Friday

how to install photoshop curves & actions

i've been getting a lot of lovely feedback for my photoshop curves i've been giving away, which im so glad about! free curve friday will start back up again as of tomorrow, i can't wait to show you all the curves i've been growing in the soil with sun hehe.

i've also been getting a lot of emails about how to use them or install them, so i thought i'd write up a quick blog post on how you can install the photoshop curves you download off me. hopefully this helps and solves a lot of people's problems!

mac

- copy the action you downloaded
- paste it here:

~/library/application support/adobe/adobe photoshop/presets/curves


windows

- copy the action you downloaded
- paste it here:

c:/program files/adobe/adobe photoshop/presets/curves

60 comments:

  1. it's useful for photoshop users ; but i dont have the program ' photoshop ' . i cant download it.

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  2. i just don't have words to describe how happy i am for finding your blog!!
    you really have a gifted eye for photography and i love the way you can deal with light in your photos <3
    keep going!! ^__^

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  3. Thankyou for answering my question,

    I am so happy!
    Hope to see some more of those amazing curves soon!
    Any tips on how you create them? or do you just experiment and see what happens?

    thanx

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  4. hey andrew, yes unfortunately you can only use curves if you use photoshop to edit your images.

    andrea, thank you so much! i'm glad you found my blog too :) hope you keep enjoying the posts - there will be lots of them really really soon.

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  5. anon, i'm currently working on a few little tutorials about how curves work and how to use them to get a certain look in your photos, so keep your eye out for that :)

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  6. I only have Photoshop elements. Do you know if I would be able to use it?

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  7. yeh same here :/ only elements!

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  8. this are amazing, I really want to try these curves, they look absolutely lovely! I don't have photoshop but will they work with adobe photoshop elements?

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  9. Thanks Julia for sharing! You're amazing!

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  10. sorry, i don't think my curves work with elements! i don't have the program so i'm not 100% sure, but i'm pretty sure they dont :(

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  11. thank you so much for sharing these!

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  12. Hi! I've just downloaded all your free curves. Thank you very much :))) /i felt soo guilty..

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  13. Thank you for all the gorgeous and FREE curves!

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  14. thank you dear for the photoshop free curve! amazing result!

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  15. which program do you need in order to download these? I have Win RAR but it says that the archive is either unknown or damaged.

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  16. will they work with photoshop cs5?

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  17. hey there check out my blog
    http://mwanwan.blogspot.com
    x

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  18. How do you make PS remember your curves.I have to load them each time?
    Thanks
    Gorgeous curves :D

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  19. Someone just commented on my blog and told me about your curves, which led me straight here. I'm your newest follower btw. Could you please tell me the difference between curves and actions? It's a new concept to me. Love your place here. Your photos are inspiring!

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  20. Hey, i had no issues installing them into photoshop. but then when I close photoshop and open it later, they are gone and i have to install them again. how do i get them to be saved into the curves options? i am using photoshop cs5

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  21. To the two anonymouses above about how to keep saved curves in ps without having to reload them, I had the same problem until I discovered that I was putting them into the wrong folder.

    First, you need to go to Folder Options and check the box for 'show hidden files/folders.'

    They should be going into the folder C:\Users\(YourUsernameHere)\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop (YourVersionhere)\Presets\Curves

    If that doesn't work, make a random curve and save it. Check which folder it saves into, and then put all your downloaded curves into that folder. It should also be the default folder that opens up when you first try to load or save curves. The same applies for actions, levels, etc.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for this, Michelle. This got all my presets to stick on the list when I re-open PS CS5, which is a big help. You're very generous with your know-how.
      -John

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  22. My photoshop says it doesn't recognize the file :(. Do you have any idea how I can make them work?
    I work with mac. Thanx! x

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  23. thanks for that michelle!

    evy, if you double click the downloaded curve/action straight from your 'downloads' folder it does NOT work. you have to follow either one of these instructions. also, my curves and actions do not work with photoshop elements! hopefully that may have cleared something up, if not, try the instructions again. i feel like the one where you copy & paste the curves into the actual photoshop curves folder works best + it stays in photoshop every time you restart it. email me if you are still having trouble and i can go through it with you.

