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Adding Layer Styles And Actions To Pse6


schmoo

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I am a Mac user.

 

on the Mac the path where to copy the .asl file seems to be this :

 

Applications/Photoshop Elements 6/ Presets/Styles

 

But the same problem the styles are not showing on the menu.

 

Can anybody help me?

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Guest goodtexan

Thanks so much for the tut but even after rebuilding the database I cannot get the layers to show up on the database. I am using XP.

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  • 1 month later...
I just wanted to add, that for whatever reason, when I followed Sue's tips the first few times, they did not work for me. The categories would not show up.

 

To get it to work, I ended up having to force PSE to rebuild the database. Once I did that (one time), the installation worked fine everytime. Just thought I would add that, in case anyone else encounters the same problem.

 

To force the database to rebuild, close PSE, then rename these two files (instead of deleting, just in case something went wrong):

 

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0\Locale\en_US\MediaDatabase.db3

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0\ThumbDatabase.db3

 

This is the path for Windows XP, don't know with vista (use your search tool to find the files)

 

I simply add '_old' to the end of the filenames when renaming them. It doesn't much matter what you rename them to, they just need to be different, so the software can't find them and will rebuild them when you open it.

 

Christy-thanks so much this worked for me-finally!! I was beginning to think I'd never get it working right!! Hope this bumps to the top to help someone else!! :D

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  • 3 weeks later...

Maybe I'm crazy, but I have questions about all this talk! The action files I have are .atn, NOT .asl. Also, there is NO "photo creations" folder and there is no "layer styles" folder. There is a "styles" folder, here is the path: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 6.0\Presets\Styles those are where my .asl files are. The .atn files are in: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 6.0\Required. Should I put this .atn file in there?? I mean, I'm going to try it and see what happens, but I feel like I'm going insane.

 

Ariana

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I don't actually know how to check if files are hidden, but I have my folder options set to show hidden files and folders. I did a search for specific file names, and file types - they're not there! I'm completely freaked out now about what to do.

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Here is some info for those of you trying to load layer styles with stubborn PSE6 software and difficult computers (my new Vista laptop). :winking_baby:

 

I followed the instructions for installing SGTools in PSE6 as follows (same as what schmoo wrote):

Installing Styles in Photoshop Elements 6.0

1. If you have Photoshop Elements running, close the program.

2. Unzip your styles file.

3. Once your file has been unzipped, locate the folder that includes the .asl file inside of it.

4. Click on your file select Edit>Copy to folder.

5. Once you have done this another box will come up. You will need to select the folder your

want to copy this file to. You will want to find your styles folder to do so follow this path: (In Windows Vista)

C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0\Locale\<en_US or your locale>\Photo Creations\layer styles

However, I still got this error message when restarting PSE: "can not load because file can not be found" and I had to click 'OK' anywhere between 10 and 37 times each time I tried opening the software (yes I counted!!!)

SO, after reading several posts I tried forcing the database to rebuild (just like Christy said) and it worked!!! YEAH! Of course I couldn't even find the file names using the explorer search engine on my own Vista hard drive so I finally found them myself! Here are the instructions to get to the database files in VISTA:

To rebuild the database, but you do it by deleting/renaming the old DB. To do that, quit PSE, then you want to find C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0\Locale\en_US (or your locale, if different). You will see MediaDatabase.db3 next to the Photo Creations and Photo Creations Metadata file folders. Highlight the file and rename it to "OldMediaDatabase.db3". Next find C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0. You will see ThumbDatabase.db3 next to the Editor and Flash Galleries folders. Rename this file to "OldThumbDatabase.db3". Then restart PSE and BE PATIENT!! It will take a few minutes for the software to rebuild your databases but then VOILA!!!

 

I've certainly posted my share of problems so I'm really hoping that this post can help someone else avoid the frustration and confusion I went through!

Have a Scrappin' Day!

Cari

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Here are some instructions for how to load layer styles and actions, that you have purchased, into PSE6 and to get them to appear in the menu as opposed to the 'show all' option. Please make sure you copy files and never edit one of your original files. These instructions are quite long and you may want to print them out. I have tried to make these instructions as easy as possible for people to follow and as accurate as I can. If there is an error in them can you please post. If you are a complete novice on the computer please proceed with caution.

 

A quick note for those people just starting out with custom styles and actions and other stuff. I save all mine in a folder called PSE Custom Stuff and then have folders in there called Styles, Actions, Shapes, Textures, Filters. Then I put each style, action etc into the relevent folder (still in it's own folder). Then I put a copy of the .asl or .atn file in the folder it needs to be in to be installed in PSE. This makes life way easier if you want to upgrade. Then you can find all your custom stuff really easy.

