Version 1.11 Manual

Copyright © 2016-2020 by Harald Heim & The Plugin Site

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E-mail: http://www.thepluginsite.com/about/contact.htm

User Forum:http://www.thepluginsite.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=20

Credits

Idea and Concept: Harald Heim

Development: Harald Heim

Logo and Artwork: Harald Heim

Beta Testers: Ken Payne

Table of Contents1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................1

1.1 Description............................................................................................................................11.2 FAQ......................................................................................................................................21.3 Compatibility.........................................................................................................................41.4 Installation............................................................................................................................61.5 Step by Step.........................................................................................................................8

1.5.1 Playing an Action.........................................................................................................81.5.2 Playing an Action in Button Mode................................................................................81.5.3 Recording an Action....................................................................................................91.5.4 Saving an Action........................................................................................................101.5.5 Batch processing open images or layers with Actions...............................................101.5.6 Batch processing files with Actions............................................................................12

2 User Interface ..................................................................................................................................152.1 Panel Window.....................................................................................................................15

2.1.1 The Panel Window.....................................................................................................152.1.2 The Action List..........................................................................................................152.1.3 The Top Icons...........................................................................................................162.1.4 The Bottom Icons......................................................................................................16

2.2 Panel Menu........................................................................................................................172.2.1 Button Mode..............................................................................................................172.2.2 Floating Window........................................................................................................182.2.3 New Action................................................................................................................182.2.4 New Set....................................................................................................................192.2.5 Duplicate...................................................................................................................192.2.6 Delete.......................................................................................................................192.2.7 Play...........................................................................................................................192.2.8 Record/Stop..............................................................................................................192.2.9 Record Again............................................................................................................192.2.10 Insert Menu Item.....................................................................................................202.2.11 Insert Stop..............................................................................................................202.2.12 Insert Conditional....................................................................................................202.2.13 Insert > Path...........................................................................................................202.2.14 Insert > Shape.........................................................................................................212.2.15 Insert > Action.........................................................................................................212.2.16 Insert > Script.........................................................................................................212.2.17 Insert > Adjustment Layer........................................................................................212.2.18 Action/Set Options..................................................................................................212.2.19 Playback Options....................................................................................................222.2.20 Clear All Actions.....................................................................................................232.2.21 Load Actions...........................................................................................................232.2.22 Load.........................................................................................................................232.2.23 Save Actions...........................................................................................................232.2.24 Batch.......................................................................................................................232.2.25 Help.........................................................................................................................242.2.26 Close.......................................................................................................................24

2.3 Conditional Feature............................................................................................................252.4 Batch Processing................................................................................................................28

2.4.1 Main Controls............................................................................................................282.4.2 Source......................................................................................................................282.4.3 Destination................................................................................................................292.4.4 Format......................................................................................................................302.4.5 Name........................................................................................................................302.4.6 Process.....................................................................................................................322.4.7 Auto..........................................................................................................................33

ActionsXXL Manual

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Table of Contents2 User Interface

2.5 Key Shortcuts.....................................................................................................................34

ActionsXXL Manual

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1 Introduction

1.1 Description

ActionsXXL empowers Photoshop Elements users to create, record, play and save Photoshop actions. ActionsXXL alsooffers a Batch feature for automatically processing multiple document or image files with actions, scripts and otherfeatures. It offers almost all features of Photoshop's Action panel as well as some features that Photoshop does not have.It can be used in Photoshop Elements 6 and higher.

Features

Create, open, record, edit and organize actions as well as save Photoshop action files• Batch process all open document, selected layers or image files with Photoshop actions, scripts, Camera Rawand up to 8 auto enhancements

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Play Photoshop actions 30% faster than Photoshop Elements itself• Play actions created for Photoshop with the help of ElementsXXL that would otherwise not work in PhotoshopElements

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Conveniently play Photoshop actions by clicking buttons in Button Mode• Run actions via 44 key shortcuts• Record and play back features of Photoshop Elements, ElementsXXL 3, LayersXXL and FilterHub• Create conditional step for running different actions according to 24 conditions• View the parameters of action steps conveniently as tool tips• Use ActionsXXL from the Actions panel (in Photoshop Elements 11-14) or as a floating window•

1.2 FAQ

I already use Photoshop Elements 11 (or higher), which already allows opening and playingactions. What more does ActionsXXL have to offer?

While users of Photoshop Elements 10 or lower do not have a practical way to open and play actions (unless they useElementsXXL), Photoshop Elements 11 and higher offer an Actions panel for opening and playing actions. However, theActions panel of Photoshop Elements it is quite limited. Basically it only lets you open, play and delete actions.ActionsXXL on the other hand allows you to also record, edit, organize and save actions as well as apply actions for batchprocessing.

Furthermore, ActionsXXL can run actions 30% faster than Photoshop Elements and ElementsXXL. It can also playactions without cluttering the History panel and offers three other playback modes for playing actions slower in variousways, e.g. for observing what they do or for debugging them. ActionsXXL also offers a Button Mode for convenientlyrunning actions by clicking a button. Additionally an undo icon lets you undo all steps of a played or recorded actionwithout having to use the History panel.

So ActionsXXL does not only offer more options than the Actions panel of Photoshop Elements (and the actions featuresof ElementsXXL), but also makes using actions more convenient and speeds up your image processing workflow.

I am a user of ElementsXXL. Do I need ActionsXXL too?

ElementsXXL offers features to open and play back actions - mainly for versions 6-10 of Photoshop Elements that do nothave it. But ActionsXXL also lets you record, edit, organize and save actions as well as apply actions to multiple imagesor files via batch processing. See the above question for more information.

Is ActionsXXL able to play actions that were recorded in Photoshop without error messages inPhotoshop Elements?

Yes, ActionsXXL is able to play back actions that can not be played back with the Actions panel of Photoshop Elements.To do that it internally rewrites some actions steps and additionally cooperates with ElementsXXL (and also LayersXXL).ActionsXXL executes features of ElementsXXL in order to compensate for the features that are otherwise missing inPhotoshop Elements. So you need to have ElementsXXL installed to be able to play back some actions that wererecorded in Photoshop. Even though ActionsXXL can play almost all Photoshop actions with the help of ElementsXXL,action steps that trigger things like CMYK mode, 3D or video editing features will not work, because ElementsXXL doesnot offer them.

ActionsXXL does not correctly play an action that I downloaded from the web. What should Ido?

First of all, make sure that you are using the action correctly. Some actions require e.g. an existing selection or layer maskor a file in a certain location. So please read the instructions for the action if available. Some action were recorded withe.g. with a German or Italian version of Photoshop (Elements) whereas you are using an English version of PhotoshopElements. As a result the action may try to e.g. select a layer with German or Italian name that is not available in yourEnglish version. So have a closer look at the action step that causes a problem and modify it if possible.

If the problem runs deeper, please note that ActionsXXL is able to play back more action steps if you also haveElementsXXL installed. So please install ElementsXXL (or its trial version) if you not already did so. If that still does nothelp, please contact us and send us the action. We will try to make it work with ActionsXXL if possible.

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Can ActionsXXL record and play back features of ElementsXXL and LayersXXL?

