Topic awaiting preservation: Help with tranforming a selection with an Action

I've finally decided to attempt to write some photoshop actions to help me save some time in my repetative work.

I'm trying to create an action that pastes the image in the clipboard, then move it to a specific point (useing the top left point in the pasted image as reference) then resizing the image to a specific width and height.

The problem i'm having is, photoshop keeps defaultin the reference point to center (even tho I change it to the top left cornere when recording the action) and it also keeps defaulting to changing the image by a percentage ratehr then to the speicifc width and height i want.

Can anyone help me out?

Huh? When you record an action photoshop copies exactly what you do on the canvas. Now you've said here:

quote:

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progrock said:

I'm trying to create an action that pastes the image in the clipboard, then move it to a specific point (useing the top left point in the pasted image as reference) then resizing the image to a specific width and height.

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Ok I've copied from clipboard then position... using the top left point of the pasted image! What do you mean by that? Of course Photoshop will use center as the reference point. PS picks and moves objects using the center not the sides like we do in normal life. When we make something in photoshop we have the ability to move a layer from any point on that layer we select BUT PS thinks we are holding it from the center no matter where we grab that layer from. You are going to have to create some other reference point to accomplish what you want.

As for the resizing I have no idea! I don't use actions, prefer to redo everything by hand keeps the gears turning! Someone else'll have help you out there...

It's been a while since I worked with actions, but, I think that once you have recorded the action, you can hi-lite an individual step and edit the parameters used in that step. Try that for the problem with PhotoShop changing the sizes to per-cents.

As far as creating the selection, I just ended up making sure that what I wanted to select was on a separate layer and made the selection large enough to select what I wanted. Sorry, but, that probably doesn't help in your situation.

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-- not necessarily stoned... just beautiful.

I had absolutely no problem with the psting and selecting.

And even tho photoshop may default to using the center as a reference point, i refuse to believe that you can't change that within an action (would make no sense at all...)

hyperbole: as for editing specific sttribute.. i dont know why, but photshop doesnt want to let me do that after makign the action.... maybe its something simple Im doing wrong, but i dont know.

What are you trying to do, in detail! I'll try it out and see what the problem is.

When you are transforming a selection, there is 9 handles ( 1 in each corner, 1 at the middle of each edge and 1 invisible in the middle ) and the reference point. You can drag the reference point anywhere. If you drag it without holding Ctrl ( or IIRC the Command key on Mac ) the handles will be "magnetic" and the reference point will stick to them if you drag it too near.

poi.. yeah.. i know, thats exactly what I did. Which woks fine, except that when i go to use the action, it goes back to the center reference... so I have no idea.

Haven`t tried this , but maybe if you set Guides where you want the corner of your image to be, then snap the image to them when you set your action up, it may remember that.

Just a thought.




< edit> Stupid fingers</edit>

(Edited by docilebob on 08-13-2005 22:55)

progrock: I meant that you should record the repositionning of the reference point in your Action. Because the reference point of selection is always at the center by default. Try by yourself to move the reference point of a selection, transform it, then retransform it ... bam! the reference point is back in at the center.

I just tried to record an Action in which I changed the reference point of a selection and transformed it. It worked like a charm when I moved the reference point on any of the 9 handles. When I moved it on an arbitrary position, it seems that PS7 recorded its absolute position so when I moved my layer and replayed the Action, the result was not the same as what I got when I recorded the Action.

Hope that helps,

poi, for some reason it wont record the repositioning of the reference point... how are you changing the reference point? (I'm going to edit>free transform or edit>scale then either dragging the middle poing to the top left corner, or clicking the top left point in the options pallet.... but it never records right)

I pressed Ctrl+T, then I dragged the reference point.
But ,here comes a dull action that selects the layer transparency, begin Transformation, move the reference point in the top left corner, rotate it by 18°, then cancel the selection.

download the .atn file

Poi, first off, thanks for all the help.

After some thought (its the end of summer... my brain has not been used for a while.... it took a little while to restart it), I realized one of the things i was doing wrong... I was moving the selection, then scaling. That obviously can't work correctly sicne I'm using different sized images which are being resized to a specific size.


Also, my problem with the free transform was that it refused to let me chaneg the width and height to a speciifc number of pixels (always defaulted back to percent... whichdoesn't work with what I've been trying).

Luckily... after these realizations (and me starting to think like a computer programmer)... I think i've come up with the solution.... and for those (probably noone) that might be interested.. I'll try to explain what I did.


First thing I did was create a new image (for 'scrap'), using the clipboard preset.
I then pasted my clipboard, and then resized the image to the speicific size I wanted (lcukily this allows me to choose pixels, instead of ONLY percentages)
I then selected all, copied, and closed the image.
I then went to the canvas that I intend on using, pasted, then did a free transform (selecting the top left reference point, then moving the image to my desired location)
then deselected everything.


Thats the best way I could find to do what I want... if you can get the tarnsformign to work without creating a scrap image.. i'd be interested in how... but other than that, I think everythign works (tho i have yet to do any real work with this action yet)