how to select a tool in an action?

"Dejah Thoris" wrote
in message

i’m relatively new to Photoshop (Windows), so i apologize if this is obvious or already answered a million times but i did some research and couldn’t find much so… how do i record selecting a tool in an action?

Why, just select the tool and use it. The action is recording everything, including the tool and whatever options you select while using it.

Start recording an action and do that. If you find a particular problem, please spell it out carefully – I’m interested in what cannot be recorded.

"jjs" wrote…

"Dejah Thoris" wrote

…how do i record selecting a tool in an action?

Why, just select the tool and use it. The action is recording everything, …. If you find a particular problem, please spell it out carefully – I’m interested in what cannot be recorded.

try this:
1) record an action that does the following:
a) open any image
b) select the crop tool by pressing ‘C’ or clicking the Tools menu
c) drag a guide onto the image
–> note that the crop tool is selected
2) close the image (without saving)
3) open any image
4) select the eyedropper tool by pressing ‘I’ or clicking the Tools menu
5) drag a guide onto the image
–> note that the eyedropper tool is selected
6) close the image (without saving)
7) run the action you recorded in step 1

when i do that, the eyedropper is still selected, i.e. PS is remembering the last tool i used. but i want the crop tool to be selected and that’s what i want to record in the action. does it not work that way for you?

If you close the image without saving – step (2) – PS is smart enough to realise that the file has not been altered in any way and will not record an action – Why would you wish to record an action that does nothing? what are you trying to do?

Harry

"harrylimey" wrote…

If you close the image without saving – step (2) – PS is smart enough to realise that the file has not been altered in any way and will not record an action – Why would you wish to record an action that does nothing? what are you trying to do?

huh? PS most certainly DOES record an action: it records the file open and the Make of a guide. it never RECORDS the tool selection even thought it REMEMBERS THE TOOL SELECTION from the previous image.

what am i trying to do? pretty much exactly what i described: open a file, create a few guides, SELECT A PARTICULAR TOOL, then stop so that i can manual begin editing the image with the newly-selected tool.

Dejah Thoris wrote:

"harrylimey" wrote…

If you close the image without saving – step (2) – PS is smart enough to realise that the file has not been altered in any way and will not record an action – Why would you wish to record an action that does nothing? what are you trying to do?

huh? PS most certainly DOES record an action: it records the file open and the Make of a guide. it never RECORDS the tool selection even thought it REMEMBERS THE TOOL SELECTION from the previous image.

what am i trying to do? pretty much exactly what i described: open a file, create a few guides, SELECT A PARTICULAR TOOL, then stop so that i can manual begin editing the image with the newly-selected tool.

it sounds very petty to me. So you run the script, it opens an image, sets the guides for you….and all you have to do now is choose whatever tool you want to use manually? Big deal! Just click on the tool you want and work away. You are being very petty and pedantic about nothing Dejah! I think you need to gorw up.

Brian.

I meant it would not record the fact that you had selected the crop tool in the same way that it does not record the fact that you select the eyedropper tool!!
The tool needs to be used in some way for an action to be recorded – just selecting it is not using it, otherwise PS will just default to the last tool that you selected.

huh? PS most certainly DOES record an action: it records the file

open and

the Make of a guide. it never RECORDS the tool selection even thought

it

REMEMBERS THE TOOL SELECTION from the previous image.

what am i trying to do? pretty much exactly what i described: open a

file,

create a few guides, SELECT A PARTICULAR TOOL, then stop so that i can manual begin editing the image with the newly-selected tool.

I meant it would not record the fact that you had selected the crop tool in the same way that it does not record the fact that you select the eyedropper tool!!
The tool needs to be used in some way for an action to be recorded – just selecting it is not using it, otherwise PS will just default to the last tool that you selected.

"harrylimey" wrote in message

I meant it would not record the fact that you had selected the crop tool in the same way that it does not record the fact that you select the eyedropper tool!!
The tool needs to be used in some way for an action to be recorded – just selecting it is not using it, otherwise PS will just default to the last tool that you selected.

Well put, Harry, and IMHO that’s a perfectly rational way for actions to work.

What the OP really wants is an F-Key shortcut. He should look into that or parse his steps into simple actions.

"Brian" wrote in message

it sounds very petty to me. So you run the script, it opens an image, sets the guides for you….and all you have to do now is choose whatever tool you want to use manually? Big deal! Just click on the tool you want and work away. You are being very petty and pedantic about nothing Dejah! I think you need to gorw up.

wow, how is trying to use a tool being petty or pedantic? as i said, i have a roundabout solution and wanted something more "obvious". if PS doesn’t work that way, just say so. if there is an alternate way, just say so. otherwise why are you wasting your time and mine?

Dejah Thoris wrote:

what am i trying to do? pretty much exactly what i described: open a file, create a few guides, SELECT A PARTICULAR TOOL, then stop so that i can manual begin editing the image with the newly-selected tool.

I don’t know if this will meet your needs, but I’ve not seen anyone else mention it. You can create your action by recording your steps, and draw a crop box to whatever ‘preliminary’ size you wish. This can even be the entire image. Then complete the crop, then stop recording your action. Then look at the action in the action pallette. You should see a column at the very left with a checkmark in it. This is the ‘Toggle item on/off’ selection. Just to the right should be a second column. Expand the action if it’s not already (click the right pointing triangle), and click in the second column box on the ‘crop’ instruction. This is the ‘Toggle dialog on/off’ selection. This will cause the action to stop there and you will be able to move your crop to where you wish. You can also select ‘perspective’ if you wish, or change the opacity of the discarded protion of the image.

Note that this ‘Toggle dialog’ will work with any dialog box. If for example you have a default curves correction to boost contrast you want to apply, but want to fine tune it for each image, just go through the recording of the action and apply the curve. Then stop recording and click the ‘toggle dialog’ box. Then when you run the action, the curve will be applied, but the curves dialog box will remain open, and you can tweak it, reset it, or cancel it.

Hope this helps with your workflow.

Mike