Install OTSS Actions in Photoshop Elements 8 on XP

Installation Path:

  • Start Menu
  • My Computer
  • Local Disk (C:) (This could possibly be a different letter, but is usually C and most likely will be your computer’s root directory.)
  • Documents and Settings
  • All Users
  • Application Data (If you don’t see this, 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 (Depending on the action, you might choose a different folder to store it in.  This choice will affect the way you access the action in PSE 8.)

Installation Technique:

  1. Make sure PSE 8 is closed.
  2. Download action files from source website to your computer. I usually download to my desktop and then cut and paste the files to the appropriate folder (the Photo Effects folder in this case).
  3. Copy the files into the appropriate folder of the installation path above, if you haven’t already.
  4. Open PSE 8 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 double arrow above the Show All box and select Show Names.
  6. You might see your new action 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.
  7. If you can’t find the new action, click on the Filters button.  This is the first button on the left under the word Effects.  Then click again on the Photo Effects Button.  You really should see the action now.  And if you do, stop here!  You’re finished!
  8. If you still don’t see your new 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″.
  9. 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.)
  10. Open PSE 8. The opening process will be quite slow as the two databases are being rebuilt. Open an image.
  11. Look at the Effects Palette and click on the Photo Effects button (3rd from the left under the word Effects).  In the drop-down menu to the right of the Photo Effects button, select Show All.
  12. You should see your new action now.  If not, click on the Filters button and then on the Photo Effects button again.
  13. If you still can’t find the new action, see Gotchas section below.
  14. To run the action, double click on the thumbnail. Make sure an image is open and enjoy!

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.