Batch Message won’t let me Batch

J
Posted By
JMF
Apr 1, 2004
Views
7296
Replies
2
Status
Closed
I’m new at batching. Also new to version CS.
When I’m trying to automate batch, I run into problems.
First, it wants me to rename everytying, and makes it damned hard for me to accommodate its wishes.

My questions:
1. Why must I rename these in the first place?
2. When I try renaming them under File Naming in the Batch window, it keeps rejecting my names, giving me a message that says, "You must specify an extension for the output files(s). I’ve tried using "None" and various others. including my own, and only occaisonally seem to hit on the right combination in these 6 scrolldown fields that lets me past that Batch message, but then produces files that PS can’t open.
They have some odddly named files with ridiculuosly long extensions that PS doesn’t recognize.
3. How do I grab a folder of 2 photos and batch process them down to thumbnails?

Any help would be much aprreciated.
Thanks a lot.

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DR
Danny_Raphael
Apr 1, 2004
Take heart. Once you get the hang of it, batch processing works pretty well. The first couple times out of the gate can be challenging, for sure.

My questions:
1. Why must I rename these in the first place?

You don’t. Renaming is an option. If you don’t want to rename the files, make no changes to the default choices (Document name, extension). That’s what you’ll get: Document Name.jpg or Document Name.psd or whatever format of the original file name.

2. [moot now that you can get around the rename obstacle]

3. How do I grab a folder of 2 photos and batch process them down to thumbnails?

If you literally mean a folder containing two images…
* Open any test image
* Create a new action
* Image > Image Size (size as needed)
* File > Save As… (specify any file name and folder… makes no difference) + .jpg specifications
* STOP recording
* Close test image. Keep or toss as needed.

Create a destination folder if you haven’t yet.

File > Automate > Batch
* Source: Folder. Choose (navigate to the source folder) * Destination: Folder. Choose (navigate to the destination folder) * Important: Turn ON this option – "Bypass Action ‘Save as’ Commands." As bass ackwards as this sounds, the effect is to honor the .jpg settings and ignore the file name and folder recorded in the command. Files will be place in the destination folder, not the one recorded in the Save As… command (unless the folders are the same).
* Click OK to launch the process.

If you mean you have two folders and you want to process both at the same time, here’s a couple more things you’ll need to do before clicking OK:

* In folder 1 (the one specified in the Source/Choose dialog), include a shortcut that points to folder 2.
* In the File > Automate > Batch dialog, turn on ‘Use all subfolders’. This way images from both folders will be processed in a single pass.

In case it makes a difference: Images will be processed in alphabetical file name order regardless of which folders they live in. For exaample:
* Folder 1: Able.psd, Dog.psd, Shortcut to Folder 2
* Folder 2: Baker.psd, Charlie.psd

The order of processing would be Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog.

Hope this gets you moving a little. Have fun.

~Danny~
J
JMF
Apr 2, 2004
That does it!
Thank you kindly, Danny.

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