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Post by Sepiana on Jun 26, 2016 23:13:04 GMT
It would be more helpful if you posted screen shots of your layer stack. For example, one showing what you are talking about when you say "doing some processing . . . before running the action".When I ran the action it crashes with the error message "The object layer "Layer 1" is not currently available".
It has been my extensive experience with third-party actions and my rather limited experience with my own actions that, when you get a message that a given command is not available, this means two things:
1. The action was written for Photoshop ONLY and it contains commands which cannot be understood by Elements. 2. You are trying to force Elements to do something that it cannot do (and this program is warning you).
When I record an action in Photoshop, I keep in mind that I am doing it for Elements users (the focus of this forum). Therefore, I make sure ALL commands can be understood by Elements by testing the action in ALL versions of Elements I have. Furthermore, I make sure the action works not only via the Actions panel but also via the Effects panel and in older versions of Elements via Guided Edit>Action Player.
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Post by Tpgettys on Jun 27, 2016 0:09:50 GMT
The layer not available error resulted when I ran your action Sepiana . It happened because NIK named the new layer other than layer 1. When I renamed the layer as layer 1 then it ran to completion, but not with the expected result. The same thing happens even if there is only one layer but it is not a background layer. I think your action would be more robust if, after duplicating the background layer, you explicitly renamed to as layer 1, so that later when it refers to layer 1 it is insured to exist. Do you understand what I mean? |
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Post by Sepiana on Jun 27, 2016 0:52:16 GMT
I think your action would be more robust if, after duplicating the background layer, you explicitly renamed to as layer 1, so that later when it refers to layer 1 it is insured to exist.
I don't see the need for this extra step. The first recorded step in my action is Ctrl-J/Cmmd-J which will duplicate the background layer. As part of this layer-duplicating process, Photoshop will automatically rename the duplicate background layer -- "Layer 1" . Elements shares the same layer-duplicating/renaming process with Photoshop. Therefore, Elements will have no problem "obeying" this command.
Here is a screen shot showing the first step in my action being recorded and the result being reflected in the layer stack. Once I recorded the Ctrl-J/Cmmd-J command, Photoshop duplicated the background layer and renamed it "Layer 1".
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Post by Tpgettys on Jun 27, 2016 1:50:19 GMT
Yes, of course Sepiana , that is obvious. The problem is that when the layer your action is duplicating is a layer other than a background layer; then its name is NOT layer 1. I thought when you said you were practicing writing actions to prepare for the certification you were open to input. I have been trying to do that, but it seems unwelcome. Let me make one more effort and then I will stop. You are the author of the action, so you get to decide how it works. All I have been trying to say, really, is that it would be good to make a statement about how to use it to get the intended results, something like "if you have any layers in your file, be sure to flatten it before running this action". Then there will be no surprises or confusion. If you want to make it more robust to allow for more varied input, the action could create a stamp layer and then work with that. Again, that is all up to you as the action author. Just be clear about what the requirements of the action are. 'nuf said. |
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Post by Sepiana on Jun 27, 2016 3:43:43 GMT
I believe I am quite open to receiving input on the actions I create. I make a point of going through every post in these action threads to see what kind of tweaking and variations our members have implemented. As a matter of fact, someone (I believe it was Rita.) mentioned reducing the Opacity in the Pin Light layer to 80% to bring out a bit stronger color. That was a great idea! So, I did some more testing and discovered that, if I keep the (Layer) Opacity at 100% but lower down the Fill Opacity to around 70-80%, some of the pastel colors in the midtones will be restored. Unfortunately, Elements does not have a Fill Opacity option. This means that I have to come up with a workaround for our Elements users.
The problem with your suggestion is that you want me to do this:
I think your action would be more robust if, after duplicating the background layer, you explicitly renamed to as layer 1, so that later when it refers to layer 1 it is insured to exist.
As I explained in my previous post (with added screen shots), there is no need for me to manually rename the duplicate background layer as Layer 1 because Photoshop is designed to do it automatically. My screen shot shows what happened when I implemented your suggestion and, after duplicating the background layer, took upon myself to rename this duplicate layer as Layer 1. This "renaming" step was completely unnecessary because Photoshop already "knows the drill" and took upon itself to do it -- Duplicate the background layer + rename duplicate layer to Layer 1.
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Moto
Established Forum Member
Posts: 662 
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by Moto on Jun 27, 2016 6:22:19 GMT
tpgettys "It really would be helpful to state the usage requirements so users know how to use it correctly."
Problem:
The problem is that when the users layer stack is different that when the action was created sometimes causes problems.
I've had the same types of problems as gettys on other peoples actions.
Solution:
In your download action zip file include a usage text file stating to run the action on a Background layer.
This would prevent any odd problems from happening.
Note:
I think it's a good idea for all action makers to include a help file of what to do before running an action.
I have a few actions that came with a small help file.
Sepiana: Keep those actions coming. I love them.
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Post by Lillias on Jun 27, 2016 9:14:48 GMT
BillieJean,
You were absolutely right when you said -- "Yes the right image is important for this one." I believe you found the right images, especially the second one. The hand-coloring effect is simply beautiful!
Sepiana thank you for your kind comments. This action takes me back and reminds me so much of the B/W photos from my childhood that my mother hand coloured. Happy days and memories. |
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Post by Sepiana on Jun 27, 2016 20:04:53 GMT
Sepiana: Keep those actions coming. I love them. Moto, thanks for the encouragement and support! I truly appreciate it. |
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Post by Sepiana on Jun 27, 2016 20:06:05 GMT
Sepiana thank you for your kind comments. This action takes me back and reminds me so much of the B/W photos from my childhood that my mother hand coloured. Happy days and memories. BilllieJean, you are most welcome! Glad to have taken you down a happy memory lane. I have quite a few "recipes" to play around with the colors in an image to create a certain effect. They are all on paper though. I am trying to get Photoshop to automate the steps. The problem is that a few of the commands don't have a counterpart in Elements. Ex.: Edit>Fade (when applying a filter) or the Fill Opacity feature (layers). Finding a workaround which will "please" Elements is the problem! |
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Post by Lillias on Jun 27, 2016 23:34:04 GMT
I have quite a few "recipes" to play around with the colors in an image to create a certain effect. They are all on paper though. I am trying to get Photoshop to automate the steps. The problem is that a few of the commands don't have a counterpart in Elements. Ex.: Edit>Fade (when applying a filter) or the Fill Opacity feature (layers). Finding a workaround which will "please" Elements is the problem! I don't envy you trying to solve that problem. Much too clever for me but good luck. If anyone can do it I'm sure you can. |
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