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Installing Styles In Pse9


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I bought pse9 over the weekend and tonight I finally got around to trying to install my styles. I found the directions I've received from previous purchases, and I thought I found the layer styles folder - I see the styles that come with pse - but when I restart pse my styles are not loaded. I've tried both with them in folders and not in folders.

 

I can't find anything in the university. I found one thread HEREbut I don't understand it. The pse9 Help section was useless. Is there a tutorial on installing styles in pse9 written somewhere? Oh, I just thought of googling! And I've saved that thread so I can return to it in the morning. I'm just afraid to delete parts of programs like some people are talking about (I think). And I'm baffled that it's so complicated. Maybe it will make some sense in the morning.

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Here is how I load styles into PSE9. With PSE closed I

 

1.Copy the ASL file of the style that I want to load

2.Go to: Program Data/Adobe/Photoshop Elements/9.0/Photo Creations/Layerstyles

3. Paste into Layer Styles

4. Reopen PSE9 and if you go to Layer Styles and Show All all of your styles should show up.

 

Hope that helps.

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If your style has been copied to the correct folder, your styles should be there. As Carol says, you should see them when you "show all"

 

The reason you don't see them otherwise is probably because you don't have a metadata file associated with your styles. If you look in the folder, you'll see metadata files for the preinstalled styles that came with PSE. The metadata file is the file that PSE uses to organize the files into categories.

 

You can create your own metadata files by opening an existing file, saving it as something else, and editing it.

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But before you try to edit an existing one, you do have to know which lines to change inside the meta file. There's a thread already on that but I am going out the door now. Will try to find later, if someone doesn't. It is VERY worth doing to have all your SG styles organized nicely in their very own categories!

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If your style has been copied to the correct folder, your styles should be there. As Carol says, you should see them when you "show all"

 

The reason you don't see them otherwise is probably because you don't have a metadata file associated with your styles. If you look in the folder, you'll see metadata files for the preinstalled styles that came with PSE. The metadata file is the file that PSE uses to organize the files into categories.

 

You can create your own metadata files by opening an existing file, saving it as something else, and editing it.

 

 

Elisha, do we have to create our own metadata file? I've never done that. I've only just copied and pasted the ASL file, which is the only file I get with my styles, in the styles folder. I've seen others mention that also, but thought that maybe it was for PS or CS, not PSE.

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You don't have to create it, but it sure helps in organizing and viewing your styles. I see Patsy's on it too, but we'll try to give you the lowdown - maybe a template or something. It's a worthwhile step!

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I didn't have time to work on this Thursday. I'm going to try this morning. Just wanted to make sure to thank you. And I really like the example style you chose. That's my most used style and the one I missed that led me to try to install my styles the other night! :)

 

Thank you so much everyone, and I will let you know how it goes.

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:(

 

Same thing happened. I followed the steps Carol outlined very carefully. The only difference compared to before was that I hadn't clicked on Show All so I was very hopeful. But the same thing happened. I got an error message: "Could not load the sytles because the file could not be found" followed by pse freezing up (clicking OK didn't close the error message and I had to shut pse down in the task manager).

 

I'm not going to try the metadata thing yet because if I understand what you're saying, that's just for organization purposes, not the reason why I can't install my styles.... right?

 

Perhaps re-installing the program would help....?

 

For the moment I'm going to get my week 47 layout finished and get started and hopefully finish week 48 too, since it's ending now. I'll just have to use pse's native shadow style (ugh).

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Michelle, I used to have that error message in an older version of PSE all the time when I hit show all styles - I would hit it by accident and it would take FOREVER (like 20 minutes) to load, and I couldn't do anything.

 

And then I'd get that error message. For the life of me, I could never figure out which style it was having trouble with. I think I might have tried removing one of the preinstalled styles that I never used, but not sure.

 

I thought about reinstalling the program, but I didn't want to reinstall all my styles, because I'd just gone through the process of organizing them with the metadata. So I just tried not to hit "show all."

 

If you don't have any styles installed anyway, I'd reinstall the program when you're finished what you're doing. Then go from there.

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I just had another idea. See, I was thinking "what else could be different?" and I remembered that I had backed up my styles to my Smugmug vault (along with all my files) before I got my new hard drive. And then I had to re-download them from there. I wonder if -- even though Smugvault is supposed to be able to handle any kind of file -- could the style files have been corrupted or something?

 

I'm testing this theory by purchasing a new style and I'll see if it can be installed.

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nope.... the new style didn't work either ... good news really.. . glad my styles files are not messed up.... I forgot to mention another reason I suspected that. You know how you see graphics for files, when browsing in windows, to show they're associated with specific programs? My style files have just a plain white rectangle, no graphic indicating what kind of file they are.

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I was having trouble getting my styles to appear in PSE9, even after installing them, creating metadata, or using Add-O-Matic...

 

It turns out that every time I install new styles, brushes, or actions, I have to delete the MediaDatabase file and then reload PSE to get the program to recognize it.