Yes, ActionsXXL allows recording all menu items, key shortcuts, clicks on icons and all other features of ElementsXXL aswell LayersXXL. FilterHub also supports recording its image editing steps. However, you need at least ElementsXXL 3.50,LayersXXL 1.50 and FilterHub 1.05 to be able to record their features with ActionsXXL. Older versions of these plugins donot support ActionsXXL.

Some of these recorded actions can be played in Photoshop Elements even without ElementsXXL or LayersXXL, butcertain action steps still require ElementsXXL or LayersXXL. The recorded actions can also be played in Photoshop (evenwithout ElementsXXL and LayersXXL which only work in Photoshop Elements) with the exception of a few specialfeatures, which Photoshop does not have, e.g. Split Layer, HDR-Combine, Remove Transparency.

Does ActionsXXL offer all action and batch processing features of Photoshop?

ActionsXXL offers almost all action and batch processing features of Photoshop, but also includes features thatPhotoshop does not have. Here are two lists with features that Photoshop and ActionsXXL do not have when compared toeach other:

Photoshop offers the following 7 features that ActionsXXL does not have:

Allow Tool Recording: Records brush strokes in the image• 4 additional options on the Batch dialog: Import as source, Bridge as source, Suppress File Open Options Dialogand Log Errors to File.

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2 additional options on the Image Processor script: Adding a copyright string to images, Include ICC Profile.•

ActionsXXL offers the following 30 features that Photoshop does not have:

Loading multiple action files from one file dialog• "Maximum" playback option: Runs actions faster and avoids cluttering the History panel• "Stop after every Step" playback option: Stops after every action step to let the user investigate what the actiondid

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Progress window during action playback• Undo icon: Undoes the last played action or the last recorded steps.• Allows changing the next recording position during recording• Insert > Action menu item: Adds an actions step for playing an action• Insert > Script menu item: Adds an action step that runs a script• Insert > Adjustment Layer menu item: Adds an action step that creates an adjustment layer plus its settings• Right clicking on an action item displays a context menu• 20 additional options on the Batch dialog: Selected Layers as source, Drag'n'Dropped Files as source, Save insub folder, saving to GIF format, saving to PNG-8 format, 5 Open in Camera Raw options, running two additionalactions, running a script as well as 8 automatic image processing features (e.g. Auto Color, Auto Sharpen, AutoDehaze, Auto Shake Reduction).

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It is planned to add the missing features from the Photoshop list in future versions of ActionsXXL.

I have a non-English version of Photoshop Elements. Can I use ActionsXXL with it?

Yes, definitely. 95% of the features of ActionsXXL are automatically translated to the language of Photoshop Elements.For example, if you use a Spanish version of Photoshop Elements, almost all menu items and dialogs of ActionsXXL arein Spanish. Only a few messages or items are only available in English and German.

There are only English and German manuals for ActionsXXL, but you can read about most ActionsXXL features in themanual of Photoshop or on the Photoshop Help page - both of which are available for various languages. Here are thePhotoshop Help pages about actions in all languages that Photoshop Elements supports: Czech, German, English,Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese, Taiwanese.

You can also look for tutorials about Photoshop actions on the web. Most of them are applicable to ActionsXXL too.

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1.3 Compatibility

ActionsXXL works under Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP (32-bit & 64-bit).

It requires the following applications to be installed:

Adobe Photoshop Elements (Version 6 and higher)•

All menu items and most dialogs of ActionsXXL are localized to the language of Photoshop Elements, but a fewmessages are displayed in English or German only.

Supporting Plugins

There are three special plugins which support ActionsXXL: ElementsXXL, LayersXXL and FilterHub. ActionsXXLcooperates with them for playing and recording actions. Especially ElementsXXL helps ActionsXXL to play back actionsthat were recorded in Photoshop and that would not run in Photoshop Elements otherwise. However, the followingversions are required to make it work:

ElementsXXL (Version 3.50 and higher)• LayersXXL (Version 1.50 and higher)• FilterHub (Version 1.05 and higher)•

Older versions of ElementsXXL, LayersXXL and FilterHub are not able to cooperate with ActionsXXL.

The following features require ElementsXXL for playback with ActionsXXL:

Browse in Organizer• Save PDF (for dialog display)• Fade• Mixer Brush Tool• Ruler Tool• Slice (Select) Tool• History Brush• Perspective Crop (up to Photoshop Elements 13)• Perspective Warp (for dialog display)• Auto-Align Layers (for dialog display)• Render > Prepare 8-bit / Render 16-bit Document• Split Layer• Mode > 16 Bits/channel• Convert to sRGB / AdobeRGB / Profile• Assign Profile / Remove Profile• Exposure• Vibrance• Color Balance• Selective Color• Black & White• Changing the settings of the following adjustment layers: Curves, Exposure, Color Balance, Channel Mixer,Selective Color

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Variations (only Photoshop Elements 12 and higher)• Add Smart Filter• Smart Filter Blending Options (only Photoshop Elements 13 and higher)• Group Layers• Ungroup Layers• Merge Group• Convert for Smart Filter / Convert to Smart Object•

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The following features require ElementsXXL for recording with ActionsXXL:

Open in Camera Raw• Selecting the thumb in the Layers panel when a layer mask is selected (only Photoshop Elements 13 and higher)• All features provided by ElementsXXL•

The following features require LayersXXL for playback with ActionsXXL:

Open as Layers• Save Layers As Files• Auto-Align Layers (for dialog display)• Auto-Expose Layers• HDR-Combine Layers• Remove Transparency• Enhance > Tasks• Style Settings (for dialog display)•

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1.4 Installation

Uninstallation

If you want to install the full version or a newer version, you do not need to uninstall the trial version or older version. Thetrial or old version is overwritten when installing the full or newer version To nevertheless uninstall ActionsXXL go to Start> Control Panel > Uninstall a program (Windows 7) or right click the Start button, select Control Panel and click on"Programs and Features" (Windows 8 & 10). On the appearing dialog double click the appropriate item to uninstall it.

Installing

Double click the downloaded .exe file and follow the installation instructions. When Plugin Installer shows up, activate thecheck boxes of your preferred application(s) and press the Install button.

You can run Plugin Installer at any time from Start > All Programs > The Plugin Site > ActionsXXL > Plugin Installer.Then you have more options than during installation, e.g. an Uninstall button.

If you install a new version of Photoshop Elements and ActionsXXL is already installed, you do not need to run the fullActionsXXL installation again. You can run Plugin Installer from the Start menu and use it to install ActionsXXL into thenewly installed version of Photoshop Elements.

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ActionsXXL Manual 7

1.5 Step by Step

1.5.1 Playing an Action

1. Open an image in Photoshop Elements.

2. If the action that you want to apply is not already displayed in ActionsXXL, click on the menu icon at the top right of theActionsXXL panel window to display the panel menu. On the panel menu choose Load Actions and on the appearing filedialog choose your action file.

3. Select the action in the ActionsXXL panel window and click the play icon.

4. If the action displays a dialog or message, click the OK or Continue button. Some actions display a message with aStop button. In this case you have to do some manual step and then click on the play icon again to continue with theaction.

