Adobe Downloads - Question

[Frobergs2]

I'm trying to find some cool things out there compatible with PSE4 on Adobe. I tried to do one, and it said this for instructions:

Put the custom shapes library in a directory of your choice. It does not need to be in the Photoshop directory. 2. Choose Edit > Preset Manager. 3. In the Preset Manager dialog, select "Custom Shapes" from the Preset Type drop-down menu. 4. Click Load… 5. In the Load dialog, find the new Custom Shapes library and click Load. 6. The shapes will now be available in the Shape pop-up menu, which is found in the Options bar when a shape tool is selected. 7. Consult the manual, or attached documentation (if available), for more information on loadingand using Custom Shapes.

The part I put in bold, I can't do...I don't have that as an option in my Preset manager. It just has brushes, swatches, gradients, patterns. Should I assume this isn't compatible with PSE4?

[Wendy]

Hi ...

The instruction are for Photoshop ... so ignore those :)

Go to your Adobe Photoshop Elements software folder and look in the folder marked presets.
Inside there you will find a whole series of folders and these are the ones that most (but not all) freebies go into.

Files ending in .abr go in the Brushes folder
.aco in the Colour Swatches folder
.csh in Custom Shapes
.grd in Gradients
.pat in Patterns
.asl in Styles

So just put your unzipped .csh file in the Custom shapes one .. hope this helps :)

Wendy

[randy_nacol2002]

Wendy, thanks i've been trying to do the same as Froberg.

[Frobergs2]

Yes thank you THANK YOU Wendy! I just downloaded a couple snowflake brushes to use to start some Holiday card templates, and I LOVE what I downloaded. I was worried I needed PS7 to use them. :)

[Wendy]

Hi ...

No problem at all ... glad to help :)

Wendy

[GaryK]

Holiday Card Templates??? :eek: :eek: :eek:

[willpresley]

Yes -- now would be the time to start so they will be ready when the Holiday arrives -- we should review what was presented last year to get ready.

[Wendy]

Will ...

Guess its time I started writing tuts for this year :) :)

Wendy

[Frobergs2]

LOL, well it is August! ;) I start Photography sessions for Holiday photos in October, only 2 months away, and I'd need to have templates done well before then. And I have to say, I'm doing so much better than I thought I would be able to! I'll have to post a link in a little while...

[kerriann85]

Yes Gary, it's only two Merchandise Changes until Christmas. Walmart will go from Back to School, to Halloween, to Christmas all before you're ready!

Time to get the swimming pool drained! Wonder if the snow blower needs a tune up........

(I just wish people would start coming in for their family Christmas card Portrait sessions now instead of waiting til the week of Thanksgiving and wonder why prints won't be ready the first week of December!!) sorry, pardon the small rant there. :rolleyes:


P.S. fair warning. None of you should expect cards from me this year......either. :D

[kerriann85]

Frobergs, do you have a photography studio of your own?

[chas3stix]

Are you kidding?
Last year the local Wal-Mart started showing Christmas stuff on Labor Day!
Nothing like rushing the season......:)
Chas

[Frobergs2]

Kerri~ I do, well it's home-based. I see you must too? ;) I just started last year, but have been doing really well so far. It's hard starting out, there's just so much to learn as you go. Last year was a produtive Hoilday season though, so this year should be even moreso. I don't have a "real" website for myself yet, I need to learn the whole HTML thing first so I can design it...hopefully soon I can conquer that. I just post my albums on Photosite for now, it serves its purpose. I have a small Gallery that isn't PW protected, if you want to peek. www.DarleneFroberg.photosite.com The cards I've been working on today are there too...the password for that is "2006". Let me know what you think!

