How can I enable steps logging within Photoshop that I can save to a file?

[Mark37430984r9lw]

I'm using the latest Photoshop 2015 version with Windows 10.

I’m getting better at making jpgs from RAW files, but am not always 100% satisfied with the results, so I always save the RAW files that I can go back to at a later date when my Photoshop skills have gotten better.  I of course, save the associated XMP files so I can see what edits I made with Adobe Camera Raw, however, once I start making changes to the NRW in Photoshop after I hit “open” within Adobe Camera RAW, unless I manually keep a spreadsheet or some other document of the changes I make, I’ll later have no idea what I did. 

For example, I may select the subject and then increase the brightness by 31%, the contrast by 62%, and then increase the saturation by 12%, then select the inverse and decrease the brightness by 24% before saving the jpg.  So, if I later want to see if I can make a better jpg from the file, I’d like to have the changes logged somewhere that I can use as a reference.  I’m well aware that I can save the PSD file so I can start where I had off, but this is not what I’m looking for. I just tried an exercise like the above and opened the history panel.  It had a section for brightness/contrast, but didn’t bother to show how much I changed the brightness and contrast, and was there any way to export the history.

It would be a major pain to have to take the time to manually document all the Photoshop steps I take, and a screen recorder isn’t a practical solution.  I can’t be the only person who wants this logging.  Is there any way to accomplish this natively from within Photoshop, or perhaps with some third-party utility?  To be clear, I want to export the detailed steps to an easy to read file.

[Mark37430984r9lw]

The system isn't allowing me to edit the OP, but I obviously had inteended on writing that I'm using Photoshop 2025, not 2015.

[Stephen Marsh · Accepted solution]

There are two separate "pipelines" here.

1) Camera Raw Settings are stored in the XMP file and are often included as metadata for historical reference in files processed into a rendered file. This isn't history as such, it will not show you that on Monday you adjusted exposure to -0.5 and then on Tuesday changed it to +0.75 etc. It will just indicate the last value.

2) Edits in Photoshop can be logged to text file, look in preferences/settings for History Logging.

Hope this helps.

Edit: Recording an action, then it can be saved as a text file is another option to consider.

[aqsa_sana8472]

Hi Mark,

Photoshop doesn’t have a built-in way to export detailed step logs. The History Panel tracks actions but doesn’t show specific values or let you export.

You could look into Photoshop scripting or third-party plugins for workflow tracking, but there’s no native solution for this.

As a workaround, consider jotting down key changes in a text file or using Smart Objects for non-destructive edits.

Hope this helps!

[Bojan Živković · Accepted solution]

In Photoshop, navigate to Preferences > History & Content Credentials. Check the History Log and select Text File, then choose a location to save the text file. Finally, select Detailed from the Edit Log Items drop-down list. This will log all your actions, including adjustments like 12 saturation or 62 contrast...

[Mark37430984r9lw · Accepted solution]

We have a winner!  Tested and working!

Many thanks and happy holidays!! 

[Stephen Marsh · Accepted solution]

Which was exactly what I suggested earlier... Just saying :]

[Mark37430984r9lw]

You do indeed also deserve credit and thanks.  The other responder's answer got more attention from me, as he included a screenshot of the setting.  I also marked your initial reply as "Correct Answer."

[Stephen Marsh]

Thanks for clarifying, I replied from my phone, so I couldn't add screenshots and was going from memory.