Actions?

[Leslie]

I know there are files available for Photoshop called "actions". Can someone explain what an action is and if there is a way to apply them to PSE3?

Thanks!

[Wendy]

Leslie,

Actions are a sort of automation process ... for example:

If I want to make a frame for an image it may take me 20 individual steps to do it and if I want to make the same frame for another image ... why then I have to do all 20 steps again. With an action you can actually record the steps .... then next time you want to make the frame you can just run the action and in a few seconds you have your frame.

No versions of Elements have the capabilities of recording or playing actions but there are 3rd party addons that enable Elements to play specially written actions.

Wendy

[Grant]

Wendy

Just to keep all honest, you can in fact run actions in Elements. When you run Effects you are in fact running an action. I have written my own actions for Mask, Curves, and Channel mixer. There are lots of restrictions on what you can and can't include into "portable" actions but if you have access to Photoshop you can expand Elements.

What is true is that for the average person actions are not available to them. The work around is that people like Paul Shipley and Kevin Truax have done these for you and then made them easy to install them into Elements. I suspect that Richard Lynch may have done the same thing but I can't comment as I have never used his tools ... hmmm not sure why.

Grant

[Mary]

I am thinking that actions are very much like Macro's in Word or Excel - is that pretty close?

[Grant]

Bingo

That they are Mary!

Grant

[Wendy]

Hi Grant ...

I forgot that effects are actions ...

Richards's Tools worked well in PSE2 as did Ling's Snap Actions.

Wendy

[Grant]

Wendy

One day I will try Richard's stuff. I do have his book but I am ashamed to admit that it sits gathering dust.

Grant

[Wendy]

Grant,

All the tools do work really well (there are a lot of them) and the actions are fine ... but I couldn't work out how to install new actions, I found it slightly complicated :shock:

At the end of the day I didn't use many actions the main things I used were Guides, Masks, Curves and Blending.


Wendy