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Walter_H
Walter_H
Legend
April 13, 2021
Question

How to combine 2 or more small Brush sets into one larger ABR file

  • April 13, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 3075 views

I am using PSE 2020 in Windows 10. I have a collection of several cloud brush sets. Some of them contain only 1, 2, or 3 clouds while others have 10 to 15 clouds. Is it possible to combine all of these brush sets into one larger brush file (abr)? How do I do this?

 

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2 replies

Phil Pickering
Phil Pickering
Legend
April 13, 2021

Hi Walter,

 

I think I've understood what you're hoping to achieve 🙂

 

1. Go to Edit > Preset Manager and select the Brushes Preset Type if it isn't already selected.

 

2. Select one set of cloud brushes that you want to use as your "base" cloud brush set using the menu button (it's a down arrow plus three little lines to the right of the Preset Type dropdrown list).

 

3. Click the Append... button and navigate to your C: Program Files > Adobe > Photoshop Elements 2021 > Presets > Brushes folder and select another set of cloud brushes you want to add to this "base" set. Click the Load button.

 

4. Repeat step 3 until you have all your cloud brush sets in this "base" set.

 

5. To tidy everything up, click the first brush in the set and shift-click the last brush in the set to select all the brushes, then click the Save Set... button. Give it a name like "Cloud Brushes.abr" and save it in your C: Users > user_name > AppData > Roaming > Adobe > Photoshop Elements > 19.0 > Presets > Brushes folder.

 

6. You now have all your cloud brushes contained in one single set (and one single .abr file).

 

7. Now go back to your C: Program Files > Adobe > Photoshop Elements 2021 > Presets > Brushes folder and delete all the cloud brush sets you have in there (or copy them to another folder on your computer if you ever want to revert back to using lots of different cloud brush sets - a "just in case" insurance policy!)

 

8. Restart the Elements Editor. Your new "Cloud Brushes" set should now be the only one that appears in the Preset Manager and the Brush Preset Picker when you use the Brush tool.

    Walter_H
    Walter_HAuthor
    Legend
    April 13, 2021

    @Phil Pickering,

     

    THANK YOU! Finally, an answer that addresses my question correctly! I will try your suggestion later and get back to you. It makes sense to me - I'm sure I can make it work! Thanks again!

     

    And, who is this hatstead, and how does he get to have an "Adobe Community Professional" description with answers like he was giving me? Jeez!

     

    --Walter in Davie, FL
    Glenn 8675309
    Glenn 8675309
    Legend
    April 13, 2021

    Hatstead has answered TONS of questions,l and has provied clsoe to 1000 solutions that people like.  Sometimes in responding it's easy to misread soemones intent, I do it sometimes.    

    Everyone gets a "stage" dpending upon how engaged they are: newbie, engaged (I think that's where I am) and what not.

    Sometimes, it take a few "reads" and a little back and forth between users to reach a clear understanding of what is asked.   Some Adobe employess answer, and even they get it wrong, or simply provide a wrong answer. 

    This community (we used to call them BBS's) is based upon user to user inteactions, and experiences. 

    When he offers a solution, it carries a lot of weight, and experience with it. 




    This is my info.

      hatstead
      hatstead
      Inspiring
      April 13, 2021

      Walter,

      In Windows 10, open File Explorer

      Go to C drive>Program Files (x86).Adobe>PSE>Presets>Brushes

      All the default brushes are listed here.

      Copy/paste or drag your brush (abr) files here into a new folder.

       

      Walter_H
      Walter_HAuthor
      Legend
      April 13, 2021

      Hatstead,

       

      Thanks for the quick reply! I know how to do what you describe and I have done just that. But, that just gives me a LOT of small brush sets with only 1 or 2 brushes in each ABR file. The attached screenshot shows my PSE Brushes folder. I want to COMBINE the 5 highlighted brush files into ONE larger brush file. Sorry, I guess that I did not phrase my question properly.

       

       

      --Walter in Davie, FL
      hatstead
      hatstead
      Inspiring
      April 13, 2021

      In the Brushes folder, right click on a blank area and open a new folder, then name it. Can you drag the ABR files into this folder?

      If not, download a free ABR brush set from the internet. It should find its way into the brushes folder. Then, delete the individual brushe files and replace them with your cloud brush files. You can rename the folder to suit.

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