Resize It! Part 2 – Using an Action in a Batch Process

In the Part 1 of Using Photoshop Actions, we set up an Action to resize our images and add a stroke just inside the perimeter of an image. Below is an example of applying that action to an image:

Image with Action Applied

In this second part, we will apply this action in a batch process. The end result will be an entire folder of images are resized with a stroke just inside the perimeter of each image.

To get started, inside Photoshop, select the Action that will be used in the batch process. This step is optional, as the desired action can be selected in the Batch panel, but by selecting it beforehand, it becomes the default action in the Batch panel. In the Actions Panel, we’ll select the action we set up last time called resizeIt.

Select resizeIt Action

Let’s do some preliminary work before we start the batch process. All the images we want to resize should be within a folder. I called the folder images. Let’s also set up a new folder, called resizedImages, where the completed images will be stored.

Set Up Folders

To start the batch processing, select File > Automate > Batch.

Select Batch

This opens the Batch dialog box. There are several settings in this window that need to be addressed.

First, verify that the Action is the desired Action in the Play section at the top of this dialog box. Since we highlighted the Action beforehand, the resizeIt action is already the selected Action.

Next, select the folder of images you want to apply this action to.

Choose Source Folder

Next, select the Destination folder. Change the Destination parameter to Folder and select the desired folder. In this example, we select the resizedImages folder.

Choose Destination Folder

Notice we can also set up the desired file naming convention. We will stick with the defaults in this tutorial. (document name.extension)

Now that the parameters are set, click OK in the top right corner of the dialog box to begin the batch process. As the batch process runs, the image files will be opened, processed, then closed inside Photoshop. When the Photoshop desktop becomes quiet (no more opening/closing image files), the batch process is complete.

Let’s check our resizedImages folder to see if we were successful:

Destination Folder with Completed Images

It looks as if all the images are inside the folder. Let’s click on one of the images to preview it:

Completed Image

It has, in fact, been batch processed!

With just a few clicks of the mouse, we successfully applied the resizeIt action to an entire folder of images. Next time you have a process that needs to be performed on a myriad of images, consider recording an Action, then using the Action within a Batch Process. It will save you a lot of time! And, it takes what can be very monotonous and tedious steps and makes it almost fun!