Photoshop® CS4 All-in-One For Dummies®

Chapter 5. Creating Actions for Productivity and Fun

In This Chapter

• Working with actions in the Actions panel

• Playing preset actions

• Recording a new action

• Editing and organizing actions

• Using actions sets

• Processing batches of files

• Creating droplet applets

Practice makes perfect — but when repeating the same steps in Photoshop over and over, the result is often tedium and impatience. You wouldn't want to have to reinvent the wheel each time you go for a spin around the block, so why repeat the actions that carry out specific tasks in Photoshop if you don't have to? Photoshop lets you record steps by using a fast and fun feature called Actions. Photoshop also has presets for popular actions, such as creating a wood frame, simulating water reflections, or providing a molten-lead look. This chapter shows you how to take advantage of Photoshop's presets, as well as its macro-recording and editing capabilities.

Using the Actions Panel

Not surprisingly, Photoshop has a panel dedicated to the automation of various chores. To view the Actions panel, choose Window

• Button mode: A convenient, compact mode that hides all the inner workings of the actions, presenting only a list of buttons that you can click to trigger a particular macro. Button mode is fast and easy; just click and go.

• List mode: Shown ...