Adobe CS6 Automated Actions

[gregf]

<p>I am trying to create an automated action in CS6; but it still requires me to press the enter button

twice.</p>

<p>First, it opens a folder to process all the images in the folder. Then it applie

s a 3rd party watermark (DigiMarc), this is where I have to press enter for the first time. Finally it saves

/closes the image, if the image is a scan, I have to press enter again to save it as a JPG, if the image wa

s taken digitally, I don't have to press enter to save it.</p>

<p>Is there a way to automate the ap

plication of the DigiMarc Watermark? How about savi

ng a scan?</p>

<p>

[digitaldog]

<p>The enter key is within the 3rd party product? Actions probably can't access that then (only manipulations within Photoshop itself). An action can call a plug-in for example but it can't click on say a popup menu within that plug-in. </p>

[gregf]

<p>Thanks, that's what I was afraid of...</p>

[EricM]

<p>Don't give up so easily. There would have to be something really really wrong with Digimarc if it can't be set run with an action. Actions are finicky and I'm pretty sure we can get this to work. You'll have to do it a bit differently and re-record from afresh, and use Bridge. Start by opening an image in PS, create new action, name it, start recording, open digmarc, do your thing, close digmrac, stop recording, close image, don't save. Now to see if it works, open Bridge, navigate to any image, at the tool bar in Bridge is tools>photoshop>image processor. #4) field, at the bottom of the box is a preferences field. Select both icc profile and your action, navigate and select it. Make sure the other info in #2 and 3 is good, and then give it whirl. Please let me know if it works or not</p>

<p><strong>"An action can call a plug-in for example but it can't click on say a popup menu within that plug-in."</strong></p>

<p>Curious, which ones? I rely on actions and routinely use Imagenomic, Lucis Art, Nik, and Photomatix and don't find this to be true at all. I've got dozens of actions with the settings in these pop-up windows all working fine. Convert to b&w, sharpen, toning etc etc...I don't know about you, but if the settings in a filter weren't able to run successfully with actions, it would be a pretty big fail.</p>

[digitaldog]

<blockquote>

<p>Curious, which ones? I rely on actions and routinely use Imagenomic, Lucis Art, Nik, and Photomatix and don't find this to be true at all.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Using an action to <strong>call up</strong> a plug-in is simple and doable. Using an action to call up a plug-in and configure it <strong>before</strong> it runs, also doable but not while it's running. <br>

Using an action to affect the plug-in after (while running), nope. As soon as the plug-in runs, actions are out of the picture. <br>

What the OP may be able to do is build an action to call up and configure the plug-in, then it has to run it's course, after which the action could continue IF the plug-in runs it course and one builds a droplet and processes each image at a time in a Batch. </p>

[EricM]

<p>That was...very confusing. Can you give an example or two of what you are talking about and which filters/plug-ins and what steps and when it can and can't be configured and called up when this or that isn't running? Sometimes I have problems with actions with Nik filters and stacking Nik filters within an action but the remedy is open an image and then the filter and go through the filter settings and set the parameters of the filter exactly like my action, then close it all down and it runs fine. Is that what you're meaning? But Gregory is trying to batch process a Digimarc watermark. A quick Google result shows lots of instructions and youtube videos on successfully achieving it.</p>

[digitaldog]

<p>It's simple really. WHILE a plug-in is running, the actions are not (accessing that plug-in). </p>

<blockquote>

<p>Gregory is trying to batch process a Digimarc watermark.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Haven't used it. IF the process is, call the watermark, click OK, done then reprocess another image, no issues. IF the process is, call up watermark, click OK then there's another OK that's needed to be pressed WHILE the action is running, that isn't going to work. <br>

IF he can run the watermark filter on one image, then the solution is to make that either a Batch and point to a folder of images to process or create a droplet. This is no different from manually accessing the plug-in without an action, clicking OK and then manually saving the file. The difference is the Action or Batch (or droplet) will do this for you on an entire folder of documents. </p>