I am new to Hidden Powers of PE2. I have tried to get actions to load and can not do it. I end up with a page cannot be displayed error when I click on the tab. I have followed the directions and tried it more than one time and in different folders. I tried it in the other folder just like Richard said in the directions. I renamed one other.inactive and the new one other.....Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong. I have tried to do some of the actions on adobe exchange studio.

Thank you,
Angie

Hi Angie:

Welcome to RetouchPRO. Always nice to have another Elements' enthusiast among us.

Be patient. I'm confident that one of the Elements' action heads (if not Richard Lynch himself) will be along soon to help get you past this obstacle.

My contribution is with regard to: "I have tried to do some of the actions on adobe exchange studio."

Many actions that you download from AES (and other sites) will work just fine with Elements. Beware, however, there are some that will not. Based on he symptons you described I doubt that's the stumbling block here, but just file this little tidbit away for future reference.

Are you experiencing the same symptoms from any of the Elements'-certified actions from www.HiddenElements.com?

Hang tight...

~Danny~

Many actions simply will not pay on Elements, simply becasue the authors name the actions with a name starting with capital letters. Once that is fixed (which can be done fairly easily in the demo version of PS6 which doesn't expire, but can save actions but not documents) many will play. Others will need some editing to get them into Elements friendly form (using adjustment layers instead of image adjustments for example).
Having said that, the "page cannot be displayed error" sounds more like an error in the index.html file for the relevant action set, rather than in the action itself. If the action can't play it tends to just not respond.

Hi Danny,
No the actions in the Hidden Elements work just fine. This only happens when I try to put one in using the directions. I don't know what else to do.

Susan,
Thank you for trying to help me, I will work on this some more probably next week.

Angie

I think I am having the same trouble. I get lost and confused on the adding of new downloaded actions. Ok I dl'ed an action called "Akkia's rusted text.atn" that I assume will make my text look hmmm well .... rusted :classic:
If you could please go thru the steps after I dl (to My Downloads) to get it in the menu so I can run it. Do I have to rename folders? (other.inactive) Where do I put the .atn file? Also on the preloaded actions--I was trying to make the word Preacher using the gold text action, it would not fit in the area the action creates for me to type in, when I try to change canvas size the action goes on with out me typing my word...how would I make long text?
sorry for being so lost and confused any help is appreceated

Sarn, you have a lot of questions for just one reply. It sounds to me as if you need some one-on-one hands on help. Are there any classes you could take in a nearby community education class? In lieu of that, you can transform your type by using the Edit>Transform method. That should fit your text into the space you have. You can also create a new blank palette and close out the one automatically created with the action. I do that all the time.
Where to store your action (.atn) is up to you. However, I would strongly suggest that you create a new folder somewhere to store all extra stuff such as actions. Do not store it in Photoshop if you can possibly help it. If Photoshop crashes (and mine has a couple of times), you will lose all of that downloaded stuff. You can get to your extra folder by using Preferences in the edit menu. Also, creating a rewritable cd (you can add to those) protects your downloads from being wiped out when your computer crashes as well.

Above all...don't be afraid to use the HELP provided with Photoshop. It can be an invaluable tool for remembering and using the little stuff.

Good luck.
Janet

Janet:

Your heart's in the right place. After reading this it appears to me Sarn is having difficulties with implementing actions using the Hidden Powers of Photoshop Elements. That's out of my league. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the PSE folks like Susan or Richard Lynch pops in soon. Richard is usually right on top of these types of questions.

Sarn: Be patient...

~Danny~

Yes my main problem is how to get an action I downloaded into the Hidden Powers menu so I can run it. The instruction seemed confusing to me maybe just because I am new to the photoshop elements world. It sounded to me that AHinNC was haveing the same trouble, getting new (not the built in ones) loaded in and running. Thanks for bearing with me though.

