Merge using Ctrl Shift Alt E problem

[kabe83]

Hi
I've been reading for a while, but until now haven't had courage or motivation enough to post. Now I could really use some help or enlightenment. Hope I'm posting this correctly.
If I have applied Styles to some layers, such as a gold style, then wish to merge all the layers onto a new layer at the top using Ctrl Alt Shift E, I lose some of my Style effects. It's as though I had scaled the layer effect to zero. It's there but flat. I just discovered that it's not quite as bad if I go in and make sure Global Light is turned off, but it still alters the look of my styles. Is there some setting I'm overlooking?
I'm using PSE 3.
Thanks
Karen Peterson

[Wendy]

Hi Karen ...

Merging layer styles can cause strange things to happen to layer styles but Control Alt Shift E should simply take a copy of how the image looks ... so I'm not sure about that one :confused:

Try this ...

Go the the layers palette
Click on the top most layer
then do Select>All
Edit>Copy Merged
Edit>Paste ..

Does that work OK ... or not ??

If not then try posting a screen shot of before you do it and then another after you have done it .. that may help us to sort it it for you :)

Wendy

[GaryK]

Hey Karen

One thing to remember with PE3 is that you have to make a new blank layer at the top of your layer stack for the key combo to work properly.

I use this quite a bit and have never noticed anything getting lost. That being said I haven't used every style or effect so maybe some of them do get lost. :rolleyes:

[kabe83]

Yes, I am creating a new blank layer at the top. Wendy, your method does the exact same thing as Ctrl Alt etc. I don't know how to post images. Something about Pix Central? Actually, I don't know how to post replies, so I don't know if this will work. What I will be posting won't be as bad as if I had left Global Light turned on, and I don't see why that should be, either.
Thanks for your quick responses.
Karen

[Jodi Frye]

Ya, this is odd enough. As Wendy says..the keyboard trick just 'copies' what's there so this is usually not a problem with layer styles acting out. Another suggestion would be to flatten your image<blah> OR do a Ctrl+A and then a Ctrl+C and then go to file>New>Image from clipboard. Of course your layers will be gone but you will still have the original layered file open on your screen as well as the new merged file...just in case.

Kind of tough to say what could be affecting the style tho...perhaps a screenshot of your layers palette would help alot ... post using Pixentral.

[kabe83]

Tried your suggestion, Jodi. Any kind of merging loses the style, so I can't copy to clipboard because all I get is the one layer I copy. If I merge first, the style loses it's sparkle. So actually, the new question is: how do I merge without losing style effects?
Here are URLs from Pixentral. (Another new skill. Just figured out how to make a screenshot.) Was I supposed to do something with the html at the bottom of the page?
Thanks
Karen

Before http://tinyurl.com/z86ky

After http://tinyurl.com/eanrb

[Wendy]

Hi Karen ...

I can't actually see any difference between the images :confused: :confused: where have you lost the layer style ??

Wendy

[Jodi Frye]

Ya, I see that it loses some of the brilliance. Try this.....duplicate the gold layer ....the one with the style and then go ahead and try the keyboard short again on a new layer above...I have a feeling it needs the 'extra' pixels to reproduce more accurately.

[Wendy]

Hi Jodi ...

Oh now I see where the gold slightly dims :)

Wendy

[kabe83]

It's very hard to see in that small image. The shininess disappears. Basically, the amount of scaling changes, I think. In the original of that image, which I lost because I saved wrong after merging, it flattened so much that it was just brown, no shine at all. Then I painted more gold on, bringing the shine back. But when I merge, it becomes less shiny. And it's really strange when I have several layers with styles and Global Light is turned on somewhere. Basically, when I merge, the program decides what the effect is going to be, and it won't be what it was a second before.
I would try uninstalling and installing a version of PSE 3 that came with my Wacom, but I'd lose all my actions, brushes, and styles. Maybe I did something wrong when I installed Wow? I remember having a really hard time installing it. I haven't tried merging until recently, when I've wanted to do a frame or just have a snapshot of the whole image, so it hasn't come up.
Karen

[Jodi Frye]

Hi Wendy...is it raining where you are or are you having the same summer heat ? Well, it did rain cats and dogs on Saturday but prior to that we had not seen rain in quite some time...none since then.

Karen, no no don't uninstall, that's not the answer...stuff like this happens...it just does. Try what I had just posted after Wendy...

