When you talk about scripting and/or programming, the average person looks at you with the “deer in the headlights” look. Unless you are a programmer yourself, there is something about this topic that makes most computer users cringe and recoil in horror.

These are people who are  very happy to use their Mac or Windows PC as-is to get things done. Even though I’m not a programmer myself, I’ve had enough experience to realize that there are MANY tasks that people do that can be either enhanced, done quicker or done more efficiently through the use of automated scripts.

Years ago, I took a couple of classes in BASIC programming. As long as the programs were short and sweet, I was able to follow along and understand the logic. But once more bells and whistles were added, I found myself falling further and further behind. After a certain point of complexity, I was not enjoying it at all. I did find it interesting in that someone who knows what they are doing can get a computer to do some amazing things. But it just wasn’t for me.

I might call myself a tech geek, but a programming geek I am not.

Fast forward to my current career in the graphics world. Surprisingly, I find myself using certain aspects of programming in my daily routine – and it’s very helpful. For example, in Photoshop, I am frequently repurposing images originally made to be used in a printed catalog for use on web sites. It’s not unheard of to convert hundreds of files at a time.

To change them in Photoshop, there are a series of steps that need to be done – from changing the color mode, to changing resolution, to changing the dimensions, to even changing the file format. After repeating the same steps over and over, it quickly becomes tedious. If you need to do this dozens or hundreds of times, you’re going to be very unhappy in a hurry. A project like this can take HOURS!

But for Photoshop experts, there is an elegant solution – Action Scripts. Technically, this IS programming, but it is so straightforward that just about everyone can benefit from using them. An Action script is – in its simplest form – a recording of a series of commands and steps that you perform within Photoshop. Very much like a “macro”. To set one up, click the script record button in the Action Script Palette, process a single file using the steps you normally would follow, and hit the stop button. This records the action and saves it for future use.

Then, to process a whole folder full of images the same way, run the Batch command and apply the script you just generated for the processing. If all goes well, the entire folder will get processed for you – just sit back and relax while Photoshop does all the work.

The time savings are increased, the more images you have that need to be processed. Overall, it can shave massive minutes off a project. OK, it doesn’t always work perfectly, and sometimes you need to troubleshoot the script, but it is still very worthwhile.

I highly recommend that Photoshop users take the time to explore the built-in scripts that come with the program. Test them. See how they function and why. Then start making your own. Even those leery of “programming” will soon wonder how they ever did things before Action Scripts.

Here are some popular scripts shown on the Adobe Photoshop Actions site