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  24. alicia: curves are a single adjustment layer with a tool that photoshop has to enhance the colour of your images: with a contrast gradient, a red gradient as well as green and blue. by moving them around in contrast with each other, you can enhance the colours of your photos.

    actions on the other hand, is a tool that you can 'record' the way you edit an image, then press 'play' on another image and it will replay all those steps automatically without you having to do anything.

    anons:

    yes they work with photoshop cs5, as well as any other version of photoshop. NOT elements though.

    and no, don't feel guilty at all!! it is the least i could do for everyone's wonderful and constant support!

    aaand to the other anon, you don't need a specific program to download them, i haven't zipped them up. as soon as you click the download link on the website, it saves to your folders and is ready to use! you just need to load it into photoshop.


    hope that has helped everyone out!

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  25. Absolutely amazing! Your photography skills and your free curves are wonderful, but alas, I only have Photoshop Elements so am unable to use the curves :(
    Hopefully one day you can create curves for elements!
    I really admire your work :)

    Lou xx
    foxywhiskers.com

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  26. These are so gorgeous, thank you! Perhaps one day you can do a tutorial for photoshop elements?

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  27. Thank youuuu! this helped so much! x

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  28. so is this action or curve? which folder i put this? sorry my bad english

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  29. Love that you are giving away free curve presets, although ATN files don't seem to be compatible with anything earlier than CS5 :(

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  30. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!! be great colors!!!!!!

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  31. where do you download the curves from?

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  32. thank you for these curves and the great photos!i am always happy when i found out you´ve done a new blogentry!

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  33. thank you so much! but photoshop cs5 is telling me that the acv format is not compatible with it even though i have copy pasted them into the presets folder. do you know what might help? thanks a bunch! x

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  34. Yeah me too.. CS5 not recognising the format

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  35. you are great! thank you!

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  36. Hey dear so happy to found your blog but wanna ask you why my photoshop actions only recognise ATN file format and yours is in ACV format? What should I do? Really love all those effects though!

    xx

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  37. I actually love you. No lie. I just found your blog yesterday, which I really like, but actually love you for this. My blog and I thank you.

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  38. Hi,Im trying to use photo shop for the first time! its really confusing! i got as far as cntrl m for curves and the little window opend! where will i find the load button?

    thankyou! x

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  39. These are great Julia, you do give a lot back, it's good you find the time to so, and very talented too by the way, keep them coming x

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  40. What Photoshop do you have? Because I have the PS CS5 and when I download the curve It saves as "acv" and my windows don't let me open it! I don't know why. (I apologize If you can't understand me but I'm from Argentina and my English is a bit poor)

    See ya.

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  41. You can still use this if you don't have actions right? I just have photoshop and lightroom!

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  42. Julia! I'm a fan of you :D seriously
    so great photos you take!
    and, what photoshop do you use?

    xo, Ana Rita

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  43. I was wondering why when I download the curves, a popup comes up on Photoshop saying "Could not complete your request because this is the wrong kind of document"? Could you please help me!
    Thank you!!
    Emma

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  44. Hi, I am trying to install a curve that I purchased into Photoshop CS 2.0, but there is no folder for "Curves" in presets or otherwise. Please help. Thanks, Brandi

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  46. Which methons do you choose to find info for your future entries and which exact search engines do you often utilize?

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  47. I have followed all the steps but it still doesn't show up?? help!

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  48. Im so super happy i found for blog! Its amazing! makes me want to just got take more photos!
    I was wondering if the 'humming bees' edit is still available the link doesn't work for me :(

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  49. Hi, i love this post and I want to use these , but when I download the code my computer download the acv format and my photoshop didn't admit it :( what can i do?

    Kises!!!

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  50. Maybe this helps:

    mac:
    - open photoshop and the picture you want to edit
    - press command + m to open the curves window
    - open the little box next to the "presets" bar
    - choose the option "load preset", and find the curve you downloaded


    windows:
    - open photoshop and the picture you want to edit
    - press command + m to open the curves window
    - press the "load" button
    - find your downloaded curve and press "ok"

    It works for me and I have PS CS2

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  51. Thank you so much Julia for these free curves, they're amazing!
    And thank you to The Golden Soul, those instructions helped tremendously, I figured out how to make it work now! I'm pretty sure I have the oldest possible version of Photoshop (photoshop cs) and it still works, so thanks guys!!

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  52. acv must be open using curves drop down menu, selection - select file

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  53. I only have Photoshop portable :O :(

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  54. does it work on photoshop elements 11?

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  57. Hi:

    I am trying to follow your instructions on how to load a curve. I can see "library / application support / adobe / adobe photoshop" But cannot see the next: presets / curves. 'any advice? I need step by step instructions, unfortunately.

    Thanks, very much!

    P

    ReplyDelete