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Tutorials

Tutorial | Create a Photoshop Action

By Thursday, August 20, 2015 (MDT) 10 Comments

CreativeΒ TeamΒ Member, Suzie Griffith,Β explains how to create a Photoshop Action.

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Photoshop actions are extremely useful and invaluable time savers when you perform the same set of steps repeatedlyΒ in creating your different DigitalART layouts.Β Rather than clicking on the same buttons each time, you can record the process as an Action and justΒ replay when needed.

WHAT IS AN ACTION?

An Action is a prerecorded set of steps which will run when you play the Action. You can also set your own shortcut/quick key to play the action.

MY ACTIONS PALETTE

In the image below you can see my Actions palette.Β  I have purchased action and made manyΒ of my own.

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The Archive Action creates theΒ top white layer thatΒ I apply toΒ all my .psd files before β€˜archiving’ them to reduce the file size. Read more about this here.

I use thisΒ particularΒ action as an exampleΒ because it is aΒ very specific, non-generic process. I use the Paint Bucket to fill the layer white.

If I record the action as a simple Paint Bucket fill, the color will dependent on the current Foreground color selection at that time. It could be red or green, for example, and you will have to manually set this before you play the action.

In short, you will need to adjust specific settingsΒ before you replay an action.

CREATING AN ACTION

You create an Action simply by recording the steps of a process.Β In this example, we will record an Action for creating a new page.

Note that theΒ recording is not dependent on the speed with which you perform the steps, but it’s a good idea to go slow, asΒ all steps including errors will be recorded.

OpenΒ the Action palette (Window>Action or Alt+F9) in Photoshop. Go to Window and ensure the Actions option is checked in the menu.

If you are familiar with actions you may already have theΒ Actions paletteΒ available to you on your screen.

Click on theΒ Create New ActionΒ to the left of the trash can icon.

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This initiate a New Action dialogue box in which you are able toΒ name your action, add it to a set of actions, create a keyboard shortcut, etc.Β  I’ve named this action β€œNew Page” and made the keyboard shortcut Control F12.

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Now you are ready to record. Click on the circleΒ icon (Record). You will see the icon turn red when your screen is being recorded. Note that Β as soon as you click on this icon every process performed in Photoshop from this moment will be recorded.Β Go to File>Β New File. Enter your layout size specificΒ 3600 x 3600Β pixels or 12 X 12 inches and set theΒ Background colorΒ to white.

Press the circle icon (Record) again to end the recordingΒ Β your Action.

Your action will now be visible in the Actions palette. You will also notice that each step recordedΒ is listed in the palette.

PLAY THE ACTION

CloseΒ theΒ new page so that you have nothing open in Photoshop then arrow icon (Play) iconΒ in the Actions palette. You can also use your action shortcut if you assigned one. Watch the recorded steps play before your eyes in record time.

Think about the processes you use often inΒ Photoshop and consider recording them. You might consider recording the re-sizing your layouts for uploading to the internet, favorite editing formulas or defining your own brushes, for example.

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Anna Aspnes

Author Anna Aspnes

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