ACTIONS EVENING:

Miguel de Carvalho
miguel@imsd.co.za
www.imsd.co.za (courses and outlines link!)
0827161938

- You can Record and Save Actions of repetitive

tasks/ operations
- and then play them back: fast.

Window > Actions will open the Actions Palette

- Actions are saved in Sets (groups)
(ie: Type effects / Pics 4Web / Color
Correction etc)

You can apply an action to:

- An individual open document
- To Open Images in PhotoShop
- To files in a Folder (the start of Batch
Processing!)

TO CREATE AN ACTION: Step by Step

First Create the Set / Select the Set the action
will go in:

In Actions Palette Fly-off:

- >New Set (named it 'Training_Adjustments')
Ensure you have the layer selected you wish to
work on:
- > New Action (named it 'Adjust_Images' ,
Create Shortcut Key (ie: Cntrl Shift 2)
Click RECORD Button (Red Circle Button at
bottom of Palette)

Apply changes you wish to make:

- Image > Adjustments / Transforming / Moving /
Filters / Layer Styles etc

After each step, you will see Action step is

created.
If you make mistake,
- cancel it, just go on
- apply it, you can switch off step later as you
wish.

When done click the STOP action (Square at

bottom of Actions palette)

TO APPLY ACTION:
Select new layer,
- Select the Action Name
- Click the Shortcut / Play button
- Action will run

CUSTOMIZING ACTIONS:
 - To STOP a step in the Action from playing:
- Click OFF TICK to left of step
- Step will be ignored and 'passed over' to next
step

- To Customize step's settings ie: Curves

amount/ Filter Effect / Stroke Weight/ Color
- Click in 'Toggle Dialog Box' window (Block next
to Tick and Step Name)
- When Action plays, at this step Ptshop will
Open Dialog box for you to set own settings.

- You can also Change Step Setting after Action

has been made:
Double click step (with nothing selected)
make changes
- Dragging the Step to the Trashcan will delete it
from the Action

APPLYING ACTIONS TO TYPE:

- Many actions will only be applied to Type Layer
if it is Rasterized
Layer > Rasterize > Type (then Apply Filters
etc)
- Note that you can duplicate the Rasterized
Type layer and apply effect
-Reflections/ Blurs etc
APPLYING ACTIONS TO SELECTIONS
- first create the selection on the layer, we do
this BEFORE creating actions
so the Action will apply to ANY selection type
(including Text Masks etc)
- Start Recording Action, Then duplicate the
layer
- Select > Modify > feather etc etc
- Watch what is Normal versus Inverse (Select >
Inverse)

Now that we Have learnt to Create Actions, we

can further use them on
multiple images, in Batch Processing
Automation!

BATCH PROCESSING
You run batch processing on multiple files/
images

There are two types of Batch processing:

1. Batch renaming -just renaming the files (ie:
from photographers 235643.jpg >thailand01.jpg)
2. Batch Processing - running an action on
multiple files to speed up workflow
BATCH RENAMING

- have your files in a folder

- create a new folder where your files will be
copied to
you can also rename in same file /or move the
file to new location

In Bridge:
Tools > batch rename
- select Rename /Move /Copy to Folder
- if move /copy You Must select new folder
destination
(if you forget, Bridge will warn you!)

- New Filenames Option

This is where you change the name of the file,
add serial number/ shot date etc

Add metadata -your Metadata will be included

with conversion
ie: copy-write info /camera settings/ color profiles
etc

Set for Mac Win Unix options

(unix are mac servers mostly used for ad
agencies/ photo studios)
click on the + to add settings

Bridge will display the changes you make at the

bottom (to file name etc)

OTHER BRIDGE OPTION (CS3/4)

File > Get Photos from camera (or external drive/
flashdrive/ server)
Bridge will auto detect external source
You have the option to copy files to a folder /
with subfolders
- rename files
- convert RAW to DNG (less file-size & Sidecar
Metadata file)

PHOTOSHOP
FILE > AUTOMATE > BATCH

- this is where you can include the Action created

in PhotoShop.
- You select a Source and Destination folder, as
before

- you can also change the names at the same

time (bottom of dialog box)
- also add a serial number ie: pic 002 and then
the extension .tiff
DROPLETS
In PhotoShop you can also create droplets, these
are your actions saved as applications
on ie: the desktop.
File > Automate > Create droplet

First you will name/ save the file -this is the

actual droplet name/location
- then set the desired action
- you must also set a final folder location, where
completed images will be sent to/stored.
(it's best to do this before creating the
droplet and not during!!)
- done

Navigate to your desktop

Drag the folder /files onto the droplet object
then watch it launch Photoshop
run through action (really fast)

Look in destination folder for images.