How do you create an Action in CS2?

Gilly B

Gilly B

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Gillian
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Following on from Hacker's brilliant tuition on High Pass Sharpening, he mentions 'creating an action'.

Can someone please explain how you do this and the reason?:thinking:

I am assuming you can do a sequence of things and then save it as an action, so next time you just choose that particular action:shrug: Am I on the right lines?
 
Geez, thanks mho for getting back to me so quickly. I have printed it out for reading later. :thumbs:
 
Another guide to PS actions HERE Gilly ... :shrug: ... in my plain speak kind of language too ... :shrug:



HTH ... :D


:p
 
Im just going cheekely hijack this thread for a related question; Is it possible to set a batch command as an action? Ive got an action I want to run as a batch, but Id like the entire batch command to be available from the action menu. Or even better, is it possible to run a batch command from and external file program? ie a .bat file?
 
Messiah - you can create a "droplet" from an action that will apply one single action (however complex) to multiple images.
File->Automate->Create Droplet
Select the Action you want from the pull-down menu
Set the Save directory & naming convention you want to use
Save the Droplet (as an .exe file) wherever you want.
To batch process, highlight all the files you want to process & simply drag & drop them onto the Droplet.
It's brilliant once you get used to it for the first time. Like beer.
 
Phil T said:
Messiah - you can create a "droplet" from an action that will apply one single action (however complex) to multiple images.
File->Automate->Create Droplet
Select the Action you want from the pull-down menu
Set the Save directory & naming convention you want to use
Save the Droplet (as an .exe file) wherever you want.
To batch process, highlight all the files you want to process & simply drag & drop them onto the Droplet.
It's brilliant once you get used to it for the first time. Like beer.
Click to expand...

Sorry, only just spotted this reply. And... oh my god! Thats perfect!:D:thumbs: You could do all sorts with that tool. Thank you!
 
Indeed.

Now if anybody knows how to make CS2 automaticaly resize images to the longest side i.e. Both resize portrait and landscape shots to 600px along the longest edge and then automaticaly pick the correct compression ratio to get it just under 100k then I'd be very grateful!
 
I use something similar for all my shots Gandhi.

I have two resize actions, one for portrait, one for landscape. I'm not sure how to make CS2 , decide whether its a portrait or landscape shot and choose accordingly, so I choose myself, and run each action accordingly.

Basically, the way to do it, is this, when recording your Portraitaction, Choose Image > Resize, then just enter 72DPI in the right box, then 600 in the height. Dont enter anything in the width, and just click OK.

For the Landscape, do exactly the same but dont even click in the height, box, just enter 600px in the width.

CS then records that you only entered one value in the action, and will always work out the other value for you, keeping the correct ratio :D

I then have another action, which I use for saving. I did used to have it using the Save for Web dialog, but I prefer to keep the Exif now.
However, when I used it, I recorded the action, then selected the Save As dialog, then in the flyout menu just above the compression slider, there is an option "Optimise to File Size", enter 100k there, and click save, and bob's your aunties live-in-lover

Hope this helps.
 
Ive been playing with the droplet tool, and its amazing. Ive now created a droplet that automatically updates my website.:D All I have to do is choose and image I want on my website. I drag and drop it onto the droplet. Photoshop then generates the thumbnail and uploades both the full size image and the thumbnail to the FTP server. Now I just need to figure out how to run the simpleviwer php script directly after all that lot is finished.:thinking:
 
Marcel said:
I use something similar for all my shots Gandhi.

I have two resize actions, one for portrait, one for landscape. I'm not sure how to make CS2 , decide whether its a portrait or landscape shot and choose accordingly, so I choose myself, and run each action accordingly.

Basically, the way to do it, is this, when recording your Portraitaction, Choose Image > Resize, then just enter 72DPI in the right box, then 600 in the height. Dont enter anything in the width, and just click OK.

For the Landscape, do exactly the same but dont even click in the height, box, just enter 600px in the width.

CS then records that you only entered one value in the action, and will always work out the other value for you, keeping the correct ratio :D

I then have another action, which I use for saving. I did used to have it using the Save for Web dialog, but I prefer to keep the Exif now.
However, when I used it, I recorded the action, then selected the Save As dialog, then in the flyout menu just above the compression slider, there is an option "Optimise to File Size", enter 100k there, and click save, and bob's your aunties live-in-lover

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...



Thanks Marcel. it was, unfortunately, the auto detection of which side to shrink to 600px I was looking for. I don't think capture NX will do it either. The day Nikon update NX so I can clone and heal and resize to specific file size is the day I bin photoshop completely ;)
 
LOL

If you find out, be sure to let me know please :D That's the only way round it I could think of

I simply have Landscape resize on f5, and portrait resize on f6 for the moment.
 
blimey.. droplet.. never knew that existed. Great thread
 
Gandhi said:
Indeed.

Now if anybody knows how to make CS2 automaticaly resize images to the longest side i.e. Both resize portrait and landscape shots to 600px along the longest edge and then automaticaly pick the correct compression ratio to get it just under 100k then I'd be very grateful!
Click to expand...

Actions, droplets and batch automations are great for their purpose and its good to see so many people using them here. But to go further, you need scripting..

"Dr Browns 123 Process" script will do what you want adequately.

drbrownml2.gif


As you can see from this little test I ran (just so I could make a screenie for you!) You can save to three different formats, tiff, jpeg and psd, set the dimensions of the edges and quality size too (<-this bit if set right should give you less than 100kb). You can even specify to run an action before or after the resize too!

Scripting is so versatile and there are plenty of useful scripts on Russels page here http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html BTW, he has versions for both CS2 and CS3

Steve...:)
 
Gandhi said:
Indeed.

Now if anybody knows how to make CS2 automaticaly resize images to the longest side i.e. Both resize portrait and landscape shots to 600px along the longest edge and then automaticaly pick the correct compression ratio to get it just under 100k then I'd be very grateful!
Click to expand...

An old thread ... but the easiest way to do this in PS is File|Automate|Fit Image - enter 600 in both boxes.
 
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