5. After the action finished have a look at the result.

1.5.2 Playing an Action in Button Mode

1. Open an image in Photoshop Elements.

2. If the action that you want to apply is not already displayed in ActionsXXL, click on the menu icon at the top right of theActionsXXL panel window to display the panel menu. On the panel menu choose Load Actions and on the appearing file

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dialog choose your action file.

3. To switch to Button Mode open the panel menu again and click on the Button Mode menu item. Now all actions aredisplayed as buttons. Click one of the buttons to run an action.

4. If the action displays a dialog or message, click the OK or Continue button. Some actions display a message with aStop button. In this case you have to do some manual step and then click on the action button again to continue.

5. After the action finished have a look at the result.

1.5.3 Recording an Action

1. Open an image in Photoshop Elements - unless you want the action to open or create an image itself.

2. If you have not already created your own actions set, click the set icon at the bottom of the ActionsXXL panel window.Alternatively click on the icon at the top right of the panel window and choose "New Set" from the panel menu. On theappearing dialog enter a name for your set, e.g. "John's Actions".

3. Create a new action by clicking the action icon at the bottom of the ActionsXXL panel window. Alternatively choose"New Action" from the panel menu. On the appearing dialog enter a name for your action, e.g. "My Special Effect 1". Youcan also choose a set where the action will be placed, a key shortcut for triggering the action and a color for button mode.

4. Click the record icon at the bottom of the ActionsXXL panel window. Alternatively choose "Record" from the panelmenu.

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5. Now perform the steps in Photoshop Elements that you want to record to an action. After each step you will see a newstep item added to your action in the ActionsXXL window. If a certain menu item cannot be recorded, choose the "InsertMenu Item" item from the panel menu and try again.

6. If you recorded a step with wrong settings, click the delete icon at the bottom of the ActionsXXL panel window toremove the step and try again.

7. When you have finished, click the stop icon next to the record icon.

8. Now you can click the undo icon at the top of the ActionsXXL window and play your recorded action. To play theactions more slowly or to make the actions stop after each step try the "Playback Options" panel menu item.

9. If you want to change the settings of a recorded step, double click it in the action list in the ActionsXXL window. Thenchange the dialog settings and click OK. If you want to change the position of a step you can simply drag and drop it toanother position.

10. If you want to display a message at a certain point in your action, choose the "Insert Stop" panel menu item.

1.5.4 Saving an Action

1. After your recorded or modified one or more actions and are satisfied with the result, it is a good idea to save it. Youcan save only one set of actions into an .atn file, so it is good if all actions of this set are ready to be saved. Otherwisecreate a new set and drag and drop only the action(s) that you want to save into it.

2. Select the action set that you want to save. You can select the set item itself, but it is already fine if there is a selectionanywhere inside the set.

3. Click on the icon at the top right of the ActionsXXL panel window and choose "Save Actions" from the panel menu.

4. In the appearing file dialog choose a folder and enter a file name.

5. Your action set is now saved as an .atn file and can be loaded again in ActionsXXL at any time.

1.5.5 Batch processing open images or layers with Actions

1. If you want to apply the same image processing steps to multiple open images or multiple layers in PhotoshopElements, you can record these steps as described above and use the Batch dialog to apply them.

2. If you want to apply an action to multiple layers, select these layers in the Layers panel. Hold down the Ctrl or Shift keyto select multiple layers. If you want to apply an action to multiple open documents, make sure that only these documentsare open. Close all other documents that you do not want to process.

3. Run the Batch command by clicking on the batch icon at the top of the ActionsXXL panel window, by choosing File >Automation Tools > Batch or by selecting the "Batch" panel menu item.

4. To make sure that no previous batch settings are activated that you may not want to use, hold down the Alt key andclick on the Cancel button, which now turned into a Reset button.

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5. On the Source tab sheet of the Batch dialog activate the "Open Images" or the "Selected Layers ..." radio button.

6. Switch to the Destination tab sheet and activate the "None" option. This makes sure that the open documents are notsaved and closed.

7. If you want to resize the documents or convert them to sRGB or 8 Bits/channel, then activate the appropriate options onthe Format tab sheet.

8. On the Process tab sheet activate one of the Run Actions check boxes, select the set of your action from the firstcombo box at the right and the actions itself in the second combo box. This will apply your action.

9. If you want to apply an automatic enhancement to your documents, activate the appropriate check box on the Auto tabsheet.

10. To use these batch settings again later click the Save button and enter a name for them. To open them again later,use the Load button.

11. Now click the Run button to start the processing. If there is a problem, you can press the Esc key to stop the batchprocessing at any time.

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1.5.6 Batch processing files with Actions

1. If you want to batch process image files in Photoshop Elements, best close all open documents. Make sure that theaction(s) that you want to apply to the image files are displayed in the ActionsXXL window.

2. Run the Batch command by clicking on the batch icon at the top of the ActionsXXL panel window, by choosing File >Automation Tools > Batch or by selecting the "Batch" panel menu item.

3. To make sure that any previous batch settings are activated that you may not want to use, hold down the Alt key andclick on the Cancel button, which now turns into a Reset button. If you want to use batch settings that you saved to a file,use the Load button.

4. On the Source tab sheet click the Select Folder button and choose the folder that contains your image files. If you wantto process images files from sub folders of the selected folder, activate the "Include All Subfolders" check box.Alternatively you can select the image files in Windows Explorer and drag and drop them onto the Batch dialog.

5. Switch to the Destination tab sheet and activate one of the three bottom radio buttons. The None option will only openthe image files, but not save and close them. It is probably best if you save the processed files in a sub folder with the"Save in sub folder" option or if you select a new folder with the Select Folder button. The "Save in same location" optionoverwrites the original files if you do not select another format or name on the next two tab sheets, so you should usuallyonly use it if you already work with duplicates of the original files.

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6. Switch to the Format tab sheet. If you want to keep the current file format of files, use the "Keep File Type" option.Otherwise choose one of the other file formats from the File Type combo box. Choose the prefered file format optionsbelow the combo box. If you want to resize the images, e.g. to create thumbnails for low resolution versions, activate theResize to Fit check box and enter the maximum new width and height.

7. Switch to the Name tab sheet. If you want to keep the name of the files, make sure that "Document Name" is visible inthe first combo box and "extension" in the second. Otherwise choose another option or enter a text in the combo boxes.At the top you see an example of how the first processed file with a file name of "MyFile.bmp" would be renamed.

8. On the Process tab sheet you can apply up to three actions and a script to the images. Additionally you can edit none,the first or all images with Camera Raw.

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9. If you want to apply an automatic enhancement to your documents, activate the appropriate check boxes on the Autotab sheet.

10. To use these settings later again, click the Save button and enter a name for the settings.

11. Now click the Run button to start the processing. If there is a problem, you can press the Esc key to stop the batchprocessing at any time.

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2 User Interface

2.1 Panel Window

ActionsXXL consists of a panel window, which allows you to record, manage and play Photoshop actions among otherthings.

