Install OTSS Actions in Photoshop Elements 6 on Vista

How to Install Actions/Effects in Photoshop Elements 6 on Vista

Installation Path:

  • Start Menu
  • Computer
  • OS (C:) (This could possibly be a different letter)
  • Program Data (Program data is not the same as Program FILES.  If you don’t see Program DATA, it’s probably hidden. Go to Start/Control Panel/Classic View/Folder Options/View and select Show Hidden Files & Folders)
  • Adobe
  • Photoshop Elements
  • 6.0
  • Photo Creations
  • Photo Effects

Click to enlarge image

Installation Technique:

  1. Make sure PSE 6 is closed
  2. Download action files from the source website to your computer.  I usually download to my desktop and cut and paste the files to the appropriate folder (the Photo Effects folder in this case).
  3. Open PSE 6 and open an image.
  4. Look at the Effects Palette, usually on the right side of the screen.  If the Effects Palette is not visible, go to the Windows menu and click on Effects.
  5. Click on the Photo Effects button (3rd from the left under the word Effects).  In the drop-down list to the right of this button, select Show All.
  6. Click on the double arrow above the Show All box and select Show Names.
  7. You should see a new action now.  OTSS actions do not have thumbnails associated with them, so you will see blank boxes instead of images in your effects palette.  This blank box will have the name of the action below it, however.If you can’t find the new action, see Gotchas section below.
  8. To run the action, double click on the thumbnail.  Make sure an image is open and enjoy!

Possible Gotchas:

  • New action is not in Effects palette after restarting Photoshop:
  1. Close PSE 6 and re-open it while pressing the shift key.  Repeat steps 5 and 9.
  2. If the action still isn’t present, you will need to delete the MediaDatabase.DB3 file.  Don’t worry – Photoshop will rebuild it the next time you open the program.  However, it’s a good idea to copy the file to your desktop as a backup, just in case something crazy happens.
  3. To find the file, follow the installation path above, stopping when the 6.0 folder is open.  From there, select Locale/en_us.  Place a copy of the MediaDatabase.DB3 file inside this folder on your desktop, then delete MediaDatabase.DB3 file inside the en_us folder.  (I assume that folks speaking the Queen’s English would select the en_gb folder, but I am not at all sure about this!)
  4. Re-open PSE 6.  It will open quite slowly this time as the database is being rebuilt.
  5. If the new action still hasn’t appeared in the effects palette, restart your computer.

Click to enlarge image:

  • If the new action is not in the Effects palette after restarting Photoshop, restart your computer.
  • If PSE crashes when you try to open it after installing the actions, go to Start/All Programs and open Elements from there.  Do not open it using a desktop shortcut.