Sarn - the details for how to install actions into HPA3 are in the advanced.rtf file that should have been part of the HPA3 downlod. The action itself needs to go into the prests/photoshop actions folder (I'm assuming that Windows has the same folder structure as the mac) . Then you need to create an html file that will call the action - either using an html editor or by filling in the gaps in the template that Richard has provided using a text editor. The instructions are there in the rtf file.
Potential problems: you need to know both the name of the action file and the name of the action within the file to write this html. If the action wasn't written specifically for Elements then you probably won't have this second piece of info and it's also likely that the action name won't be all in lower case alphnumeric characters- which Elements requires. If it isn't it will need to be renamed amd this requires access to full version PS or a PS demo. (the PS 6 demo is useful as while it can't save images it can save actions, and doesn't time expire - but may well be hard to find now!) The action itself may well run without any further tweaking, but it is possible it will require further editing - not all actions will run first up in Elements, but many do. (if you can link me to the action I can have a look at it in CS and make a guess as to whether it will work in Elements- without permission of the creator I can't modify it and make it available for any one else though as it's a breach of copyright)

I haven't tried the gold action (I prefer gold layer styles - there are some good ones on the Adobe download site - as they are more flexible for such things as type size and position)
Susan S.

Thanks Susan!

Sarn,
If you find that the action does not work in Elements, please send me an email and I'll try to convert it for you (I've not met an action that would not convert!).

Richard

I have a more basic problem. When I downloaded the HPA3 from Adobe site, I did not have the advanced .rtf readme file nor the Layer Effects. I located the files in Adobe/photoshop Elements (except the advanced rtf filewhich I could not find at all.) but they did not show up in Welcome or How to.
Should I uninstall and try again? How do I uninstall if that's what I should do?
Any help appreciated,
Olive

the advanced.rtf file is installed with the enhancements. It is not accessible through elements. You have to open it using a text browser or MS word. Search your c drive for it...it will show up in the Photoshop Elements2 folder.

OK?

Found it! Thanks. I haven't found the Layer Effects yet. I originally thought I found them in Adobe Photoshop Elements folder, but when I went into the properies, I see that these were the original Effects loaded with the software and not the upgrade.

To get the Layer Effects, click on Set 1 on the Welcome palette. You'll see the Effects listed there. To get the Welcome palette, choose Welcome from the Windows menu.

OK?

Thank you, thank you. There are the Effects. In Set 1. My question is why isn't there
anything under the other sets?
Your book plainly says it is for moderate to advanced users, and I am just beginning to try to understand some of the material in your book even though I have had it for a long time. Is there a basic book anywhere that explains channels, etc? All of the things that are discussed in your book. For slow learners and not yet moderate or advanced.
Thank you for providing all the time and effort in answering questions and being a tremendous help.
Accidently, I fixed one of my pictures going through your steps in splitting RGB colors, just for practice,and I can't imagine why it made it better. Or it may have been in the luminosity section- Ohwell. Thanks again.
Olive

Thank you, thank you. There are the Effects. No problem...glad I could help. why isn't there anything under the other sets?Those are places for you to put other actions. When the stuff first came out I had envisioned getting some action writers (other than myself) to help out and bring more to Elements...regretfully I wasn't able to find a whole bunch of interested parties. I think there is a need and a wealth of things to be converted, but somehow the message isn't getting through. It could be because some people don't see an immediate buck in it. The only other person that i could get interested in making conversions decided to release her own interface, and, well, split efforts that would have been better off unified. Is there a basic book anywhere that explains channels, etc? All of the things that are discussed in your book. For slow learners and not yet moderate or advanced.Well, as most people will tell you there are no channels in Elements unless you read my book, it isn't likely that you will find an Elements book that talks about channels at all! When you say you want to know more about channels, do you have specific questions? Really, all they are are components of the image...like you have stock, water and salt in a soup, you have red, green and blue in an image. if you have specific questions, better to just ask them and I'll answer them here...better than me trying to get what you want into another book! Accidently, I fixed one of my pictures going through your steps in splitting RGB colors, just for practice,and I can't imagine why it made it better. That was no accident ;-) The steps in the book are basic enough that the beginner should be able to complete them. They are also solid enough in foundation that they should work on any image. that you don't know why it made the images better is perhaps written into the text of the book...Essentially you are optimizing the image components, which results in color balance and a more dynamic image. The more you understand these adjustments, the further you can go with them. However, even the basic steps improve your images.

Feel free to ask those questions!