[kerriann85]

Darlene, thanks for the peek! Looks like great stuff. I actually work for a small studio as retoucher and "office girl". Almost a whole year now! Got the job thanks to the support and info on this forum, in fact. And now I hardly have time to get back here!
Where are you located?
For someone just starting out I can highly recommend getting involved with your local PPA offiliate (Professional Photographers of America) and another website you might like, if you don't know it yet, is www.ilovephotography.com (http://www.ilovephotography.com) geared toward kid photogs. I really admire people who have decided to jump into their own photography business after watching my boss Brian. I know it woud kill me. :)

So now I'm all kinds of curious. Feel free to pm me and tell me more about yourself and I apologize for highjacking this thread. :)

[hobodog]

:confused:
I downloaded and un-zipped some custom shape files. They all end in .csh . I put them in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 4.0\Presets\Custom Shapes with the other files that end in .csh . I shutdown and re-started not only "Elements 4" I even shutdown and re-started the computer just in case.
:( I still do not see any of the custom shapes using the shape picker. I did click on "all shapes". Nothing.
If I double click on one of the downloaded shape files in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 4.0\Presets\Custom Shapes Elements starts up with that shape loaded but if I shut down Elements and re-start that shape is gone from the selection again. :mad:
HELP! please...
Regards,
Doug

[Wendy]

Hi Doug ...


... and welcome to the forum :)

That does sound strange ... when you open up the custom shapes picker did you click on the small triangle in the top right hand corner ? ... and do the shapes not show on the lists in ther ?

Wendy

[hobodog]

Hello Wendy,
Thanks for the warm welcome.
I do click on the arrow in the shape picker and I select "All Elements Shapes". It still only shows the original shapes that came with Elements 4.0.
I know this is a strange problem. The procedure I outlined above seems to work for 99% of the users. "Why me?" He whined. :rolleyes:

Best Regards,
Doug

[Wendy]

Hi Doug ...

Just go back and make sure that they really are are in Elements>Presets>Custom Shapes :)

Wendy

[hobodog]

Hi Wendy,
I did, they were. ;)
Here's how I fixed it. Yup, it works now.
After I shut down (closed) Elements 4 I had to also go to the little icons on the task bar, over there on the bottom right of your desktop, and EXIT Adobe Photo Downloader. Then I had to bring up the Windows Task Manager (Control, Alt, Delete) and do an End Process on the process called PhotoshopElements.
It appears if either of these are still running Elements won't reload the Custom Shapes when it is started. I started Elements and there they were.
I'm in good shape now! :)

Doug

[Wendy]

Hi Doug ...

Oh I am so pleased that you have fixeed it ... do hope that the shapes are good ones :)

Wendy

[PeggyS]

Hi Wendy,

I'd like to ask you about these extras we can download. I've downloaded some patterns and other goodies that aren't showing up. The patterns are in the pattern file and show up in the preset manager, not the pallete bin area, and I'm not sure how to use them.

Also I think I might have unziped some files, quite a few, into the wrong folder. They say they are AI files and they are in the Styles folder, is that the correct place for them?

I finally did get some of Grants Tools into the right place (woohoo) and wondered if I had to clear out the cache when downloading other tools and goodies?

Thanks in advance!

[Wendy]

Hi Peggy ...

One way of working out where things go is:

Go to your Adobe software folder and look in the folder marked presets.
Inside there you will find a whole series of folders and these are the ones that most (but not all) freebies go into.

Files ending in .abr go in the Brushes folder
.aco in the Colour Swatches folder
.csh in Custom Shapes
.grd in Gradients
.pat in Patterns
.asl in Styles

Now lets look at some of the queries you have ... ai files. Well they are Illustrator files :eek: ... so they won't work in Elements.

Cache doesn't need to be cleared when you install any of the above file ... only when you install actions (atn file). However its best to only install actions that are specifically created for Elements ..

Hope this helps ... :)

Wendy

[PeggyS]

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Wendy,

I have no idea where I got those files! I did down load the free Dreamy suite would that have done it? Also, should I go through and delete each of those AI files.

[Wendy]

Peggy ...

Donlt delete anything yet ... where are these files ???

Wendy

[PeggyS]

The AI files are in the Styles folder and I'll wait until I get the word to delete them before I do. Thank you Wendy!

[Wendy]

Hi Peggy ...

I think I may know what you mean ... are they inside the Patterns folder in a folder marked PostScript Patterns.

If so then those come with Elements so that is just fine :)

Wendy

[PeggyS]

Thanks for helping me sort that one out Wendy. :rolleyes: