Where to Find Photoshop Actions

[wingspar]

I’m installing software on a new build with Win 7 64 bit. I want to copy my actions from my old XP computer to my new Win 7 computer. I thought I knew how to find them in XP, but I guess I don’t.

Where in the XP Windows Explorer are the actions I’ve created located?

Where in the Win 7 Windows Explorer would I put the actions?

This is for CS3 if that makes a difference.

 

[Growltiger]

You will find all the settings and so on under here, you will need to drill down into the folders to find your actions.

The location in Vista and later:
Username\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CSx

In XP: it will be under Documents and Settings\Username etc.

 

[wingspar]

That’s what I tried before I started this thread, and it didn’t work. What is the extension of the actions files, cause my C:\Documents and Settings\Gary\Application Data\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS3\Presets\Actions folder is empty. Seems like it had stuff in it the other day.

 

[Growltiger]

You are looking in the right place.
They are .atn files.
I suggest you search your entire disk for them. They must be somewhere!
(I keep a backup of all the presets just in case).

 

[wingspar]

I found the presets in XP, and they were .atn files. All my actions were in one .atn file called embossed_signatures.atn. I coppied it to
C:\Users\Gary\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS3\Presets\Actions in Win 7, but the action does not appear in Photoshop. Last time I looked, that folder had several .atn files, but now my embossed .atn file is the only one in that folder. I don't know why the .atn files keep disappearing but the actions still show up in Photoshop, but my embossed actions do not appear in Win 7 Photoshop.

I replaced all the .atn files in XP from my backup, but all the actions still showed up even when the folder was empty. This isn't making sense to me.

 

[frdjohns]

I believe that after you have copied your actions to the right folder, you will then need to load them in PS before they are visible.

 

[wingspar]

Thank you. That worked, sort of. There are 6 actions in that .atn file, but only one is showing.

 

[Growltiger]

Have you then clicked on the little arrow to expand it, so you can see all the actions in the file?

 

[Electromen]

In PS CS3, In the Actions Palette, click the fly out arrow and Save each Action.
Create a folder under My Documents and Save each one there, in something like "My Documents > PS Actions"
Many people lose their Actions because they are save in the default location, then when PS is uninstalled, they lose all their Actions.

After each Action is Saved to a new location. Install PS to the new computer.
Now you must Load each Action and Save each one to the new computer.

Is it still necessary to Deactivate and Activate PS CS3?

 

[wingspar]

Have you then clicked on the little arrow to expand it, so you can see all the actions in the file?

Yes, and there is only one action there, and I don’t even know where that action came from. None of the actions that are in the Action pallet on my XP machine came over to the Win 7 machine.

 

[wingspar]

In PS CS3, In the Actions Palette, click the fly out arrow and Save each Action.
Create a folder under My Documents and Save each one there, in something like "My Documents > PS Actions"
Many people lose their Actions because they are save in the default location, then when PS is uninstalled, they lose all their Actions.

After each Action is Saved to a new location. Install PS to the new computer.
Now you must Load each Action and Save each one to the new computer.

Is it still necessary to Deactivate and Activate PS CS3?

Yes, I’ve read to create a folder to save the actions to, but what I’ve done is add the default location for the Actions to my backup program. Seems like that should work, unless I messed that up somehow.

I don’t see any options to save the action in the fly out menu. I thought once you stopped recording an action, it was automatically saved? I’ve been putting all my actions under one set that is labeled “Embossed_Signatures”.

I don’t know if it is still necessary to Deactivate and Activate CS3. I’ve only installed it once on my XP machine, and the recent install on my new Win 7 build is the only other install. At this point, I still have both computers running. Eventually, the XP machine will become history, but I still have a lot of work to do on the new Win 7 machine before I’m ready to deactivate my old XP machine. I have CS5 still in the box I will install on the Win 7 machine one of these days.

 

[soxOZ]

This may not be what you're asking about loading actions, but I usually load any actions into PS by having the small action dialog box in PS open and with the windows browsers open next to it, showing the actions I want loaded.

All I do then is drag the action I want to load from the windows browser to the Action dialog box in PS and its loaded. This has worked for me loading all the actions I use...

 

[Growltiger]

All I do then is drag the action I want to load from the windows browser to the Action dialog box in PS and its loaded. This has worked for me loading all the actions I use...

Good advice, this is the easiest way of all. In fact you can simply drag and drop the action file onto the Photoshop window, that is all you need to do.

