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What is a path?
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Paths are used in Photoshop and Illustrator to create shapes, also called vector objects.
Circles, rectangles, and even text, are all shapes that are made of paths.
Paths are resolution-independent and always produce images with crisp edges, even after you move, scale, or rotate them.
Path Styler Pro uses these paths to create its sharp high-quality bevels.
In Photoshop, paths appear in the Paths palette.
In Illustrator, it is all about vector-based graphics, so almost every object is a path.
In both Photoshop and Illustrator, you can easily create your own paths with the shape and pen tools.
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Does Path Styler Pro work with Paint Shop Pro, Fireworks, Color Paint, or any other program that supports Photoshop plug-ins?
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No. Even though some of these programs work with paths, they do not support enough of the Photoshop plug-in architecture to run Path Styler Pro.
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Does Path Styler Pro work with Photoshop Elements?
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No. Path Styler Pro only works with the full version of Photoshop.
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Does the style of a path remain editable?
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Yes. In Illustrator, Path Styler Pro is a live effect, so you can edit the style at any time.
In Photoshop, Path Styler Pro allows you to attach a style to a layer, creating an editable style effect.
You can then edit the style of the path on that layer at any time, even when you close and reopen the document in Photoshop.
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What is an editable style effect?
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Normally, the effect of a filter in Photoshop is not editable. However, Path Styler Pro has a feature that allows you to edit the style settings after you have applied the Path Styler Pro filter to a layer.
You do this by attaching the style in Path Styler Pro to the layer. You then have an editable style effect.
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Path Styler Pro does not appear in the Photoshop Filter menu
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Make sure that you have installed Path Styler Pro for Photoshop, and that it is installed in Photoshop's plug-ins folder. If it is not, re-install Path Styler Pro for Photoshop, and when the installer asks for the Photoshop Plug-ins Folder, make sure that the correct folder is selected. Also note that you have to restart Photoshop for new filters to become available. Path Styler Pro should appear in the Shinycore submenu of the Filter menu.
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Path Styler Pro is grayed out in the Photoshop Filter menu
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In Photoshop, a filter is grayed out in the Filter menu when the image has a color mode that the filter does not support. The Path Styler Pro filter supports RGB and Grayscale 8-bit images.
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Path Styler Pro does not appear in the Illustrator Filter menu
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Path Styler Pro for Illustrator is not a filter but an effect. It is available in the Effect menu under the submenu Shinycore.
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Path Styler Pro does not appear in the Illustrator Effect menu
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Make sure that you have installed Path Styler Pro for Illustrator, and that it is installed in Illustrator's plug-ins folder. If it is not, re-install Path Styler Pro, and when the installer asks for the Illustrator Plug-ins Folder, make sure that the correct folder is selected. Also note that you have to restart Illustrator for new plug-ins to become available. Path Styler Pro should appear in the Shinycore submenu of the Effect menu.
For Macintosh users: Make sure that you have the right Path Styler Pro for your version of Illustrator. Separate versions are available for Illustrator CS, CS2, and Illustrator CS3 and CS4.
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I get a message saying "Could not run Path Styler Pro because this host does not provide the following suites:"
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In Illustrator, make sure that you have Path Styler Pro for Illustrator, and that you have Illustrator 9 or higher. The Photoshop version of Path Styler Pro does not work as a filter in Illustrator.
Path Styler Pro for Photoshop only works with Photoshop 6.0 or higher. It does not run on ImageReady or Photoshop compatible hosts, such as Fireworks or Paint Shop Pro.
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Where are my new style presets?
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If you previously had a tryout or beta version of Path Styler Pro installed on your computer, it is possible that Path Styler Pro loads the style presets that you created with that version. To get the complete style preset library with over a 100 presets, do the following:
- In Path Styler Pro, use Edit > Preset Manager to open the Preset Manager.
- Set Preset Type to Styles.
- Shift-click the presets that you created in the tryout or beta version, and click the Save Set button.
- In the Save dialog box, give your custom preset library a proper name, for example "My Styles.pss".
- Click the triangle button in the upper right corner, choose Replace, and open the file "Default Styles.pss" in the Presets folder.
- To append your custom presets, click the Load button, and open your custom preset library.
If you did not have a tryout or beta version, or if you did not make any changes to the style presets, then Path Styler Pro will automatically load the complete style preset library.
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I get a message saying "There are no paths in the Paths palette. Path Styler Pro requires a path to operate."
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You need to create a path in Paths palette. If you are using the pen or shape tools, make sure that the Paths button is checked in the option bar. Otherwise, you will create a shape layer or a filled region.
There is a problem in Photoshop that causes this message to appear even when there are paths in the Paths palette. It happens when a path is copied in Illustrator. As long as the Illustrator copy of the path remains on the clipboard, Photoshop is unable to tell Path Styler Pro that there are paths in the Paths palette.
To solve this problem, make a copy of something else in Photoshop. If you copy-pasted the path from Illustrator, simply make a copy of the path in Photoshop. The Photoshop copy will replace the Illustrator copy of the path on the clipboard. You can then run Path Styler Pro without getting the message.
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I get a "Could not render the preview!" message above the preview window
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This could mean that there is not enough memory for Path Styler Pro to render the effect in the preview window. If you get this message while you are selecting a style preset, you can free memory by setting the view of the style preset palette to Text Only.
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Path Styler Pro sometimes clears the other contents of my layer in Photoshop
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This happens when a Path Styler Pro style is attached to the layer and is used as an editable style effect. When a style is attached to a layer, you should use the layer exclusively for the Path Styler Pro filter because Path Styler Pro automatically clears the entire layer when you re-apply the style effect. You can use layer effects, such as Drop Shadow or Outer Glow.
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When I apply Path Styler Pro to multiple objects in Illustrator, I only see one object in the preview window
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If multiple objects are selected in Illustrator when you launch Path Styler Pro, all objects will be styled, but only one object will appear in the preview window.
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The edges of Path Styler Pro styles are not clean in Illustrator
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In Illustrator, Path Styler Pro is a raster effect. The quality of raster effects in Illustrator is determined by the Raster Effects Settings. Check your document's raster effects settings and the raster effects settings in the Style menu of Path Styler Pro to see if the resolution and anti-alias settings are high enough for your final publishing medium.
Also note that Illustrator is not always able to display raster art correctly on screen. This is most noticeable on the edges.
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The edges of Path Styler Pro effects are not clean when I export artwork
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Make sure that the Path Styler Pro effects are rendered at the resolution that you will use for the exported artwork. When you export artwork to an image, a dialog appears that asks you to specify a resolution for the exported image. Your Path Styler Pro effects should have the same resolution that you specify here.
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The colors of the Path Styler Pro effect look different in Illustrator
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This happens when you use Path Styler Pro in a CMYK document. Path Styler Pro is an RGB effect, so Illustrator needs to convert the RGB colors to a CMYK. Because of this conversion, colors can shift in appearance.
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