================================================================================ dSLR Fractal Sharpen Actions Set for Adobe® Photoshop® version 1.5 ================================================================================ Contents -------- 1. Introduction and How To 2. What's New in Version 1.5 3. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 4. Troubleshooting 5. Policies and Legal Stuff ================================================================================ 1. Introduction and How To --------------------------- Thanks for your purchase of my actions! These sharpening actions define a whole new realm of ultra-fine, super-crisp sharpening. They can make a good photo great, correcting the inherent softness seen in digital images made with Bayer-pattern cameras and bringing out detail you didn't realize was there. Actions are predefined image processing steps for Adobe® Photoshop® that can be loaded and executed on an open image. You can even assign your favorite actions to function keys. More can be done with actions than you might imagine! The dSLR Fractal Sharpen actions can be used to create a clean, refined look in your images, using the power of Fractal algorithms to "see through" fuzziness and artifacts and bring out a natural, highly detailed image. >>> IMPORTANT <<< - There is a different action file for each version of plug-in from On1. These are listed below. Please load the action file that matches your plug-in version: Your version of On1 Plug-in Use This Action File ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On1 Resize 10 standalone plug-in ------- dSLR Fractal Sharpen PR10 v1_5.atn Part of Perfect Photo Suite 10 --------- dSLR Fractal Sharpen PR10 Suite v1_5.atn Perfect Resize 9 standalone plug-in ---- dSLR Fractal Sharpen PR9 v1_5.atn Part of Perfect Photo Suite 9 ---------- dSLR Fractal Sharpen PR9 Suite v1_5.atn Part of Perfect Photo Suite 8 ---------- dSLR Fractal Sharpen PR8 v1_5.atn Part of Perfect Photo Suite 7 ---------- dSLR Fractal Sharpen PR75 v1_5.atn Perfect Resize 7 Standard -------------- dSLR Fractal Sharpen PR7 v1_5.atn Perfect Resize 7 Professional Edition -- dSLR Fractal Sharpen PR7PE v1_5.atn ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^ ** Note the small differences near the end of each name above. | To make the Actions palette visible in Adobe® Photoshop®: Click on the Window menu and check the Actions entry. You now see the Actions palette. Of particular note is the little menu button near the upper-right corner just below the X, which is a tiny arrow with lines next to it in the latest versions of Adobe® Photoshop®, or a circle with an arrow in it (>) in Adobe® Photoshop® CS2 and older. That's your key to the Actions palette functions. Click on this menu button to see Actions functions like "Load Actions". If you have plenty of screen space, you may want to make the Actions palette a completely separate window from the History, so you can see them both at the same time. To do this, grab the Actions tab and drag it out of the palette. A separate Actions palette window will be created. To install the dSLR Fractal Sharpen actions into your copy of Adobe® Photoshop®: Save the dSLR Fractal Sharpen xxxxxx.atn files to your hard drive. Note: I recommend creating a special folder just for your collection of actions, separate from those in the Program Files\Adobe Photoshop... area. This will avoid loss of the actions files in the future if you change Adobe® Photoshop® versions. Next, click on the menu button at the upper-right of the Actions palette, then load the actions via the "Load Actions" menu. Depending on which version of On1 Software plug-in you have, load the actions file listed in the table above. Newly loaded actions will appear at the bottom of the Actions palette. To execute an action: Make your image current, click once on the name of the desired action to highlight it, then click on the play button. Actions can be assigned to function keys - double click the action to see the menu to set that up. Some of my actions take quite a few steps, so please be patient and don't click anything while they're running (this can confuse things). The activity will cease and the display will update when all the steps are done. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- These actions take quite a few steps and can consume a large amount of computer resources for large images, so please be patient and don't click anything (or hold down the Alt key) while they're running (this can confuse things). The activity in the status bar will cease and the display will update when all the steps are done. You should NOT be prompted and you should end up with an image the same size as your original. There are 16 different actions. Their names are descriptive of what they do and should be used for: Sharpening Halo Reduction - Reduces sharpening halos from prior sharpening. Light Sharp High ISO - Minor detail enhancement for very noisy images. Light Sharp Med ISO - Minor detail enhancement for noisy images. Light Sharp Low ISO - Minor detail enhancement for most typical images. Light Sharp Max Texture - Minor detail enhancement for very clean images. Med Sharp High ISO - Detail and edge enhancement for very noisy images. Med Sharp Med ISO - Detail and edge enhancement for noisy images. Med Sharp Low ISO - Detail and edge enhancement for most typical images. Med