Hello everyone!! Today I’m going to be teaching you something I just learned myself: How to install layer styles onto your computer to be used in Photoshop Elements! For years now I’ve been unable to use any layer styles that I download because honestly - I had no clue how to install them and was too lazy to figure it out, lol.
I’ll be honest - it can seem a little overwhelming while reading the instructions, but I promise it’s a lot easier than it looks, and if you follow along, you should do okay!!!
First - I’m using Photoshop Elements 7.0 - I think it’s pretty much the same install for 7.0 and above, but don’t quote me on that. And I’m also running Windows XP. The computer addresses I mention in my tutorial will be different for Vista & Windows 7 (and Mac of course) but hopefully you’ll be able to find it on your computer!!
Next - go ahead and download this awesome FREE shadow layer style that Yari made specifically for this tutorial:
Now - onto step one: Showing hidden files (this will only need to be done the first time you install styles. After you unhide them, you won’t need to do this step).
To do this, I just opened up a folder (any folder - I just made a new one on my desktop and opened that) and then go up to “Tools” along the top. In the drop down options, choose “Folder Options” and the box in the image below will open up. Go to the “View” tab and find the folder marked “Hidden files and folders.” Make sure the option “Show hidden files and folders” is chosen and then choose to apply it.
And you’ll be done with that!
Now comes the tricky part - Step two: finding the right folder. By now you should have downloaded the shadow layer style Yari gave. If you’ve unzipped it, you will find that there is a file in there called jds_digiscrappingshadows.asl -- the .asl is what syles end in.
It took me a bit to find the right folder that holds the styles for Photoshop, but I finally found it along this path:
I know that each operating system can be different, so hopefully you’ll be able to navigate your way to that folder. If not, you might try searching your computer for “Photoshop Elements” and hopefully you can find the program folder and make your way that way.
Might I also suggest making a shortcut link to that folder for future style installations (this folder also holds filters, effects, shapes etc and might be handy to locate easily in the future!)
Step three is easy - with Photoshop closed, copy and paste (or cut and paste - it’s up to you!) the layer style into the folder you’ve just found. You will notice a bunch of .xml files in the folder. I learned about those, but I’ll be honest - they’re not important for the overall installation of styles (in my opinion anyways -- I personally won't be worrying about those pretty much ever, lol).
Keep the folder open (you might need to do one more thing before it’s all done) -- now open up Photoshop. Over on the right, you’ll see an “Effects” palette. Make sure it’s not collapse so you can see all the styles. On there - you’ll see 4 icons along the top - the 2nd one in is for layer styles. Click it. To the right of those icons is a drop down menu - make sure that “Show All” is selected.
Now all styles are listed alphabetically, and Yari has started all the shadow styles with the word “Scrap” so just scroll down until you see the styles. There are 10 of them - all for different shadowing techniques (ie: shadowing a frame, a ribbon, etc).
Which brings us to possible step four: if you don’t see your newly installed layer styles in the effects palette in Photoshop, you may need to reset the Media Database for Photoshop. To do this: Go back to the folder that shows all your layer styles for Photoshop. Go back two places in the folder path until you’re here:
In there, you’ll see a folder called “Locale” - go in there and then find the one called “en_US”. Once in there, you’ll see an icon (NOT a folder) called MediaDatabase.db3.
Make sure you close Photoshop first and then delete the MediaDatabase.db3 (don’t worry, Photoshop will make a new one). Once it’s been deleted, open up Photoshop and then don’t touch anything. Photoshop will rebuild the Media Database thingy and it should show up in your Effects palette shortly. I read it could take up to 20-30 minutes depending on your computer, but it only took like 3min for me. Just make sure Photoshop is closed first, and then open it and leave it alone until your styles show back up.
And there you go! You now have your new layer style available to use on your projects! See - not too difficult!! I told you we could do it! To those of you running on different programs and/or operating systems, I really hope you were able to modify this tutorial to work for you!
After that, it's just a matter of making a layout to your liking. Then click on the layer in your layout that you want to apply the shadow style to, find the layer style in your effects palette and then double click on it. It will instantly apply the shadow to the layer you had selected. There's a lot more you can do from there, but I'll keep this tutorial just about installing. We'll go into what you can do with your shadows very soon!!
