digital darkroom assignment #16

cletus

Assignment: Creating Actions in Photoshop

Since before there was dgrin, Photoshop has had Actions. Actions are nothing more than a sequences of commands that can be played back in Photoshop. Over the years Actions have become the prefered method for sharing Photoshop techniques. Websites like actionfx.com are full of actions for doing all sorts of thing with Photoshop. Actions also help Photoshop users save time.

Try to create an Action that will help you in your Photoshop work. Once you have the action give us a description of what your action does, and how you created it.

Sharing your actions on dgrin:

Since there is no easy way to put action files in posts here on dgrin, we'll have to settle for sharing the commands in actions. Fortunately Photoshop lets you save your Actions as a text file:

• Select the Action Set that you want to share in the Action Palette.
• Press and hold Ctrl + Alt (on PC, Command + Option on Mac) while you select Save Actions... from the Action Palette Menu.
• The Save dialog opens letting you pick where you want to save the text file.

You can then open the file in a text editor, copy the text for your action, and paste it into a post here on dgrin.

Hints/Tips:

• Not every command in Photoshop can be recorded in an Action, you can look in the Photoshop online help for more info.
• Actions can call other actions

Walkthrough:

Here is an example of creating a simple action. I'm going to create an action for making a "dodge/burn" layer as described here.

The first thing I'm going to do is create a new Action Set. Action Sets are nothing more than organizers for actions. To create my Action Set I click on the Create new set button in the Actions Palette...

...which brings up the New Set dialog.

I name my set and click OK. Now when I look in the Actions Palette I see my new set:

I'm now ready to create my action by clicking the Create new action button in the Actions Palette.

In the New Action dialog I name my action and pick which Action Set I want the action stored in. When I've set everything I click on Record.

The New Action dialog closes and if I look at the Action Palette I notice two things: 1) My new action is listed in my action set. 2) The Begin Recording button is highlighted, indicating that Photoshop is recording my action.

So now I need to go through the steps that will be recorded into my action. In this case, the only step is creating a new layer. I add a layer by pressing Shift + Ctrl + N (Shift + Command + N on Mac). In the New Layer dialog I name my new layer and adjust the settings.

When I've made the changes to the New Layer dialog, I press OK. When the dialog closes I see in the Actions Palette that there is now a Make layer command in my action. Since I'm done with my action I tell Photoshop to stop recording by clicking the Stop playing/recording button in the Actions Palette.

Now my action is done and I'm ready to start using it. I select my action and press the Play selection button in the Actions Palette:

Photoshop runs my action and creates a "Dodge/Burn" layer for me!

Here is the text file version of my Action:

Set: DDAssignments
       
   	Action: Add Dodge/Burn Layer
   		Make layer
   			Using: layer
   			Name:  “Dodge/Burn”
   			Mode: overlay
   			With Fill Neutral

cletus

Photoshop Tutorial Helper
Here's an action I made to help me when I make screen shots in Photoshop. The action creates a new 1600x1200 pixel (the size screen that I run) document and pastes the contents of the clipboard into it. So now to make a screen shot I just press the Print Screen key and then run my action. When the action is done I have my screen shot as a Photoshop document. I can then crop, add arrows or what ever.

Action: TutorialHelper
  		Make
  			New: document
  			Mode: RGB color mode
  			Width: 22.222 inches
  			Height: 16.667 inches
  			Resolution: 72 per inch
  			Pixel Aspect Ratio: 1
  			Fill: transparent
  			Depth: 8
  			Profile:  “sRGB IEC61966-2.1”
  		Paste
  			Anti-alias: none

wxwax

Ya know, i created one action a long time ago. it increases the image size by 10% every time I hit the button.

To be honest, I'm not sure what else I do that can be automated.

cletus

wxwax wrote:

Ya know, i created one action a long time ago. it increases the image size by 10% every time I hit the button.

To be honest, I'm not sure what else I do that can be automated.

Ok then, I'll give you a specific assignment

Build us an action to do Zero-Zero's color to B&W method and then paste the text version of it for us to see.

