Using the Actions Panel

An Action is a set of Photoshop commands in a specified sequence with specified settings. You can play an action to automatically run the commands. Photoshop comes installed with a large number of actions. In a later lesson, I’ll show you how to record your own actions for repeated use. For now, let’s play with the built-in actions.

1. If the Actions panel is not currently visible on the right of the screen somewhere, go to Window > Actions. You should see a single bar inside the panel called “Default Actions.”

Actions Panel

Actions panel menu

2. Click on the small blue triangle on this bar to open up a list of the Default Actions.

Default Actions

3. Use the small scroll bar on the right side of the Actions panel to scroll down.
4. Click on Quadrant Colors.

Quadrant Colors

5. Click on the small Play selection icon at the bottom of the panel.
6. Save your file. This time, Photoshop will want to save it as a Photoshop file (.psd). That is because the Quadrant Colors action added a new layer (more on this later in the lesson.) Go ahead and click Save.
7. Photoshop will ask you if you want to Maximize Compatability. It will always ask you this the first time you save a file as .psd. Make sure that the checkbox is checked, and click OK.

Jelly Fish with Quadrant Colors

8. Save your file.

Using the History Panel

The History panel allows you to undo up to 20 steps. You can take a peek back in time, then return to the current state. You can also take “snapshots” that record the current state before you move on. This allows you to recover a critical stage even if you’ve completed more than 20 steps since that moment.

1. If the History panel is not currently visible on the right of the screen somewhere, go to Window > History.
2. Notice at the top of the panel that there are two snapshots listed above the History states. The top one is a recording of the image state when you first opened the file. The next snapshot was created automatically when you ran the Quadrant Colors action.

History Panel

3. Like the Actions panel, the History panel has a scroll bar on the right side. Scroll up and down to view the steps you have taken. You’ve probably done fewer than 20.

History Panel scroll bar

4. Each history state has a tiny icon to the left which tells you what category of task was completed, and each state has text that gives a more detailed description of the task. This allows you to quickly identify what you might want to undo. Click on the history state called “Watercolor”. This jumps the image back to just after you ran the Watercolor filter.

Go back to Watercolor state

5. Notice that the history states above the selected state are still in black text. The history states below the selected state are now in gray, italicized text. These grayed-out steps are all the ones that occurred automatically, when you ran the Quadrant Colors action right after you ran the Watercolor filter.
6. Also notice the History slider alongside the selected state.

History Slider

7. Drag the History slider up or down to go backward or forward in time. Try clicking on each of the two snapshots.

Drag the History Slider

8. Scroll back down to the very last history state (on the very bottom of the History panel,) and click on it to recover all of our tasks.

Return to latest history state

9. In the Actions panel, run the Wood Frame action. When it warns you that the image needs to be at least 100px wide and tall, click Continue.
10. View > Fit on Screen

Wood Frame action

11. Notice how the History panel has changed. A new snapshot was added, and so many individual steps were involved in the Wood Frame action that all of your previous history states are gone. Take a look at all the various steps that happened during the Wood Frame action.

History Panel update

12. Save your file.

Notes:

1. To undo a single task (history state), use the keyboard short cut of Ctrl+Z (Mac: Cmd+Z).
2. To undo multiple states – one at a time – repeatedly use the keyboard short cut of Ctrl+Alt+Z (Mac: Opt+Cmd+Z).
3. If you back up one or more states in the History panel, then complete a new task, you will lose all of the history states below the one you selected (and you will create new history states.)
4. You can increase the number of History states that Photoshop will record by going to Edit > Preferences > Performance, and changing the number listed for History States. This may slow down your performance.
5. History states and snapshots disappear when you close a file, so make sure you don’t want to undo any tasks before you close your file.

Next: Using the Layers Panel