Filter Distort Displace not working

I’m running Photoshop CS2 with the 902 update on Windows XP Professional, version 2002, with Service Pack 2. The operating system is AMD Sempron 2200+, 1.50 Ghz, with 768Mb of RAM. The hard drive is 40Gb with 6.61GB of free space. The video drive is an MSI MS-StarForce GeForce FX5500 (NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500).

I’m following the instructions in Katrin Eismann’s Photoshop Masking & Compositing book. (I’m reading my 13th photoshop book, so I’ve performed this operation before from some other book at home using Photoshop 6.01.) Starting on page 465, we convert a channel of an image, which is a kewpie doll, to grayscale to use as a displacement map for the kewpie-doll's shadow. The kewpie-doll shadow has the only pixels on that layer, just as it shows in the book. Then on page 467, we run the Filter>Distort>Displace operation, using that displacement map. But no matter what displacement map I use (Open) or what Horizontal and Vertical Scales I use (even 100% for each), not only does nothing happen, but nothing appears in the History file.

You saved the map as a .psd, right?

You probably have the files buried too deep in your file structure.

Terri

I have this same problem. I've tried replacing the plug-in with a friends copy of that filter. It simply does not work, no history, nor can you redo/undo. It's as if the function doesn't exist. Does anyone truly know what the problem is and how to fix it.

Does anyone with Adobe know and do they care???

JLG

Not familiar with the books mentioned, but a critical step involves saving your "displayed map file" as another outside file, to be imported back into the displacement map dialog.

Basically you have to generate your displacement map file, save as PSD, then import into the displace dialog.

Greyscale displacement files work great, but with imported RGB files, R=X axis, G=Y axis...to give more options.

Note it has to be a PSD file.

Did anyone find a solution to this problem?
I just tried it myself for the first time - PS CS2 9.02... Having just attended a class by Bert Monroy and was going through exercises in his lab... He demonstrated it... But it doesn't work on my pc..

I get this message in the photoshop file (hard to read, but possible)

"This layered Photoshop file was not saved with a composite image"

in place of the displaced image...

In Preferences, turn on maximize compatibility. Now open and resave the image at issue. That will save a composite, at the cost of a larger file.

Thank YOU...
I had for some reason turned off compatibility - and when I tried it again I didn't also re-save to compatibility the displace image also....
Works just like a charm...

Be Well

Glad it worked. I wish all of our problems were that easy.