Batch Crop Action – auto save files without having to hit ‘save’ button

JS
Posted By
Jeff_Seal
Feb 21, 2004
Views
397
Replies
15
Status
Closed
Hi,

A while ago I spent a long time trying to figure out an action that would automatically crop my photos to a 4×3 aspect ratio to use in video. I lost the action when I installed PSCS and now I am trying to re-build it. I can get it to crop just fine but it wants me to hit the save button on every image. I have tried several times and cannot remember how I got it to save the file for me without my having to ‘ok’ the save each time. Could a guru please help! This saves me so much time.

Thanks much.
Jeff Seal

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CS
Carl_Stawicki
Feb 21, 2004
Check to make sure the the ‘toggle dialog on/off’ option isn’t active in the save step of your action.

Carl.
JS
Jeff_Seal
Feb 21, 2004
Hello Carl,
Thanks for your help. I cannot find where the toggle on/off option is located. Where do I find that?

Thanks.
CS
Carl_Stawicki
Feb 21, 2004
In you Action palette, with button mode off, it’s the second column from the left. It’s a square icon that looks like a dialog box.

Carl.
JS
Jeff_Seal
Feb 25, 2004
Carl, took me a bit to get back to this. I am so frustrated. I have tried this and tried this and it does not work. Could you have a look or anyone have a look at this and tell me what I am doing wrong? Thanks for the help!

Action found here:
<http://www.stochasticaphelion.com/DVcroper.atn.zip>

Thanks.
DR
Danny_Raphael
Feb 27, 2004
Jeff:

Are you invoking this action through File > Automate > Batch? If you aren’t you could and it would process a folder full of images "hands free."

I’m ass-u-me-ing you’ve tested this action and are okay with the results, right?

Preparation:
* Delete the Save and Close steps in the action. They are not needed. * Place images to be cropped in a source folder if they’re not already in one. * Create a destination folder for processed images if you haven’t created one yet.

Invoke your action through File > Automate > Batch * Action: Be sure the action is selected
* Source: Folder. Choose (source folder)
* Destination: Folder. Choose (source folder)
* OK. This will invoke the action, which will read images from folder source, crop ’em and put processed images in folder destination. No muss, no fuss.

Hope this gets you moving. Does this help?

~Danny~
RW
Rene_Walling
Feb 28, 2004
Jeff,

Try and remove the save and close steps from your actions
JS
Jeff_Seal
Mar 1, 2004
Hi all. Thanks for the posts. I removed the save and close parts of the action and ran it like normal but it still crops the photo and then pops a dialog asking me to ok the save and the jpeg compression etc. Result, I still have to tap ok for every image. I know it is something stupid I am missing, and I did it once before. Any other guesses? Thanks.
DR
Danny_Raphael
Mar 2, 2004
Didn’t realize you were converting to .jpg from another format or I would have mentioned this before. No point muddying the waters if not necessary.

In the File > Automate > Batch dialog in the Destination section, click ON the "Override Action "Save As" commands" option. That preserves the .jpg options and ignores the file name and folder specified when you recorded the Save As… command – and suppresses the annoying dialog.

~Danny~
RD
Robert_Downunder
Mar 5, 2004
I’ve only had the Suite about 10 days, so am still learning.

Almost daily, I batch convert a folder of about 50 camera jpegs to TIFF. Until now I have used PS Elements, which does this easily in one batch without a pause.I end up with a folder with new TIFFS and my orig jpegs.

In Photoshop CS, no matter what I do, I either end up with no saved TIFF files at all, or each photo opens and I have to save it manually.

I’m using File>Automate>Batch>Default Action>jpg>tiff. I’ve tried unchecking the "Override Action Save as box", plus any other variations, but no success. After 2 hours frustration, I’ve had to go back to using Elements.

I have never used actions before – maybe I have to create a new one?

Any help appreciated. Robert.
JS
Jeff_Seal
Mar 5, 2004
Yes, I have not had any luck yet either. I am not even converting from one file type to another. I’m using jpeg images, croping them and saving them. No go. I will play with this again tomorrow. Got frustrated and had to give up for a bit. I’m ready for round 3.
DR
Danny_Raphael
Mar 6, 2004
Robert:

In your case it’s a 1-step action: Save As… (.tif). Don’t worry about the Folder/File Name you have to specify when the action is recorded. Also, be sure the checkbox to the immediate left of the Save command in the action is "off," otherwise a dialog box will display each time Save As… is executed. Not good.

Finally, in the File > Automate > Batch dialog, the turn ON the "Ignore Action ‘Save as’ Commands" option. That ought to do it.

This settomg has the effect of retaining the .jpg specifications while ignoring the File Name and Folder recorded in the step. The fields populated in the Destination section of the File > Automate > Batch dialog govern output file location.

– – – – –

Sorry, Jeff. I misunderstood.

I thought you were converting from a non-.jpg format to .jpg. If .jpg to .jpg, no "Save As" command needed in the action — just the crop command.

Likewise, the "Ignore Action ‘Save as’ Commands" option needs to be OFF in the File > Automate > Batch dialog.

Nothing like bad advice to make a problem worse. 🙁 Sorry about that.

