installing/using Adobe Photoshop 7.0

Photoshop 7 will not run under Leopard or later. It was the first OS X capable version of PS. At its heart though, it is still an OS 9 application with just enough extra files to allow it to run within OS X Tiger and Panther (10.4.x and 10.3.x) as what looks like a native OS X application. Since OS 9 (Classic) support is completely gone in Leopard and Snow Leopard, it is impossible to run PS 7.

While there is an Adobe Photoshop 7.0.1 plugin update for G5 (OS X) available
from their update web page, I am not certain about where that would fit in this
situation where the app itself acts oddly, when installed in your computer system.

In fact, two plugin updates for G5 running OS X are listed; one is 11MB & another
is 1.4 MB; both of these are from the years 2004 and 2003, respectively. And they
are specific to version 7.0.1, not 7.0. (Appears to be a retail step, maybe?)

So, that makes the updates and the application itself rather old and probably suspect.

Even though there is some evidence of a Photoshop 7 that runs under a Mac OS X.
There should be some information on the product's retail box as to what system specs
it was made to run within the year that Photoshop version was written.

The current version of Photoshop is at least v. 11 now; there are updates at Adobe for it.
The latest would likely be for the latest Intel-based Mac and not Universal build anymore.

And Leopard 10.5.8 does not support a Classic (a captive non-boot OS9 ran under OS X)
as that was dropped after Tiger 10.4.11. If the Photoshop retail installer offers an OS X
version installer, or one for use in Classic/OS9, an OS X version still may not work in 10.5.8.
Since the G5 did not support dual-booting directly in OS 9.2.2, the other aspect is also out.

Perhaps someone who has gone this path will contribute relating to their experienced findings.
While I have a complete Adobe suite including Photoshop, a vintage one that I still could use,
I have found less in-depth software that does most of what I'd ever need, newer, in freeware.

{For simple edits outside of iPhoto, I've found the free-running ToyViewer to be adequate; it has
more tools than I need, since I try to use the camera settings to create a reasonably fair original.}

Hopefully there's an easy answer...
Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

{ edited }

Hi paulamarie,

Sounds like you were trying to save some cash, so you may not be interested in the cost of going this route, but here it is anyway.

The newest version of Photoshop you can upgrade to from version 7 is CS3. And CS3 itself is the oldest version you can upgrade to CS5 from. So, even if you pay the full upgrade costs of $199 for CS3 and CS5, that's still $300 less than buying a full version license for CS5, not including what you already have into buying version 7.

For CS5, I'm referring to the regular version at a $199 upgrade cost. CS5 Extended is more. But unless you have a need for 3D image work (which is still kind of limited in Photoshop), there's no real need to get the Extended version.

The newest version of Photoshop you can upgrade to from version 7 is CS3...

Where can an upgrade from version 7 to CS3 be found/purchased? I'm in a similar situation -- had v7 for better part of the decade, and having just upgraded to a new Mac running 10.6, can't run Photoshop 7 anymore. I don't need the latest & greatest in CS5. I just need something that runs on 10.6, with upgrade pricing. I'm considering trying Photoshop Elements but am concerned it won't have features I need. I'm not a graphics professional, but do need to stuff beyond the simplest stuff to repair damaged photos...

Where can an upgrade from version 7 to CS3 be found/purchased?

Good question. I searched around for about 15 minutes and came up empty. I think your only hope would be eBay. And I wouldn't touch anything that was already opened.

There is a free 30 day trial of Elements, if you want to check that out, but if you're used to photoshop, you'll probably be happier with that even if PSE does what you need. Just a different workflow.

It is supposed to be brand new, unopened, unregistered. The seller has apparently sold a number of these and has received almost exclusively positive feedback, so it looks like a safe purchase. We'll see when it comes ...

It is supposed to be brand new, unopened, unregistered.

Then that is a very good price for the extended version, especially since it's only one version back. I did see an unopened CS3 full version copy for $179 the other day, which I almost posted a link for here, but it didn't say if it was a Mac or Windows version.

I did receive it and it works fine with the registration number provided. It might not have been a retail version but might have been OEM, but I've had no problems registering it, installing or using it.

Ended up finding CS4 Extended on eBay for just over $400. Seems like a decent deal...

Just be sure it's real and that it hasn't been used to qualify for the CS5 update. You won't be able to activate it if it was.

Excellent. You should have no issues then.