CREATE A CUSTOM ACTION to increase your efficiency

Actions help you perform repeated steps quickly. An action is a series of commands that you can apply to an image with one click of the mouse. Unlike a keyboard shortcut, which can only invoke a command, an action can open a command, apply changes to an image, step through another command, apply it, and even save a file in a particular way. You can create your own actions for steps that you do over and over and add them to the Actions panel. Using the Actions panel, you record a sequence of steps and save your new action. When you need to apply the same steps to a different image, even to an entire folder of files, you play the action, and Photoshop automatically applies the steps. Actions can help you automate your work for repetitive tasks, leaving you more time to work on creative projects.

Note: As an example, the following steps show creating an action of opening a new 7- x-5- inch document at 300 pixels/inch for a greeting card. To create an action for changing an image, start by opening an image.

1.    Click Window.

2.    Click Actions.

The Actions panel appears.

3.    Click the New Action button.

Alternatively, you can click here and select New Action from the menu.

The New Action dialog box appears.

4.    Type the name of your action.

5.    Click here and select a function key for a keyboard shortcut.

You can click here and select a color for the action.

6.    Click Record.

The Record button in the Actions panel turns red.

7.    Perform the steps that you want to record as an action.

8.  Press (Ctrl+N) to open a new file.

     The New file dialog box appears.

9.  Type your specific dimensions in the Width and Height fields.

10. Type 300, or your desired resolution, in the Resolution field.

11. Click OK.

A new untitled document appears.

12. After you perform the last step of your action, click the Stop Recording button.

      Your custom action is now recorded and is listed in the Actions panel.

      You can test your action by pressing the keyboard shortcut that you assigned.

More Options !

You can apply an action to a folder of files by clicking File, Automate, and Batch and selecting the action and a source folder. Or you cann apply an action to a group of

images from Bridge by clicking Tools, Photoshop, and Batch.

Try This !

You can make the actions easier to find by selecting Button Mode in the Actions panel’s pop-up menu. Your actions change to colorcoded buttons.

Did You Know ?

You can load other prerecorded actions included with Photoshop CS4 such as Frames or Image Effects by clicking the Actions panel’s pop-up menu and clicking a set in the bottom section of the menu.