P: Export As does not support Actions or scripting

Report · Jun 18, 2015

There is no way to record an action so that I can automate Export As dialogue box. What I want to do is to record an action which will save one image in three formats via the Export As dialogue box and the action should remember the settings i input for each dimension. Previously Save for Web did this, but now you are calling it legacy so i expect Export As to be accessible same way via actions as Save for Web was. Thank you.

Report · May 25, 2016

Has anyone from Adobe admitted this is simply a bug? It's clearly a bug/ accidental omission.

The last Save for Web dialog supports actions, so its replacement obviously should. Probably just overlooked this in development of the new feature.

3rd party solutions like Image Processor may make for an effective band-aid, but clearly shouldn't be relied upon for so simple a task in the long term. I don't believe it's terribly constructive to our goals of getting this feature re-implemented in photoshop to support 3rd party band-aids either.

Report · May 25, 2016

It was an intentional omission by the team that developed the Export As feature. They're investigating supporting actions with Export As in the future. I've marked the topic as "In Progress."

Report · May 25, 2016

Image Processor is built into Ps itself, but the Pro version is a separate download since it's considered a non-necessary extension (i assume).

Report · May 26, 2016

Totally agree. I've already posted about this issue, but those suggesting that we use Image Processor or Image Processor Pro are missing the point.

I was really excited by the new 'Export as...' function because it addressed the fact that web designers/developers now need to save the same photo at different sizes and resolutions, so that they work well on different screens and devices.

But in doing so they left out the ability to process more than one image with those size parameters – which is exactly what web designers need as they are often creating a number of images. (That ability was there in the previous version...)

What's worse is that the parameters are lost when you move on to the next image. So that even if you do this manually you have to input the sizes and resolutions that you need for every new image that you need to save...

As far as I can see, Image Processor only allows you save one size/resolution at a time, so it doesn't provide the same functionality as the new 'Export as...' function.

And when I try to install Image Processor Pro, as Joby above, I get the error 'This extension can not be installed, it requires Photoshop version 12 or greater.' Which is version CS5... And I obviously have CC2015...

At least Adobe are 'investigating supporting actions... in the future', but it hugely frustrating. Since the move to CC it seems like Adobe are just chucking stuff out randomly, but without really thinking about it, and chucking out stuff that is half-baked.

Report · Aug 31, 2016

Hello,
I would like to use the new Export As workflows in a Javascript script but I don't find the javascript objects that I could use.

I would like to script the following actions:
- click on export > export As
- select PNG format
- select "Transparency"
- select "Smaller File (8 bit)
- set image size
- set canvas size
- select "no metadata"
- finally validate with "export all"

I prefer to use "Export as" over "save For Web" because it generates much smaller images and it allows me to set the canvas size which I cannot do with "Save for Web". "Export As" is also much faster than "Save for Web"

I've read the Photoshop CC 2015 Scripting Reference but didn't see anything about it.

The only export types for the exportDocument method seem to be ILLUSTRATORPATHS and SAVEFORWEB.

Do you know how I can achieve that ?

Thank you

Report · Oct 03, 2016

It would be very helpful to be able to use the "Export As" feature in actions, similar to how you can use the "Save For Web (Legacy)" feature in actions.

I often create an action to Save For Web (Legacy) with specific export settings (size, quality, etc.), and then I run an Automate > Batch with that action on a large folder of images that I need to process with specific settings. I would really like to utilize the new "Export As" feature with it's multiple size export features, but because it doesn't work with actions, I rarely have the opportunity to use it in my daily workflow.

Report · Nov 14, 2016

Any updates on this one Adobe?

Report · Dec 06, 2016

Any updates on this? It's a completely essential feature. Updates go by and still nothing on this at all.

Report · Dec 20, 2016

This is just plain silly not to have this feature anymore - why not? When is it coming back? This is a very common workflow requirement!

Report · Mar 16, 2017

This is why you're losing out to newcomers like Sketch and others. Why would you remove this feature? So infuriating

Report · Mar 16, 2017

We didn't remove any features. Actions weren't ever a feature for Export As. Actions still work fine with Save for Web and Save As operations.

Report · Mar 16, 2017

It really should be implemented though, Jeff. I'm trying to design an end to end workflow for a client at Microsoft next week and being able to add Export As to an action would work perfectly for what i'm trying to accomplish.

Fortunately, Image Processor Pro is still functioning, but it hasn't been updated in ages and i'm left wondering if the day is soon arriving when this tool to will be no longer supported.

Report · Mar 16, 2017

I agree. I'm not saying it shouldn't. Just clarifying that it was never implanted by the team that created Export As.

