Is There A Way To Make Photoshop Actions Use A Certain Color For Fill

At present that we've finished stepping through the Photo Corners activity and nosotros know which steps we desire to change, nosotros're ready to edit the action! There's a couple of steps we'll need to edit in guild to change the colors the activity uses, and there'due south as well a couple of steps we can probably get rid of birthday, or at least disable.

Whenever yous're editing an activity, it's ever best to make a copy of the activeness starting time and edit the copy, rather than editing the original. This fashion, y'all'll ever have the original if yous need it. Likewise, since the activeness we want to edit is found in i of the action sets that installed with Photoshop (in this case, the Frames action set), information technology's a good idea for us to create a new action prepare and then place the re-create of our action within the new fix, rather than making changes to any of Photoshop's default settings.

Creating A New Action Fix

The first thing we need to do, and then, is create a new activity set. As we've already learned, an activity set is really only a binder of sorts that actions are stored in. Information technology's important to notation that all actions must be placed within action sets. If y'all create a new action, or make a copy of an existing activity, information technology must be placed inside an activity gear up. Y'all can have a unmarried activeness in a set or hundreds of actions, it makes no difference. All actions must be placed in an activity gear up. I know, it'due south a dominion and no ane likes rules, just there'southward simply no getting effectually this one.

The easiest manner to create a new action set is to click on the New Action Gear up icon at the bottom of the Actions palette (it's the icon that looks like a binder):

Click on the New Action Set icon to create a new activity set.

Photoshop volition pop up the New Set dialog box where you can enter a proper name for your new action set. I'll proper noun my action set up "My Deportment". Of course, y'all can proper noun your set any you like:

Enter a name for your new action set in the New Set dialog box.

Click OK once you've entered a name for your gear up to leave out of the dialog box. If I look at my Actions palette now, I can see my new action set, "My Actions", listed below the other action sets:

The new activity prepare appears in the Actions palette.

At the moment, nosotros accept a new activeness set with absolutely nothing in information technology. Allow's make a copy of the Photo Corners action, which is inside the Frames set, and place it into our new set up.

Moving Activity Sets Inside The Actions Palette

To place a copy of the Photograph Corners action inside my new "My Deportment" set, I'm simply going to drag the activity from the Frames prepare into the "My Deportment" set up while property down my Alt (Win) / Choice (Mac) key, which will create a re-create of the action set as I drag. To make it easier to drag the action from one set into the other, I'g first going to movement the "My Actions" set up above the Frames set. To motion action sets effectually and reposition them inside the Deportment palette, simply click on an activity prepare, and then keep your mouse button held down and drag the ready to its new position. Here, I'm dragging the "My Actions" set to its new location straight between the Image Effects and Frames sets. Notice the blackness horizontal line that appears betwixt them indicating where the action set will be placed:

Click and drag action sets up or downwardly in the Actions palette to reposition them.

Release your mouse button to drop the gear up into its new location:

The "My Actions" set is now sitting between the Image Effects and Frames sets.

Copying And Dragging An Action From Ane Fix To Another

With my "My Actions" set now moved into place, I'll twirl open the Frames gear up and click on the Photo Corners action to select it. I'k going to drag this activity from the Frames prepare into the "My Actions" set, but I don't want to motion the original action. I desire to create a copy of the original and motion the re-create into the "My Actions" gear up while leaving the original lonely. To move the activeness and create a re-create of it at the same time, I'll concord downwards my Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) primal and drag the Photo Corners activeness into the "My Actions" set. One time once more, a black horizontal line appears indicating where the activeness will be placed:

Property down "Alt" (Win) / "Option" (Mac) and dragging the Photograph Corners activeness into the "My Actions" prepare.

I'll release my mouse button, and I now take a re-create of the activeness, which Photoshop has named "Photo Corners copy", in the "My Actions" set:

A copy of the action, named "Photo Corners copy", has been placed within the "My Actions" set.

Renaming An Action

"Photo Corners copy" doesn't seem like a very interesting name to me, and certainly non very descriptive. Since I'm hoping to improve on this activeness by editing it, I call back I'll rename it to something like "Improved Photograph Corners". To rename an activeness, simply double-click directly on its name in the Actions palette and type in a new proper noun. Press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) when you're done:

Double-click directly on the name of an activeness and enter a new proper name to rename it.

I now have an verbal copy of the original Photo Corners action, which I've renamed "Improved Photo Corners", sitting in the new "My Actions" set that I created. We can now brand any changes we want to this activity without affecting either the original activeness or the Frames action set.

