Creating Actions Part 1

Let PhotoShop do some of the Work For You

"I have been told that PhotoShop is the way to go to make my images look great but it takes so long to learn and do each step. How can I speed things up?"

PhotoShop has long been considered to be one of the industry standards for the creation and optimization of images. For the first time user however, it can be intimidating. For those who are advanced beginners there are times that repetitive tasks get tedious, especially when dealing with 100s of images at a time. Even experienced users sometimes overlook the great automation features available in PhotoShop that make the program a valued partner in your workflow rather than a merciless task master.

In this article we will explore one such automation feature, actions. What is an action? How do we find them?, How do we use them?, How do we create them?

What is an action?

An action is an automated series of tasks that saves time. A task, say; turning an image into a black and white with a slight diffusion layer would require; converting to black and white (using a variety of methods), adjusting the contrast, duplicating a layer, adding a blur to the new layer, adjusting the opacity of that layer, adjusting the contrast of that layer and then flattening that image. That is at least, seven steps requiring you to drag your mouse all over the desktop. Even more steps; depending upon the method you use for color to bw convertion and even more if you also save and close the image ... wow, I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Actions can turn that entire process into clicking a single button. Saving time on the nuts-and-bolts processing = more time for the creative processing.

Where are actions located?

From within the PhotoShop window, on the top bar navigate to: Window then Actions Window|Actions menu
The actions palette will open on the desktop (if it has not already opened as a default). If you are new to actions feel free to explore the default actions that are included in PhotoShop by opening an image, selecting an action by clicking on it and then selecting the play action icon at the bottom of the actions palette (the triangle thingie). As long as you do not save whatever happens to your image as a result of your exploration you can always press (control(pc)/command(mac) + z) to undo the last thing that you did, or go to the history palette and select an image state prior to your exploratory experimentation.

How do I use an action?

Examine your workflow - the process(es) you use to take an image from naked file to a finished file that is ready for printing. If there are repetitive tasks, automate them to speed up your workflow. An action does not necessarily totally automate the task. You can put 'stop tabs' within an action so that you can put tweeks on an individual image. (more on tweek tabs in Creating More-Better Actions).

How do I create an action?

We are going to provide downloadable actions on the website, but, what if something goes wrong and the action does not work? Or, for inquiring minds that just gotta know, what makes it happen?

Go back to your Actions Palette. It looks similar to the image, there may be other tabs at the top of the palette as in the Layers or History tab below. Make sure that the Actions tab is active (in the front of the stack). Actions Palette
The palette is divided into Folders. The above image shows folders named; 'Default Actions.atn', 'PROCESS.atn', 'Hot 100_mac' and 'Studio Store Prev_mac' Default Action
Within each Folder there may be a number of 'Actions' such as these from the Default folder above.List of Actions
The bottom of the Actions Palette frame contains some controls that are used when creating actions. Action Controls
The controls as they appear above are for 'stop recording'(square), 'start recording'(circle), 'play action'(triangle), 'new folder', 'new action' ('dog-eared' page) and 'move to trash' respectively.

To Create an Action begin by trying the procedure that you want to perform a few times on an open image to iron out the kinks prior to actually recording the action. Take notes on a steno pad so that you do not have to rely on memory to recall what comes next. You want your recorded action to be perfect, what ever it happens to be. It is very frustrating to have an action with a glitch that you must correct every time you use it.

Now that you have your procedure outlined on a steno pad, scraps of paper or post-its, stuck all over you monitor, it's time for the fun stuff.

  1. Select the new folder icon at the bottom of the actions palette. This will open a dialogue box. New Set Dialogue
  2. Name the new set of actions that this folder will contain. Notice in the Actions Palette pictured above that the folder named 'Default Actions.atn' contains actions from 'Vignette (selection)' all the way down to '- 10%'. Choose a name that represents the general category for the action(s) that it will contain. Example: actions for general image color and density correction might be placed in a folder named 'Proccess'.
  3. Click 'OK' A folder will appear in the Actions Palette with the new name. i.e. 'Process.atn'
  4. Open an image in the PhotoShop Window.
  5. Highlight (single click) on the folder name that you want to place the new action in.
  6. Select the new action icon at the bottom of the actions palette. This will open a dialogue box where you will name the action that you are about to write. New Action Dialogue
  7. Make sure that you are putting your Action in the correct Set (or folder)
  8. Click 'Record'.
  9. Anything that you do starting now and until you hit the Stop Recording button (the square) will be recorded as an action. So, carefully perform the tasks that you have practiced and perfected.
  10. Click Stop Recording (the black square button, bottom of the actions palette.
  11. Go to the 'History' palette and return the image to it's original state as when it was originally opened.
  12. Select the action that you just created by clicking on it in the actions palette. Now select the 'play action' icon at the bottom of the actions palette. This will run your new action on the image and you will know real quick if there are any problems with the action you have written.

Now for a Practical Tutorial

The action you are about to write creates a minimal increase in contrast.

  1. Follow steps #1 - 6 above, name your new action 'contrast adj'.
  2. Follow steps #7 & 8 above.
  3. Open your levels dialogue box (pc= ctrl+l), (mac= comm+l) Levels Dialouge
  4. Move the black and white sliders so that the numbers in the boxes on top of the graph read: 5, 1, 250
  5. Go back to the actions palette and select the stop recording icon.
  6. Follow steps #10 & 11 above.

If the action works congratulations! You have just embarked on a journey to a new world of workflow automation.
If it does not work - highlight the action (click once on the action) and then click on the Move to Trash icon and try it again.

Creating actions works for processes that have many steps also. This was an adventure into the basic creation process.

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