Actions: Export as PNG no longer recorded

[Beanyorpt]

As title describes!

With the newer version of Adobe Photoshop, Save As no longer gives you the option to save your project as a .png file, though the action will be recorded.

None of the Export options will be saved in Actions, and otherwise there are no options to save projects as .png when doing a batch with actions.

What am I doing wrong?

[Imaginerie · Accepted solution]

Hi!

I can certainly save as .png on my end

but maybe there is something in your file that prevents you from saving?

also check that you have the "enable legacy save as" ticked in your preferences

in the file handling section.

[Stephen Marsh]

If not save as, then save as a copy...

[Satty.]

I was running into the same issue and found "enable legacy save as" as the fix. But the "Save as PNG" option created a file 3x the file size compared to the "Quick Eport as PNG" option (3 MB vs 1 MB). I would guess there are settings you can adjust but wanted to point that out. 

[Stephen Marsh]

@Satty. 

Yes, there are certainly PNG quality options in Save As/Save As a Copy:

However, Export As and Export > Save for Web (Legacy) both strip metadata, so the increased file size in Save As could also be due to extra metadata. For example, some folk have had major issues with photoshop:DocumentAncestors metadata bloating files.

[Satty.]

Thanks Stephen, I did play with those and selected "Smallest file size" which still produced the 3x difference. Super appreciate the breakdown on the metadata!

[Stephen Marsh]

@Satty. 

Can you provide a sample PNG so that I can see what metadata is in the file?

[Satty.]

Sorry for the late reply @Stephen Marsh, I am unable to provide the file as it is unreleased client work. The png was produce from Adobe Dn, background removed in PS, then the various save/export attempts.

[Satty.]

Sorry a PSD was produced from Dn then saved/exported as PNG from PS

[Stephen Marsh]

@Satty. 

I understand...

Select all layers in the layers panel. 

Use Layer > Duplicate Layers and select the option to create a new file. This will strip almost all metadata. Don't use Image > Duplicate as this will include metadata.

Save As a Copy to PNG using the smallest file size option.

Is the file size still X3 larger than the export version?

[Satty.]

@Stephen Marsh, performed and yes the Save as Copy file is 3x file size:

Dulplicate layers to new - save as a copy png - smallest file size (Slowest Saving) = 3.03mb

orginal psd - quick export as png = 1.01mb

orginal psd - save for web (legacy) - png-24 with Transparency + metadata Copyright only (None option did not affect size) = 1.01mb

orginal psd - save for web (legacy) - png-8 with Transparency + metadata Copyright only = 292kb

File dimension are all 1440x1026px (72ppi)