2.1.1 The Panel Window

Das ActionsXXL panel window is initially displayed as a floating window with its own title bar. Double click the title bar tocollapse or expand it again. You can do the same by clicking on the >> symbol in the title bar. Clicking the x symbol (orchoosing the Close item from the panel menu) closes the ActionsXXL window. To display it again please go to File >Automation Tools > ActionsXXL in the menu of Photoshop Elements.

You can resize the ActionsXXL panel by moving the mouse cursor to the edges of the window. Then you will see an arrowcursor, which lets you enlarge or shrink the window if you hold down the mouse button and drag. To move the ActionsXXLpanel simply drag its title bar.

Apart from the title bar the panel window consists of three sections: a button bar at the top, an action list and a button barat the bottom.

In Photoshop Elements 11 and higher you can integrate ActionsXXL into the Actions panel. To do that deactivate themenu item "Floating Window" from the panel menu. Then make sure that "Expert" is activated in the center of the top barand choose Window > Actions from the main menu of Photoshop Elements. This shows the Actions panel, which nowincorporates the ActionsXXL window.

To open action files in ActionsXXL you use the Load Actions command from the panel menu, but you also open them bydragging and dropping them on the ActionsXXL window.

2.1.2 The Action List

Photoshop actions are part of an action set, which is displayed in the action tree list of the ActionsXXL panel. Action setsare identifiable by the yellow folder icon and can hold a large number of actions. Actions have a gray document icon andcan contain a large number of action steps. Actions steps always have a check box at the left. So the action list on theActionsXXL panel consists of a three-fold hierarchy: Sets, actions and steps.

Sets as well as actions can be collapsed or expanded by clicking their triangle symbol or by double clicking their label.Steps cannot be expanded, you can only deactivate them with their check box. A step with a deactivated check box is notplayed when you click the Play icon. Additionally you can click on the icon of each step item to define if a dialog is shownwhen playing this step or not. An empty square icon means that no dialog will be displayed. However, you should beaware that not all steps can in fact display a dialog. So even if the dialog icon is active for a step it does not necessarymean that a dialog is displayed. For example a "Delete Layer" or "Paste" step cannot show a dialog, because there is notdialog available for these functions.

Double clicking a step item lets you play and record the step again at the same time. For example if you double click astep called "Levels", the Levels dialog will be displayed with the recorded settings. You can now change the settings andclick OK to replace the old settings in the action step. Again this only works for steps with dialogs. Double clicking stepslike "Delete Layer" or "Set Selection" will play them, but as they have no dialogs, you cannot change any settings.

You can move an action from one set to another or move a step from one action to another by drag and drop. You canalso change the position of a set, action or step this way. Simply position the mouse cursor over the set, action or step,hold down the left mouse button, move the mouse to the new position and release the mouse button. If you hold down theAlt key while dragging an item, it will not be moved but duplicated.

To rename a set or action select it and click on it again. Now an edit box appears for changing the name. Finally hit theEnter key or click somewhere else on the panel window to commit the change. Alternatively you can also use the "SetOptions" or "Actions Options" panel menu items for renaming. Steps cannot be renamed as their name is tied to theirfunctionality.

To display the parameters of an action step, keep the mouse cursor one second above it. As a result you will see tool tip,which lists the parameters and their values. If "n/a" appears, it means that there are no parameters.

2.1.3 The Top Icons

Clicking the first icon at the top (as well as clicking on the Batch item of the panel menu) shows the Batch dialog. Formore information see the Batch Processing section.

The second icon lets you undo the steps of last played or recorded action. ActionsXXL remembers the last step in theHistory panel that was selected before you started recording or playing an action. Once you click on the Undo icon thisprevious step will be selected again. This is quite handy if you want to start recording an action again from the beginningor if you did not like the effect of the action that you just played.

Finally, the third icon at the right panel edge displays the panel menu as can be seen above. The panel menu containsmany functions which are not available as icons, e.g. loading or saving actions or inserting special action steps. For moreinformation see the Panel Menu section.

2.1.4 The Bottom Icons

The icons at the bottom of the panel window perform the following functions (from left to right): Stop, Play, Record, NewSet, New Action, Insert Conditional and Delete.

Once you started playing or recording an action you can stop it again by clicking the Stop icon. Before you can play anaction you have to select one in the action list. If a set is selected, the first action of that set is played. You can also selecta step if you do not want to play the top most steps of an action. Clicking the Play icon will then run it and the subsequentsteps. As long as the action runs you can stop it with Stop icon (or the Esc key). When it is finished, it will automaticallystop.

To record an action you also have to select an action or step icon before clicking the Record icon. If you want to create atotally new action, you have to click on the New Action icon or choose "New Action" from the panel menu. If you selectedan action with existing steps, a new recorded step will be added as the last step. If you selected a step when clicking theRecord icon, the new recorded step will be added right after the selected step. To stop recording again click the Stop icon.

The New Set icon creates a new set after asking for a name. The New Action icon creates a new action in the currentlyselected set. Clicking the Insert Conditional icon displays a dialog for selecting a condition as well as one or two actionsthat will be played if the condition is met or not met. For more information on conditions see the Panel Menu section.

Finally the Delete icon deletes the currently selected set, action or step(s). If a set, action or multiple steps are selected,you have to confirm the deletion. You can use the Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple steps before you click this icon.

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2.2 Panel Menu

The ActionsXXL panel offers a panel menu, which contains almost all of the available features.

2.2.1 Button Mode

The Button Mode panel menu item makes the action tree list vanish and shows all actions as buttons. You can click oneach button to play the corresponding action.

So Button Mode is a way to execute actions faster, but it does not offer all features of the normal mode. The bottom iconbar is not available, so you cannot record new actions. Additionally most panel menu items will be inactive, so besidesplaying actions you can only open new action files, undo an action and perform batch processing.

To exit this mode again simply choose the Button Mode panel menu item again.

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2.2.2 Floating Window

The menu item "Floating Window" is only available in Photoshop Elements 11 and higher. If you deactivate it, theActionsXXL panel vanishes and ActionsXXL is displayed in the Actions panel of Photoshop Element. It overlays theoriginal UI of the Actions panel, which gets visible again if you choose the menu items "Floating Window" or "Close" fromthe panel menu of ActionsXXL.

Using ActionsXXL from the Actions panel has the advantage that it can be docked and does not cover a part of e.g. thedocument window. The Actions panel can also be made floating, but in such a case it is probably better, to activate theFloating Window mode of ActionsXXL.

2.2.3 New Action

The new Action menu item displays a dialog for creating a new action.

In the Name text box you can enter the name of the new action. The Set combo box shows the currently selected set, butyou can choose to add the new action to any of the other available sets. The Shortcut combo box offers one of 44 keyshortcuts that will trigger the action. See the Key Shortcuts section for more details.

Finally, the Color combo box lets you assign a color to the new action if you want. This color will be used as thebackground color for the button of your new action in Button mode (See the screenshot above!). You can choose betweenseven available colors, but can also decide to assign no color, in which case the button of the action will have a standardgray background.

The Record button create a new action and activates recording at the same time. The OK button only creates a newaction.

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2.2.4 New Set

The New Set menu item displays a simple window for entering the name of the new action set. After clicking OK the newset will be added at the bottom of the action list. You can drag and drop it to any other position you prefer.

