Sevenstyles

Latent and pixel space explorer. 

I have created a fix for various Photoshop Actions for Photoshop version 23.4.1. Photoshop released this version with a bug in their ‘select and mask’ interface, which I have created a workaround for.

If you downloaded any of the below mentioned Photoshop Actions before Photoshop version 23.4.1 and are now using version 23.4.1 , please re-download the item from your ‘Purchases’ area on Sevenstyles or your downloads area if you purchased on another platform, to get the updated item.

Abstract Photoshop Effect

Sandstorm Photoshop Effect

Architekt Photoshop Effect

Canvas Photoshop Effect

Charcoal Photoshop Effect

Color Splash Photoshop Effect

Destukt Photoshop Effect

Cosmic Photoshop Effect

Dispersion 2 Photoshop Effect

Elemental Photoshop Effect

Fearless Photoshop Effect

Flux Photoshop Effect

Forge Photoshop Effect

Fury Photoshop Effect

Fury 2 Photoshop Effect

Fury 3 Photoshop Effect

Grunge 2 Photoshop Effect

Hologram Photoshop Effect

Hyperfuze Photoshop Effect

Konstruct Photoshop Effect

Lines Photoshop Effect

Liquify Photoshop Effect

Liquify 2 Photoshop Effect

Lively Photoshop Effect

ModernArt Photoshop Effect

ModernArt 4 Photoshop Effect

Moonstone Photoshop Effect

Paradigm Photoshop Effect

Plasma Photoshop Effect

Polyex Photoshop Effect

Prism Photoshop Effect

Rise Photoshop Effect

Shimmer Photoshop Effect

Soft Focus Photoshop Effect

Soft Focus 2 Photoshop Effect

Sparkle Photoshop Effect

Stardust Photoshop Effect

Storm Photoshop Effect

Street Photoshop Effect

Strokes Photoshop Effect

Synergy Photoshop Effect

 

1) The most commonly mentioned error by customers is the ‘Select‘ error. 

  • Solution 1: The user has forgotten to load the Action brushes before running the Action. Photoshop is attempting to ‘Select’ the brush it needs from the brushes panel but cannot find it. If the Action you download has a brush file included (.abr), then it must be loaded into Photoshop before you run the Action. This step of loading the brushes will also be mentioned at the beginning of the Action video tutorial – checkout the first 1-2 minutes of the video tutorial to double check you have your file setup correctly. The fastest way to load the brushes is to double click on the .abr file whilst Photoshop is open.

 

  • Solution 2: The Action requires a ‘brush‘ layer to be created to paint onto before running the Action. The user may have either forgotten to create the layer or has spelled ‘brush‘ with a capital B. If the Action requires a ‘brush’ layer, ensure you have spelled it all in lowercase letters. Please check the setup stage at the beginning of the video tutorial for the Action you are having trouble with. 

 

2) The user is loading the wrong Photoshop version of the Action.

  • Solution: If you notice a folder in the download that has a ‘+’ symbol on it (eg. CC 2015.5+) and you are using a Photoshop version beyond the folder that has the + on it, then you need to load the Action in that folder. So if you are using CC 2021 and you notice a folder in the download ‘CS5 +’, then you need to load the Action inside this folder. The ‘+’ indicates that the Action inside that folder works on all Photoshop versions beyond it.

3) The user unknowingly has ‘Use Pen Pressure for Opacity’ enabled whilst using an Action that requires brushes.

  • Solution: Disable it – reference image below. This typically gets re-enabled after updating to a newer version of Photoshop.

PenPressure4

  • Do not use .TIFF, .RAW, .PSD image types with the Actions. Photoshop disables various features for different file types which can cause errors in Actions. Please convert your images to .JPEG files to use with the Actions.

 

  • Avoid using Actions on low-resolution images. I recommend running Actions on images in the range of 2500px – 5500px for 2 reasons,  1) The quality the effect will be far superior to lower resolution photos. The effects will appear far more detailed. 2) If you are using low-resolution images, you increase the likeliness of the Action running into errors or creating undesirable results. When there is less pixel information for Photoshop to work with, it increases the likeliness of errors occuring.

 

  • Avoid using the Actions on near pitch black or white photos. Photos that are mostly black or white often lack detail and contrast. The Actions may have a hard time finding enough detail in your photo to create the effect. You can try boosting the contrast/brightness in your photo before running an Action to increase the amount of detail.

 

  • When brushing over your photo, do not brush very thin lines. This is only applicable if the Action you are using requires you to create the ‘brush‘ layer (I will notify you of this at the beginning of the Action tutorial). Actions generally use the pixels within the area that you brush to create the effects. So if you only use a 2-pixel brush for example, then the Action only has a very small amount of space to create the effects,  which can lead to errors. 