[kabe83]

Tried duplicating gold layer. Sure brightened up more before merging. Should that have happened? Shouldn't it have looked the same? Anyway, when I merged onto the new top layer, it dimmed down again. The color was lighter this time than when merging from just one gold layer, but it doesn't have the sharpness or contrast to give that really shiny look.
Was there something different I should have done from Pixcentral?
Karen

[Jodi Frye]

Karen, from what I saw of your screenshot it really wont hurt you to flatten the image...this will definietly keep the look you want. You wont need to duplicate the gold layer before flattening...after flattening you can turn it back into an editable layer by double clicking on it. Save with a different name and keep the layered file if you wish....but again, it's just one of those things. I do believe this will not be an issue the next time you use the style. It was probably a mix of a few things that you mentioned in the previous post. Roll with it dear...it looks marvelous !

[kabe83]

Sorry to say, flattening does the same thing, and this is happening on other images and with WOW styles as well. But you're right, as long as I turn off Global Light, it makes smaller changes. It's just odd having something change after I've spent time deciding how I want it to look.
Would resetting preferences do anything, do you think? What would I lose in the process? I'm afraid of never getting back some Actions and Styles.
Karen

[kabe83]

Hmmm. Just made an image with lots of rectangles and lots of styles, and changed the amount of scaling on each. I included that gold style that had been a problem. Merged them onto a new layer. It works fine. How embarassing. Maybe shutting down the program and starting again helped.
I really appreciate the time you guys have given this. I will wait another 2 years before posting another non-problem.
Thank you.
Karen

[Wendy]

Hi Karen ...

It could just be that the combination of styles you used in the specific image caused the problem ... and maybe the new image didn't show that up. I had one image that caused me all sorts of problems when I tried to flatten it and I never did find a way of solving it ...

Don't wait so long before posting again ... its much more fun joining in and we really do like to see images that people are working on. :)

Wendy

[Jodi Frye]

ya...ya better post before that...we'll come and get you otherwise !!! :)

[kabe83]

Thanks again. I was too demoralized to write back last night when the same problem popped up again, on an image that had seven gradient adjustment layers as well as style layers. I decided to try merging early and often and to change colors some other way than using adjustment layers. It's frustrating to get so far into an image and then not be able to work on it as a composite. It did occur to me that I could save as the largest possible jpg, which would result in a copy with one layer, then continue working and save the final as psd.
The other question--how to get an image from Pixcentral to the forum? If one pastes that bottom html at Pixcentral into the post, does an image magically appear?
Karen

[Wendy]

Hi Karen ...

It must have been very demoralizing yesterday ... this has only happened to me a couple of times and I found it most frustrating when it did. It is nothing that you have done ... it seems to be how Elements deals with merging some layers that contain layer styles. It could also be caused if/when you change the size of an image ...

It happened to me when I was using a gold layer style too :(

When you have uploaded your image to Pixentral looks below the image ... there are two links. Its the second one that you need ... its marked forums.

Just copy it and then paste it into a message here ... then the thumbnail will appear in the message ..

Wendy

[Benny Pedersen]

I know this an old thread but forum users do search
both Google and Forums internal search options... :rolleyes:

First I would suggest, that you remove the
'Strange Happens' thing while helding Shift keys in WinXP. :eek:

Start > Run > access.cpl
Keyboard: Uncheck all (and uncheck any box under the three buttons)
Ok

Whether you are using Adobe or not, you have probably
already disabled the above 'Strange Happen' things. ;)

Start the Language thing in the process bar:

Start > Run > control intl.cpl,,1 > Enter...
Ok
Ok

You should now be able to press the necessary
abnormal keys like in far away countries,
USA and elsewhere... so
the [ key is now right to the P key, and
the ] key is now right to the [ key.

Look in the layers palette,
Click the bottom layer (a locked background layer)
Press Alt+]
Press Ctrl+Shift+N
Enter
Press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E

The above could be done other ways but I think
this way is much better pedagogically.

Benny,
btw. My work from yesterday, delete.zip contain
an extra gift: If you do a little examination in the
folder inside the ZIP, you should be able to learn how
to make folder thumbnails (a picture) on whatever folder.
Unzip to a folder in Windows XP where you have
Large Thumbnails View.
The ZIP contain a shortcut to the 'PSE5 action folder',
a shortcut that I created to work in
all languages / countries, (of cause) and besides that, it
also show the proper icon by Adobe. :p

[Lance Warley]

Before you merge the layers, try simplifying the Style - right click on the Style icon and then click Simplify.

This helps me a lot in many ways. I hope it helps you.

[johnfranklin]

Before you merge the layers, try simplifying the Style - right click on the Style icon and then click Simplify.

This helps me a lot in many ways. I hope it helps you.

Thank You, and Bless You Lance, Finally