2.2.5 Duplicate

The Duplicate menu item creates an exact copy of the currently selected set, action or step.

2.2.6 Delete

The Delete menu item deletes the currently selected set, action or step(s). In the case of a set, action or multiple steps itasks for confirmation. You can use the Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple steps before you trigger this command.

2.2.7 Play

The Play menu item plays the currently selected action. If a step is selected, it starts playing the step and continues withthe next steps until it reaches the end of the action. Click the Stop icon at the bottom of the panel window (or use the Esckey) to stop the playback before the last step of the action is reached.

2.2.8 Record/Stop

This menu item starts action recording. If recording is already enabled, it stops it again. Now you can choose a menuitem, press a key shortcut or click somewhere to trigger a function in Photoshop Elements. After the function wasperformed it will appear as a new item in the action list.

If an action was selected before you triggered a function, the newly recorded step is added as the last step in the action. Ifan existing step of an action was selected, the newly recorded step is added below the selected step. So you can alsorecord additional steps in an action later and decide where you want to have them inserted. Additionally you can selectanother step while recording is active in order to record a new step at another position. However, it is not possible torecord a new step as the first step if the action contains already other steps. You rather have to drag and drop the step tothe first position after recording it.

Please note: Some features of Photoshop Elements are not scriptable, so their settings are not recorded or played back.Additionally some features are unique to Photoshop Elements, so if you try to play an action with them in Photoshop,alternative effects or settings will be applied in Photoshop. These features are: Auto/Adjust SmartFix, Auto Smart Tone,(Auto) Haze Removal, (Auto) Shake Reduction, Adjust Color Curves and Convert to Black and White.

2.2.9 Record Again

The Record Again menu items works just like double clicking the label of an action step. It plays the selected step againand lets you edit its dialog settings. You have to click OK on the dialog, otherwise the step will not be updated with thenew settings. If a certain step has no dialog (e.g. Copy, Delete Layer, Invert), the step is only played and not recordedagain.

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2.2.10 Insert Menu Item

This menu item allows you to record items from the top menu as well as the menus of other panels, which are normallynot recordable, because they do not trigger an image processing functionality. Examples for such menu items are File >Print, Edit > Preferences > General, View > Zoom In, Window > Histogram and Color Swatches panel menu > NewSwatch.

When selecting this menu item, action recording will be activated, in case it is not already enabled. To stop recordingthese special menu items, simply stop recording by clicking the Stop icon or choosing the Record/Stop panel menu item.Then start recording again to only record the standard menu items. So this feature is only active until you stop recording.

2.2.11 Insert Stop

The Insert Stop item of the panel menu lets you enter a message that will be displayed when the action is played. Forentering this message you will see a new dialog with a text box. Enter your message in the text box and activate the AllowContinue check box if you want to give the option to continue action playback after the message was displayed.

When the stop step was added to the action list of the ActionsXXL panel window, it has a dialog icon next to it if youpreviously entered a message in the text box or activated the Allow Continue check box. If you click on the icon and thusdeactivate the dialog icon, it means that the action playback is interrupted without displaying a message.

When the inserted stop with activated dialog icon is played, you will see a message box like the ones above. If youactivated the Allow Continue check box, there will be a Continue button on the message box, which will immediatelycontinue playing the rest of the action steps. Otherwise it is only possible to click the Stop button, which will interrupt theaction playback. This allows the user of the action to perform some manual steps before he clicks on the play icon toresume the playback of the action.

To edit the message again either double click the Stop item in the action list or choose the Record Again panel menuitem.

2.2.12 Insert Conditional

The Insert Conditional menu item lets you add an action step that plays another action depending on a property of thecurrent document. For more details please see the Conditional Feature section.

2.2.13 Insert > Path

The Insert > Path menu item inserts the current path as a step into the action. When playing back this step, the path isrecreated. This feature also works if a shape layer or a layer with a vector mask is selected, but the action step onlyrecreates the path and not the shape layer or vector mask itself. Please use Insert > Shape for shape layers. For a vectormask you additonally have to record Layer > Vector Mask > From Path, which is available if you have ElementsXXL

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installed.

2.2.14 Insert > Shape

The Insert > Shape menu item inserts the current shape layer as two steps into the action. When playing back thesesteps, the shape layer is recreated.

2.2.15 Insert > Action

The Insert > Action menu item adds a new step to the current action, which plays back another action. In the appearingdialog you can select the action that is played.

2.2.16 Insert > Script

The Insert > Script menu item opens a file dialog for selecting a script file with the file extension .jsx. After you selectedsuch a script file, a new action step is added, which run this script.

2.2.17 Insert > Adjustment Layer

The Insert > Adjustment Layer menu item inserts an action step, which recreates the currently selected adjustment layerincluding its settings. This can be useful if you try to record the settings of an adjustment layer, but it does not work out.Photoshop Elements normally informs ActionsXXL about the changed settings in the modeless panel of an adjustmentlayer right before another command is triggered, e.g. a new adjustment layer is created or a filter is applied. However, thisdoes not always work, e.g. if another layer is selected instead. So this menu command is an option to compensate thisproblem of Photoshop Elements.

2.2.18 Action/Set Options

If a set is currently selected, this menu item is named "Set Options" and displays the dialog shown at the "New Set" menuitem above. If an action is currently selected, the menu item is called "Action Options" and displays the dialog shown atthe "New Action" menu item above. So you can edit the set name and the action properties with this menu item.

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Unlike the New Action dialog the Action Options dialog does not let you choose a new set for the current action. But youcan edit the action name, shortcut and the button color.

2.2.19 Playback Options

The Playback Options menu item allows changing the speed at which actions are played back. Here are explanations forthe available options:

Option Explanation

Maximum

This is the default option that plays action 30% faster thanthe Accelerated option and only creates one item with theaction name in the History panel. You do not see in thedocument window which steps the actions performs - youonly see a progress window.

Accelerated

This options plays back actions like the Photoshop ElementsActions panel, but you additionally see a progress window.This option is slower than the Maximum option and it createsa new item in the History panel for each action step. You seethat something is going on in Photoshop Elements, butusually the image is only updated after the action finished.

Step By Step

Unlike the Maximum and Accelerated options this optionupdates the document window after every action step, whichmakes it run actions slower, but at the same time you seewhat the actions steps do.

Pause for x seconds

In case the Step By Step option runs the action too fast foryou to observe what it does, you can use this option. Itmakes a pause of 1, 2 or more seconds after each actionstep.

Stop after every Step

If you want to check out each action step more closely, thisoption interrupts the action playback after each step. Toexecute the next action step, simply click on the play iconagain.

ActionsXXL offers two more options than Photoshop ("Maximum" and "Stop after every Step"). The Step by Step option ofActionsXXL plays actions approximately twice as fast as the same option in Photoshop. For emulating the Step by Stepoption of Photoshop with ActionsXXL, you have to select the Pause option and enter "1" for seconds.

The Action panel of Photoshop Elements 11 and higher does not offer playback options, so it always runs actions with theAccelerated option. So with ActionsXXL's Maximum option you can play actions 30% faster and avoid that the Historypanel is cluttered with new items.