 

I'm trying to remember the file path by memory since I'm at work, but I think it is:

Program Files - Adobe - Photoshop Elements - 9.0 - Photo Creations ....somewhere in (or around) this area of the program file is a MediaDatabase file. I delete this, then reload PSE. It takes a while for PSE to rebuild the database, but then everything appears.

 

If you can't find the MediaDatabase file, send me a PM and I'll try to help again tonight when I have my computer in front of me :)

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Tiza,

when you wrote "reload" did you mean restart or reinstall?

Thanks. I haven't gotten to reinstalling yet, so this might be good to try first. I saw your previous thread about it, but didn't comprehend it late the other night and I'm wary about deleting files if I don't know what they are, especially since it came as part of the program. But I'm ready to try it now.

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By reloading, I meant just re-opening PSE (you need to have PSE closed before you delete the MediaDatabase file). It's a pain to go through this extra step every time I install new styles. And depending on how many styles/actions you have installed, it could take upwards of 20 minutes for PSE to rebuild the database. But I dont mind the delay, as long as everything appears where it should :)

 

If I ever learn a way to get things to work without having to delete the database file, that will be a miracle!

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Some people recommend just re-naming the MediaDatabase file instead of deleting it, so you still have it for backup. You can change that file name from MediaDatabase to 12310MediaDatabase or something like that. When you re-open PSE, it will still re-create the necessary database file, but you haven't deleted anything. In case you feel that is safer ;)

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Sorry...had the file path wrong...

 

Adobe - Photoshop Elements - 9.0 - Locale - en_US - MediaDatabase.db3

 

It might also be helpful to go to Photo Creations folder and delete the ThumbsDatabase.db3 file to make sure all of the thumbnail icons show up correctly too.

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found it! now waiting for pse to open (it has barely been ten minutes so far)

 

I did that before I saw your last message, so I'll have to save that to try next, if necessary.

 

<crossing fingers>

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Oops, I saw your suggestion to rename the MediaDatabase file too late.

 

But Great News! It worked, and I can finally see all my styles. Next (but later) I'm going to have to learn to organize them.

 

As for being nervous about deleting the MediaDatabase file, I see it regenerates. I can see a new one in the folder, dated the minute my PSE finished re-opening.

 

So now my 15 or so styles are all dumped into the Show All category in the Layer Styles panel.

 

Thanks for your help Tiza, Elisha, and Carol!!!

 

I just wonder why Adobe made it so difficult, and didn't even give directions for how to load styles in the Help section.

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Actually I can understand why Adobe doesn't give directions for this. In all reality, you're really hacking into the program. Adobe cannot support another company's products.

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If your style has been copied to the correct folder, your styles should be there. As Carol says, you should see them when you "show all"

 

The reason you don't see them otherwise is probably because you don't have a metadata file associated with your styles. If you look in the folder, you'll see metadata files for the preinstalled styles that came with PSE. The metadata file is the file that PSE uses to organize the files into categories.

 

You can create your own metadata files by opening an existing file, saving it as something else, and editing it.

 

 

Elisha, do we have to create our own metadata file? I've never done that. I've only just copied and pasted the ASL file, which is the only file I get with my styles, in the styles folder. I've seen others mention that also, but thought that maybe it was for PS or CS, not PSE.

 

It is much easier loading styles into PSCS actually

Thier is load styles option on the styles menu and you just browse to the folder

containing your styles.You can choose which styles to load and when.

You can put styles into subfolders for categories so you find them easier

when you ready to use them.

 

PS will start faster if you not loading all your brushs,styles,actions every time

the program starts.

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I really need to categorize my styles. I have CS5. When I need to use a style, I just click load and find the style I'm looking for in my files. I have them all (soooooooooooooooo many) in just one folder on my computer. There has to be a better way. If there is another thread explaining this, do you know where I could find it? Thanks my friends :-)

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Actually I can understand why Adobe doesn't give directions for this. In all reality, you're really hacking into the program. Adobe cannot support another company's products.

 

I'm such a rebel! :D

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Actually I can understand why Adobe doesn't give directions for this. In all reality, you're really hacking into the program. Adobe cannot support another company's products.

 

I'm such a rebel! :D

 

HAHA...I just tried to "like" this post as if it were on Facebook. :hit-head-with-hammer:

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I really need to categorize my styles. I have CS5. When I need to use a style, I just click load and find the style I'm looking for in my files. I have them all (soooooooooooooooo many) in just one folder on my computer. There has to be a better way. If there is another thread explaining this, do you know where I could find it? Thanks my friends :-)

 

I have 1 subfolder for each category which separates my styles

into different sub folders for glitter,glass,paper,wood,water ,glossy and more etc.

I first had to create all the different subfolders and then I could put all the styles into thier

correct category sub folder.

If I want to use a glass style I just go to my glass styles sub folder which has glass styles only.

If I want to use a glitter style I go to my glitter subfolder which has just glitter styles.

Each category has it own subfolder within my styles folder so the styles are sorted by folders

instead of all dumped into the one folder.

 

 

.

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