How to save actions from exchange going directly into CS3

[Anita_...@adobeforums.com]

I posted this in the NAPP forum, but I haven't gotten a solution yet. I hope someone here can help.
I downloaded quite a few actions from Adobe exchange. When I did, I got the choice to either put them in a folder or open them in CS3. Many I just clicked to open in CS3. It was more time efficient. However, there are many of them, and I was looking specifically for a cartoon effect (which I don't use very often--special project) However, while I was looking, I found many other interesting actions. Anyway, I would like to clean up the actions area and bring up only the ones I use all the time. Generally I hit clear actions or reset actions and then I bring back in the ones I want. I'm afraid to do this because these actions are not listed in the actions folder. What will happen to them? Will they go away? There are quite a few of them, and I don't want to have to redownload them. Since they are not listed in the actions folder, how can I get them listed and make sure that I can access them again?
I have tried creating a set to move them into. That didn't work. I tried highlighting all of them to put in a set. That didn't work. If they are selected, the flyout menu save actions in grayed out. How do I get them into the action folder?
Any help would be appreciated.
There are a lot of great brushes and things in the exchange, too. That I will tackle next after I figure out what I'm doing with the actions. (With help from the forum, of course)
Thanks

[Myle...@adobeforums.com]

Since your actions are appended to your default user action set, indeed they will disappear into nothingness if you just reset them, so I'd be wary to do that. As for your issue with sorting them - button mode? Do actions reference other actions? All fixed up with shortcuts? Might hinge on some of that.

Mylenium

[Danny_...@adobeforums.com]

Important distinction:

Action Set: A folder-like mechanism within the Actions Palette that contains one or more individual actions. "Default" is an Action Set.

You can NOT save individual actions. You can, however, save Action Sets.

To save an Action Set to your hard disk:
* click on its name (so the name highlights).
* Then choose Save Actions... from the Actions Palette menu. Navigate to a folder of choice, for example, \My Actions, and save there. The result will be an "action set file" (one that ends with .atn), for example Cartoon_actions.atn.

Does this help?

- - - - - - - - -

Most people manage their Actions Palette through a combination of:
* Deleting actions or Action Sets (drag/drop onto the trashcan icon)
* Creating new Action Sets, naming them accordingly and dragging individual actions from one Action Set to another

[Anita_...@adobeforums.com]

Danny,
I think I did what you said. I was trying to select a bunch of them at once, but it would only let me do one at a time. I went to save actions, then named a folder and saved it into that folder. However, if I go into Adobe-presets-actions, I don't see any of the folders I saved into. I kept backspacing. It would take me back to actions but still no folders are showing up. I don't quite get it. I'm still afraid to dump the actions. I know I physically saved them into folders, but I should be able to see them somewhere, shouldn't I?
If it worked, you were the only one who suggested a real solution that should work.

[Danny_...@adobeforums.com]

Good point: One can only save one Action Set at a time.

Photoshop really doesn't care where you save .atn files. In other words the folder in which one saves Action Sets (via Save Actions... or via download from the Internet) does not have to be
\Presets\Actions

The benefit of saving .atn files in \Presets\Actions is the file names of .atn files in this folder show up at the bottom of the Actions Palette menu, facilitating easy loading into the Actions Pallete. For .atn files saved elsewhere, the Load Actions... command will do the trick.

re: I know I physically saved them into folders, but I should be able

to see them somewhere, shouldn't I?

Yes.

Try this (assuming you are using Windows XP; if Vista it will be something of this nature):
* Start > Search > For files or folders
* Type .atn in the box labeled "All or part of the file name"
* Click 'Search'

When the search is complete, you should see the .atn files you saved plus any others on your computer.

Hang in there. You'll be an action monster before you know it. :)

[Ping Zheng]

You can new an Action set and drag the actions you want to save to the Action set, then click on the Action set and select "Save Action" from the Fly-out menu, select a location to save and this .atn file contains all the actions in the Action set, you can load it in Photoshop if you need them, hope this can help you