• Adobe Photoshop

  Help! – Creating Action(s) for Batch Operation

  Posted by Ben Wharton on August 3, 2008 at 12:48 pm

  Hi Photoshop people –

  Having a real issue I can’t get to the bottom of. Any pointers massively helpful as a project depends upon it…

  OK, so I have thousands of folders (named uniquely with a code), each folder contains six PNGS layers (all called the same names in each folder)which make up a character: Body, Hair, Open Eyes, Closed Eyes, Pupils, Mouth.

  I need to be able to open these layers, comp them in the right order, and then save them out in three different combinations (with some layers switched on/off).

  I’m no action/batch guru, just a producer knowing not quite enough.

  So, I’ve created an action opening the 6 files in one of these folders – fine.

  I’ve created an action to comp the layers together in the right order to make the first of the required comps – fine.

  I’ve created an action to save the comp as a new image.

  Individually I run the three actions together (as a new action) and it’s all good.

  BUT when I try to batch the above, it:

  Opens the first folder
  opens the files in it
  does the comp

  Doesn’t close the original files

  Then (bizarrely) opens up the ORIGINAL folder I made the first action with (the one opening the 6 files) and gives an error saying a layer isn’t available. i.e. because it’s trying to manipulate a layer it thinks it has on the comped image, but instead it’s now pointing to the first image in the ORIGINAL file which has only the one layer…

  Now, I first recorded the comp action where it saved and closed all the files at the end. But when I batched it seemed to ignore the close actions and went onto loading up the next first image and gave the error again. I thought maybe I should let the batch mechanism close the files in the options… but to no avail.

  This should be simple, I think (!) but I’m probably missing something subtle (or not so subtle).

  Can anyone help?

  Thanks

  Ben (in desperate need)

  Ben Wharton replied 17 years, 9 months ago 1 Member · 2 Replies
• 2 Replies

• 

  Ben Wharton

  August 3, 2008 at 12:50 pm

  Just to add: I’m using CS3
• 

  Ben Wharton

  August 3, 2008 at 5:58 pm

  I guess it’s Sunday and everyone’s doing something a little more meaningful with their lives rather than thinking about photoshop actions…

  Sigh!

  Ben

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