Action Overwrites Files - help!

[seabirdman]

I have an Action that does what I want - flip, rotate and save a selection to a folder. However, the action keeps overwriting previous files. I just want them all saved and and named sequentially. I would love suggestions on how to do this or if actions cannot do this other ways that can. Thanks!

[Stephen Marsh]

Feel free to tell me where the "common user error" is..

By Crispix396

Thank you for the videos, it does indeed help!

The common user error is recording an explicit filename in the action, as my previous screenshot shows, there is a way to exclude and include the filename in the recorded save step (don't change the filename). This has been covered many times over the years in various forum posts by more than one person.

I can indeed see from your video that you don't appear to be performing a step that is triggering the action to record the filename. I don't have the same behaviour on my system and can't explain why. Have you tried resetting your preferences (this seems to cure many odd behaviours with Photoshop)?

As for exporting paths, this is a different case than save/save as/save as a copy. It takes a script to overcome this as the name is always recorded, it doesn't behave the same as it is a different issue:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/how-to-export-paths-to-ai-in-action-b...

Good luck!

[D Fosse]

Just to add to what Stephen says:

When you record the Save step in the action, check that the file name is not highlighted.

If it is, the name is recorded in the action and the previous file overwritten. To "un-highlight", it is usually enough to just click a different destination and then back to the intended destination.

As long as the file name is not highlighted, it will not be recorded in the action and it will run as you expect.

[Crispix396]

this is a good explanation.

I will attempt this and report back.

I dont know what is so hard about saying this is a glitch and adobe needs to fix it.  Under what circumstance would anyone want a batch action that auto records over the exact same file name?

[Stephen Marsh]

this is a good explanation.

I will attempt this and report back.

Please do so.

I have tested in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and if the filename is highlighted, but not touched/changed, only the filepath is saved, NOT the filename. So I can't reproduce this behaviour.

I dont know what is so hard about saying this is a glitch and adobe needs to fix it.  Under what circumstance would anyone want a batch action that auto records over the exact same file name?

By Crispix396

I don't believe that it is a glitch.

As I have shown, an action can record either the filepath or filepath+filename.

Actions are independent of the Batch command... This is why the Batch command offers the Override Action "Save As" Commands feature. Adobe explain this feature in detail here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/processing-batch-files.html#process_a_batch_of_files

As I previously suggested, did you try resetting your preferences? This can often fix glitches.

[Crispix396]

I had originally tried the 'click another place and go back' and even in one of my samples, I created a whole brand new folder, yet adove still had the name highlighted.  luckily your 'click and unhighlight the name' seems to be a great fix until adobe fixes this.

Export to paths is still permanently broken

https://youtube.com/shorts/HggjHvS4tDU

[Crispix396]

I have also seen this posted many times in many forums, and NO, it was not covered. even the link you shared did not have an answer that would have helped me. Luckily the person who specified to make sure the name wasnt highlighted (nothing the USER did) seems to be a workaround fix.  This is a glitch, and it does need to be addressed by adobe and it still affects the export illustrator paths etc.

[r-bin]

This is not a glitch, but a feature. How do you suggest that Photoshop guess what you want to write into the action Full path with the name or only the folder name where to save?

[MSVRVisual]

Having the same problem and none of the resolutions given have helped. 

[seabirdman]

In the end I used G' to generate a python code that builds a Dash app in any browser to do the downloading. I'll happily share it. 

[ignaxing]

THIS actually worked!
Been using PS for more than 20 years and this "overwrite" thing when doing Batch Save didn´t happen.

Thanks! (Although prevoius "normal" behaviour was better)

[KLArbor]

I had the same issue and I've used this 100's of times before without issue, this really irritated me. The fix I found is while recording during the Save portion (Save for Web > Save > Save Window Opens), there is a drop down below the file name that says "Settings:" - it is set to "Default Settings" you need to change this to "Custom" and it will work as expected saving each file under its original file name separately. When recording the save portion I save the first image to a new file folder to not overwrite any of my existing files to be safe.

[Tünde32163378rga4]

I have the same problem. I am using PS from 1997. Yesterday it is worked, today not. I didn't change everything, but when I made an action always overwrite the only one file. I hate it. I try to reinstall photoshop, I try to reinstall the op system. I am using Mac. And yes. Yesterday working, today not. I am totally angree... I try to solfe the problem more then 12 hours. Hate it, hate it, hate it.

[Stephen Marsh]

@Tünde32163378rga4 

If you have read this topic thread, you'll know that you can record a fixed filename and path, or only a fixed path in an action. The recorded fixed path and or path + filename can be overridden using Automate > Batch.

