Editing Existing Actions Step by Step

[lhd33]

Hi everyone, I need your expertise on something.
I followed a tutorial by Corey Barker (http://www.planetphotoshop.com/stylized-comic-book-effect-tut.html) a few weeks ago and it worked wonderfully because every time I played the action it stopped at every step so I could customize the outcome of each then it would automatically proceed to the next step in the action on its own and again ask me how I want to treat it (awesome!). However, things have changed.

I recently lost all the data on my computer and I tried to redo the action, but now when I play the action it will just zip through the whole action. It won't stop on it's own to let me edit then proceed to the next step like it did before.

Please Help!

[66stang66]

At every point in the action where you want to stop and edit something manually, you need to add a Stop point.

Step one. Open the actions pallet and open your action by clicking on the arrow next to the action name.
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/3599/act2.jpg

Now find the step in which you want to insert a stop AFTER and click on it so that it is selected.
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/5448/act3.jpg

Click on the little arrow at the top of the action pallet.
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/4493/act4.jpg

Another menu will open. Select "Insert Stop" from the menu. A box will open where you can insert a message (usually instructions) to the user. At the bottom, there is a box for "Allow Continue". By checking that box, you can allow the user to stop the action to make changes or click continue without making changes. If it is a step that is vital to the action working, don't allow a continue.

Hope it helps,
Dave

[lhd33]

Thank you 66stang66, I appreciate your hard work on your response.
What I was asking for may have been not communicated correctly. An error on my part.

This is what I was going for.
1) I play the action
2) The first step would come up with its own dialog box (ex: levels, I would adjust it and press okay).
3) Then, automatically the next step would popup on my screen I would just move some sliders and press okay and it would automatically go to the next step in the action
(this would repeat maybe 10 times without me ever adding a stop action.

Do you see the difference?
(with the stop action, it just stops, there's no prompt to do anything, the recorded step doesn't pop up on my screen asking me to adjust/select something.

[66stang66]

OK. Got ya! Look in the last pic I posted above. Right next to the action name (for example, Sepia Toning) there is an empty box between the check box and the name. Click there to make the action do what you are asking for every step in the action. Or you can just click that on certain steps in the action that you know you'll want to adjust manually.

Hope it helps,
Dave

[lhd33]

That was it!!!!
Thanks so much 66stang66, this will make life much easier!