 

  • When brushing over your photo, do not brush with a very low opacity. The area that you define on the “brush” layer is the area which will be used by the Action to create the effect. So if you brush very faintly onto the “brush” layer, then Photoshop may have trouble grabbing enough visible pixels to perform certain tasks, which will ultimately cause errors.

 

  • If the Action requires you to create a ‘brush’ layer, do not duplicate your photo layer and call it ‘brush’, it must be an empty layer. I notify you at the beginning of each Action video tutorial if you are required to create a ‘brush’ layer.

 

This error will occur if you have re-named an Action. Some of my Actions require the names to be left as is, as they are referenced by other Actions during the Action playback.

If you have re-named an Action and forgot the original name of it, delete it from your Actions panel and re-load the Action again. 

 

Yes! All of my tools are here to help you build artwork.  You can sell your artwork on stock image websites, sell physical prints or limited edition digital art (NFT’s).

In this case, please consider the points below:

  • The button ‘Use Pen Pressure for Opacity’ may have been re-activated after Photoshop updates. If the Action you are using requires brushes, please check you have ‘Use Pen Pressure for Opacity’ disabled – see below. 

PenPressure5

  • It’s quite common for Photoshop to release a new version with bugs. I highly recommend you open the previous version of Photoshop to run the Action if it was working for you. Some bugs can be so severe that it will prevent an Action from working until Adobe address the bugs with their next update. To open the previous version of Photoshop, open your Creative Cloud app, and navigate to ‘All Apps’ and ‘Open’ the previous version. Once an Action has been tested and working on a version of Photoshop, it will always work.
  • Email me with a full Photoshop interface screenshot highlighting the issue you are encountering. If I come across the same problem, I will update the Action. If the issue cannot be fixed due to a core Photoshop bug, please open the previous version of Photoshop to run the Action.
  • If you have not used an Action in quite some time, it’s possible that there has been an update and requires you to download the Action again. Navigate to your ‘Purchases’ area and download the Action to ensure you have the latest version.

Before contacting me, please ensure you have watched the video tutorial for the Action you are having difficulties with and have looked over the support topics here for a solution. If you are still stuck, contact me at [email protected]

If you are contacting me about an issue with an Action, can you please provide the following details in your email:

  • The name of the Action you are using
  • The version of Photoshop you are using
  • A screenshot of your entire Photoshop interface highlighting the problem you are having

You do not need to make a video highlighting the issue or attach the Photoshop file you are using. I will let you know if I need these from you.

If Photoshop is freezing during the Action playback and you need to force quit Photoshop, you may need to disable ‘Use OpenCL’ under your Graphics Processor Settings.

Navigate to ‘Edit > Preferences > Performance’, then under ‘Graphics Processor Settings’ select ‘Advanced Settings’. In the pop-up window, uncheck ‘Use OpenCL’. Now restart Photoshop and play the Action again.

OpenCL3

Below are settings that will trigger this error:

  • All of my Actions need to be run in 8bits/channel. To check this, go to the menu ‘Image > Mode‘. You may have your file setup in 16bits/channel.
  • The Photoshop document needs to be set up in RGB color mode. The ‘Filter Gallery’ is disabled in CMYK color mode. To check this, go to the menu ‘Image > Mode‘ and check if RGB is selected.
  • Check you are using a JPEG image when using the Action. If you are using a .TIFF file type, you will get this error.

This is a bug with Photoshop 2020 and not an issue with the Action. 

To fix this, please enable ‘Legacy Compositing‘ in your performance settings by going to the menu ‘Edit > Preferences > Performance‘.

After enabling ‘Legacy Compositing’, restart Photoshop and run the Action again. 

If you are using an Action that utilizes the Art History Brush then you may get this error. You will be notified at the beginning of the video tutorial if the Art History Brush is being used.

The Art History Brush takes a snapshot of the opened state of your photo to refer to during the Action playback. If you open your photo and make changes to it such as cropping, trimming, using the Image Size or Canvas Size commands, or rotating any amount other than 180 degrees it will create the error.

If you make any changes to your photo, save it, reopen the photo and then run the Action to remove the error.

This error can show if Photoshop has released a new update with bugs. This is not an issue with the Action.

I recommend enabling ‘Legacy Compositing’ in your performance settings. Go to the menu ‘Edit > Preferences > Performance’.

After enabling ‘Legacy Compositing’, restart Photoshop and run the Action again. 

If you do another Photoshop update, try disabling Legacy Compositing to see if Adobe have fixed the bug.

