Install Actions Photoshop Elements 6 on XP – Pioneer Woman

Installing Actions in Photoshop Elements 6 on XP is quick and easy if you follow these directions:

Using Pioneer Womans’s actions for Photoshop Elements:  When running the actions, whenever the action presents a message with the choice of “Continue” or “Stop”, press “Continue.” Pressing Stop will completely undo the action.

To install actions into Photoshop Elements, start by downloading the action folder from Pioneer Woman and save it onto your desktop.  Better yet, save it into a folder in your documents where you store all your actions – this makes it easier to upgrade PSE or restore actions if you need to re-install your software.

Next, you will copy (right click) and paste the files into the appropriate folders based on your version of PSE and operating system (see below).  To paste, right click and select paste.

Installation Path For ATN & PNG Files:

  • 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 & 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
  • 6.0
  • Photo Creations
  • Photo Effects

Click on image to enlarge:


Installation Path for XML Files:

  • 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 & Settings
  • All Users
  • Application Data (If you don’t see this, it’s probably hidden. Go to Start/Control Panel/Classic View/Folder Options/Viewand select Show Hidden Files & Folders)
  • Adobe
  • Photoshop Elements
  • 6.0
  • Locale
  • en_US (for US users)
  • Photo Creations Metadata
  • Photo Effects

Click on image to enlarge:

Next, navigate to the following location and rename the Mediadatabase.db3 file to MediadatabaseOLD.db3.  Restart PSE, and you should receive a progress bar or message saying that PSE is rebuilding Content and Effects.  PSE will open very slowly the first time after renaming this file.  After verifying that the action has installed successfully, you can delete MediaDatabaseOLD.db3.

  • 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 & Settings
  • All Users
  • Application Data (If you don’t see this, it’s probably hidden. Go to Start/Control Panel/Classic View/Folder Options/Viewand select Show Hidden Files & Folders)
  • Adobe
  • Photoshop Elements
  • 6.0
  • Locale
  • en_US (for US users)

Click on image to enlarge:


Detailed Installation Instructions

  1. Make sure PSE is closed
  2. Download action files from Pioneer Woman to your computer. I usually download to my desktop.
  3. Copy the contents of the PSE 6 according to the instructions above.
  4. Rename the MediaDatabase.DB3 file according to the instructions above.
  5. 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.
  6. Click on the Layer Styles button (2nd from left under the word effects) to reset the palette.
  7. 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 PW Set 1 or Set .
  8. Click on the Properties icon to the right of the word “Effects” that has a 2 arrow heads on it.  Click on Show Names in the resulting menu.
  9. You might see your new action here now!  Look for a thumbnail that looks like the PNGs that you copied along with the action.  (You can always open these PNGs like any other images in Photoshop to see what they should look like in the Effects Palette.)  This thumbnail will have the name of the action below it.
  10. 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.
  11. To run the action, open an image.  Make sure that it has only one layer whose name is Background.  Double click on the action thumbnail in the Effects Palette. Enjoy!

Troubleshooting:

  • If the new action is not in the Effects palette after restarting Photoshop, restart your computer.
  • After resetting the MediaDatabase.DB3 file by renaming it, opening PSE can take a very long time the next time you start it.  If PSE or your computer freezes during this process, you might be able to use PSE;  however, your Effects Palette might be empty.  This is ok!  Close PSE, rename or delete the MediaDatabase.DB3 file again, and don’t use your computer while PSE is opening the next time.  Give it time to process, and everything should be just fine.