Introduction: Batch Processing

Batch Processing is a Photoshop feature that helps you making repetitive tasks easier. This is very usefull when you have to change the name, create thumbnails, resize or any other repetitive task you have to apply to several images.

1. Using Bridge to Automate

For example, I have a folder with all my pictures from my vacations to the north of argentina, the images have the name the camara gives them, I dont whant that name, I whant them to be named north_argentina + the number of the picture, but renaming 80 images can take a long time, so here is were "Batch Rename" comes to work.

I open Adobe Bridge, from photoshop (File -> Browse) then go to my images folder, select all the images, right click, and then choose "Batch Rename" from the emerging menu.

2. The Batch Rename Window

This will open the "Batch Rename" window, the options are very easy, first on "Destination Folder" you choose if you want to rename the original files or to make a copy of the files with the new names into another folder on your computer. The second option called "New Filenames" is the new name for the pictures, its very easy too, you choose one of the options from the left, and then give the option a value, in this case I choose, Text, and gave it the value "north_argentina" then I want to give it a picture number, so I choose "Sequence Number" and then I give it the initial value "1" and choose the "Two Digits" option because I have 80 pics. You can also choose the compatibility of the files. On the bottom I have the original name of my image and the new name. I press the "Rename" button and the images will be renamed.

3. Working with Actions

The other use of Batch Processing in Photoshop uses "Actions" to record anything you do to an image, and make that same thing to several images.

I have the folder with the renamed images and I want to use this images on my web site, but they are too big, so I want to resize them and give them a simple auto levels. I have 80 images, but I will only make the changes to the first one and let Photoshop batch change all the others.

I open one of the images and then go to Window -> Actions to open the Actions pannel to create my own action, so I click on the "Create new action" button

Then I give my action a name, example "My Action - Resize + Auto Levels"
Once I create my action it will be saved so I can use it in the future.

Then I click on the "Begin recording" button, now everything I do to my image will be recorded, and then applied to all the images, each thing I do to my image will appear inside my action.

After I made everything I wanted I go to: File -> Save as... so that the saving setting are also recorded, I choose the file format for the new images the quality etc, and save it, then I press on the "Stop playing/recording" button, so that it stops recording.

4. Editing Actions

Each action can be edited by double clicking them.
Now my action looks like this.

Now I close the file and go to: File -> Automate -> Batch, the Batch window will open, here is where I'm going to apply the Actions I created to all the other images.

There are several options, also, very easy to setup. First on the "Set" combo choose the "Default Action" set, then on the "Action" combo select the action created earlier. On "Source" select Folder, press the Choose button and select the folder where the original images are located.

On "Destination" also select Folder, press the Choose button and select a new folder were the modified pictures will go, the "File Naming" works almoast like the "Batch Rename". In the example I have chossen the name "north_argentina" + a 2 Digit Serial Number + the file extension, click "OK" and browse UltraShock while Photoshop makes all the work.