smart objects uneditable --> bug ?

[Mark_J_...@adobeforums.com]

When I try to edit smart objects via right-click>>edit contents (or double-click on the smart oject layer icon for that matter) this happens:

A.) if I disable [preferences>>file handling>>prefer ACR for JPEG files], PS calculates some seconds with intense HDD activity and then nothing happens visually, no window opens-up for editing, but the history log has the usual new entry "edit contents". Repeated tries result in repeated "edit contents" logs, but no visual changes.
[[In one instance the raster grahpic encapsulated into the smart object got enlarged by 200%-300%. But again, no window opened up for editing. I hit "edit contents" 3-4 times and I could always reproduce this. But ever since that day, it never happened to me again).

B.) if I enable [preferences>>file handling>>prefer ACR for JPEG files], ACR launches and displays the raster graphic the smart object is based on. Upon closing ACR, no window opens-up for editing the smart object.

I have been working with smart objects for some months now and everything worked fine. This bug started occurring some 3 weeks ago, but as I said, sometimes it works, sometimes not. I cannot find any regularities as to what could lead to this malfunctioning. The only regularity I found so far (but could be a coincidence) is that the smart objects affected by the bug were always (at least I don't remember any other case) .jpeg files that I opened in Photoshop(CS3) with abovementioned preference set so that ACR launches upon opening a .jpeg file. In ACR I alt-clicked the open button so that it says "open objects". So the smart objects were always based on a single layer .jpeg raster graphic opened in ACR.

My best bet would be that there is something that ACR writes into the smart object that isn't 100% identical to the way Photoshop would write smart object if I:
1) open the .jpeg file in ACR
2) click open/open copy (not open object)
3) convert the raster graphic to a smart object inside Photoshop itself.

But that's only a guess. I have quite a lot of work to do currently, but I hope to be able to provide additional information quickly enough if need be.

[Mark_J_...@adobeforums.com]

OK, I think my "best bet" is becoming more likely:

I tried the following (with [preferences>>file handling>>prefer ACR for JPEG files] enabled):

A1) open .jpeg file ==> ACR launches
A2) click on "open object"
A3) "edit contents" ==> BUG occurs as described in my OP under "B.)"

B1) open .jpeg file ==> ACR launches
B2) click on "open"
B3) convert raster layer to smart object
B4) "edit contents" ==> bug does NOT occur

[steve_g...@adobeforums.com]

Hi Mark,

Is this CS3?and what version of the ACR plug-in do you have?

[Mark_J_...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks for looking at it Steve.

Yes, CS3 (like mentioned in my OP).
ACR version is 4.4.1

[steve_g...@adobeforums.com]

I'll see what I can find out for you. Are you running 10.0.1, and on what OS XP, or Vista?

The basic difference between a) and b) is that a) will call to the ACR plug-in to process the data and display it's dialog, whereas b) edits the data directly in Ps. I suspect there may be an issue in trying to get the ACR dialog to display and may have been fixed in 4.5 or 4.6.

[Mark_J_...@adobeforums.com]

I'm on XP. Sorry for not mentioning initially.

And no, as far as I can see my PS version is 10.0

I didn't know it is normal that ACR launches when editing a smart object. This would mean that the .jpg file is still stored inside the smart object, whereas I had thought that once the .jpg file had been opened in PS, it's a raster layer like any other and stored as such inside the smart object (and not in the original file format).

[Mark_J_...@adobeforums.com]

I just updated to ACR 4.6 and the problem persists. Maybe it isn't related to ACR at all, it was just my guts feeling.

[steve_g...@adobeforums.com]

Hi Mark,

Can you check with Ps launched, Help> About Plug-In and see if there is just one Camera Raw... item? I was able to get hangs when 2 different versions of Camera Raw (CR) where loading at the same time (I had forgotten to disable one).

thx