Actions in Photoshop CS5

Action Palette

Actions Palette Bottom Row

Left to right
  • Stop recording
    Click this icon to stop recording an action.  This will result in the action being completed and ready to use.

  • Recording indicator
    This icon will be red while an action is being recorded.
     
  • Play action
    Highlight an action in the Actions Palette.  Click on this icon and the events recorded in the action will be performed on the currently active image.

  • Create New Action Set
    Use this icon to create a new set.  Individual actions are organized within sets.  In addition Action Sets can be exported then imported to different computers, including Photoshop Elements.  A dialog box will appear in which one can give the name of the set.

  • Create a New Action
    Use this icon to start recording a new action.  A dialog box will appear in which the name of the action, the function key short-cut, and other properties of the action will determined.  When the dialog box is completed the action will start recording.

  • Trash
    Drag an action, action event, or even a complete action set to the Trash to delete.

Actions Menu

The actions menu can be activated by clicking on the drop-down button on the upper right hand corner of the actions palette (just below the X that would close the palette.)

The Button Mode will allow an action to be played with a single click of the mouse.  However, this turns off the ability to add or edit actions.

The next group of menu items are the same as those on the bottom row of the Actions Palette.

Some of the rest of the menu items will be discussed at a later time.		 Actions Palette
Actions Palette


Actions Menu
Actions Menu



Create Action Set

  • Bring up the new set dialog either by clicking on the new set icon at the bottom of the actions palette or choosing New Set in the actions menu.
  • Give the name of the new set in the New Set dialog box then click OK
  • Action Sets can be repositioned by dragging within the Actions Palette the sets up or down.

Recording a New Action

  • Bring up the new action dialog.  Enter the name of the new action and chose the action set into which the new action will be placed.
  • Select the function key (if any) to be used to play the action.  If desired a function key can be used in conjunction with the shift and/or control keys.
  • A color may be selected.  This will be used for the appearance of the action in the Button Mode.
  • Click Record.  At this time all functions you perform on the active image will be recorded in the new action.  The recording indicator will turn red.  
  • When finished recording click on the Stop Recording icon.  The new action is now complete.
  • You may now play to new action, causing all functions in the action to be applied to another image.  This can be done by using the appropriate function key (as selected in the second step of this list), by highlighting the action and clicking the play icon, by choosing play from the menu, or by clicking on the action in the button mode.
 New Set Dialog



New Action Dialog

Make Snapshot

If you have a very long action it might be advisable to start the action with a snapshot.  This will allow you to undo the entire action in the event the action does not produce the desired results.  A snapshot is the recording of the current state of an image.
  • To make a snapshot click on the middle icon at the bottom of the history palette. 
  • By clicking on a snapshot in the history palette the image will revert to the state of the image at the time the snapshot was recorded.  This includes all adjustments that was made, all layers with the layer settings in place, etc.
  • If several snapshots exist you may bring up the state of any of them.
  • A snapshot may be deleted by dragging it to the trash bin.
  • When you activate a snapshot you may then continue editing.  All previous history items will then be deleted.

Filling in information during the play

Once an action has been recorded you may wish to have that action stop during play to fill out a dialog box on the fly rather than letting a default value take effect every time.  By clicking on the second column in the action palette beside an event when the action gets to that event a dialog box will come up and you will be given the opportunity to complete the dialog.  When you finish the action will continue.  In the example on the right the "High Pass" event, significying the application of the high pass filter, has a dialog icon in the second column.  When the action gets to the High Pass event the action will stop and the Radius can be set as desired.

The first column of the Actions Palette defaults to each box being checked.  If a box in the first column is unchecked the associated event will be skipped when the action is played.  

Editing an Action

  • An event within an action may be deleted by dragging that action to the trash bin.
  • The order of actions can be changed by dragging an event up or down within the action.
  • An event within an action can be modified by double clicking on the event.  The dialog box associated with that event will come up and it may be filled in as desired.  Note:  When doing this that event will be applied to the current image.
  • A new event (or events) may be added by highlighting an event then in the Actions Menu select Start Recording.  Any new events will be inserted after the selection.  Click on Stop Recording when finished.
  • If an action title is highlighted and Action Options is selected in the Action Menu then you may reset the action properties (name, function keys, and color -- which appears in the Button Mode.

Button Mode
When the button mode is selected the Actions Palette will appear as it does in the left image.  To play an action simply click on the action icon.  This is a simple one-click way of making your actions available.

Saving and Loading an Action Set

  • An action set may be saved for import into another computer.  To do this highlight the action set, go to the actions menu, then select Save Actions.  You may then deterring the folder into which you wish to save the actions.  The default file name will be ActionSetName.atn.
  • You may now transfer the action file to another computer that has Photoshop installed on it.  To bring the actions into Photoshop use the actions menu, select "Load Actions" and chose the action file you wish to load.  Alternatively you may simply double click on the action file (ie.  ActionSetName.atn)
  • Actions may be loaded into Photoshop Elements beginning with Elements 8.  However, the actions must be recorded in a version of Photoshop CS.  When doing so be careful not to use a feature of Photoshop CS that is not available in Photoshop Elements.
  • Actions may be purchased or, in many cases, simply downloaded for free from the Internet.
History Palette





High Pass Sharpening Action
Actions Palette



Button Mode
Actions Palette