Sharp Max Texture - Detail and edge enhancement for very clean images. Hvy Sharp High ISO - Heavy edge enhancement for very noisy images. Hvy Sharp Med ISO - Heavy edge enhancement for noisy images. Hvy Sharp Low ISO - Heavy edge enhancement for most typical images. Hvy Sharp Max Texture - Heavy edge enhancement for very clean images. Bright Halo Reduction - Use to remove excess sharpening halos in skies, etc. The following actions can be applied immediately after a main action above: ...As Layer On Top - Makes 2 layers with action results above the original. ...As Layer Underneath - Makes 2 layers with action results below the original. ...Per Selection Only - Restricts results to the area selected before. Generally speaking, the Med Sharp actions are a good compromise. I use the Med Sharp Low ISO action most myself. Experiment a bit to get to know them. See what good things you can do to fuzzy images. :) If an action doesn't seem to be effective or something unexpected shows up in your image use the history and start again, adding operations or changing the order of your steps. Note that a snapshot of your image is saved at the top of the History palette just before sharpening begins. Oh, one last thing: Your payment gets you updates of this Actions Set whenever I add new functions, refine them, make them work better, or have a tip/trick announcement to make. I won't disclose your eMail address to anyone else. I hate spam. Good luck, have fun, and let me know how they work for you! Thanks again! -Noel Carboni ================================================================================ 2. What's New in Version 1.5 ----------------------------- Version 1.5.5.0, February 2016 ------------------------------ Compatibility with On1 Resize 10 and the On1 Resize 10 plug-in that's bundled with Perfect Photo Suite 10. Version 1.5.4.0, December 2014 ------------------------------ Compatibility with Perfect Resize 9 Suite, as part of the Perfect Photo Suite 9 package. Version 1.5.3.0, November 2014 ------------------------------ Perfect Resize 9 Premium Edition Compatibility! Version 1.5.2.0, December 2013 ------------------------------ Perfect Resize 8 Premium Edition Compatibility! Version 1.5.1.0, November 2012 ------------------------------ Perfect Resize 7.5 Premium Edition Compatibility! Version 1.5, March 2011 ----------------------- Perfect Resize 7 Compatibility! Full compatibility with the latest and greatest version of the onOne Software plug-in Perfect Resize 7, previously known as Genuine Fractals. Direct support has been dropped for older versions of Genuine Fractals, though the actions can be modified to make them work with all older versions (see the FAQ and Troubleshooting sections below). The older v1_4 and v1_3 actions, which DO work with Genuine Fractals, are still available in a subfolder of the file you have downloaded. ================================================================================ 3. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) ------------------------------------ Q: Do the dSLR Fractal Sharpen actions work on a Macintosh? Yes, as long as you have the onOne Software Perfect Resize plug-in installed and working. Q: Do the latest dSLR Fractal Sharpen actions work with early versions of Perfect Resize (e.g., Genuine Fractals 2.0 through 6.0)? No. You will need to access the older v1_3 or v1_4 actions stored in a subfolder of the release package to work with these old versions. Q: Will the dSLR Fractal Sharpen actions work with Adobe® Photoshop® Elements? No. Q: Can I apply an action or effect to only part of an image? Yes. Here's a method for "painting" the effect of a dSLR Fractal Sharpen action onto any part of any image: 1. Run the sharpening action. 2. Run the ...As Layer Underneath action to place the newly sharpened image in a new layer underneath your original. 3. Choose the eraser tool and erase through to the lower layer to show the effect. Note that you can use partial opacity or flow and fuzzy-edged brushes with the Eraser tool. 4. Layer-Merge Down to recombine the two layers. Q: Can I apply an action to only selected parts of an image? Yes. If you select the part you want the action to run on, run the action (which will affect the entire image), then run the ...Per Selection Only action the result will then be limited to your prior selection. Q: Can I apply an action only partially to an entire image? Yes. Use the ...As Layer On Top action, then make the upper layer partially transparent to mix the two layers together and show the effect on the lower layer only partially. Q: Why are the dSLR Fractal Sharpen actions provided in a zip file? I package the actions in a zip file to ensure the download proceeds as quickly as possible, and also to provide assurance that the file has not been corrupted or truncated. I will be happy to eMail you an unzipped copy on your request. Simply eMail me at: NCarboni@ProDigitalSoftware.com Q: Can I use dSLR Fractal Sharpen actions in 16 bit-per-color mode? Yes. Sharpening an image in 16 bit mode, while producing very slightly finer results, can take up to 6 times longer than sharpening in 8 bit mode. Q: How do I know which action to use and when? Generally speaking, you'll have to get a feel for how they work, comparing before and after images. I recommend experimenting on relatively small images, cropped from your full-sized dSLR