[D Fosse · Accepted solution]

When you record the action, make sure the file name is not highlighted in blue. If it is, the file name is recoreded in the action and will overwrite. If it is not highlighted, the name is not recorded, and will not overwrite.

To un-highlight, it is usually enough to just click away from the path and back again.

[Tünde32163378rga4]

It is doesn't matter it is blue or not. Always overwriting the file belove the name, as I made the action. I see it immedietaly, when I made the record. I see this is not good again, it record the filename too.
Just with .dng. If I make another file, and path, from different anything jpg, it will not overwrite, and don't save the name too the action. Just the dng. But I can't fix it with .dng.
It is just a silly solve to do the action with something diffrent file, and after just use it with the dng. But with dng, in basic don't work. And I really hate it. 

[Tünde32163378rga4]

I am sorry, I forgot to say thank you, because you try to help me especially at Christmas time. I solved the problem, how I wrote it. I make the action with a different file type, and after using the action with the dng file, and it work.
(and I am a women and want to ventilated it)

[Stephen36166996qt6s]

Hi,

I have had exactly the same problem. It wastes so much time and you end up going round in circles continuously redoing all your work. The only way I have found to work around the problem is to copy each file with explorer the first time you save it to a different directory to the one saved into from Photoshop.. The one in the Photoshop directory continues to be happily overwritten for reasons I've been unable to figure out why, but the original copied and saved in the other directory remains safe.

Cheers 

[haralds64176918]

The problem is Adobe! Finally understanding this would perhaps lead to a solution by Adobe. I edited several images yesterday and set an action to save to a different folder. Each image overwrote the previous one. And it didn't matter if the file name was selected or not when saving to the action.

The procedure was as follows:
Open the image
Specify a section and confirm the selection
-- Start action recording
Mode: 8 bit
Convert to profile sRGB
Save to another folder
Close
--- End action recording ---

The file name was not changed when the action was recorded. It is highlighted when the save dialog is called up. The highlighting disappears when the target folder is selected. Nevertheless, all images were saved with the same file name.

However, it makes no sense if all images are saved with the same file name. This result must therefore be regarded as a clear error, and I am not familiar with this from previous years.

I recently noticed that PS reacts differently from day to day. The same action, the same procedure leads to a completely different result today. The same steps as described above now produce an action that works exactly as it should. And it doesn't matter whether the file name is selected or not when saving the action! I have tested both.

[Stephen Marsh]

@haralds64176918 

Please provide screenshots of the action save step expanded with the panel wide enough to view all content and also of the batch settings.

[haralds64176918]

The screenshot shows two actions that have both been created in exactly the same way. The first action "Portraits webseite" was created a few days ago and causes all images to always be saved with the same name and thus overwritten. The second action "Test Aktion" was created the day before yesterday and works as it should and as you would expect from Photoshop. As I said, it makes absolutely no sense for an action to always write the same file name.

It is german. "Speichern" means saving, "schließen" means closing.

[Stephen Marsh]

Actions are literal, they record absolute values. When it comes to your example, there are only two options:

1) Record the full save path location and document name

2) Record only the full save path location

Your screenshot demonstrates this:

For use on a single open file, option 1 isn't that useful, however, I'm sure that some users may need the ability to always save certain files with the same name.

When using File > Automate > Batch there is an option to Override Action "Save As" Commands:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/processing-batch-files.html#batch_process_files_in_nested_fo...

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/processing-batch-files.html#batch_and_droplet_processing_opt...

P.S. One can set the modal control for interactivity, which should allow one to change the name when saving outside of using batches.

[haralds64176918]

The problem here is that Photoshop writes two different save options when creating two actions despite the exact same procedure. One time PS writes the file name in the save function, the other time not. As I said, in both cases I proceeded in exactly the same way to check where the error is.

The batch function is also not useful for me in this case, as I define the section of the images after opening them and only then should the other actions be executed.

[Stephen Marsh]

The problem here is that Photoshop writes two different save options when creating two actions despite the exact same procedure. One time PS writes the file name in the save function, the other time not. As I said, in both cases I proceeded in exactly the same way to check where the error is.

That's the issue that I can't reproduce. If I record saving without touching the filename, then only the save path is recorded.

If I change the filename when recording the action, then the path + filename is recorded, as expected.

This is repeatable and works as expected in both cases every time (Intel Mac).

The batch function is also not useful for me in this case, as I define the section of the images after opening them and only then should the other actions be executed.

By haralds64176918

I only have two other thoughts at this time:

1) Set the modal control on the save step for an interactive save, which allows you to override the recorded filename.

2) One can always use xtools to convert the action to XML file, edit the XML to remove the filename, then convert the XML file back to an ATN file. That's a lot of busy work!