Auto run an Action?

[MikeFromMesa]

Is there any way to automatically run an action when an image is opened? That is, I want an action to be automatically executed when I open an image or when an image is opned in Photoshop by another application. I have searched all over for details on either how to do this or if it can be done, but found nothing, including nothing about whether or not it can be done.

I work on a Mac but I suspect that makes no difference as Adobe has been pretty good at making the app work identically on both the Mac and Windows.

[Tom Winkelmann · Accepted solution]

Have you tried the Script Events Manager?

> File > Scripts > Script Events Manager

[Mylenium]

Outside a custom startup script running automatically run with every start of PS or other control mechanism, i.e. system level automation by ways of Automator/ Apple Script this isn't really possible. You could of course change the default file association to include a command line parameter for batch processing, which can reference a specific action by name, though the caveat is of course that it will affect each and every image file on your system that's associated with PS, not just the ones you may want to treat this way.

Mylenium

[josephlavine]

Directly through Photoshop, no. However, depending on your knowledge level, you could write a script or possibly use third-party software to perform such a function.

[Lumigraphics]

Script Events Manager.

[MikeFromMesa]

Yes. Thank you. That worked. 

As often seems the case, the solution is not hard if you know where to start. The trick is knowing enough about the app to know where to start.