’ve checked their website and they don’t specify which PSE. Or should I go with PSE 12 being that it’s seasoned to the existing presets?

    Reply
    • Greetings Jacqueline, for any version of Photoshop Elements that you get – either 13 or 12 – if there are particular plugins or third-party add-ons that you’re interested in, then the only way to know for sure is to double-check directly with the manufacturer to see which releases of PSE they are compatible with… If it doesn’t say specifically on their website, then the best thing to do is to quickly contact them to confirm. Anything else would be just guessing, on our part as well!

  12. I need a programme to take in vector files, scale them up and export them as png – can PS Elements 13 do this or do I need the full version of Photoshop?

    Searched the net high and low for this answer – can you help please?

    Reply
    • Hi Gerry, what type(s) of vector files – .AI? .EPS? .SVG? .CDR?

      Photoshop Elements dropped support for opening .AI (Illustrator) and .EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) files as of version 11…

      However the full version of Photoshop can still import those two, and many other formats (though not SVG directly).

      Adobe Illustrator (the leading vector design tool) can read all of the above formats, and can export .PNG, .JPG, .TIFF, etc.

      Here are all of the different formats available for import/export in PSE, broken out by version:

      Photoshop Elements Help / Supported File Formats

      If all you basically want to do is convert formats by importing vector files and outputting PNG, then you might also take a look at the free Inkscape program and see if that works for your needs.

  13. @ProDesignTools

    Hi and thanks so much for your reply – at last I know! I think I could persuade most people to supply their file as eps in which case PS would be fine, however as I have now downloaded the free 30-day PS trial, I may also consider AI for safety too.

    Thanks again – great advice here!

    Reply
  14. I have Elements 11 which won’t open NEF files from a Nikon D4s.
    Can this be fixed, or do I have to buy Elements 13?

    Reply
    • Hi Neville, support for the Nikon D4S came in Adobe Camera Raw version 8.4 from April 2014…

      So that is somewhat after Photoshop Elements 11 shipped in 2012. However, Adobe provides free ongoing camera compatibility for older versions of all Photoshop products via the DNG Converter utility.

      What does that mean? Well, you can use the free Adobe DNG Converter for support of the Nikon D4S (or any other available camera) in Elements 11. Otherwise, Elements 13 supports this new camera natively.

  15. Hi. I have a retina display macbook pro (specs below) and i notice very sluggish response and occasional hang ups while editing in photoshop elements 12 (with no other software running). I see in your answers above elements 13 is retina compatible but your answers focus on appearance on screen not performance. Do you know if PSE 13 with the retina support has improved performance (ie eliminates sluggish behavior while editing) ? Thanks!

    MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013), 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7, 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3, Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB

    Reply
    • We have not heard of any issues with Photoshop Elements 13 and Mac Retina displays, performance or otherwise – it’s fully supported in this release. If you want to make sure before upgrading, then just grab a download of the free PSE 13 trial and check it out for yourself. Elements 13 installs and runs side-by-side with any previous PSE version with no interference or conflict, and uninstalls separately if you don’t want to keep it longer-term.

  16. I have bought Photoshop Elements 13 32-bit. During Installation i have mentioned that i have a 64-bit system. Can i download a 64-bit trial version and use my 32-bit serial number?

    Reply
  17. Hi, i was wondering with photoshop elements 13, will i be able to .. let’s say actually photoshop an object and put it in another picture? i was just wondering if this was more for effects and making collages and/or cards etc.

    Reply
  18. just purchased the photoshop 13… Looking for learning tools in the books. Will the PS11 work. I am not seeing any PS12 or PS13 available in my area? Thx

    Reply
    • Yes Brenda, Photoshop Elements 13 is two years newer and has more features than PSE 11 – but for getting started learning how to best use it, these free Adobe Elements books can still be helpful…

      They are for Elements 11, but the user interface is similar so they still mostly apply to versions 12 and 13.

      If you want to purchase more complete and up-to-date books for Elements 13, just check out the selection on Amazon.com – which is probably less expensive than most other places anyway.

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