Adobe PHOTOSHOP 5.0 User Manual page 358

350 CHAPTER 16
Automating Tasks
An inserted command is not executed until the
action is played. No values for the command are
recorded in the action, so the file remains
unchanged when the command is inserted. If the
command has a dialog box, the dialog box appears
during playback, and the action pauses until you
click OK or Cancel. You can insert a command
when recording an action or after it has been
recorded.
Because you can assign a Ctrl key (Windows) or
Command key (Mac OS), Function key, or Shift
key combination to an action, the insert feature
can re-create the functionality found in the
Commands palette, which existed in earlier
versions of Photoshop.
To insert a menu item in an action:
1 Choose where to insert the menu item:
Select an action's name to insert the item at the
•
end of the action.
Select a command to insert the item at the end of
•
the command.
Choose Insert Menu Item from the Actions
2
palette menu.
Do one of the following:
3
Choose a command from its menu.
•
Enter a command in the Insert Menu Item
•
dialog box, and click OK. If you don't know the full
name of the command, enter part of it and click
Find, then click OK.
To insert the Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, or Clear
•
command, enter its name. Choosing any of these
commands from the menu applies the command
to the action.
4 Click OK.
Inserting stops
You may want to include a stop in your action so
that you can perform a task that cannot be
recorded (for example, using a painting tool).
Once you've made the selection, you can then
continue by clicking the Play button in the Actions
palette.
You can also display a short message when the
action reaches the stop. For example, you can
remind yourself what you need to do before
continuing with the action. A Continue button
can be included in the message box. This way you
can check for a certain condition in the file (for
example, a selection) and continue if nothing
needs to be done. You can insert a stop when
recording an action or after it has been recorded.
To insert a stop:
Choose where to insert the stop:
1
Select an action's name to insert the stop at the
•
end of the action.
Select a command to insert the stop after the
•
command.
2 Choose Insert Stop from the Actions
palette menu.
3 Type the message you want to appear.