Batch processing of photos in "Photoshop". Photoshop lessons"

The digital camera has long ceased to be a curiosity and fixed in the number of things necessary and familiar. Visits to nature with friends or a festive meal in the family circle are saved in the form of hundreds of pictures. Sorting and editing memorable images - a tedious occupation. To facilitate it is capable of batch processing of photos in "Photoshop" from the company Adobe Systems - an effective tool that saves time when working with large arrays of images.

Application of batch processing: use and convenience

Distributed among amateurs and professionals, the Adobe Photoshop graphics editor does not need advertising. It is a powerful and versatile image processing software tool designed to implement the most diverse creative tasks. But the professionals appreciated it for another feature - the ability to facilitate and speed up routine work during machining, such as reducing the size and weight, renaming or changing the file extension.

Processing of several photos in "Photoshop", as a rule, does not take much time and does not make you delve into the subtleties of the automation processes. But what if the archive began to take up too much space? Yes, there are a lot of troubles for the photographer: insufficient lighting, unsuccessful perspective ... I do not want to delete the pictures, and editing takes away scarce time. If you correct the same type of errors or if you need to perform other machining that does not require individual comprehension of each image, use the process automation package available in each version of the graphic editor.

Dialog box: description

To get started, get acquainted with the setting of the dialog box in which batch processing of photos takes place. In Photoshop, use the path: the File menu → Automation → Batch processing. The opened window is characterized by modifications of the design, depending on the modification of the program, but the main dialogs remain unchanged.

1. The "Set" window reflects the value of "Default Operations". Forming new sets, the creation of which will be discussed below, the user extends the functionality of the automation application for the required tasks.
2. The "Operation" window. The drop-down list is made up of the macro program offered by the developer. When adding custom operations, they will be reflected in the drop-down list and will be available for batch processing.
3. The "Source" window and the "Select" button next to it define the files for processing:
   - the line "Folder" points to the catalog with photos;
   - The "Import" line selects the imported images;
   - the line "Open files" - processing of files opened in the main working window of the program;
   - The Bridge line synchronizes the program with the Adobe Bridge application.
4. The "Output folder" window and the "Select" button. Specifies the directory to save the modified files and other parameters for completing the operation.

Extra options

The remaining parameters are intuitively understood and highlighted by the developer's hints and recommendations.

• Setting a checkmark in the "Ignore Open" command opens files only if this action is specified in the operation. Otherwise, fast processing of photos in "Photoshop" will not be performed.
• The "Include all subfolders" line. The function extends the action of the operation to the directories located in the source folder.
• The following lines cancels the display of service dialogs informing about the opening of image files and the program message about the built-in color profile.

The image save settings that follow are used to assign names when writing processed files.

Default set: built-in helper

The operations built into the default program provide a more graphic illustration of the automation of processes than the useful functionality provided by batch processing of photos in Photoshop. But to understand the work it makes sense to understand the pre-installed operations in the editor. To do this, go to the "Operations" tab. It is located among the floating palettes located on the right side of the workspace of the program. If the "Operations" tab is not displayed in the workspace - turn it on. To do this, go to the "Window" menu and click on the "Operation" line or use the keyboard shortcut ALT + F9.

The opened tab contains the operations predefined by the developer. By clicking the triangle before the name of the operation, a sequence of actions is displayed, which is played back when the command is executed. Running the macro starts when you click on the triangle located at the bottom of the "Operations" panel. Double-clicking on the name of the operation initiates the appearance of a dialog box that allows you to change the name of the operation or assign it a "hot" shortcut key.

Create your own sets: for all occasions

For convenience, create custom sets for storing recordable macros. This will be your own folder with the processing operations placed in it. This approach helps to systematize image editing tools, accurately indicating their location and purpose.

The process of recording sets does not complicate even the beginner.

1. Open the Operations panel (Window menu → Operations).
2. Click on the icon "Create a new set" at the bottom of the panel.
3. In the dialog that appears, enter the name of the set and click OK.

Now the new set is ready for recording operations and is reflected in the "Set" drop-down list in the "Batch photo processing" window. In "Photoshop" provides for creating an unlimited number of sets for storing custom macros.

Operations: basis for batch processing

Batch processing of photos in "Photoshop" (CS6 or other assembly of the editor) is carried out on the rules common to all versions. Writing a macro with its own action algorithm, the user creates a template (workpiece), which is then used to process single files or image packages.