Please note: Although creating a single history item is a big advantage of the Maximum playback option, some actionsteps require other history items in order to work properly. So ActionsXXL temporarily switches the playback mode fromMaximum to Accelerated to make such actions work nevertheless. Thus it is possible that multiple history item are createdin Maximum mode in case it is unavoidable for playing back the action correctly.

The Off option of the Show Progress feature displays no progress window while an action is played. The default Simpleoption shows a progress window with the action name and a progress bar. The Full option displays a progress window

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with the name of each action step plus a progress bar.

2.2.20 Clear All Actions

This menu item deletes all sets and actions from the ActionsXXL panel window after asking for confirmation.

2.2.21 Load Actions

The Load Actions menu item opens a file dialog for opening one or more .atn files. Each file contains one action set. Thenew set of each the file is then displayed in the ActionsXXL panel. You can also open action files by dragging anddropping them on the ActionsXXL window.

ActionsXXL also supports .atn action files that were created by Photoshop. A few special action steps from these file maynot work when played back with ActionsXXL, but ActionsXXL supports more action steps than the Actions panel ofPhotoshop Elements 11 and higher. If you have ElementsXXL installed, more actions steps from Photoshop aresupported.

2.2.22 Load

The Load sub menu allows loading various action files. The Default Actions menu item loads the actions, which aredisplayed by default in the Actions panel of Photoshop Elements. The PS Default Actions menu item loads the defaultactions of Photoshop. As both commands would have the same result in Photoshop Elements 6-10, you only see the firstof both menu items there.

The Photo Effects menu item loads the action that are visible as thumbnails on the Effects tab of the Effects panel ofPhotoshop Elements. Thus you can modify them and use them for batch processing. The Harrys Actions menu itemopens a set of actions, which were installed together with ActionsXXL.

Photoshop offers the "Reset Actions" and "Replace Actions" menu items, which are more or less superfluous. WithActionsXXL you can reset actions by choosing "Clear All Actions" and Load > Default Actions. Replacing actions can bedone with "Clear All Actions" and "Load Actions".

2.2.23 Save Actions

The Save Actions menu item saves the currently selected action set as an .atn file. A file dialog shows up, where youhave to choose the file location and enter the name of the new action file. The .atn file format only allows to save one setof actions and not multiple ones, so a set of actions corresponds to one .atn file. Neither is it possible to save a singleaction to an .atn file. The whole set is always saved.

An .atn file can be later opened again with the Load Actions panel menu item. You can also send the .atn file to otherpeople or offer it for download. The saved .atn file can also be opened and played in Photoshop.

2.2.24 Batch

The Batch menu item shows the Batch dialog, which allows automatically processing multiple images or files with actionsand other functions. For more information see the Batch Processing section.

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2.2.25 Help

This menu item show the manual of ActionsXXL.

2.2.26 Close

This menu item will make the ActionsXXL panel disappear. To make it appear again choose File > Automation Tools >ActionsXXL from the main menu of Photoshop Elements.

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2.3 Conditional Feature

ActionsXXL lets you add an action step that plays another action (before continuing with the current action playback)depending on a property of the current document or layer. This way you can create various actions that deal with differentdocument or layer states.

You can add such a conditional step by clicking on the Conditional icon at the bottom of the panel window or by choosingthe Insert Conditional menu item from the panel menu. Such a condition step works similarly to the if / then / elseconstructs of many programming languages: If a certain condition is met, action 1 is played, otherwise actions 2 is played.However, you can also decide to only play an action if the condition is met or not met.

On the appearing dialog you can choose a condition from the If combo box. In the Then Play combo box you can choosean action from the current set that is played if the condition is true. The Else Play combo box lets you select an actionfrom the current set that is played if the condition is false. You can also choose a None item from one of the two bottomcombo boxes to avoid playing an action if the condition is either true or false. If you choose None for both cases, noconditional step will be added to the action.

For example, in the above screenshot the action "Sepia Toning with Grain" is played if the image has a landscapeorientation, meaning that its width is larger than its height. If the image does not have a landscape orientation, if it issquare or has a portrait orientation, then the action "Sepia Toning" from the current set it played.

You can choose between 24 conditions in the If combo box. They range from properties of the current document toproperties of the current layer. Here is a list of all conditions with an explanation for each of them:

Condition Explanation

Document IsLandscape

This condition is true if the width of the document is largerthan its height. It is not true for portrait and squareproportions.

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Document Is SquareThis condition is true if the height and width of the documentare the same. It is not true for landscape and portrait imageproportions.

Document Is RGBThis condition is true if the document is in RGB mode. For allother image modes it is false.

Document Is CMYKThis condition is always false in Photoshop Elements,because there is no CMYK mode. But this condition was keptfor compatibility with Photoshop.

Document IsGrayscale

This condition is true if the document is in grayscale mode.For all other image modes it is false.

Document Profile IssRGB

This condition is true if the document uses an sRGB profile.For all other profiles it is false.

Document Is 8-bitThis condition is true if the document uses 8 bits per channel.It is false for 16 bits per channel.

Document Is 16-bitThis condition is true if the document uses 16 bits perchannel. It is false for 8 bits per channel.

Document Is 32-bitThis condition is always false in Photoshop Elements,because there is no support for 32 bits per channel. But thiscondition was kept for compatibility with Photoshop.

Document Is Unsaved

If the document was changed since it was last saved, thenthis condition is true. You can see it from the * sign at the endof the document name in the tab sheet button or the title barof the document.

Document HasSelection

This condition is true if there is a selection available. It isfalse if there is no selection.

Document Has LayersThis condition is true if there are layers in the document. It isfalse if there is only a background image.

Document Has AlphaChannels

This condition is true if alpha channels exist. Alpha channelsare usually created with the Select > Save Selectioncommand, but they can also be created by an action or withElementsXXL's Channels panel.

Document Is Open This condition is true if at least one document is open.

Layer Is BackgroundThis condition is true if the currently selected layer is thebackground image.

Layer Is Pixel Layer

This condition is true if the currently selected layer is anormal image layer. The condition is false if the currentlyselected layer is an adjustment layer, text layer, smart object,shape layer or layer group.

Layer Is AdjustmentLayer

This condition is true if the currently selected layer is anadjustment layer. The condition is false if the currentlyselected layer is a pixel layer, text layer, smart object, shapelayer or layer group.

Layer Is Text Layer

This condition is true if the currently selected layer is a textlayer. The condition is false if the currently selected layer is apixel layer, adjustment layer, smart object, shape layer orlayer group.

Layer Is Shape Layer

This condition is true if the currently selected layer is a shapelayer. The condition is false if the currently selected layer is apixel layer, text layer, adjustment layer, smart object or layergroup.

Layer Is Layer Group

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This condition is true if the currently selected layer is a layergroup. The condition is false if the currently selected layer isa pixel layer, text layer, adjustment layer, smart object orshape layer.

Layer Is LockedThis condition is true if the current layer is locked. You cansee if there is a lock icon in the Layers panel.

Layer Is VisibleThis condition is true if the current layer is visible. It is false ifthe layer is invisible or hidden.

