Malcom,
First, is this question related to Photoshop Elements or Photoshop ? Because the Effects (Text, Images, Frames or Textures) are actions that need to be specifically written for Elements.
Now, if you’ve found an action that you know will work in Elements, then there’s a way to make it appear in the menu.
First, you need to write down the name of this action exactly as it appears (the name of the file is usually the name of the action, but it sometimes differ, so don’t be surprised if this technique doesn’t work, it’s because the action’s name inside the file isn’t the file name itself).
For the sake of this explanation, we’ll suppose you want to make your actions visible in the Image Effects menu.
First, open a file named Photoshop Elements \ Previews \ Effects \ Original.PSD Copy the content of this layer into the computer’s memory. You’ll need it later. You may close the file at this point.
Open the file Photoshop Elements \ Previews \ Effects \ Image Effects \ Images Effects.PSD, (you open this file in Photoshop Elements).
Add a new layer. Name that layer the exact name of the action file you copied. Paste the content of the clipboard (which you got from the Original.PSD file you opened earlier) into that layer. This will become the vignette for the action. Save this file. Make sure you’re saving it in Photoshop Format (else you’ll loose everything).
Close Elements and reopen it. Now, when you go the Image Effects palette, your new image effect will be there.
Optionally (and preferably), you will want to apply this effect onto the new layer of the Image Effects.PSD file, the layer you added earlier, in order to make it more user friendly. Reopen the file, apply the filter, and save the file again, still in Photoshop Format.
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—> A BIG WORD OF CAUTION <—
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First, backup the Image Effects.PSD file ***BEFORE*** you actually temper with it. Otherwise, if you damage it, you’ll have to reinstall the software. Save it elsewhere, and write down where you save it. Outside of Photoshop Elements folder (like My Documents for Windows, or the Home directory for Mac OS X).
Also, backup the file Original.PSD ***BEFORE*** you open it. Just to be on the safe side. Put it, again, in a folder outside Photoshop Elements’ one.
Here’s a list of the files you’ll need to change to add items to various palettes:
Image Effects
Photoshop Elements \ Previews \ Effects \ Images Effects\Image Effects.PSD
Frames
Photoshop Elements \ Previews \ Effects \ Frames \ Frames.PSD
Text Effects
Photoshop Elements \ Previews \ Effects \ Text Effects \ Text Effects.PSD
Textures
Photoshop Elements \ Previews \ Effects \ Textures \ Textures.PSD
I have Photoshop CS at home, so if you find that you’ve done everything here and the action (effect) is certified for Elements and it doesn’t show up on the palette, send the action to me and I’ll let you know the name you’ll need to enter to make it work :
Hope this helps,
Ray
It now transpires that the Firebackground is an action not an effect, and since Photoshop Elements does not facilitate actions, loading the effect is not straightforward. I am indebted to Ray Robillard who was able to use his expertise to split the action into its’ component parts and tutor me through a procedure that enabled me to load the effect into my Image Effects palette
Malcolm Gibbon