1. To start working, go to the "Operations" tab using the ALT + F9 key combination.
2. At the bottom, click on the icon "Create a new operation".
3. In the window that opens, name the future macro, define its place in the existing sets, if necessary, set the keyboard shortcut.
4. Pressing the "Record" button initiates the beginning of the process, and on the bottom panel of the "Operations" window a red icon in the form of a circle is activated. From this moment, the actions performed with the open image are recorded.
5. To finish recording, click the left mouse button on the box located at the bottom of the "Operations" tab to the left of the "Record" button.

Image operations: recording

If you managed to find the location and deal with the purpose of the dialog boxes described above, then it's time to apply the theory to practice. Before you start editing, decide what to do and how. To change the size of a photo on a computer is the most common task that users ask themselves. In this example, consider the sequence of actions.

• Step 1. Open the original image for editing.
• Step 2. Create a new set. For convenience, call it "Diminishing".
• Step 3. Create a new operation based on the instruction described in the "Operations" section. After pressing the "OK" button, a round red button is activated at the bottom of the panel. This means that the macro is recorded.
• Step 4. Reduce the size of the image in any way known to you. For example: the menu "Image" → "Image size". In the dialog box, change the size horizontally (vertically) or reduce the resolution.
• Step 5. Save the image and click on the icon in the form of a square at the bottom of the "Operations" panel. The macro recording is finished, and the user is ready to begin batch processing of files.

Reducing the weight of images: 100 pictures in 60 seconds

Recorded and saved operation is the foundation of actions, the continuation of which is batch processing of photos in "Photoshop". Reducing the size of the image solves another important task for the amateurs - reducing the weight of the file. Follow the sequence of actions that will help to process the array of photos in a short time.

1. Open the batch processing dialog: the menu "File" → "Automation" → "Batch processing".
2. In the drop-down box, select the set in which the resizing operation is stored.
3. Select an operation.
4. In the "Source" line specify the folder containing the files intended for modification.
5. In the line "Output folder" specify the directory to save.
6. In the "File Naming" block, select the necessary values for assigning new names to the processed images. It is minimum to fill two lines - file name and extension. Without this condition, the automated batch process will not start.

To start the operation, click on "OK" and watch how the images open themselves in the working window of the program, change the size and are saved in the folder intended for them.

Renaming: quickly and profitably

In the section "Operations with images" was considered an example that illustrates how to resize a photo on a computer using Adobe Photoshop. Using the algorithm (sequence of actions) of this example, you can perform other operations for image processing. Owners of digital cameras are faced with the need to rename files, because after cleaning the drive starts a new numbering of pictures. This causes a conflict when you add photos to the shared images folder on your computer. The task is easily solved by the automation process.

• Step 1. Open the Operations panel using the shortcut ALT + F9.
• Step 2. Open the image.
• Step 3. Create a new "Rename" operation, click "OK" to start recording the macro.
• Step 4. Do nothing, save and close the image.
• Step 5. Click on the icon in the form of a square at the bottom of the "Operations" panel and finish recording.
• Step 6. Open the Batch processing window (File menu → Automation).
• Step 7. Specify the source folder and folder to save the renamed files.
• Step 8. In the "File Naming" block, select an appropriate variant of the name from the drop-down list. Note the possibility of combining names by using several lines. The final line, do not forget to put the file extension.

Edit extension

Functionality and convenience of work gives even simple processing of photos in "Photoshop". In Russian, to master the interface of the graphic editor of Adobe is not difficult. For users who work in the English-language assembly program, the following example is illustrated using the English menu terms.

Consider the operation to change the format. The need for such actions often arises if you want to save photos on mobile devices. For example, images in the .raw format are useless to transfer to a tablet running Android OS. It is preferable to save the file in the .jpeg (.jpg) format, which is easily reproduced by all devices.

1. Open the image file.
2. Enter the Actions panel in the Window menu.
3. Create a new operation by clicking at the bottom of the panel on the icon in the form of a sheet with a curved corner.
4. Do not change anything in the file, save the image using the Save as ... item in the File menu. In the save dialog, select the required file extension on the bottom line.
5. Click on the square at the bottom of the Actions panel to finish recording the macro.
6. To start batch processing, go to File → Automate → Batch.
7. Select the operation name, source folder and directory for saving images in the drop-down lists. Click "OK" button to start processing.

Conclusion

It is impossible to describe in a short article all photo processing lessons in Photoshop (CS6 or other version), demonstrating the software potential of automation of image editing processes. The described examples give an idea of the principles of applying batch processing. Writing complex macros, amateurs will expand the range of use of this function and a list of creative tasks to be solved. On all editors assemblies of Adobe supported the described algorithm of actions, so there is no problem with what "Photoshop" is better for processing photos.