Actions and patterns.

CH
Posted By
Computer Hobbyist
Jul 3, 2003
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374
Replies
3
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Closed
Just a quick question here….. Ive often created actions that use patterns. My actions also create the patterns that are used in them. (2 seperate actions in one set, 1 for pattern 1 for the text effect)
Whenever I try to edit>fill pattern in an action, it seems I must have the user interact and select the pattern from the edit fill dialogue box.
However Ive seen a couple actions where a pattern is created in the action and then it is used to edit fill in the same action and there is no need for user interaction. When I attempt to do this I end up with errors. How do I make sure that the action will select the proper pattern from the edit fill dialogue without the need of user interaction. Is there some secret?

Thank You, Jared aka TCH
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JC
Josh Conley
Jul 3, 2003
I have not tried it but you should be able to start your action with the image you want to apply it to, create a new image that you make the pattern on. Save the pattern, select previous document and fill with the select pattern as long as the name is the same on the pattern everytime and its locations is the same.
CH
Computer Hobbyist
Jul 3, 2003
No no…. what I do is I have an action set for sharing on the exchange ….inside is an action that creates the pattern…… then I have an action that is for a text affect…
ok… I record the creation of the pattern….. and at the end of the pattern I define the action with a unique name and close with no save the created pattern image.
Now the text affect action is run… it goes through all its steps and then gets to the point where I want the pattern to be used to fill. The pattern is gotten from the Edit>Fill>Pattern dialogue.
I have seen a couple actions where the action just runs right along and youd never know that its filling with a pattern if you didnt pay close attention watching every command as it flys by.
However, I cant get my actions to do that. I have always had to put a stop before the pattern fill, and inside the stop I give directions on what pattern to select when the fill dialogue box pops up. Then I click in the small box between the action step and the check mark next to the "Fill" in my action so that it does stop and wait for user input.
If I dont do the above, the action will mess up at this point and either use the wrong pattern or return an error.
Im trying to find a way to not have to have user interaction at this point so the correct pattern will just be filled when requested by the action. If youd like to see what I am talking about check out a couple of my actions on Adobe Exchange. Search for Jared Pease. A couple of my action that do what I am speaking of are Old Glory or Intelifont.
Id really like to find a way to get the stop, before the pattern fill, out of there.

Thank You Jared
TM
Trevor Morris
Jul 7, 2003
The problem (since version 6) is that when a pattern is references in an action, a unique Pattern ID is automatically associated – even though the name of the pattern is referenced in the recorded step. I have reported this, as (to my knowledge) there is now no way to reproducably incorporate a pattern into an action that will be played on another machine – even if the pattern was created by the action itself. This is a very limiting behaviour. The only alternative is to turn on the dialog/modal option for the step that references the pattern and force the user to manually select the correct pattern.

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