Layer Has Pixel MaskThis condition is true if the current layer has a layer maskconsisting of pixels. It is not true if the current layer does nothave a layer mask.

Layer Has VectorMask

This condition is true if the current layer has a vector mask. Itis not true if the current layer does not have a vector mask.

Layer Has EffectsThis condition is true if the current layer has layer effects,also know as styles, applied to it.

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2.4 Batch Processing

ActionsXXL allows you to automatically process multiple images with the help of Photoshop actions as well as many otheroptions.

The Batch dialog can be displayed by clicking the Batch icon at the top of the ActionsXXL panel window, by choosing theBatch menu item from the ActionsXXL panel menu but also by choosing File > Automation Tools > Batch from themain menu of Photoshop Elements.

2.4.1 Main Controls

The Apply button starts batch processing. Before you do that you have to check the various tab sheets to make sure thatthe batch settings of your choice are set. If you changed your mind and do not want to proceed with batch processing,click the Cancel button. To set back all settings to the default, hold down the Alt key and click on the Cancel button,which now turned into a Reset button.

The Save button displays a file dialog for saving the current batch settings to a preset file. Such a batch settings preset(thus the .bsp file extension) can be loaded again at any time later with the Load button to perform another batch processwith the same options. When saving such a preset file, best keep the folder that is displayed by default.

Additionally there are six tab sheets with more than 40 batch processing options, which are discussed now.

2.4.2 Source

The Source tab sheet lets you define which images will be processed. If you want to process all images that are currentlyopen, choose the Open Images option. To process the selected layers of the current document separately, choose theSelected Layers of Current Document option.

To process specific image files, you can select them in Windows Explorer or any other application and drop them onto theBatch dialog. The Drag'n'Dropped Images option will then be automatically selected. If you keep the mouse cursor overthis option for a second, you will see the dropped file names as a tool tip. The dropped files do not have to be from thesame folder, they can be from different folders. Each time you drop new files onto the Batch dialog, the old files will beremoved, so you cannot accumulate files by multiple drag & drop. The last dropped files are still remembered whenreturning to the Batch dialog after exiting it, but they will be gone when you restart Photoshop Elements.

Finally, you can also decide to process the image files of a certain folder. To do that click the Select Folder button andchoose the folder in the displayed dialog. If you additionally activate the Include All Subfolders check box, even imagefiles from the sub folder of this folder will be processed.

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The Override Action 'Open' Commands check box passes the responsibility for opening an image to an action. Thismeans that you have to record an Open step in an action and activate this action on the Process tab sheet (see below),so that the action opens the images during batch processing. ActionsXXL automatically overrides the file path that isrecorded in the Open step with the open path of the currently processed file. By activating this check box the Open inCamera Raw option of the Process tab sheet is automatically disabled, because both features are mutually exclusive.The main purpose of this feature is to use special opening options, e.g. Camera Raw settings, for opening all imagesduring batch processing.

The images are automatically closed (except the "None" option is selected on the Destination tab sheet), after they wereprocessed and saved. If you want to continue to manually edit the processed files, you can avoid this with the Do NotClose Opened Images check box. This makes sense if the "Open Images" or "Selected Layers ..." option is activated.However, if a lot of new image files are opened during batch processing and this option keeps them from beingautomatically closed, then it can happen that the memory is filled and Photoshop Elements continues to work very slowly.This also slows down the batch processing unnecessarily.

2.4.3 Destination

The Destination tab sheet allows you to define if the processed images will be saved and if so in which location. If youselected the None option, then each image processed image is opened in Photoshop Elements (if it is not already open)but not saved and closed. So you either have to do that manually yourself or later use the Batch dialog again to save andclose these open images. The None option is best used for applying an action to all open documents or layers of onedocument by activating one of the two first options on the Source tab sheet (Open images, Selected Layers). If you usethe third or forth option on the Source tab sheet (Drag'n'Dropped Files, Select Folder), make sure that you do not open toomany images this way, otherwise Photoshop Elements may become very slow.

The following three options automatically close a processed images after saving it. So only one image is opened andprocessed at a time in Photoshop Elements. The Save in same location option saves the processed images in the samefolder, which means that they will be overwritten unless you choose another file format and name on the next two tabsheets. The Save in sub folder option lets you enter the name of a sub folder in the text box next to it. As a result theprocessed images will be saved in a sub folder with that name in the original location of the image files. Both options willnot work if you process an open image that was created with File > New Image and not saved yet, because it does nothave a file location where it can be saved.

The Select Folder option lets you select another folder for saving the processed images. Click on the Select Folderbutton to choose one. You can activate the Keep Folder Structure check box to make sure that the sub folders of thesource files are replicated in the destination folder. This is the case if you chose Select Folder and activated the IncludeSubfolders check box on the Source tab sheet provided that there are image files in the sub folders of the source folder.However, the Keep Folder Structure option does not work for dragged and dropped source files, even if they are fromdifferent folders. These files are always saved in the main destination folder.

The Override Action 'Save As' Commands check box passes the responsibility for saving images to an action. Thismeans that you have to record an Save As step in an action and activate this action on the Process tab sheet (see below),so that the action saves the images during batch processing. ActionsXXL automatically overrides the file path that isrecorded in the Save As step with the save path of the currently processed file. By activating this check box the options onthe Format and Auto tab sheets as well as the Play Script feature are automatically disabled, because these features aremutually exclusive. So you have to emulate these disabled features in the action itself in case you need them. The mainpurpose of this feature is to use special saving options during batch processing. It also allows saving the each image asdifferent file formats by recording multiple Save As steps in the action.

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2.4.4 Format

The Format tab sheet lets you keep the file format or use another one for saving the files. The File Type combo box offersa Keep File Type option, which does not change the file format of the processed files. The other options let you chooseone of the following file types: GIF, JPEG, PNG-8, PNG, PSD and TIFF. The GIF and PNG-8 formats only support 256colors, JPEG only supports 16 million colors, which are 8 bits per channel. PNG, PSD and TIFF also support 16bits perchannel. All of these formats support transparency except JPEG.

The Quality controls can be used to set the JPEG quality from 0 to 12. Zero means very low and 12 means very high.Using values between 9 and 11 should be fine. The Maximize Compatibility check box lets you embed a flattenedversion of all layers inside a PSD file. This makes the PSD file much larger, but allows viewing it with other programs. TheLZW Compression option makes TIFF files smaller, but it takes a bit longer to save and open them.

The Convert to sRGB checkbox converts images with other color spaces to sRGB. You should activate it if you want toupload the processed images on the web. The Convert to 8 Bits per Channel option reduces images with 16Bits/channel to 8 Bits, which is recommended if you do not want to edit the images further.

The Resize to Fit controls allow you to reduce the size of the processed images. This is quite useful if you want to sendthe images via email, upload smaller sized versions on the web or create thumbnail versions of the images. To do thatyou have to activate the check box and enter a width and height figure in pixels. This feature fits all processed images intoa rectangle of the entered width and height.