Deleting A Step In An Activity

Permit's brainstorm editing our "Improved Photo Corners" activeness. The kickoff thing I'm going to do is delete the very first footstep, "Make snapshot". If you lot recall, this step takes a snapshot of the state of the prototype just before the action is played and then that nosotros can hands undo the action by simply clicking on the snapshot in the History palette. I'll click on this stride to select it:

Selecting the "Brand snapshot" pace.

Since I'll most probable be running this action on an paradigm immediately after opening information technology in Photoshop, I don't remember there's actually any need for a snapshot since I could just as easily select the Revert option from the File menu at the peak of the screen to revert the image back to the manner it appeared when I opened information technology. I'll simply go ahead then and delete this stride. To delete a stride in an activeness, all you need to practice is click on information technology and drag it downwards on to the Trash Bin icon at the bottom of the Actions palette:

To delete a footstep, click on it and drag information technology down on to the Trash Bin at the bottom of the Deportment palette.

The "Make snapshot" step has at present been deleted:

The step has been deleted.

I'k besides going to delete the "Reset Swatches" step from the action, since nosotros won't be needing that ane either. Some other style to delete a step is to click on it in the Actions palette to select so, so hold downwardly your Alt (Win) / Choice (Mac) key and simply click on the Trash Bin icon at the bottom of the palette:

Click on a footstep to select it, so agree down "Alt" (Win) / "Option" (Mac) and click on the Trash Bin to delete it.

If you lot click on the Trash Bin without holding down Alt/Choice, Photoshop pops up a dialog box first asking if y'all want to delete the step. Property downwards Alt/Option avoids the dialog box.

Turning Steps On And Off

Sometimes, rather than deleting a step entirely, you'll simply want Photoshop to ignore it. This is normally a ameliorate alternative than deleting a stride unless yous know for sure that the step is not and volition non ever exist needed. The Deportment palette gives the states a way to turn individual steps off without deleting them by clicking on the small checkmark to the left of a step. With the checkmark visible, the pace will be played as part of the action. When yous click on a checkmark, it disappears leaving an empty box in its place and the step volition be ignored.

If I look at my action in the Actions palette, I can see that the kickoff step is now "Convert Way", which, if you remember from our step-past-step journey through the Photo Corners action, converts the epitome into the RGB colour style. The reason this pace is included is considering not all of Photoshop's commands, filters and other options are bachelor to us when working on an paradigm in a different color mode like CMYK or Lab. Also, colors can appear differently when working in these other modes, specially CMYK. However, since the chances are very high that whatsoever paradigm we're working on in Photoshop will already be in the RGB color fashion, this step tin can usually be skipped. Of form, in that location'southward ever the chance that you'll be working on an prototype in a different color mode, so rather than deleting the step completely, permit's just turn it off.

To turn off the "Catechumen Mode" step and tell Photoshop to skip information technology until I determine to turn it back on again, I'll simply click on the checkmark to the left of the step. The checkmark will disappear, leaving an empty square in its identify:

Turn individual steps on and off by clicking on the checkmark to the left of a footstep. The step is turned off when the checkmark is not visible.

The next time I run this action, Photoshop volition ignore the "Convert Mode" step and carry on with the residue of the activity. To plow a footstep dorsum on, just click inside the empty square to brand the checkmark visible once again.

Plough All Steps On Or Off At Once

If y'all want to plough every step in an activeness on or off at once, simply click on the checkmark to the left of the action's name in the Actions palette. When the checkmark is cherry-red, as it is at the moment, it ways that some of the steps in the action are currently turned on while others are turned off. In our case, the "Convert Fashion" footstep is turned off while all other steps are turned on. When the checkmark is greyness, it means that all of the steps are currently turned on. And when the checkmark is not visible, information technology means that all of the steps in the activeness are currently turned off:

The master checkmark to the left of the activeness's name is ruby, which means that some of the steps are turned on while others are turned off.

Changing An Existing Step In An Action

We've seen how to delete a step from an action, likewise every bit how to temporarily plow steps on or off. Now let's expect at how to change a footstep. Before we do, information technology's of import to note that unfortunately, not all steps in an action can be easily changed. If a pace involves setting options in a dialog box, which is what we'll exist looking at here, and then yes, yous tin can make changes to the step by irresolute the options in the dialog box. If not, yous'll need to delete the step, then re-record it. We'll run across how to add steps to an action once nosotros've looked at how to make changes to a step that uses a dialog box.

There'southward two steps in this action that I desire to change. Both are named "Fill", and both command the colors used in the frame effect. If you recall from when we played through the activeness one step at a time, the get-go Fill step controls the color used for the groundwork. Let'due south look at this step again. I'll twirl information technology open so we can view the details:

The details of the get-go Fill up step in the action which controls the groundwork color.

