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When you record an action and you add a command, such as Image Size, or Levels, the values you set in those dialogs are recorded as a part of the action and will be used on any image that the action is applied to. In some cases, you may want to customize such settings for each image. If you want to add a command but do not want any particular settings applied, you can choose Insert Menu Item from the Actions palette popout menu.
When this method is used to add a menu item, the action will automatically pause as it is running to allow the user to enter custom settings each time. In the Actions palette, you will see that a Stop icon has been added to the far left column, indicating that the action will pause at this step.
If you want to add a Stop to a step that has already been recorded, all you have to do is click in the second column in from the left side of the palette to add the Stop icon. Stops are useful when you know that different images will require different settings, such as when using the Unsharp Mask filter, or when saving a file to a specific location.
Adding a stop to the Save command line means I have
acces to the Save dialog when this action is used.
For some Actions, you may want to insert a message that reminds you that the file needs to be set up a certain way in order for the action to work properly. To do this, open the Actions palette popout menu and choose Insert Stop. A dialog will appear allowing you to type in what you want the message to be. In the lower left corner of the dialog, click in the checkbox for “Allow Continue”. This is an important option that lets the action continue running if the user determines that the file is the correct state. If you leave this unchecked, then the action will stop, even if everything is set up OK.
This is the dialog where you enter the text for a message stop.
When the action is played on an image, the message you entered will appear at the point where it was added to the action. If the file is already set up as described, the user can simply click the Continue button to carry on with the action.
This message stop was added to the beginning of the
action, so it will appear when the action is started.
The message as it appears when the action is played back.
To edit the text in a message stop, just double-click on it in the Actions palette.
Copyright 2003, 2004 by Katrin Eismann, Seán Duggan Tim Grey. All Rights Reserved
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