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Known Participant
Mar 27, 2026 5:35 PM UTC
Answered

Can a Photoshop action work on many images?

I have a list of 150-200 images that need Maximize Compatibility.  Can I create an action that will take a list of image files and act on them?  I’d prefer not to do this manually.

Or is there a better way?

    ExUSACorrect answer
    Legend
    Mar 27, 2026 6:14 PM UTC

    Yes that’s the whole idea of batching. File->Automate->Batch will run an action on multiple files, you can also run a batch from Bridge.

    4 replies

    Trevor.Dennis
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    Mar 28, 2026 7:30 AM UTC

    You can also run an Action from within File > Scripts > Image Processor

     

    BTW Having Maximise backward compatability set to Always is a good idea. There are several functions that refuse to work otherwise, and they don’t tell you why they are not working.

    If you are placing something in your batched images, have Rulers set to Percent.  This gives you a fighting chance of sensible positioning with different sized images.

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    Nancy OShea
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    Mar 27, 2026 11:44 PM UTC

    Before you start, go to Preferences and set File Handling to Maximize Compatibility “Always.”

    Now when you open and save an older image, it is applied. 

     

    Run File > Automate > Batch > and process from a folder of images. 

    Post back if you need more help.

     

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    Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
    ExUSACorrect answer
    Legend
    Mar 27, 2026 6:14 PM UTC

    Yes that’s the whole idea of batching. File->Automate->Batch will run an action on multiple files, you can also run a batch from Bridge.

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    jane-e
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    Mar 27, 2026 7:55 PM UTC

    ​@TomHackettPhotography 

     

    Details for Batch Processing are in this help file:

    https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/desktop/automate-tasks/process-a-batch-of-files/batch-process-files.html

     

    Jane

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