First, before we begin, it’s good to understand just how the
Greeting Card Designer (GCD) is
put together.
All of the function of GCD is handled by Actions. During the installation, a file
containing the actions is copied to your system and the install program
attempts to load them into Photoshop.
The actions can be divided into those that create cards and those that modify cards already created. The create card actions should be able to handle any high resolution image file. Modifier actions, however, must be run on files that were created by one of the card creation actions and you should not make any changes to the card before you run the action. If you attempt to run a modifier action on a file that was not created with a GCD action you will get an error message.
Photoshop CS4 supports user created program
“extensions”. GCD V4.5 added
one-click panels using this new feature.
The panels are simply a nice interface to the actions – when you click
on one of the buttons the panel calls the appropriate action. If you seem to be having problems running actions via the one-click panel, try to run the same action from the actions palette directly. This will help pinpoint where the problem may be occurring.
Finally, V4 of the GCD introduced the Signature file that
allows you to brand your cards with a customized stamp on the back. The signature file is installed to your
system in a common area. All
the actions that create the cards will look for the signature file and include
it on the back panel of the card.
You can edit the Signature file to a design that suits your needs.
These are the only three elements of the GCD. Working together they make a very slick
program that makes developing greeting cards a snap. Have a problem with any one or more and the process can be
frustrating.
Error Messages:
Many of the error messages you may get are difficult to understand since
they can be quite cryptic. The problem
is that since GCD is not a program in it’s own right but an add-on or plug-in
to Photoshop, I have no control over the creation of the messages.