The following list is a guide based on our experiences with Vista and various imaging software.  The list is constantly being updated as new information is made available to us. If you have any feedback that might be useful, or have found different results, please let us know.

Also please note, unless stated otherwise, User Account Control (UAC) is enabled in all examples below.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 (Version 10)

Appears to install and run with no issues.  See additional notes regarding CS3 compatibility here.

Adobe Photoshop CS2 (Version 9)

Appears to install and run with no issues.  It does write data to the Virtual Store, so it is not 100% Vista compliant and will possibly have problems in some areas.

Adobe Photoshop CS (Version 8)

Unable to get installed with UAC turned on.  Pops up an error: "Failed to initialize Security Client. Error code: 202".  ImageReady also pops up with errors during the install (ImageReady has stopped working).

Running with the Administrator option set brings up the following error: "Could not start Adobe Photoshop because the volume Windows is using for Virtual Memory does not have enough free space...".  The drive we installed Photoshop onto 12Gb free space.

Turning UAC off brought up the same error message about not having enough disk space.

Adobe Photoshop 7

Installs OK, but have noted screen refresh issues (some of the side panels do not get updated).  It writes data to the Virtual Store, so it's not 100% Vista compliant and will possibly have problems in some areas.

Adobe Photoshop 6

Runs OK, but did pop up with a compatibility error during install.  It also updates the Virtual Store and this is likely to cause problems.

Adobe Photoshop 5

Installed OK, but couldn't get it to load.  It got stuck on the splash screen, displaying the status message 'Initializing Type Engine'.  Waited 5 minutes and it didn't progress to the next stage.

Adobe Photoshop 5 LE

Installs and runs OK.  The preferences file is stored in the Virtual Store.  Although Focus Magic works OK in LE, it's unable to automatically detect the plugin path during install.

Adobe Photoshop 4

Installs OK.  Couldn't get it to run from the Start menu, had to run the executable directly from the install path.

Adobe Photoshop 3

Found no issues with this version of Photoshop.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 6

Found no issues with this version of Elements.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 5

Initially I was getting out of space errors during the extraction of the installation files (there was over 2Gb free space).  Extracted to local folder and it worked OK?  Was able to install and get it to run, but stopped working after making changes to the preferences (plugin folder).  There is a patch available, but because we use trial versions for our testing we've been unable to test it (the patch requires a retail version).

Adobe Photoshop Elements 4

Installs and runs OK.  Does write to the Virtual Store, so isn't 100% Vista compliant and may create problems.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 3

Unable to get working.  Popped up with compatibility errors during install.  Once installed it pops up with the following error (and doesn't run):

"Could not start Adobe Photoshop because the volume Windows is using for Virtual Memory does not have enough free space...".

The drive we installed Photoshop onto 12Gb free space.

Attempts to 'Run as Administrator' brought up the following error message: "Failed to initialize Security Client.  Error Code: 202"

Running with UAC turned off brings up the error about not having enough free space.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2

Installs and runs OK.  Does write to the Virtual Store, so isn't 100% Vista compliant and may create problems.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 1

We don't have any copies of this and therefore unable to test.

Paint Shop Pro 10

Unable to test.

Paint Shop Pro 9

Unable to test.

Paint Shop Pro 8

Installs and runs OK.  Doesn't appear to be writing the Virtual Store.

Paint Shop Pro 7

Installs OK, did notice some issues, notably compatibility errors upon exiting.

Paint Shop Pro 6

Unable to test.

Paint Shop Pro 5

Installs and runs OK.

Paint Shop Pro 4.14

Had problems installing and running the software.  Received the following error message during installation: "16 bit Windows Subsystem.  NTVDM has encountered a System Error. The specified service does not exist. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application."

Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006

Installs and runs OK.

Microsoft Digital Image Pro 10

Unable to test.

Microsoft Digital Image Pro 9

Unable to test.

Microsoft Digital Image Pro 8

Unable to test.

Microsoft Digital Image Pro 7

Installs and runs OK.

Microsoft PhotoDraw

Unable to test.

Ulead PhotoImpact 11

Would not install.

Ulead PhotoImpact 10

Installed and runs OK.  Did have problems exiting the software.  Also had problems with the uninstaller locking up.

Ulead PhotoImpact 9

Unable to test.

Ulead PhotoImpact 8

Installed OK.  Had problems when software was running.

Ulead PhotoImpact 7

Installs and runs OK.

Ulead PhotoImpact 6

Installs and runs OK, did have problems with the uninstaller locking up.

Corel Painter 9

Unable to test.

Corel Painter 8

Unable to test.

Corel PhotoPaint 12

Installs and runs OK.  Focus Magic installs, but does not run.

Corel PhotoPaint 11

Unable to test.

Corel PhotoPaint 10

Installs and runs, but some parts of it don't work properly.

ACD Canvas X

Unable to test.

FotoCanvas

Unable to test.