 

[Electromen]

Yes, I’ve read to create a folder to save the actions to, but what I’ve done is add the default location for the Actions to my backup program. Seems like that should work, unless I messed that up somehow.

I don’t see any options to save the action in the fly out menu. I thought once you stopped recording an action, it was automatically saved? I’ve been putting all my actions under one set that is labeled “Embossed_Signatures”.

I don’t know if it is still necessary to Deactivate and Activate CS3. I’ve only installed it once on my XP machine, and the recent install on my new Win 7 build is the only other install. At this point, I still have both computers running. Eventually, the XP machine will become history, but I still have a lot of work to do on the new Win 7 machine before I’m ready to deactivate my old XP machine. I have CS5 still in the box I will install on the Win 7 machine one of these days.

You can have PS CS3 installed on two machines, no more. Before you trash the XP machine, deactivate PS to allow a second activation.

I've lost actions by not saving them to a folder other than the default location.
This was caused by a uninstalling PS. It's just a good idea.

In the new installation of PS you must "Load" the actions no matter where they have been saved.

 

[wingspar]

This may not be what you're asking about loading actions, but I usually load any actions into PS by having the small action dialog box in PS open and with the windows browsers open next to it, showing the actions I want loaded.

All I do then is drag the action I want to load from the windows browser to the Action dialog box in PS and its loaded. This has worked for me loading all the actions I use...

These are actions I created, but they do not seem to be in the embossed_signatures.atn file from my XP machine. Only one action is in that file (Set) and none of the actions I’m trying to transfer from my XP machine to the Win 7 machine are in that set. All the actions are still in CS3 on the XP machine. That’s what’s confusing me. If the .atn file does not contain those actions, then why are the actions still showing in CS3 on the XP machine? Hope I’m making sense.

Dragging and dropping from Windows Explorer worked. The actions I want to transfer are still missing.

 

[wingspar]

You can have PS CS3 installed on two machines, no more. Before you trash the XP machine, deactivate PS to allow a second activation.

I've lost actions by not saving them to a folder other than the default location.
This was caused by a uninstalling PS. It's just a good idea.

In the new installation of PS you must "Load" the actions no matter where they have been saved.

I knew you could only have CS3 installed on two machines, and I thought you had to deactivate the software from the computer you weren’t going to use anymore, so I’ll be sure and do that when I no longer need the XP machine, but seems like I’ve heard different lately. Does that still apply to CS4 and CS5? I have CS4 on my other half’s computer and eventually I’ll install CS5 (still unopened in the box) on the new Win 7 machine and keep CS3 till I’ve got CS5 set up and running as I want it.

I was thinking the actions would be safe by telling my backup software to backup the default location for actions rather than saving the actions somewhere that gets backed up. Seems logical to me. Wouldn’t that work?

 

[Electromen]

I knew you could only have CS3 installed on two machines, and I thought you had to deactivate the software from the computer you weren’t going to use anymore, so I’ll be sure and do that when I no longer need the XP machine, but seems like I’ve heard different lately. Does that still apply to CS4 and CS5? I have CS4 on my other half’s computer and eventually I’ll install CS5 (still unopened in the box) on the new Win 7 machine and keep CS3 till I’ve got CS5 set up and running as I want it.

I was thinking the actions would be safe by telling my backup software to backup the default location for actions rather than saving the actions somewhere that gets backed up. Seems logical to me. Wouldn’t that work?

As far as I know, you must save the actions. Simply having them in the Actions Palette is not a permanent save and a good way to lose them.
I think CS3 is the last version that required Activation and Deactivation. It can be activated on two machines at the same time.

 

[wingspar]

Are you saying that if you create an action, and it stays in the action pallet, that it is not really saved anywhere on the hard drive?? How do the actions continue to show up in the pallet then?

 

[Electromen]

Are you saying that if you create an action, and it stays in the action pallet, that it is not really saved anywhere on the hard drive?? How do the actions continue to show up in the pallet then?

I'm not a Photoshop expert. All I know is that in the community college course I took in PS, they warned us about not saving Actions and told us to save them under My Documents.

 

[wingspar]

Ok. If I choose the Set that all my actions are in, I have the option to save it. Then when I copy the .atn file to the Win 7 computer, the actions are not there, and the creation date of the set is back in 2009. Same as the creation date on the .atn file on the XP machine. Guess I’m going to have to go to the Adobe Forum.