At the moment, this footstep will fill up the "new background" layer with greyness, using Photoshop's Fill command. I wasn't likewise happy with the gray that it used, so I desire to cull a different color. Now, I have a couple of choices here. I can specify an exact color to use every fourth dimension I run the action, or I tin can tell Photoshop to bring up the Fill up command'south dialog box when information technology plays the action then I tin can choose a different color each time. Let's try choosing a specific color first.

To edit a step in an action (again, this just works for steps that involve dialog boxes), simply double-click on the step in the Actions palette. I'll double-click direct on the Fill footstep, and every bit soon as I do, Photoshop pops up the Fill dialog box and we can run across that it's currently set to fill the layer with l% gray, which is the shade of gray midway betwixt blackness and white:

Double-click on a footstep to bring up its dialog box.

I think I desire to use white for my background color with this frame effect, so I'll select White from the drop-downwardly box instead:

Irresolute the "Use" choice to "White" in the Fill up dialog box.

I'll click OK in the dialog box to accept the change and exit out of information technology, simply as soon equally I practise, Photoshop really plays the step and fills my document window with white:

Photoshop plays the pace afterwards making changes.

To undo the step that Photoshop has played, all I demand to practice is go upward to the Edit menu at the height of the screen and choose Undo (in this instance, it will say Disengage Fill), or I tin can use the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac). Either way takes me back to the fashion the image looked earlier the pace was played.

And at present, if I look at the details of the step in the Actions palette, I can encounter that the layer will no longer be filled with gray. Instead, it will be filled with white:

The details of the step accept now changed in the Actions palette.

I'm going to practice the same affair with the second Fill step, which controls the colour used for the bodily photo corners. I'll roll downwards to information technology in the Actions palette, then twirl it open then we tin see the details:

The second Fill up step controls the colour of the iv photograph corners.

Every bit we see past looking at the details of the step, it'southward currently fix to fill the four photo corners with the background colour. We've already deleted the "Reset Swatches" footstep which would have reset the background color to white, so let's set a specific colour to use. I'll double-click on the footstep in the Actions palette to edit information technology, and the Fill dialog box pops upwardly in one case once more, this time set to apply the current groundwork color:

The Fill up control is currently set to fill the four photo corners with the groundwork color.

This fourth dimension, I think I'll choose blackness equally the colour for my photograph corners, so I'll select Black from the list:

Selecting black as the color to use for the photograph corners.

I'll click OK to accept the change and get out out of the dialog box, and once more, Photoshop plays the pace, filling my certificate window with black:

The document window now appears filled with black.

I'll disengage the stride that Photoshop played using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac), and at present if I wait at the details of the step in the Actions palette, I can meet that the photo corners volition now be filled with black instead of the background color:

The details of the pace now evidence that black volition exist used instead of the groundwork color.

Permit's play the action now and meet what information technology looks like with our new colors! I'll use a different photograph this time only to continue things interesting. To play the activeness, I'll click on it in the Actions palette to select information technology and then click on the Play icon at the bottom of the palette:

Selecting and playing the newly edited action.

Here'due south the image after running the Improved Photo Corners frame effect activity. Notice how the background is now white and the photograph corners are black thanks to the changes we fabricated:

The photo after running the new Improved Photo Corners frame result activeness.

I would say that'due south a definite improvement over the colors used past the original Photo Corners activity. But what if I don't always want white as my background colour and blackness every bit the color of the photo corners? Do I accept to make a new copy of the activity and edit it each fourth dimension I desire different colors? Of course not! We'll merely tell Photoshop to popular open the Fill dialog boxes for the states and so we can cull a new color each time the activeness plays!

Toggling Dialog Boxes On And Off In An Action

As nosotros've already learned from dorsum when nosotros were looking at Photoshop's Default Actions set, the Actions palette gives u.s. the ability to have dialog boxes pop open for us as an action plays. This gives us a chance to customize the action on the fly each time we run it. In our case here, even though we've already seen how to edit the colors in the activeness and select new ones, it would be neat if nosotros could choose dissimilar colors for our Improved Photo Corners action each fourth dimension we ran it, and we can certainly practise that. All we need to do is toggle the dialog boxes on for our 2 Fill steps.

To tell Photoshop to pop open up the dialog box when it reaches a certain step, simply click on the dialog box toggle icon to the left of the stride. In my case, I want the Fill dialog box to appear when the activeness plays so I can cull a color for the background, so I'll click on the dialog box toggle icon to the left of the first Fill step:

Toggling the dialog box on for the start Fill step in the action.

