Install OTSS Actions in Photoshop Elements 8 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
  • 8.0
  • Photo Creations
  • Photo Effects

Click on image to enlarge:

Installation Technique:

  1. Make sure PSE 8 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 Photo Effects folder.
  3. Copy the files into the Photo Effects folder by following the installation path above, if you haven’t already.
  4. Open PSE and open an image.  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 left under the word Effects).  In the drop-down list to the right of this button, select Show All.
  6. Click on the icon to the right of the word “Effects” that has a down arrow next to three horizontal lines.  Click on Show Names in the resulting menu.
  7. You might see your new action here now!  OTSS actions do not have thumbnails associated with them, so you will see black boxes instead of images in your effects palette.  This black box will have the name of the action below it, however.
  8. If you don’t see your action, click on the Filters button, which is the first button on the left under the word Effects.  Then, click again on the Photo Effects Button.  It really should be there now.  If it is, stop now.  You’re finished!
  9. If you still don’t see your action, navigate to the 8.0 folder in the path above. Rename the ThumbDatabase.DB3 to anything you choose. You could add today’s date or “version 1″.
  10. Open the Locale folder that is in the same 8.0 folder. Open the en_US folder and rename the MediaDatabase.db3 file following the same method used in step 6. (Rather than renaming ThumbDatabase and MediaDatabase, you can actually delete them if you are comfortable with that, or cut them and paste somewhere safe until you know that PSE is working fine.)
  11. Open PSE 8. The opening process will be quite slow as the two databases are being rebuilt. Open an image.
  12. 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.
  13. You should be able to find your new action now.  If you can’t, see Gotchas section below.
  14. To run the action, double click on the thumbnail. Make sure an image is open and enjoy!

Click on image to enlarge:

Possible Gotchas:

  • 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.