 

LegacyCompositing

  • Check that you are using the correct Action file for your version of Photoshop. For example, if you are using Photoshop 2020 but there is no specific folder in the download for that version of Photoshop, then load the Action inside the folder that has the ‘+’ symbol on it. The + symbol indicates the Action inside that folder is the latest version and works the most current version of Photoshop.

 

  • Check that you have ‘Extras‘ enabled in the ‘View’ menu. Without this enabled, Photoshop hides work paths during the playback of an Action. If the Action has a command to ‘Delete’ a work path, it will throw this error as there is no work path visible. Unfortunately, I cannot automatically enable the ‘Extras’ option for you, so it is something to be aware of if you are getting a ‘Delete’ error.

Below are common solutions to this error:

  • If you are using an Action that requires brushes, ensure the brush opacity is at 100% and ‘Use Pen Pressure for Opacity’ is disabled’

Brush1001

PenPressure1

This error will occur if you have not loaded the Action brushes into the brushes panel before running the Action.

Not all of my Actions require brushes. If you notice a brush file  (.abr file) included in the download, then it must be loaded into Photoshop for the Action to work. I will also remind you of this step at the beginning of the video tutorial. 

After you have loaded the brushes, don’t forget to set the brush opacity to 100% and turn off ‘Use Pen Pressure for Opacity’ – see below.

Brush1002

PenPressure3

You will get this error if you have either not created the ‘brush‘ layer or you have spelled it with a capital B, it must be spelled all in lowercase letters.

A majority of my Actions require you create a ‘brush‘ layer to paint onto. This lets Photoshop know what area of the photo you want to apply the effects to. Check the beginning of the video tutorial to check if you are required to create a ‘brush’ layer. 

The ‘brush‘ layer is simply a new empty layer above your photo layer, which you must name ‘brush’. You MUST NOT duplicate your main photo layer and call it ‘brush’, it must be an empty layer.

If you are using multiple Photoshop Actions, it may be a good idea to write down which Actions require a brush layer so you can quickly refer to it.

This error can show on Windows OS when Photoshop does not have administrative privileges to perform certain tasks.

If you are getting this error, close down your Photoshop. When you go to reopen Photoshop, right click on the Photoshop start icon and select ‘Run as an administrator’. If you would like to permanently set Photoshop to run as an administrator, then right click on the Photoshop start icon and select ‘Properties > Compatability’ and then check ‘Run this program as an administrator’.

Photoshop disables the ‘Twirl’ command if you are using very large photo’s, typically over 5000px. Try scaling down your photo into the range of 2500 – 4500px and running the Action again.

Please check you have the checkbox ticked for “Add Copy to Copied Layers and Groups” inside the layer panel options. To locate this, go to the top right-hand corner icon in the layer panel and select Panel Options

This error is most commonly caused by incorrectly setup Photoshop files. Please ensure you have watched the beginning of the Action video tutorial to see if you have set up your file correctly. Below are the solutions to this error:

  • Double check you have created your ‘brush’ layer before playing the Action. A majority of my Actions require that you create a ‘brush‘ layer to paint onto before running the Action. You need to also ensure you have spelled ‘brush‘ in all lowercase letters. Watch the beginning of the Action tutorial to check if the Action you are using requires a ‘brush‘ layer to work.

 

  • Ensure you have loaded the correct Action for your version of Photoshop. If you notice a folder in the download with a ‘+’ symbol on it, then this is the Action to use if you are using a Photoshop version greater than what is labeled on the folder. For example, if you use CC 2021 and notice there is no CC 2021 folder, but a ‘CC 2015.5+’ folder, then you need to load the Action inside the ‘CC 2015.5+’ folder as this Action has been tested and working on all versions beyond CC 2015.5.

 

  • Make sure you have loaded the brushes into your brushes panel before playing the action. If there are brushes included in the Action download ( ’.abr’ file ), then it must be loaded before playing the action or you get this error. I will also remind you of this step at the beginning of the video tutorial if the Action requires brushes.

 

  • Make sure you are using the English version of Photoshop. All Sevenstyles Actions will only work on the English version of Photoshop. 

Some of my earlier Actions require that you set your photo layer as the background. 9 times out of 10 when you open a photo, you will notice your photo layer is called Background and has a lock symbol next to it. If this is the case for you, then your photo is correctly set as the Background and you should not be getting this error. If you are, please email me.

If you open a photo and it is not set as the Background, then please go to the menu ‘Layer > New > Background from Layer.

This error is specifically associated with the SandStorm Photoshop Action.

