Is there a known problem with Nik Software Plugins and PSE10

Question

I replaced my PC with a new 64-bit Windows 7 workstation. Have used PSE10 for a while for my cataloging and editing and I did 'trial' individual Nik Software plugins on my old Vista PC for a while. I decided to purchase the Nik Software collection and also to take the plunge and go to Lightroom 4 as well. I put PSE10 on my new PC as well because I want to consider how I might modify my workflow to use both in conjunction (perhaps LR4 for cataloging and PSE10 for editing)
When it came to installing Nik Software Plugins (they are supposed to plugin to Elements and LR4) it seemed to find some of the plugins compatible with both PSE10 and LR4 , some compatible with one of them and some not compatable (apparently) with either, but installed them anyway. But when I use PSE10 now I cannot go from the Organizer into the Editor, it loads the editor interface but not the image. If you open PSE Editor directly and open an image, the image will load and you see 4 of the plugins and I invoke them but the changes dont seem to get applied in PSE10. Then I started reading up on the  web ..... and the consensus seems to be it is not a Nik Software issue but an Abobe editor plugin issue.
On a side issue, the retailer I bought Nik Software from sent me no product keys (they sent me Apple Aperture keys) - now they are about to replace my delivery with a fresh issue and proper keys ... but if I run into the same problems again, I dont know what to do. This leads me to looking for some definitive advice from those in the know!
Should I forget about buying Nik Software plugins altogether?
I see a download is available for LR4-2 .. does anyone know if this fixes Nik Plugin issues there?
I am minded to go the route of using LR4 as my cataloging preference but to call PSE10 Editor for editing and have all my plugins operate out of PSE10, but I could not get the plugins to work with PSE10 as mentioned. How does one get them to work?
Is there some workaround or special "way" or "order" to install things ???
I'm still waiting days for some support from Nik Software ... but they are just going to say there is nothing wrong with their product (and the web seems to concur)
Any help would be appreciated on the PSE10 Issue.