For example, if you process images with landscape as well as portrait orientation and want both types to be equally large,you have to enter the same values for width and height, e.g. 1000 x 1000 px. If you want to place the processed images ina document or web page and only have room for e.g. 800 x 600 pixels, you should be aware that landscape orientatedimages with a 3:2 proportion will be resized to 800 x 533 whereas portrait orientated images will resized to 400 x 600pixels. So the portrait orientated image will be much smaller, because it has to be fitted into the height of 600 pixels. If youprocess square images with the same width and height, they will be resized to the smaller of the two entered values. So inthe 800 x 600 case they would be resized to 600 x 600 pixels.

2.4.5 Name

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The Name tab sheet lets you rename the saved files with the help of a naming pattern consisting of up to six parts. At thetop of the tab sheet you can see how the composed file name will look like for the first image and an example file called"MyFile.bmp".

By default the item "Document Name" is set in the first combo box and the item "extension" is selected in the second one.This means that the file name is composed of the existing document name and file extension. As a result the documentwill keep its filename.

For each of the six combo boxes you can choose one of 17 items or enter your own text. If you enter own text, it will beused literally without changes, unless the text consists of characters that are not allowed in a file name. These illegalcharacters will be replaced with an _ underscore character.

The 19 combo box items are automatically replaced with the appropriate text as explained here:

Option Explanation

Document NameOutputs the unchanged file name without extension. If the filename is "Image_2134.jpg", this item will output"Image_2134".

document nameOutputs a lowercase version of the file name withoutextension. If the file name is "Image_2134.jpg", this item willoutput "image_2134".

DOCUMENT NAMEOutputs an uppercase version of the file name withoutextension. If the file name is "Image_2134.jpg", this item willoutput "IMAGE_2134".

1 Digit Serial Number

Outputs a minimum of one digit number starting with thenumber in the Starting Serial text box. For the first processedimage it outputs "1", for the second it outputs "2" and so on.After 10 images a two digits number will be output.

2 Digit Serial Number

Outputs a minimum of two digit number starting with thenumber in the Starting Serial text box. For the first processedimage it outputs "01", for the second it outputs "02" and soon. After 100 images a three digit number will be output.

3 Digit Serial Number

Outputs a minimum of three digit number starting with thenumber in the Starting Serial text box. For the first processedimage it outputs "001", for the second it outputs "002" and soon. After 1000 images a four digit number will be output.

4 Digit Serial Number

Outputs a minimum of four digit number starting with thenumber in the Starting Serial text box. For the first processedimage it outputs "0001", for the second it outputs "0002" andso on. After 10000 images a five digit number will be output.

Serial Letter (a, b, c...)

Outputs a lower case letter starting with a. For the firstprocessed image it outputs "a", for the second it outputs "b"and so on. After 26 images two letters are output: "aa", "ab","ac" and so on.

Serial Letter (A, B, C...)

Outputs a upper case letter starting with A. For the firstprocessed image it outputs "A", for the second it outputs "B"and so on. After 26 images two letters are output: "AA", "AB","AC" and so on.

mmddyy (date)Outputs the current date in the specified format. If today wasFebruary 8, 2016, it would output "020816".

mmdd (date)Outputs the current date in the specified format. If today wasFebruary 6, 2016, it would output "0208".

yyyymmdd (date)Outputs the current date in the specified format. If today wasFebruary 8, 2016, it would output "20160208".

yymmdd (date)

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Outputs the current date in the specified format. If today wasFebruary 8, 2016, it would output "160208".

yyddmm (date)Outputs the current date in the specified format. If today wasFebruary 8, 2016, it would output "160802".

ddmmyy (date)Outputs the current date in the specified format. If today wasFebruary 8, 2016, it would output "080216".

ddmm (date)Outputs the current date in the specified format. If today wasFebruary 8, 2016, it would output "0802".

extension

Outputs the file extension in lower case. The file extensionalso depends on the File Type setting on the Format tabsheet. If the file name is "Image_2134.jpg", this item willoutput ".jpg".

EXTENSION

Outputs the file extension in upper case. The file extensionalso depends on the File Type setting on the Format tabsheet. If the file name is "Image_2134.jpg", this item willoutput ".JPG".

None This item outputs nothing.

2.4.6 Process

The Process tab sheet lets you apply up to three actions and one script to the processed images. Additionally you can editfiles via Camera Raw.

The Open in Camera Raw feature is only available if "Drag'n'Dropped Images" or a folder was selected on the Sourcetab sheet. In this case you can decide that no file is displayed in Camera Raw by choosing "None" in the combo box. Theoption "First raw file & reapply settings" opens the first raw file in Camera Raw and uses the chosen settings automaticallyfor all raw files. If you do not want to apply the white balance settings of the first raw file to all raw files, activate the WhiteBalance As Shot checkbox. This is recommended if the photos were not take at the same time and place. On the otherhand if you want to achieve a color effect, then deactivate this checkbox. The options "Each raw file" opens each raw filein Camera Raw, thus allowing an individual adjustment for each raw file. The remaining two options work similar exceptthat JPEG, PNG, PSD and TIFF file are opened in Camera Raw in addition to raw files.

To apply an action activate the appropriate check box, then choose the action set from the first combo box, then choosethe actions from the second combo box. You can choose all actions that are available in the actions list of the ActionsXXLpanel.

If the Stop for errors check box is deactivated, ActionsXXL displays no error message if an action step causes aproblem and continues the batch process. However, in rare cases Photoshop Elements may displays an error message.In such a case simply click OK to continue the batch process. If the Stop for error check box is activated, you will see anerror message if an action step causes a problem. If you click Continue, the batch processing will resume. If you clickStop, the batch processing will stop.

You could run a script by including it in one of the actions with the Insert Script panel menu item, but for your convenienceyou can choose a script file here too. Click on the Select Script button and select a script file in the appearing file dialog.

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The Run Script check box is then automatically activated.

2.4.7 Auto

The Auto tab sheet contains eight check boxes for applying automatic image enhancement features. You can find themon the Enhance menu of Photoshop Elements. The Auto Dehaze and Auto Shake Reduction check boxes are onlyusable in Photoshop Elements 14 and higher. These enhancements are applied at the end after the three actions and thescript were executed.

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2.5 Key Shortcuts

ActionsXXL lets you define up to 44 key shortcuts. These key shortcuts are a combination of the F2 to F12 key and theAlt, Shift and Ctrl keys. A key shortcut can be assigned to one of 44 actions. When pressing one of these keycombinations the appropriate action will be played. This allows you to apply a bunch of often needed image processingsteps quickly and easily.

Please note: Photoshop offers F2 to F12 key shortcuts for actions, but as Photoshop Elements already has most of theseshortcuts in use for other commands, ActionsXXL uses the Alt+F2 to Alt+F12 instead of the F2 to F12 shortcuts.

If you load an action file that you downloaded from the web, it can be that it already contains actions that have a keyshortcut assigned to them. So if two actions have the same key shortcut, the action that is located nearer to the top of theaction list will be played.

You can define a key shortcut for an action on the New Action dialog when you create a new action. A similar dialogshows up when you double click at the right hand-side of an action name in the action list or when you choose the ActionOptions panel menu item.

Clicking the Shortcut combo box displays a list of all available shortcuts. Choose one and click the OK button to assign itto the action.

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