And for an idea of what these can do - here is a layout I made using nothing but the layer styles Yari offered (which you can grab HERE if you didn't already get them up top). Shadows can be tricky, so it's nice to have a little help every once in a while!
I’ll be honest - it can seem a little overwhelming while reading the instructions, but I promise it’s a lot easier than it looks, and if you follow along, you should do okay!!!
First - I’m using Photoshop Elements 7.0 - I think it’s pretty much the same install for 7.0 and above, but don’t quote me on that. And I’m also running Windows XP. The computer addresses I mention in my tutorial will be different for Vista & Windows 7 (and Mac of course) but hopefully you’ll be able to find it on your computer!!
Next - go ahead and download this awesome FREE shadow layer style that Yari made specifically for this tutorial:
Now - onto step one: Showing hidden files (this will only need to be done the first time you install styles. After you unhide them, you won’t need to do this step).
To do this, I just opened up a folder (any folder - I just made a new one on my desktop and opened that) and then go up to “Tools” along the top. In the drop down options, choose “Folder Options” and the box in the image below will open up. Go to the “View” tab and find the folder marked “Hidden files and folders.” Make sure the option “Show hidden files and folders” is chosen and then choose to apply it.
And you’ll be done with that!
Now comes the tricky part - Step two: finding the right folder. By now you should have downloaded the shadow layer style Yari gave. If you’ve unzipped it, you will find that there is a file in there called jds_digiscrappingshadows.asl -- the .asl is what syles end in.
It took me a bit to find the right folder that holds the styles for Photoshop, but I finally found it along this path:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\7.0\Photo Creations\layer styles
I know that each operating system can be different, so hopefully you’ll be able to navigate your way to that folder. If not, you might try searching your computer for “Photoshop Elements” and hopefully you can find the program folder and make your way that way.
Might I also suggest making a shortcut link to that folder for future style installations (this folder also holds filters, effects, shapes etc and might be handy to locate easily in the future!)
Step three is easy - with Photoshop closed, copy and paste (or cut and paste - it’s up to you!) the layer style into the folder you’ve just found. You will notice a bunch of .xml files in the folder. I learned about those, but I’ll be honest - they’re not important for the overall installation of styles (in my opinion anyways -- I personally won't be worrying about those pretty much ever, lol).
Keep the folder open (you might need to do one more thing before it’s all done) -- now open up Photoshop. Over on the right, you’ll see an “Effects” palette. Make sure it’s not collapse so you can see all the styles. On there - you’ll see 4 icons along the top - the 2nd one in is for layer styles. Click it. To the right of those icons is a drop down menu - make sure that “Show All” is selected.
Now all styles are listed alphabetically, and Yari has started all the shadow styles with the word “Scrap” so just scroll down until you see the styles. There are 10 of them - all for different shadowing techniques (ie: shadowing a frame, a ribbon, etc).
Which brings us to possible step four: if you don’t see your newly installed layer styles in the effects palette in Photoshop, you may need to reset the Media Database for Photoshop. To do this: Go back to the folder that shows all your layer styles for Photoshop. Go back two places in the folder path until you’re here:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\7.0
In there, you’ll see a folder called “Locale” - go in there and then find the one called “en_US”. Once in there, you’ll see an icon (NOT a folder) called MediaDatabase.db3.
Make sure you close Photoshop first and then delete the MediaDatabase.db3 (don’t worry, Photoshop will make a new one). Once it’s been deleted, open up Photoshop and then don’t touch anything. Photoshop will rebuild the Media Database thingy and it should show up in your Effects palette shortly. I read it could take up to 20-30 minutes depending on your computer, but it only took like 3min for me. Just make sure Photoshop is closed first, and then open it and leave it alone until your styles show back up.
And there you go! You now have your new layer style available to use on your projects! See - not too difficult!! I told you we could do it! To those of you running on different programs and/or operating systems, I really hope you were able to modify this tutorial to work for you!
After that, it's just a matter of making a layout to your liking. Then click on the layer in your layout that you want to apply the shadow style to, find the layer style in your effects palette and then double click on it. It will instantly apply the shadow to the layer you had selected. There's a lot more you can do from there, but I'll keep this tutorial just about installing. We'll go into what you can do with your shadows very soon!!
And for an idea of what these can do - here is a layout I made using nothing but the layer styles Yari offered (which you can grab HERE if you didn't already get them up top). Shadows can be tricky, so it's nice to have a little help every once in a while!
