Photoshop Actions

[Don Kuykendall_RIP]

The best way to describe Photoshop actions is to define them as recordings of steps you do in Photoshop. Lets say the you normally add a watermark to all your photos and then resize them down to upload them to this forum. You can automate that so that you just have to click on the action button and it is done.

To create an action:​

1. 
   [*=left]Select a New Action icon,
   [*=left]Name the action by double clicking on the icon and typing the name
   [*=left]Hit the Record button right before you start editing your photo.
   [*=left]Once you are done with editing hit the Stop Recording button. That’s it.

Once you do this then you can do those same editing steps to any photo by just running that action. You can create as many different actions as you want. There are also many actions that you can download from the internet, many that are free, that will do a number of different functions but it is more fun to record your own. Don't worry if you screw up the recording you can always delete it and start over.
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[STM]

This is one thing I have never done but it is something definitely worth investigating!

 

[Don Kuykendall_RIP]

Google PhotoShop Actions. there are many out there that are free. Just download and install. Some are garbage and some are pretty interesting. Record your own first and it will help you understand what it is and how it is done.

 

[wud]

I use action a little bit. Been recording several, but mostly I just use one of them, "vignette". I do have a problem though, I know that somehow you should be able to record action just opening a feature - like, levels (just an exampel) but not making the changes. Cannot get it to work? It wont let me press stop at the action when a feature is open and I cannot delete the step afterwards.

Anyone who know something about that?

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[Mike150]

Only time I've ever tried it is when my sister gave me a lot of JPGs she wanted printed 8x10. The files were all less than 1M in size and the printouts were pixelated.
I created the action to enlarge the photo 2% at a time, then ran the action to gradually enlarge the photos. Saved me a heck of a lot of mouse clicks.
Of course, after printing one for her at 8x10, I gave her the rest of the resized JPGs to have printed herself. Ink ain't cheap.