Danny
SR
S_Rosner
Mar 6, 2004
‘Morning All,

I read this post with great interest, as I have always found batch processing using even the simplest of actions to be needlessly convoluted.

Creating actions are simple enough; activating a batch command is simple enough. But the manner of saving/getting a ‘jpeg options dialog box’ needing to be hit before continuing is REALLY frustrating…

To wit: I often need to simply rotate a folder of digitally photographed images so that they are in a vertical orientation.
One should be able to simply put the photos in a folder, create the action, and batch process them using the ‘Save and close" option in the batch dialogue box.

I mean really, this SHOULD be a no brainer.

But I cannot get this to work properly, and end up having to incorporate ‘Save As’ commands in the action and direct the photos to another folder. This works fine, but is needlessly complicated, and requires amending the action with each new job I shoot, and creates all kinds of excess folders, many of which need to be chucked because they are effectively just duplicates of the original captures (albeit rotated).

This makes the simplest of workflow issue an exercise in mental agility, and even a long discussion yesterday with an Adobe tech (very very nice, and helpful) has not yielded success…

Help!!

Stu Rosner
DR
Danny_Raphael
Mar 7, 2004
Stu:

Take heart. It’s not you.

It’s not possible to selectively rotate images using actions. Actions cannot determine edge lengths nor are they able to make decisions based on comparisons, e.g., "Height is less than width, therefore this image is landscape, so rotate it 90 degrees CCW." JavaScript or AppleScript can do this kind of thing, but Actions cannot.

Third party applications have this capability too. (I can’t quote specific Mac solutions since I’m mostly Win oriented, but they must exist. There are several Windoze type apps that can do this.)

Functional but not elegant workaround Ass-u-me-ing you have PS7 or CS.

You can do selective rotation via the File Browser. Select the pics in the folder you want to rotate, then chose Rotate from the File Browser menu. This gets all your pics the same orientation. Then you can batch process the entire folder keeping the originals in the Source folder and placing the processed images in the Destination folder. In the File > Automate > Batch dialog: Source = File Browser.

The bonus of this method is not having to open/rotate/save if you’re dealing with .jpg images.

Does this help?
~Danny~

BTW: I agree with you. A lot of tasks one would think would be easy to complete by recording an action just aren’t doable. Accessing EXIF information or being able to print an image’s file name come to mind.
H
Hexebah
Mar 7, 2004
If you are using CS you can start by selectivly rotating the images in the file browser. Select all of you browser rotated images and Control+click one of them and choose Apply Rotation to have Photoshop actually rotate and re-save the file.

When using batching in conjunction to saving, I also save to a specified folder within my Action. IMHO this is actually very cool! I usually have two folders permanently residing on my desktop. One called Source (rarely used) the other named Destination (always used). My actions include a ‘save the file to the Destination folder’ step.

When batch processing I have the Destination Folder set to none (it’s already saving in the action). Yes, I do have to add the Save step in any NEW action I create. After the batching I create a new folder for the processed images and transfer them out of the Destination folder so it can be re-used again.

I work in a lab and use this batching technique daily on hundreds of images. I’m working on one that uses 5 Destination folders to create Duplicates, B/W’s, Sepias, X-Process and web versions from a single Source (Folder/browser)

Once set up this system is sweet. BTW – Thank you Adobe for the update to the Batch Rename! – All it needs now is a Find/Replace option – <g>
SR
S_Rosner
Mar 7, 2004
Hi Danny; (and Hexebah)

Thanks for your post, it has helped to clarify things alot.

Have never really utilized the File Browser all that much as I use a program called Photo Mechanic for editing my raw captures from shoots.

In playing with the File Browser (PS 7), have duly noted the ease with which images can be rotated. However, batching any other preliminary actions (such as copyrighting the photos, which I routinely do for Web Gallery purposes) STILL requires a "Save as" command and routing to another folder to work seamlessly.

Once a bunch of photos has been through the process of being saved to a secondary file, they can they be more individually tweaked (say in terms of levels, image size, color correction, whatever…) and then it is possible to use the "Save and Close" option in Batch Dialogue….
Now, why is that?

This is all about workflow, and now I’m doing something this: An edited folder of vertical portraits receives an action that rotates to correct orientation, makes the file a copyrighted work, has file info (name, phone #, etc) and then is sent via batch processing to a ubiquitous Destination folder on my desktop.
I then copy all those files to a new folder that is named for the job (ie, Joes Portraits/Edited/adjusted). leaving and untouched folder of the original "joes portraits’ on my hard drive…

At this point, and at this point only, can I batch the adjusted photos using new actions for levels, color correction, sharpening, whatever….And then use the SAVE and CLOSE command in the Batch dialogue box to keep them in Joes Portraits/Edited/Adjusted….

OK, the system works, and it’s really no big deal, just a little convoluted, and so my question still remains, why can’t photos simply be rotated, copyrighted, etc via an action and left in their original folder without defining a new destination folder, or having the need to "Save" via jpeg options diaglogue box in every image that comes up…

Sorry, this is not logical and is bugging the hell out of me, and cannot find a way that PS will execute this simplest of commands without the (minimal) extra steps.

Thanks for your time/patience/interest.

Stu Rosner

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