Some tasks are meant to be automated. Anyone who's had to rotate, resize, and convert modes on 20 images knows the truth in that. Instead of opening each image individually then trekking to Edit > Transform (to rotate), Image > Image Size (to resize), and then again Image > Mode, before finally hitting File > Save, wouldn't it be nice to click a button and have all those edits done at once?

That's what Photoshop Actions do. Actions are far less intimidating than other modes of automation like scripting. Instead of writing code, you simply record your edits in the sequence you want them performed. You can even designate that a different folder be used to store your edited images.

Photoshop ships with a series of pre-recorded Actions, but it's not difficult to record your own, as this video tutorial shows.

In this video clip (4 minutes 38 seconds as a 6.8 MB download), Steve Holmes first shows how to use the Match Zoom Command to change all open images to the same zoom level. The he shows how to record actions, and use batch automation to resize, save and close them.

In the full "Total Training presents: Adobe Creative Suite -- From Design to Delivery" training series, you will learn techniques for page layout, text wrapping, preflighting, web design, and more

This video tutorial is a QuickTime movie. Click this link "Photoshop CS Record Action" to play the movie. Or you can downlod the file by option- or right-clicking on the link.

If you do not have QuickTime installed, you can get it here:

Excerpted from "Total Training Adobe Creative Suite -- From Design to Delivery" © 2004 Total Training ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.