Hidden Power Actions III

[Richard_Lynch]

A new version of Hidden Power Actions (the interface for running Photoshop actions in Elements) is available...this time through ThePowerXChange in conjunction with, um, me! This package adds:

50 pre-installed actions (87 total)

ability to install over 500 actions

Manage an infinite number of actions in sets of 12 or groups of 84.

Includes these Hidden Power tools:

NEW:
-------
Fade effect
Shadow Mask
Highlight Mask
Trim image
Reveal Image
1 slower Action playback speed control
custom Drop Shadow
custom Glow (inner & outer)
custom Bevel
custom Stroke

Plus:
-------
Layer Mask insert
Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer
Selective Color Adjustment Layer
Quick Mask mode
Demos of several Hidden Power tools

Works with Mac and PC, Elements 1 and 2, in conjunction and as an addition to Hidden Power from the book The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements 2. Apply actions from text description or preview modes.

Get it here:

https://www.thepowerxchange.com/thep...ignStore_HPA3/

Thanks to Susan Stewart for help and beta testing (I didn't get all of her suggestions in for the deadline for this package -- so don't blame her!).

Please feel free to discuss tools, use and other improvements on the forum!

[DannyRaphael]

Richard:

Has/will the original package at http://www.hiddenelements.com/addedtools.html been/be updated, too?

Looks like some great additions. Congrats on this upgrade.

~Danny~

[Richard_Lynch]

It has not been, but should be before the end of the week.

[whipd]

Has anyone heard from The Power Exchange? I signed up on Sunday but have not yet gotten a response.

[caseyJ]

I signed up last Friday night and have not received anything from
Power Exchange. Thought maybe it was just me. Maybe a little premature advertisement. Guess we will just have to wait on Richard to post on hidden powers site.

[Richard_Lynch]

PC users can download here:

http://share.studio.adobe.com/axAsse...t.asp?aID=7516

Mac users have to wait a few hours more...my mac is behind some wet concrete that needs to set.

[caseyJ]

Excellent! I especially like the shadow mask and highlight mask, don't know how I did without them before. Fade effect looks promising but I haven't really got the hang of it yet. Can someone please explain exactly how the fade works and the purpose? Richard thanks for all your effort. CaseyJ

[Richard_Lynch]

Fade should work like this:

Apply a filter (or really a change to the image of any kind)
click FADE
the image will be set up so you can use opacity on the Fade Control layer to fade the effect you just added.

SO, say you apply a blur filter and you say to yourself: "Self, that is too much. I'd like something between that and what I had before. " You can use Fade at 50% instead of redoing the filter. But, instead of giving you a result that is just a 50% gaussian Blur, the fade blends the new with the old at 50% -- which is a different effect than applying 50% of the blur radius.

I should have added more instruction for that one. Feel free to discuss here.

[caseyJ]

Richard,
Thanks for the Fade explanation. Now it makes sense.

[Susan S.]

You can also do some fun stuff with fade, like fade to a different blending mode - you'll see this step sometimes in tutorials for the full version of PS. For example you can use unsharp mask and then fade, and change the blending mode of the fade layer to darken and fiddle with the percentage- on some images this looks better than the plain USM - you still get some sharpening but you don't get the white halos around objects. (trees silhoutted against a sky and eyelashes seem to respond well to this for example).

Susan S

[caseyJ]

Susan,
Thanks for the suggestions. Sounds easier than the work around I have been using. I always apply unsharp mask to a duplicate layer then change the blend mode to darken, duplicate this layer and change the second layer mode to lighten and play with the opacity of both layers to remove halos. Usually requires the lighten layer to be reduced to 50% to 60% or so. This sounds like fade effect may accomplish the same thing on one layer. CaseyJ

[pmarchant]

I thought I understood this until I tried it! E.g.
1. create a new layer
2. fill with a pattern (e.g. bubbles)
3. apply difference clouds filter
4. apply gaussian blur
5. do 'fade'
What I got was the fade control layer above the "bubbles" layer (i.e. the result of 2 above). Not what I expected -- I was expecting the difference clouds layer.

Playing around, it seems that fade is undoing one too many changes. Surely that's not right?

Paul.

PSE2 on WinMe. HPA III dowloaded from hiddenelements.com

[Susan S.]

Paul - yes I can replicate that - you can get around it by just doing something simple like selecting and deselecting between the two filters - it then just uses the last filter. For some reason when you run two filters in a row like that it looks back to before both of them - with three filters it just takes the last two. I missed that one when I was testing it........ sorry!

Susan S.

[Richard_Lynch]

well, if this is a problem, I am sure it can be fixed. I'll check it out and issue a patch if so -- there shouldn't be need for a work-around.

[Richard_Lynch]

Please try this replacement file for the fade fix.

Instructions:

1. Unzip the file
2. copy the file into the Elements/Presets/Photoshop Actions folder and over-write the existing file.

If this fixes, and I think it does, I'll re-create the installers.

Thanks for letting me know.