Actions? What are they and can I use them in PSE4?

[BrendaC]

I went to www.ezactions.com (I think). There are some really neat things there. Any thoughts about them? Do you use these? THanks Brenda

[seebee]

Actions are basically like a little mini-program that runs several steps automatically. The effects palette in PSE is comprised of actions. And while Elements does have the ability to play back some actions, you cannot record new ones in PSE. Also keep in mind the majority of actions that you run into on the web, unless they specifically state that they are made to run in Photoshop Elements, will probably NOT run correctly in PSE. That's because many Photoshop actions use tools and commands not available in PSE , such as Curves and Channel Mixer.

So, the short answer is yes, you can use actions, but your best bet is to seek out actions made for PSE. Both Graficalicus and Panos, members of this board, have Elements-friendly actions available. And I have some of the Photoblast actions that you referred to, and I use them in PSE4 without problem.

[Steve Cat]

now what I don't get is why can't they be modified to run since people have come up with both channel mixer and curves as actions for elements

[AzNacha]

I am just learning about actions and read your post. How would I find the actions from the people you referenced? Especially color curves.

thanks
Selena

[TonyW]

now what I don't get is why can't they be modified to run since people have come up with both channel mixer and curves as actions for elements

Steve: Most actions created in Photoshop will run in Elements. Some access hidden things in Elements that you can only get at with an action because the "guts" of Elements and Photoshop are very similar. Some won't run because the "guts" are missing in Elements. Channel Mixer and Curves are actually a good example. You can write actions that work in PSE3 easily. With PSE5 they will also run but require some modification. No one that I know of has figured out how to make them work in PSE4. A lot of it is trial and error - Adobe don't publish the working of the "guts" so you have to just play around and see what works and what doesn't.

Tony

[karen donnybrook]

Selena

Welcom to our corner of cyber world. Hope to see some of your work in the near future.

Karen :)

[Storm1]

Tony -I have 4 . How can I tell which & what will work in 4 ?
There are an awful lot of Freebies out there :)
Thanks Storm

[TonyW]

Storm: You really can't until you try it although the best ones out there are written by people who test them on the different versions - I know because I've done some of the testing for one of the very excellent action writers :) .

Tony

[Wendy]

Hi Storm ...

Have you checked out Panos' site ... his Elements actions work in all the different version. :)

... PSE4 was probably the most limited version and the one that caused the most problems with actions.

Wendy

[Storm1]

Thank you Tony & Wendy.
I got my Wacom pen & Elements 3 came bundled with it. Now I know why maybe I should install it .
Thanks Storm

[Jana]

What is his site? (Pano's)

[Wendy]

Hi ..

Here is the link:

http://www.panosfx.com/

When you get there look over to the left and you will see PS Elements ... just click on that :)

Wendy