 

Layer Styles

Close PSE6

 

You need to put the style file (.asl) in this folder:

 

XP- C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0\Locale\<en_US or your locale>\Photo Creations\layer styles

 

Vista- C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0\Locale\<en_US or your locale>\Photo Creations\layer styles

 

This will get the style into PSE6 and will appear in the 'show all' option in the styles palette.

 

 

To get the style to appear on the menu of the styles palette you need to create an XML file for it.

 

In the folder below is the XML files for the styles.

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0\Locale\en_US\photo Creations Metadata\layer styles

(Sorry don't know the path for Vista but it is possibly Vista- C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0\Locale\<en_US or your locale>\Photo Creations Metadata\layer styles)

 

1) You need to create an XML file with the exact same name as the style asl file. Every style set (.asl) needs to have it's own XML file.

 

So first I copied one of the existing XML files. Then I renamed it to the new style (I copied the .asl file name and then pasted it to ensure accuracy).

 

2) You need to edit the XML file (I just used Notepad) and this must include the exact file name (I pasted again).

 

Here's what the original Bevels XML file looked like:

 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<PSEContent xmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/PSEContent/1.0/">

<global>

<type value="style" />

 

<typecategory id="CatBevels" value="Bevels" localize="true" />

</global>

</PSEContent>

 

 

and here's the changed one for the Grunged Metal style I have:

 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<PSEContent xmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/PSEContent/1.0/">

<global>

<type value="style" />

 

<typecategory id="CatGrungedMetals_4103_CBA" value="GrungedMetals_4103_CBA" localize="true" />

</global>

</PSEContent>

 

The bold bits are what was changed. I don't have any idea what any of it means but this worked for me.

 

Now restart PSE6 and the media database will be recreated in the background. This may take a few minutes (depending on how many styles/actions you are adding in one go) and will cause the Editor to act a little strange (flicker) when you try to access the Effects Palette. When this has finished you should have the style in the list. If not restart PSE.

 

 

Installing Actions

 

Close PSE6

 

Action files (ATN) need to be installed in

XP- C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0\Photo Creations\photo effects

(Sorry don't know the one for Vista, you are going to have to look)

 

Actions also need an XML file (which is found in the '.....photo creations metadata\photo effects' folder), if you want them to appear in the photo effects palette. With Actions you can define a Category, where 'type cat' value=. This means you can have more than one action in a Category. Here's an example of one of mine:

 

 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<PSEContent xmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/PSEContent/1.0/">

<global>

 

<name id="Name" value="MRE_SS_PaperTear_PSE" localize="true"/>

 

<type value="effect" />

 

<typecategory id="TypeCat" value="Paper Tear (MRE)" localize="true" /></global>

</PSEContent>

 

 

If you compare to one of the XML files you already have you should be able to see the difference.

 

For the "TypeCat" value="Paper Tear (MRE)", the bit where I have Paper Tear (MRE) can be any description you want. This does not have to be the same as the ATN file name. This is the heading that will appear in the Effects Palette.

 

Every action needs to have it's own XML file that is named exactly the same as the action filename (.atn)(use copy and paste). So for Melissa's paper tear actions you need 3 XML files that correspond to the 3 ATN files that come with the action. For each of the XML files the "TypeCat" value needs to be the same. To make this easier for myself I did one first by coping an existing XML and editing it, then I copied that twice and made the changes to the filename and "Name" value.

 

Also with actions you need to have an associated PNG (which should be in the same directory as the action file) to get the little picture in the effects palette. All the actions I had had PSD files so I bulk converted them to PNG thru the editor (File, Process Multilple Files, and only did this because I have a lot of actions).

 

Some actions come with PSD's that have multiple layers such as Melissa's Paper Tear Action. With this type of PSD you need to save every layer as a PNG file. So you should end up with 3 PNG files for the paper tear actions and they need to have the exact same filename as the ATN file (again copy and paste the filename to ensure accuracy).

 

Again, restart PSE6 and the media database will rebuild in the background and PSE6 may behave a little strange while this is happening.

 

I think that covers it, sorry about the length.

 

See this post for a really good tip by Christy for creating shortcuts to all the different places you need to save things for PSE6, because it does get messy. Actually here's the text from that post if you don't want to read the rest of it:

 

Posted by ChristyW (Oct 25 2007)

Excerpt: " I recently purchased 6.0 (and do love it!) Because these folders are in strange places and I had to keep looking up the paths for them, I created a folder called 'Adobe Effects'. In the folder I made three short cuts to the actions, brushes and styles folders - the short cuts are labeled 'put actions here' , 'put brushes here', and 'put styles here'. I then have a shortcut to this folder on my desktop. Now when I want to install a new action, etc. I don't have to hunt down the folder/path, I can simple paste them to these 'dummy' shortcuts!! "

 

Also you may have to rebuild the media database, see post #3 of this thread for info on that.

