Batch Actions for Elements Users!

[Carl Wegner]

Autolevels is invariably too harsh for my taste. I would like to see it allow a user setting. Failing that, a batch procedure?

I have found that my slide scans are "more true" if I increase Master Saturation, and have settled on +10 default. I need a batch method. Similarly would like my own presets for batch unsharp mask.

More in recent "Batch Wish List" in PSE Feature Requests. I'm scanning 3000 Kodachromes & PSE fixing is taking forever as I'm too picky. Do I need to just bite the bullet & get full PS?

Thanks for advice / listening.

Carl

[Chuck Snyder]

Carl, you can adjust the white and black points of the Auto Levels if that
would be helpful to reduce the harshness. Safest way is through a Levels
Adjustment Layer. Create one, then when you're on the screen with the
histogram and eyedroppers, double click on the white dropper; you'll get a
color picker and you can select the white point you want. Repeat for the
black dropper to get the black point. Then hit OK and it will ask you if
you want to save the new points as default. Answer is "Yes" if you want to
use them for all images. If you move them off true white and true black,
the amount of contrast increase you get should be smaller.

Chuck

[Chuck Snyder]

p.s. to my earlier post: You can also adjust the midpoint in the same
manner. It's set for 50% gray as a default.

[Chuck Snyder]

Carl, the answer on Auto Levels in PS7: yes, there are some options. You
can select from Enhance Monochromatic Contrast, Enhance Per Channel Contrast
(default) and Find Dark and Light Colors. Another option is to "Snap
Neutral Midtones" - whatver that is.You can also set the target black and
white points and specify a clipping percentage, plus the target midpoint can
also be set. Interestingly, even with all those options, the experts seem
to be unanimous in their disdain for Auto Levels; they all say do it
manually within Levels, or, more desirable yet, use Curves.

Chuck

[Richard Lynch]

If there is a procedure you use for correction (e.g., Levels, Curves, Color Balance, then close), this can be put into a Batch action. I'd be willing to add to the set. I had a request for rotate, which is a pretty good idea.

Batch actions are NOT something you use all the time, but if you have, say 500 photos to run a set procedure with (shrink and sharpen, for example) then you can set this up and go to church or whatever and come back to having it complete.

I didn't think of messing with the auto-levels settings, and I didn't think of making sets with multiple actions. But, you know what? I just figured out something that might let me make it so you can customize what groups of actions you want to run -- and in what order. e.g., if you want to run levels then variations then sharpen then close...I am pretty sure I can make it so you can do that, and someone else can run levels then sarpen then variations then close... I can set up custom runs for say 1, 2,3 , 4 and 5 steps...and let you plug in your own steps as you please.

any interest in that?

[Carl Wegner]

Chuck - I wonder if experts disdain for autolevels is due to it doing RGB channels separately. I had forgotten that nasty tidbit, maybe I want to be able to control clipping of autocontrast instead!

Richard - I'll post or more likely email my typical work flow & thoughts on which steps are "creative" & which could be declared rote (batchable I wish).

Thanks very much to you both.

Carl

[Ken E. Little]

Richard,

I went to the PC link and signed up for Adobe Studio and downloaded your file. I couldn't wait to try it as I am impressed with your other tools when I bought your Hidden Power Book.

The instructions to install it are unclear. I couldn't locate the Actions palette menu in Elements. There is one in Photoshop. Therefore, I couldn't choose the Load Actions from the Action Palette Menu or locate and select the action set file. Maybe I am missing something here. Please someone let me know at [email]kljr@earthlink.net[/email]. - Ken

[Ken E. Little]

Susan,

Thanks for saving the day. I followed the download instructions, but were not aware of the other instructions in the HPBreadme file.

Thanks Again!

Ken

[Beth Haney]

Richard, would it be possible to get a modification to the Batch resizing feature for resolution? Currently, there's a drop down menu that contains only 72, 96, 150, 300, and 600 ppi as choices. Using myself as an example, I like to resize each of my new camera images to 330ppi (which for my 3.2mp is close to 4X6.) Once I've reviewed what I have at that size, I'll crop, resize, or ? - depending on the looks of a given picture. I am in the habit of always using the Batch feature to convert my original camera images to PSD, but it sure would be nice to be able to convert them to 330 at the same time. There's another person with a thread going that could probably make good use of this kind of flexibility, too.

Thanks! :)

[Conrad Torque]

Beth,

Can you let me know more of what you need for this? There wouldn't be an easy way to change this in the dialogue, but I could make a separate resize batch that would change the ppi. I believe I can publish this address here (yes, Bob?): [email]thebookdoc@aol.com[/email]

Please contact me directly there with your additional information and suggestions.

Richard Lynch

[Mark Reibman]

Just as I suspected. The true identity of Conrad Torque is now revealed.

[Beth Haney]

:)