PopOut Action Mark II -- FAQ

PopOut Action Mark II for Elements FAQ

by Adrienne Cleveland

Why do I see this error: "The command "duplicate" is not currently available?"
Why do I see this error: "The command "set" is not currently available?"
The Eraser Tool doesn't seem to work. Why?
Can I use these actions on full-sized photos?
I want to start over from scratch. How can I get back to where I started?
Will this action work with Photoshop 6, 7, or CS?
My finished PopOut has a fine line dividing the PopOut from the main part of the image. How can I avoid that?
The textured actions aren't producing textured frames or mats. Why?
The action is behaving strangely, and none of these questions and answers help. What now?

Why do I see this error: "The command 'duplicate' is not currently available?"

Your image mode is probably not compatible with the actions. Examples of incompatible modes are indexed color and bitmap. Convert your image to RGB or Grayscale before running the action.

One other condition that will cause this error is if you forget to use the Rectangular Marquee Tool or some other method to select the part of the image that will remain inside the frame before running the first action.

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Why do I see this error: "The command 'set' is not currently available?"

The Eraser Tool doesn't seem to work. Why?

If the Eraser Tool isn't erasing the part of the frame or line over your image, make sure that you are using the regular Eraser Tool. Do not use the Background Eraser Tool or the Magic Eraser Tool.

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Can I use these actions on full-sized photos?

Yes, these actions can be used on full-sized images. When you get to Step 3, you'll want to use one of the "Big" actions: ACsPopOut3Big or ACsPopOut3TexturedBig.

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I want to start over from scratch. How can I get back to where I started?

You can use File/Revert in the Photoshop Elements menu to reload the file from disk.

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Will this action work with Photoshop 6, 7, or CS?

The installation instructions are completely wrong for Photoshop. However, we DO have a version for Photoshop.

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My finished PopOut has a fine line dividing the PopOut from the main part of the image. How can I avoid that?

When you use the Rectangular or Elliptical Marquee Tool, be sure that "Feather" is set to 0. If this doesn't solve the problem, uncheck "Anti-alias."

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The textured actions aren't producing textured frames or mats. Why?

If you're running a textured action, but it's not producing textured frames or mats, one of these steps should fix it:

Be sure to load the style files into the correct folder. This is a different folder from where all the other files go.
Sometimes you have to "kick-start" Elements to recognize the styles. One way to do this is to open an image and then find the style in the Styles palette and apply it to the image. It will apply the style to the entire image, so you will want to undo it :)

Note for Elements 5 users: In Elements 5, here's how you find the styles:
- Click the "Apply effects, filters, and layer styles" icon to show the list of special effects.
- Choose "ShutterFreaks Effects" in the left list, and choose "SF Styles" from the right list.
If this doesn't work, exit and restart Elements.

The action is behaving strangely, and none of these questions and answers help. What now?

Some suggestions:

Restart Elements

People have reported that sometimes, especially right after loading a new action, Elements behaves strangely, and that after closing Elements and restarting it, the problems go away.
Close some Programs or Restart your Computer

If you've used the actions successfully before, but they aren't working today, your computer might be short on available memory. If you're running other programs, close some of them and try again. If you're still having trouble, there could be problems caused by programs not releasing memory after they terminate. Restarting your computer may help.
Contact Us

If you need more help, contact us at shutterfreaks@shutterfreaks.com.