Answer 1

17/10/2012. I installed the update - Lightroom 4.2
It keeps the same product key and found the catalog and the Windows Control Panel only seems V4.2 so the original has been replaced with this upgrade.
This would be the first time I put down Lightroom  with Photoshop Elements  V.10 already there on the system and I suspect this might have helped with better integration between the 2 products.
I made sure I then opened Photoshop Elements V10 and I could edit an image (that the Organizer invocation to Photoshop Elements Editor did sucessfully load the image) and I could use existing plugins like Topaz and Noiseware. Also I made sure Lightroom  4.2 could use "Edit with Photoshop Elements " and it did.
The supplier who had sent me the wrong Nik Software product keys, sent me a corrected version with product keys for Lightroom
Several web articles I read on Nik Software plugins may be misleading (for example there is one on DPReview) which state that Nik Software plugins are compatable with Photoshop (the main product) but are NOT compatable with Photoshop Elements v10. I can tell anyone who uses Photoshop Elements 10 that they ARE compatable with Photoshop Elements 10, but it can be a little tricky to get them going.
This is how I sucessfully managed to get the Nik Software Plug-ins
working (finally) on both Lightroom  and Photoshop Elements v10 at the same time
Remember my scenario ... I am putting together a new 64 bit Windows 7 PC and I want to be able to continue to use my Photoshop Elements v10 and also to delve into Lightroom for the first time.  I had read all the blurb on Nik Software and it said the plugins were compatable with both and I had downloaded and tested some of them on an old PC anyway, so I knew the principle of installation and operation.
I had just bought the Nik SOftware Complete Collection in September 2012.
The box and the CD they come with .... this is where one of the problems is. Let me explain...
Step 1:
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Some of the components on the CD are up to date .. and when you elect to install them the sofware tells you that it has found both Lightroom 4.2 and Photoshop Elements V10 and it installs the plugins no problem and they work. Make sure (in these cases) you take their defaults as to the locations the plugins are instlled to. Typically the dual install works for the following components
Nik Color Efex Prov V4
Nik Silver Efex V2
and the plugins go to
for Photoshop Elements v10           C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 10\Plug-Ins\
for Lightroom 4                                 C:\users\xxxx\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom\External Editor Presets\
After each of the above 2 installs finished I invoked Photoshop Elements v10 first and opened an image in Editor and made sure the plugin was working and inserted my product key and activated it over the web. I then made sure it was also working in Lightroom 4.2 - it was!
Step 2:
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When it came to installing the Sharpener 3 component off the vendor's CD, it displayed NEITHER of the two applications on its compatability list at all. And there was no "+" sign where one can add one manually. Furthermore if you continue with setup.exe it crashes. I closed the EXE and confirmed there was no plugin in Photoshop Elements v10 as expected for Sharpener.
But when I went into Lightroom 4.2 it shows me the 2 Sharpener entities (the RAW and Output one). And I used it and proved the plugins were working through Lightroom  4.2 and I inserted my product key for it when invoking it for the first time via Lightroom  4.2 as well.
Then I went onto the Nik Software download site and downloaded a more updated version which was Sharpener Version 3.01. When I ran the installer from this download it actually does see and show both Photoshop Elements v10 and Lightroom  4.2 as "compatable" and it installed the plugins from that .. and they both work ... even though I had it working already (seemingly) from the CD install I obviously installed over it and the plugin still works in Lightroom 4.2. It also works now in Photoshop Elements v10. Only issue I had here was I had to re-insert my product key and activate it when I used the plugin via Photoshop Elements v10 for the first time... but if that is the extent of a techincal difficulty - I would take it anytime!.
Step 3:
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When it came to installing Viveza 2 off the CD, it only saw Lightroom  4.2 as compatable. I did something similar in this case. I let it install to Lightroom 4.2 as a plugin and proved it worked and activated its produvt key. Then I downloaded V2.009 off the website. I re-installed from it (over the Lightroom 4.2 one obvously again) and it now also sees Photoshop Elements 10 as compatable and installs correctly. Strangely enough I did not have to enter my product key a second time when I went to invoke the plugins via Photoshop Elements v10 in this case. What the hell! - the subtleties of software!
Step 4:
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Dfine 2.0 - the setup for the CD again finds NEITHER of the 2 applications on its compatablity list, but it put it into Lightroom 4.2 anyway (like the Sharpener component behaved) and I proved it worked. Then I downloaded version 2.112 from the Nik Software website and it finds both applications compatable. Also I did have to re-enter my product key when first invoking the plugin via the Photoshop Elements v10 editor (like as in the case of Sharpener)
Step 5:
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HDR Efex Pro (which comes on the vendors CD with a promise to a free upgrade to HDR Efex Pro 2) .... the setup.exe sees Lightroom  4.2 as compatable but does not see Photoshop Elements  v10. Be careful ... this component is NOT A PLUGIN ... to see and use it in Lightroom 4 you must select photos and then do menu option EXPORT WITH PRESET HDR EFEX PRO. It does not work as a plugin within Photoshop Elements (any version) . I obtained my free upgrade too and it works from Lightroom. Dont even try to configure it manually as a plugin for Elements. Instead if you save files as JPG or TIFF you can open the EXE directly in the Program Files area (if you have 64 bit make sure to open that EXE not the 32 bit one) and you can use it in standalone mode. There is only one menu option within HDr Efex Pro when using it this way ...  File-Open.
So to conclude ... (leaving HDR Efex aside because we know it will not plugin to Elements) ... I have them all working in both Lightroom and Elements. As I begin to learn Lightroom and move away from Elements for cataloging and edits, I know I can invoke most of my workflow plugins from both products. People say I should persist in Lightroom, but if for some reason I dont, I have the fall back position of having everything working out of Elements 10 anyway. It's been a bit of chore getting to this point, but others might find my workaround useful.