Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Manual (Page 632)

625 USING PHOTOSHOP CS4
Automating tasks
Last updated 1/10/2010
Note: If you assign an action the same shortcut that is used for a command, the shortcut will apply the action rather than
the command.
Color Assigns a color for display in Button mode.
4 Click Begin Recording. The Begin Recording button in the Actions panel turns red .
Important: When recording the Save As command, do not change the filename. If you enter a new filename, that new
name is recorded and used each time you run the action. Before saving, if you navigate to a different folder, you can
specify a different location without having to specify a filename.
5 Perform the operations and commands you want to record.
Not all tasks in actions can be recorded directly; however, you can insert most nonrecordable tasks using commands
in the Actions panel menu.
6 To stop recording, either click the Stop Playing/Recording button, or choose Stop Recording from the Actions
panel menu. (In Photoshop, you can also press the Esc key.)
To resume recording in the same action, choose Start Recording from the Actions panel menu.
Record a path
The Insert Path command lets you include a complex path (a path created with a pen tool or pasted from Adobe
Illustrator) as part of an action. When the action is played back, the work path is set to the recorded path. You can
insert a path when recording an action or after it has been recorded.
1 Do one of the following:
• Start recording an action.
• Select an action’s name to record a path at the end of the action.
• Select a command to record a path after the command.
2 Select an existing path from the Paths panel.
3 Choose Insert Path from the Actions panel menu.
If you record multiple Insert Path commands in a single action, each path replaces the previous one in the target file.
To add multiple paths, record a Save Path command using the Paths panel after recording each Insert Path command.
Note: Playing actions that insert complex paths may require significant amounts of memory. If you encounter problems,
increase the amount of memory available to Photoshop.
Insert a stop
You can include stops in an action that let you perform a task that cannot be recorded (for example, using a painting
tool). After you complete the task, click the Play button in the Actions panel to complete the action.
You can also display a short message when the action reaches the stop as a reminder of what needs to be done before
continuing with the action. You can include a Continue button in the message box in case no other task needs to be done.
1 Choose where to insert the stop by doing one of the following:
• Select an action’s name to insert a stop at the end of the action.
• Select a command to insert a stop after the command.
2 Choose Insert Stop from the Actions panel menu.