images, for quick results. One very handy technique is, after having run a dSLR Fractal Sharpen action, to back up one history state using ...As Layer On Top). This will yield a sharpened image as the selected layer, and the original image on the layer just beneath it. You can easily do before/after comparisons by clicking the layer visibility icon (eyeball) on the sharpened layer. I've organized the action names so that you can match them to your image. For example, if you have a medium ISO image (e.g., ISO 400) that you want to sharpen only a little, choose Light Sharpen Med ISO. The actions with names that end in "Max Texture" will work best only on images with very, very low noise. The Bright Halo Reduction is a very specialized action that will allow you to remove the most obvious effects of digital sharpening in very bright parts of your image. In other words it will darken the bright halos you might see in bright sky areas around dark leaves/branches, that sort of thing. You may be able to sharpen a clean image more than you'd think, then remove the bright halos afterwards using this action. This will give you an image with excellent texture, but it won't appear oversharpened. Q: I got a small sharp image inside my original image. Is this the way it's supposed to work? No. The actions should replace your image with a full-sized sharpened image. This indicates Perfect Resize is not being properly operated by the action. Please see the Troubleshooting section, below. Q: I got two small images overlapping diagonally. Is this the way it's supposed to work? No. The actions should replace your image with a full-sized sharpened image. Please see the Troubleshooting section, below. Q: Sometimes I get odd results - an unsharp image or image windows with weird names. Why is this? Make sure you don't hold any keys (e.g., the Alt or Ctrl key) down while the actions are running. Please see the Troubleshooting section, below. ================================================================================ 4. Troubleshooting ------------------- I've worked to make installing and running these actions as straightforward as possible. However, if you do experience a problem installing or running them, please check this section for information on ways to correct the problem. I apologize for any trouble you may be having. Please read all the way through this section. However, please don't hesitate to eMail me at: NCarboni@ProDigitalSoftware.com Don't worry, I will make every effort to get the actions working properly for you on your system. The results are well worth the effort! Symptom: I ended up with two small images overlapping diagonally on a blank background. Is this the way it's supposed to work? No - see below. Symptom: I ended up with a small image inside a larger one. Is this the way it's supposed to work? No. These actions should run all the way through without input from you, and replace your image with a full-sized sharpened image. You may have installed the wrong actions file if this is happening - the file has to match your installed version of Perfect Resize. Please check the table in section 1 at the top of this file. Symptom: Sometimes I get odd results - an unsharp or strange looking image or image windows with weird names. Why is this? Make sure you don't hold any keys (e.g., the Alt or Ctrl key) down while the actions are running. Adobe® Photoshop® does funky things if you do. I know these sharpening actions sometimes take a long time to run, and it's tempting to go do other things on your workstation, but try to stay off the keyboard if you do. Also, the actions will normally open several windows during their operation. This is normal; please be patient and wait for the action to finish. Symptom: The action stops at every single step. Should it stop like this? No. The actions are supposed to run all the way through without stopping. Look at the little boxes just to the left of the actions names. The first (leftmost) one should have a little checkmark in it and the second one should be blank. If either box is not as described, please click on it, or load the actions afresh from the files I've provided you. If All Else Fails: Please contact us at ProDigital Software. ================================================================================ 5. Policies and Legal Stuff ---------------------------- Licensing Policy Only one person per copy of dSLR Fractal Sharpen may use these actions. You may install and use the actions on all the machines you use, but if more than one person will be using these actions at a time, please purchase a separate license for each person. Updates I may be adding handy new features to dSLR Fractal Sharpen from time to time. Your purchase entitles you to free updates. Check http://www.ProDigitalSoftware.com to see our current offerings. Questions and Feedback If you'd like to eMail me to let me know how the actions are working for you, or to ask me a question, please feel free to do so. Here's my eMail address: NCarboni@ProDigitalSoftware.com Privacy Policy I will not disclose your eMail address to anyone else. I hate spam. Guarantee If these actions don't work for you or you are unhappy with them, please let me know via eMail. If I can't make them work properly and make you happy I'll give you your money back. ================================================================================