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Recording and Applying Adjustments with ACDSee Actions

ACDSee Actions allow you to record all of your Edit mode adjustments and then apply them to other images by "playing" them back. You can use this method to batch edit multiple photos with any adjustment available in Edit mode.

You can also apply pre-loaded default actions for quick adjustments. Actions can be organized into existing categories, or you can create your own. You can delete categories, as desired.

For quick access in Edit mode, you can use the Record, Stop, and Play buttons at the top of the Tools panel. Or you can use the Toggle Actions Browser button to open the ACDSee Actions window. You can also tear off this ACDSee Actions bar and move it anywhere on your screen(s).

To Record Your Adjustments:

  1. In Edit mode, on the right side of the Toolbar, press the Record button. The Recording Action pane will appear and list your adjustment steps as you make them.
  2. Make any adjustments you desire in Edit mode.
  3. Press the Stop button in the Toolbar to stop the recording at any time. If you pressed the Stop button by accident, press Cancel to continue recording.
  4. In the Save Action dialog box, enter a name for your recording.
  5. Select a category for your action from the drop-down menu, or enter a name to create a new category.
  6. Press Save. Your recording will now be available in the Actions Browser under the category you chose (or created).

To Preview a Recording:

  1. In Manage mode, do one of the following:

    2. In View mode, do one of the following:

    In Edit mode, do one of the following:

  2. In the Actions Browser, choose a category from the drop-down menu.
  3. Select the thumbnail of the recording you wish to preview from the left column of the Actions Browser.
  4. Do one of the following:

    5. Preview Image

    Preview Steps

To Delete a Recording:

Note that you cannot undo deleting a recording. Your deleted recording will not appear in your system's Recycle bin.

  1. Select the recording in the left column of the Actions Browser.
  2. Do one of the following:

To Rename a Recording:

  1. Select the recording in the left column of the Actions Browser.
  2. Do one of the following:
  3. Enter a new name in the Name field.
  4. Press OK.

To Move a Recording to a New Category:

  1. Select the recording in the left column of the Actions Browser.
  2. Do one of the following:
  3. In the Move to Category dialog, select a category from the drop-down menu.
  4. Press OK.

Managing Recording Categories

You can add and delete recording categories.

To Add a Category:

  1. In the Actions Browser, click the Add a New Category button.
  2. In the Add a new Category dialog, enter a name for your new category.
  3. Press OK.

To Delete a Category:

In the Actions Browser, click the Delete Category button. All actions from this category will be moved to Uncategorized.

Applying Recordings

You can apply your recordings to other images, allowing you to batch edit using any Edit mode adjustments you have recorded. You can also apply any of the pre-loaded default actions, which are organized into categories in the Actions Browser.

When applied to images that are a different size than the one used in the recording, actions that involve drawings or geometry will be scaled to the target image proportionally using a percentage of the width and height independently. However, crop size is absolute, (based on the number of pixels). Crop position is relative, also based on the number of pixels.

For best results with tools from the Geometry group, apply your recordings to similarly sized images.

To Apply a Recording:

Recordings are applied in the same order they were recorded in.

In Manage Mode

  1. Select the image(s) in the File List pane.
  2. Do one of the following:

In View Mode

Do one of the following:

In Edit Mode

  1. Open your image in Edit mode.
  2. Do one of the following:

To Set the Output Options for a Recording:

You can configure the options that will determine how files are outputted when recordings are applied to them. Each output option you configure is specific to the selected (right-clicked) recording. Output options only affect recordings that are applied to images in modes other than Edit mode.

Configured output options will not travel with shared recordings.

  1. Select the recording in the left column in the Actions Browser.
  2. Do one of the following:
  3. Configure the options as described below.
  4. Press OK.

Output Options

Action Results

Overwrite the selected file, create copy in case of non-encodable files

When a recording is applied, the file is overwritten with the edited version. If the file cannot be overwritten, such as in the case of a RAW file, a copy will be saved.

Rename modified images and place in source folder

Select this option if you want to save the edited images with a new name, in the same folder as the original images.

Place the modified images in the following folder

Select this option if you want to save the edited images to a specific folder. Browse to the folder.

Overwrite existing

Use this option to determine what ACDSee should do if the destination folder contains an image with the same file name as one of the edited images:

  • Ask: Prompts you to choose different options (skip, rename, overwrite) depending on the image.
  • Skip: Skips processing that image, and begins processing the next image.
  • Replace: Replaces the image in the destination folder with the edited image.
  • Rename: Renames the edited file.

Preserve last-modified dates

Select this option if the original image has a last-modified date, and you want the edited image to have the same last-modified date.

Preserve metadata

Select this option if the original image contains metadata, and you want the edited image to contain the same metadata and color profile.

Preserve database information

Select this option if you want to preserve ACDSee Metadata from the original image.

File Output

File format

Select the file format in which you would like to save the outputted images.

Pixel format

Use this option to determine number of bits per pixel (BPP) in the output images, and whether the images will be color or grayscale. Select Automatic if you want the output images to have the same pixel format (or the closest possible match) as the original images. You can use this option to convert the images from color to grayscale, or to convert the images to a pixel format that is compatible with other software or processes.

Color space

Select the color space checkbox to choose a color space option from the drop-down list.

 

To Share a Recording:

  1. Navigate to C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Local\ACD Systems\Actions\
  2. Select and copy your desired recording.
  3. Share the .acda file using the method of your choice. For example, you can attach it to an email.

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