I'll curl down to the second Fill step and practice the same thing:

Toggling the dialog box on for the second Fill step in the action.

Now spotter what happens when I play the action. Beginning, I'll revert my photo back to its original state by going up to the File menu and choosing Revert. At present I'll select the activeness in the Actions palette and click on the Play icon. Photoshop begins running through the steps in the activeness every bit usual until information technology reaches the get-go Fill step. Here, instead of automatically filling the background layer with white, information technology pops open the Fill dialog box for me, allowing me to either take white equally the color to utilise or choose a different color:

The Fill up dialog box appears when Photoshop reaches the first Fill step.

One of my favorite ways to customize furnishings is to sample colors directly from the image I'yard working on, and I remember I'll do that here. I'll sample a color from the photograph to utilize as the groundwork colour for the frame consequence. To do that, I'll cull Color from the drop-downward list in the Fill dialog box:

Selecting "Color" from the drib-downwardly listing.

This will bring upward Photoshop's Colour Picker. Rather than choosing a color from the Color Picker though, I'm going to motion my mouse cursor over the epitome, which turns the cursor into the Eyedropper, and I'll click on the image to sample a low-cal bluish-grey colour from the bride'southward veil:

Sampling a color directly from the image to use every bit the background color for the frame effect.

I'll click OK to exit out of the Color Picker, then I'll click OK to exit out of the Fill dialog box. Photoshop fills the "new background" layer with the colour I've sampled from the image and then continues on its way through the steps in the action until information technology reaches the second Fill pace. Here, it pauses and pops open the Fill dialog box over again, allowing me to either accept black as the color to apply for the photograph corners or choose a unlike colour:

The Fill dialog box opens once again when Photoshop reaches the 2d Fill step in the activeness.

I'chiliad going to sample another color directly from the prototype to use for the photo corners, so I'll select Color from the drop-downwards list in the Fill dialog box. Once once more, this brings upwardly Photoshop'southward Color Picker, simply I'm not going to use it. Instead, I'll move my mouse cursor over the image and sample a darker gray colour, as well from the bride'due south veil:

Sampling a second color from the image, this time for the photo corners.

I'll click OK to exit out of the Color Picker, so I'll click OK to leave out of the Fill up dialog box. Photoshop fills the four photo corners with the dark grayness I sampled from the image, then continues on through the remainder of the steps in the action until it reaches the cease. Here is my new "Improved Photo Corners" result using the colors sampled directly from the photo:

The same Improved Photo Corners frame effect, this time with colors sampled from the image.

I remember that looks pretty skilful. And at present that the action will allow me to choose new colors every time I run it, I tin hands customize this frame effect action for any photo I use it with!

In that location'southward only one more affair nosotros need to look at before moving on to recording our own actions, and that'southward how to add a step to an action. Nosotros'll practice that adjacent!

Adding A New Stride To An Action

As I mentioned, Photoshop allows united states to brand changes to an existing step in an action merely when the footstep involves using a dialog box to fix various options. By double-clicking directly on the step, we tell Photoshop to pop the dialog box open for us so nosotros can make changes, and then nosotros simply shut the dialog box when nosotros're done. If the step we need to change does non use a dialog box, the only way we can edit it is by deleting the footstep and and then re-recording it. We've already looked at how to delete a stride from an activity, which is hands done by dragging it down on to the Trash Bin at the bottom of the Deportment palette. Here, we'll look at how to add a step to an action.

Remember when we stepped through the original Photo Corners action? The very first step in the action was "Brand snapshot", which took a snapshot of the state of the prototype simply before the activity was played and saved it in the History palette. This way, we could chop-chop undo all the steps in the action if needed by switching over to the History palette and clicking on the snapshot. After we dragged a copy of the action, which nosotros renamed "Improved Photo Corners", into our new "My Actions" set then nosotros could edit information technology, the first thing we did was delete that "Make snapshot" pace. My reasoning for deleting the stride at the fourth dimension was that I would nearly probable exist running the action on a newly opened image in Photoshop, and since we can hands revert an image back to the manner it looked when we opened it (or at least to the way it looked when we last saved it) by going up to the File menu and choosing Revert, I didn't call up the "Make snapshot" step was necessary, and then I deleted it.