 

Sue

 

Hi,

 

I just read this and did everything that is mentioned but I still have one question or problem. When I try and copy the Thumbs into the correct file, it says that there is already a file named Thumbs and do I want to write over it. I decided to just change the name of each thumb by typing in the name of the thumb after the word thumb. This did not work because in my effects, the picture of the thumb does not show up, it is just black. I can put my pointer over the black square and it will show the title of the effect so I can still use it but I can't see the thumb picture of it. What am I doing wrong? Where should all these thumbs be placed if they all have the same file name?

 

Thank you for any help you can give me.

Allison Bryant

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I am not sure what 'thumb' file you are referring to...I think this may have been used in previous versions of PSE.

 

If you look at the instructions again, an action needs .atn file, .xml file and .png file - the picture you see in PSE is the .png file.

 

"Also with actions you need to have an associated PNG (which should be in the same directory as the action file) to get the little picture in the effects palette. All the actions I had had PSD files so I bulk converted them to PNG thru the editor (File, Process Multilple Files, and only did this because I have a lot of actions)."

 

There is a 'ThumbsDatabase' that I refer to in post three, that is one of the files you need to remove or rename in order for the database to rebuild (if you are having problems with new things showing up.

 

HTH!!

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You don't need the thumb files - forget them.

 

To get a picture you need a PNG file. You have missed this bit from the instructions.

 

"Also with actions you need to have an associated PNG (which should be in the same directory as the action file) to get the little picture in the effects palette. All the actions I had had PSD files so I bulk converted them to PNG thru the editor (File, Process Multilple Files, and only did this because I have a lot of actions).

 

Some actions come with PSD's that have multiple layers such as Melissa's Paper Tear Action. With this type of PSD you need to save every layer as a PNG file. So you should end up with 3 PNG files for the paper tear actions and they need to have the exact same filename as the ATN file (again copy and paste the filename to ensure accuracy)."

To save a PSD as a PNG, open the PSD in PSE6, then select File, Save As and select PNG from the "file Type" drop down list. Make sure you save the PNG file with the exact same name as the PSD.

 

If you don't have a PSD with the actions then you can just make your own PNG. I can't remember what the file size is and I can't look it up (laptop issues). What I have done in the past is to copy a PNG from another action, edit it in PSE6 put a white layer over the top to hide the original image and then type in the name of the action and then save it like that.

 

If they are SG actions then I'm pretty sure that the new ones come with PNG files are at least PSD's so that you can convert them.

 

Sue

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You don't need the thumb files - forget them.

 

To get a picture you need a PNG file. You have missed this bit from the instructions.

 

"Also with actions you need to have an associated PNG (which should be in the same directory as the action file) to get the little picture in the effects palette. All the actions I had had PSD files so I bulk converted them to PNG thru the editor (File, Process Multilple Files, and only did this because I have a lot of actions).

 

Some actions come with PSD's that have multiple layers such as Melissa's Paper Tear Action. With this type of PSD you need to save every layer as a PNG file. So you should end up with 3 PNG files for the paper tear actions and they need to have the exact same filename as the ATN file (again copy and paste the filename to ensure accuracy)."

To save a PSD as a PNG, open the PSD in PSE6, then select File, Save As and select PNG from the "file Type" drop down list. Make sure you save the PNG file with the exact same name as the PSD.

 

If you don't have a PSD with the actions then you can just make your own PNG. I can't remember what the file size is and I can't look it up (laptop issues). What I have done in the past is to copy a PNG from another action, edit it in PSE6 put a white layer over the top to hide the original image and then type in the name of the action and then save it like that.

 

If they are SG actions then I'm pretty sure that the new ones come with PNG files are at least PSD's so that you can convert them.

 

Sue

 

Okay, I will try this.

Thank you!

Allison

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  • 1 month later...
  • 4 weeks later...
Hey all...Just wanted to let you know that we are in the middle of updating all of our actions so they will include a PSE6 folder. With that folder all you'll have to do is move the .png and .atn files into your folder. This should be finished up today.

 

If it's not showing the thumbnail and your png and atn file are in the same folder it's due to the fact they are not named exactly the same.

 

Angie, has this been done? I assume so because this message string is old. I just want to make sure because I was busily copying and pasting all the instructions into OneNote for future reference and then I saw your message.

 

P.S. It was great to see you in person at the convention. Thanks for all you do!

 

Thanks,

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  • 2 years later...

Sue and Christy,

 

I have upgraded from PSE 6 to PSE 8 and from Windows XP to Windows 7. Do you know the correct location for the XML files to create categories for styles and actions for PSE 8.0 running in Windows 7? Can I just copy the XML files I already created on my old computer and paste them into the correct location on the new one?

 

Thanks!

 

Jennifer

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