Report · Mar 16, 2017

I think a lot of the confusion and anger around this comes from the fact that 'Export As' was advertised as the replacement to "Save for Web" which was named to "Save for Web (Legacy)".

In doing so, Adobe implied that "Save for Web" would not be supported moving forward and we end users are trying to figure out how and when to make the switch over. It would be nice to have a single solution, but "Export As" is lacking some core functionality that was relied upon for workflows and asset pipelines.

I appreciate that changes take time and look forward to the next release in the hopes that this and other feature requests will be addressed.

Report · Mar 17, 2017

Max Johnson - PlayStudios is spot on. The issue here is that "Export As" was pitched as the replacement for "Save for Web".

The use case for "Save for Web" is pretty clear - you are generating a one-off file that then goes somewhere else (i.e. online etc).

"Export As" on the face of it is a much more powerful alternative and that is why people who routinely used "Save for Web" in actions/batch workflows were super excited to see it come in. (It is 2017 -- we should be able to export a standard/retina/svg/'whatever else we want' image in one go - right?)

The frustration in this thread is that (a) you guys didn't even consider this use case in putting together the replacement for Save for Web (b) there has been no acknowledgement that this is an issue for people or that something is in the pipeline to fix it ...

Report · Mar 17, 2017

Totally agree with Max Johnson - PlayStudios and Tom Hole.

The 'Export As' feature is great as far as it goes, but there is a real need for using actions to batch process. Adobe are basically giving us a choice of saving a single image at different sizes and resolutions (essential for responsive web design) in 'Export As'; or saving multiple images at a single size using 'Save for web'...

Neither of which address the need that we have to save multiple images in different sizes and resolutions.

And we've been asking for a year or more...

Report · Mar 17, 2017

Agree wholeheartedly with both Max and Tom above. Furthermore, by not facilitating 'Export As' in actions, there's an implicit devaluing of the importance and power of automation and batching in a key new(er) feature of Photoshop. Power users want power features. And feature parity.

I pay a monthly subscription for a 'professional' product, and I'm used to relying on processes and features which aid repetitive, iterative creation and output. I've always thought that's what marks PS out from the competition.

If batch functionality is siloed to an older, slower and less efficient process (Save for web, versus Export As) that sends a message that professional needs are less important than new but unrefined features... and that valuable customer feedback is not being taken onboard.

We've had several major (version) and many minor (point) updates since 'Export As' was introduced and there's no sign action functionality has even been considered. And as Max indicates, the suffixing of Save for Web with (Legacy) suggests that's not the prefered route, and could even be mothballed in a future release.

Jeffrey Tranberry what can we do to make the system work for us... and for Adobe to hear the experience of real-world customers? Is there a mechanism in place to actively petition for product improvements which the users on this thread could use to better make the case for this feature? I'm sure most of us would happily state our case in more detail if we thought it would add weight to the demand to implement action support for 'Export As'. Thanks.

Report · Apr 14, 2017

This feature is still desperately needed.

Report · Apr 15, 2017

This is the best place to add me toos, and comments. This is a top issue and I've been after the Export As team to try and get this in.

Report · May 08, 2017

I have to open my old CS5.1 to convert a bunch of PSDs to PNGs because CC can't do it? That is seriously the most bizarre regression I've ever seen in a $600/year piece of software.

Report · May 08, 2017

I'm not following you. What's missing from CC that you have in CS 5.1?

Report · May 08, 2017

I have a bunch of PSDs I want to convert to PNG files.

In CC, I can't record "Export" in an action, and all my attempts to record a "Save as" action failed: Photoshop CC seems to take the file name I used for "Save as" in the recording literally, and saves all the PSDs in the folder... overwriting that one target file thirty times. I've tried 30 minutes now but can't get CC to perform the simple job of converting a bunch of files to another format. (If there's a way, I'd appreciate the information for the next time this comes up.)

In CS5.1, I created a new action, recorded an "Optimize for web" action, and ran it. I was done in 3 minutes.

Report · May 08, 2017

I use Image Processor Pro for that sort of thing. Works every time.

Report · May 08, 2017

Jeffrey Tranberry - that's an odd comment in this thread, the whole point of this thread is the lack of parity in CC's new (at the time) Export As feature. If you'll note, it's 2 years old and we're all still having the same issue(s). No offense, but you might want to brush up on the products you manage.

Report · May 08, 2017

Pekka "In CS5.1, I created a new action, recorded an "Optimize for web" action, and ran it. I was done in 3 minutes." Save for Web is still in Photoshop CC (File > Export > Save For Web...) and it should work the same as it did in past releases such as CS5.

johnnie_n see above. ^ He's referring to Save for Web in CS5 and conflating it with Export As, which wasn't introduced until CC 2015.