Ok I'm Stuck! (installing new action in PSE2)

[pm3009]

Hi

I'm stuck here. I've followed Richard Lynches instructions very closely, but can't seem to get a new action installed in Photoshop Elements 2.0 .
I installed the Hidden Power Tools. The imbedded Actions that came with it work great. No problem there. I am trying to get the action "underwater.atn" working with PSE2. I downloaded the atn file from adobe (it's attached to my thread titled "Underwater Action and Elements 2.0 ??" if you need to look at the file). I created a preview file per Richards instructions, and named it underwater.psd and placed both the atn and the psd files in a folder named underwater, which I placed in the Program Files\adobe photoshop elements\Previews\Effects folder. I deleted the cache, emptied the recycle bin, rebooted, and started up elements2 again. I see the underwater category under effects, but there isn't any action in there. So, I followed Richards troubleshooting tips for this problem, and nothing fixed it. I even tried copying one of the psd files from another effects folder into the underwater folder, and renamed the psd file underwater.psd in case I did something wrong when I created the psd preview file, but that didn't work either. I also tried placing the atn file in one of the existing effects folders, but it still didn't appear under that existing category. Each time I tried something new, I deleted the cache, emptied the recycle bin, and rebooted before checking to see if it worked. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? It's really important to me to get this underwater action working since I do a lot of scuba diving and it works GREAT at taking care of the blue cast that most of the dive photos have. (tried the underwater.atn in a trial version of PhotoshopCS....but I decided after trying cs, that it's way more than I need)

Thanks so much!!
Pam

[Richard_Lynch]

You are skipping a step. a layer in the file needs to be named after the action. if you are trying to run thisaction.atn, a layer must be called thisaction. There need not be any other layers in the file.

OK?

[pm3009]

I got it working! For some reason, I have two sets of instructions. The readme file that came with Hidden Power Tools Action player, and a document by Richard that I pulled from the web somewhere. I don't know if the latter document is just a different method or what....but I couldn't get the action installed with that method. Here are the two methods. Was I trying to do something completely meant to do something else?

Method that didn't work:
installed action player
created preview image and named it underwater.psd
copied underwater.psd and underwater.atn into a folder I named underwater,
and placed that folder into the Previews\Effects folder.
deleted cache, emptied wastebasket and restarted Elements.

Method that did work:
copied underwater.atn file into the Presets\PhotoshopActions folder
Edited the index.html file in the Welcome\PhotoFixes folder
Inserted the HTML code for the underwater action per Richards instructions
that I found in this forum
deleted cache, emptied wastebasket and restarted Elements

So, was the first method meant to do something else? VERY HAPPY that I got it working!!

Thanks!!
Pam

[Richard_Lynch]

Whatever you are doing here, you are jumbling the two methods. There was an actions player created for Elements 1 and 2, and a method of playing actions through effects. These are two entirely different things, downloaded from different pages on the site. either method will work fine...they just don't work as intended when you do a little of each of them ;-)

[pm3009]

Yes...it's really easy now that I know what I'm doing!! Your tools are great!
Thanks!