DavidTO

Here's one that I have that performs a LAB sharpen. This converts the mode to LAB, selects the lightness channel only, sharpens, then reverts to RGB. Sharpening the lightness only adds detail without the problems inherent in sharpening the color values.

Action: Lab Sharpen
Convert Mode
To: Lab color mode
Select lightness channel
Unsharp Mask
Amount: 85%
Radius: 1 pixels
Threshold: 4
Convert Mode
To: RGB color mode

DavidTO

Here's another I wrote, for Gorman's B/W conversion, which I love. This does the first steps that are always the same. After this action, you need to do 2, maybe three things: you need to set the color of the layer, which determines the duotone, change the mode to multiply, and then possibly run curves for a final touch.

Action: Gorman Conversion Step 1
Convert Mode
To: Lab color mode
Select lightness channel
Convert Mode
To: grayscale mode
Set Selection
To: current channel
Inverse
Convert Mode
To: RGB color mode

DavidTO

wxwax wrote:

Ya know, i created one action a long time ago. it increases the image size by 10% every time I hit the button.

To be honest, I'm not sure what else I do that can be automated.

Did you assign it a keyboard shortcut? That's way cool.

wxwax

cletus wrote:

Ok then, I'll give you a specific assignment

Build us an action to do Zero-Zero's color to B&W method and then paste the text version of it for us to see.

Me and my big mouth. :pissed

wxwax

DavidTO wrote:

Did you assign it a keyboard shortcut? That's way cool.

Yup. It's either F10 or F11, can't remember which, I haven't used it in a while.

wxwax

DavidTO wrote:

Here's one that I have that performs a LAB sharpen. This converts the mode to LAB, selects the lightness channel only, sharpens, then reverts to RGB. Sharpening the lightness only adds detail without the problems inherent in sharpening the color values.

Action: Lab Sharpen
Convert Mode
To: Lab color mode
Select lightness channel
Unsharp Mask
Amount: 85%
Radius: 1 pixels
Threshold: 4
Convert Mode
To: RGB color mode

This is cool. You are limited to one unsharp setting, but truth to tell, I don't fiddle with the settings as much as Shay Stephens does.

DavidTO

wxwax wrote:

This is cool. You are limited to one unsharp setting, but truth to tell, I don't fiddle with the settings as much as Shay Stephens does.

You can also re-apply it if you want more. Or you could make a few with your basic variations on the settings.

Mike Lane

DavidTO wrote:

You can also re-apply it if you want more. Or you could make a few with your basic variations on the settings.

At the risk of being the only one who doesn't know...

How in the world do you access the text versions of the actions or save text files that you guys posted as actions in my photoshop?

(I've got a lot to learn for sure)

cletus

Mike Lane wrote:

At the risk of being the only one who doesn't know...

How in the world do you access the text versions of the actions or save text files that you guys posted as actions in my photoshop?

(I've got a lot to learn for sure)

Hiya Mike,

I had a brief description of the text file save in the assignment description, but I should have had another screen shot of the Actions palette:

Notice that I've got the action set that contains my action selected in the Actions palette - Interesting note: At least in PS CS on Windows it doesn't mater which action set you have selected when you save the text file. The text file will contain all the actions from all the sets in the palette.

• Press and hold Ctrl + Alt (Command + Option on a Mac)
• Click and hold on the little right facing triangle in the upper right corner of the Actions palette to open the Action Palette Menu
• Select Save Actions... from the menu
• Release the mouse
• Release Ctrl + Alt (or Command + Option)

Photoshop will open a Save dialog. In the dialog the file format should be "Actions (*.TXT)". Just pick where you want to save the file and click save. You can then open the file with a text editor and copy/paste the text into a dgrin post.

cletus

cletus wrote:

Ok then, I'll give you a specific assignment

Build us an action to do Zero-Zero's color to B&W method and then paste the text version of it for us to see.

I'm waiting, waxy....

wxwax

cletus wrote:

I'm waiting, waxy....

I accidentally deleted a .dll on Saturday and Photoshop won't work. :cry I may have to reinstall all the versions again.

I reckon I'll start by removing the base program, which is 5, and reinstalling it alone. Maybe that's all it needs to make CS upgrade perk up again. Sure hope so. I'm outta my league. :uhoh