The error is caused by corrupted user preference files. Firstly test the Action across a few different photos, if you get the same error message then please reset your preference files.

To reset the preferences, hold down Alt, Ctrl, and Shift keys (Mac: Command, Option, Shift) while starting up Photoshop. A dialog box will appear asking if you wish to delete the preferences/settings file. Delete it and then run the action again. You can also reset your preference files on Photoshop CC by going to the menu, ‘Edit > Preferences > General’ and then selecting ‘Reset Preferences on Quit’.

This error occurs when Photoshop cannot find enough visible pixels to make a selection. This can happen in a few situations listed below.

  • If the Action requires brushes for it to work, please ensure your brush opacity is set to 100% before playing the action.
  • You have brushed over your photo with a very faint brush. Please use a brush with 100% opacity when brushing onto your ‘brush’ layer.
  • You have only brushed a very small area or very thin lines. Most of my Actions use the area within the area that you brush to create effects out of – so it is important you create a large enough brushed area to avoid Photoshop running into selection errors.
  • In some rare cases, the resolution of your document might be set to something very small like 1. Ensure your document is set to 72dpi or greater before playing the action.
  • Check the resolution of your document. This often appears if your document has a resolution of 1. Sometimes you will not know this until you check it. To check this, go to the menu ‘Image > Image Size‘ and look at the Resolution number.

 

  • This error can also show if you are using a very low resolution photo. Please avoid using photos under 1000px. The smaller your photo the fewer pixels Photoshop has to create certain effects. If it cannot find enough pixels it may throw an error.

 

  • Try running the Action again, this time brush a much larger area over your photo. A lot of the Action effects are created using the pixels within the area that you brush. So if you brush a very small area, the Action then only has a small number of pixels to create the effect.

If you find you need to hit ‘OK’ on every step of the Action playback, you will have ‘Toggle Dialog’ enabled in the Actions panel. If toggle dialog is on, the Action will stop at every step and ask for your setting confirmation before continuing.

To disable toggle dialog, refer to the image below. Note that some Actions require toggle dialog to be enabled as the user needs to input their own settings during the Action playback. Toggle dialog should be configured correctly when you load up the Action into Photoshop. 

Watercolor_Uncheck

 

Please check the following:

  • If the Action requires brushes, check you have loaded them into Photoshop before running the Action. If a brush file (.abr) is included in the download, then it must be loaded into Photoshop.
  • Your brush opacity might be set too low. Please set it to 100% before running the Action. Unless otherwise stated, your brush opacity must always be set at 100% prior to running an Action.
  • If the Action requires that you create a ‘brush’ layer to paint onto before running the Action, make sure you are brushing onto this layer with a strong opacity.

If you receive this error, please update your Photoshop to at least version CC 2015.5.1.

The Oil Paint filter was introduced in Photoshop CS6, so if you are getting this error, please firstly ensure you are using this version of Photoshop.

Secondly, if the Oil Paint filter is greyed out for you under the menu, ‘Filter > Stylize‘, then please check the following:

  • Make sure that your Photoshop document is in RGB color mode. The Oil Paint filter won’t work on color spaces other than RGB. To check this, go to the menu ‘Image > Mode‘ and ensure RGB is checked.
  • If you’re on Windows, make sure you are running a 64-bit OS with the 64-bit version of Photoshop. OpenCL requires 64-bit.
  • Make sure ‘Use OpenCL’ is checked under the menu, ‘Edit > Preferences > Performance > Advanced Settings

Typically, all my Actions should be complete within 1 – 3 minutes. Some more advanced effects can take longer.

An important thing to know is the higher resolution your photo, the longer the Action will take to playback. For example, if you are using an image that is 2500px at the long dimension, you will find an Action might take 1 minute to playback, whereas if you ran the same Action on a photo that’s 6000px, this might increase playback to 3 minutes or longer.

Higher resolution images take more computing power to process. You can increase the playback of Actions by enhancing your computers speed and the amount of memory you have. 

What you can do:

  • Create unlimited personal and commercial use projects! 
  • Only use the Action files for your sole use. 

What you cannot do:

  • Re-distribute the contents of the download. In other words, you cannot upload any of the Action files to any other website or service that allows people to download it.
  • Give the Action file to another person. This license is limited to being installed on one computer and can only be used by you. For example, if you are a teacher, you cannot purchase an Action and then give the Action files to all of your students to use. You will need to purchase an additional license for each computer the Action files are installed on.

Can I use your Actions to create artwork to sell on stock websites?

Yes, you can! 

Can I use your Actions to create signage/prints?

Yes!

If I use your Actions for my projects, do I need to credit you?

You do not need to credit me.