[Photo] create action for batch processing in Photoshop

A simple action for resizing images
from http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252128

Let’s get into Photoshop.

First we need to open an image. Any image will due for now. We are only going to use it to create our Actions.

Now, let’s create a new action set. To do this, we click on the folder icon in the Actions panel. Let’s name this set “Custom”. I like to keep my custom actions in their own set, so I can find them easier later on.



Next we need to create a new action. Click the “create new action” icon in the Actions panel. This is signified by the icon that looks like a piece of paper with a curled edge.



Let’s name this Action “Resize 150 W” because we are going to resize the image to 150 pixels wide. *Note: As soon as you create a new Action, your action starts recording, so go directly to the next step without doing anything else.

To resize the image: Go to IMAGE --> RESIZE IMAGE. This will open the “Image Size” dialog box. Now let’s change the width of our image to 150 pixels wide. Then click “OK”.



Now immediately after you click “OK”. Go to FILE --> SAVE FOR WEB. Set your jpg parameters how you normally would and click save. Make sure you save this file in the “thumbnails” folder that we created. You can name the file anything you want.

Next we need to stop recording our Action. Click the “Stop recording” icon in the Actions panel. This is the little square button. Our new Action is complete, and ready to use. Now we are ready to process our images.



Go to your “Thumbnails” folder and delete the image you saved there when you created your action. This is just so it doesn’t get mixed in with the images you’re processing.

In Photoshop, go to FILE --> AUTOMATE --> BATCH.

In the “Batch” Dialog box, we need to set our options. The batch options are fairly straight forward, so I’ll only touch on the ones I feel need some explanation.

The “Play” section. Change your set to “Custom”. And your Action to “Resize 150 W” this sets the Action you created earlier.

Set the “Source” option to “Folder”. Then click the “Choose” button and select the folder you created called “Original”.

The “Source” Section. Since we did not create an “Open” Command in our Action, we need to make sure the “Override Action “Open” Commands” is NOT checked. The “Include Subfolders” option doesn’t matter. The “Suppress file Open Options Dialog” should be checked. And the “Suppress Color Profile Warnings” should be checked.

The “Destination” Section. The “Destination” should be set to “Folder”. Click on the “Choose” button and select the folder you created called “thumbnails”. Make sure the “Override Action “Save As” command” is checked. In the “File Naming” Section. Set the first box to “Document Name” and the second box to “Extension”. This is an option you can play around with, but make sure that the last part of the naming is set to “Extension”

Now, to process your images, just click “Ok”