Well, every bit is ofttimes the case, information technology's not until y'all've tossed something away that you realize how much it really meant to you lot. Afterwards a fleck more thought, I realize now that deleting that step was a mistake. What if I wanted to run the "Improved Photograph Corners" action on an image that I had already done a considerable corporeality of photo retouching piece of work on? Sure, I could save the image first earlier running the action, but what if I forgot to relieve it first? If I tried to undo the action by selecting Revert from the File carte du jour, not only would I be undoing all the steps in the action, I'd also exist undoing everything else I had washed to the image! Suddenly, having that "Make snapshot" step at that place doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Merely what to do? I've already deleted it! Do I accept to re-tape the entire action again, or edit another re-create of the original just to get that 1 step back? Thankfully, no. All I need to do is re-tape that one step.

To add a step to an activeness, the offset thing nosotros need to do is select the step that comes just before the spot where we need to insert the footstep. For example, if the step you lot're adding needs to be the third step in the action, click on the second pace in the action to select it earlier you begin recording. This manner, when you record the new step, Photoshop will automatically place it immediately after the stride y'all had selected. Keep in mind that you'll almost likely demand to play all the steps in the activity upwards to that point in order to add the new step, otherwise Photoshop may non understand what you lot're trying to practise and will throw you an mistake message, which makes sense. After all, if you tried telling someone to "turn left at the next intersection" while the two of y'all are still standing beside the automobile deciding where to go for lunch, they probably won't accept any idea what you're talking about and may kickoff wondering if going anywhere at all with you is such a good idea.

Remember, to play steps in an action 1 at a time, hold downward your Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) key and double-click on each step. You'll probably demand to exercise this from the outset of the action until you lot attain the point where you lot want to insert your new stride.

In my case, I have a bit of a problem. I want to insert a new pace at the very first of the activity, which means, patently, that there are no steps that come before information technology for me to select, and that means there's no mode for me to have Photoshop automatically place my new step at the outset of the action. No worries though, since we tin can easily rearrange the order of the steps, as we'll see in a moment. For now, I'll only select the pace that's currently the first step, "Convert Way":

Selecting the offset step in the action.

To record a new step, simply click on the Record icon at the bottom of the Actions palette:

Click the Record icon to brainstorm recording your new step.

You'll meet the piddling "button" turn red, letting you know that you're at present in Record fashion:

The record button turns cherry when in Record style.

Now, remember what nosotros said at the very beginning. At that place'due south no reason to panic just because the piffling record button is red. Yes, nosotros're technically in Record mode, but nosotros can take as much time as nosotros want recording our step because deportment are not recorded in real time. All Photoshop records are the steps themselves. I want to have the activeness accept a snapshot of my image before whatever further steps are run, so with Photoshop recording what I'm doing, I'm going to switch over to my History palette, which past default is sitting right next to the Actions palette, and I'll click on the New Snapshot icon at the bottom of the palette (information technology'southward the icon that looks similar a camera):

Clicking on the "New Snapshot" icon at the bottom of the History palette.

This adds a snapshot of the current land of my image to the acme of the History palette:

The History palette showing the new snapshot.

I'll switch dorsum over to my Actions palette at present, and nosotros tin can see that a new step named "Make snapshot" has been added straight below the "Convert Mode" step, which is the step I selected before clicking the Record icon:

A new "Make snapshot" step now appears below the "Catechumen Way" footstep.

I've finished recording my step, and then I tin at present stop recording. To do that, I'll click on the Stop icon to the left of the Tape icon:

Click on the Cease icon to finish recording the footstep.

And in that location we go! I've successfully added a new "Make snapshot" stride to my "Improved Photograph Corners" action. The only trouble is that I want this new footstep to be the get-go footstep in the action, and at the moment, it's the second pace. Let's set up that.

Changing The Order Of Steps In An Activeness

To modify the lodge of steps in an activeness, simply click on a step to select information technology, then drag into into place. I want to move my "Make snapshot" step to a higher place the "Catechumen Mode" pace, so I'll click on it to select it in the Actions palette, then I'll drag it up to a higher place the "Catechumen Mode" footstep. Detect the blackness horizontal line that appears where I'm about to driblet the step:

Just click and elevate steps above or below each other in the Actions palette if yous need to change their order.

I'll release my mouse button to driblet the pace into its new position, and we can see that it now appears every bit the very first step in the action, right where I wanted it:

The "Brand snapshot" step has been successfully moved into place.

Where to go next...

And at that place we have it! Nosotros've now covered only near everything nosotros need to know when it comes to using actions in Photoshop! At this point, recording our own deportment from scratch should be fairly straightforward since there'south really cipher to information technology that nosotros haven't already seen. With that in listen, let'due south record our very ain action! Or visit our Photoshop Nuts section to larn more about the basics of Photoshop!

Source: https://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/photoshop-actions/editing-an-action/

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