How do I batch edit in a way that fits my needs?

Question

I do most of my photoshopping through recorded actions I have created. However, most of my photoshopping tends to be tedious and highly repetitive. I often run the same action hundreds of times per week exporting a new image each time. I have attempted to solve this through batch editing folders with actions I have created, however all attempts of doing this have failed. I have also failed at finding anyone who can help. Below I will explain my exact photoshop workflow and where things begin to go wrong in the hopes that someone can identify what I am doing incorrectly and maybe give me advice on how to correct it.

My workflow begins with me opening an image of a picture frame. I start recording the action. I then place an embedded image of a piece of artwork. I free transform the artwork into place in the picture frame and then I toggle the layer visibility to hide the artwork from view. Next I use the rectangle marquee tool to outline the inside boundaries of the picture frame, I re toggle the artwork visibility so that it is no longer hidden from view, and then I click layer mask so that the artwork is perfectly trimmed to fit inside the picture frame. Lastly I set the blending to multiply so that it appears more natural. Stop recording. Export Image.

This recorded action works perfectly 1 image at a time. The wheels fall off when I attempt to apply it to a folder of artwork pieces. When this is attempted, it seems 1 image from the folder is opened and edited (incorrectly) 10-20 times, the picture frame is deleted, and nothing gets exported into the external folder.

Please help

Answer 1

Hi Daniel

It looks like you may need to create a droplet (exe file) that you can then drag the files onto, to perform the batch process.

Choose File - Automate - Create Droplet

When the dialogue window opens, choose "Save Droplet In" to specify where you want the exe file to live (desktop is a good spot).

In the "Play" section, you want to specify the action you want the exe file to run.

The rest of the dialogue box lets you customize your file naming conventions and overides to suit your preferences.

Once you have the droplet saved, copy a few of your files to a new folder and test them to tweak your preferences.

If this doesn't solve your issue please let me know and I can look at your action file to see if there is something else going on with it.

Thanks!

Simon