is it possible to restore an unsaved action?

[zeke_smith]

I reinstalled PS and cannot find my latest changes in my actions. Even though PS has been loading my most recent versions of my actions, every copy that I have loaded (including very recent from Time Machine) is a from 2019 or older. I have not been saving my actions with the fly-out menu; do I now understand that saving with the fly-out menu is necessary?

I have seen references to a current preferences file - could this be helpful?

I am well backed up, and am hopeful that whatever file PS uses to access the 'unsaved' version of the actions is available and can be used. Is this possible?

Or am I entirely out-to-lunch, and there is another way to get back to my actions?

[Stephen Marsh · Accepted solution]

Perhaps this will help:

https://prepression.blogspot.com/2017/01/photoshop-custom-action-file-backup.html

[zeke_smith]

Stephen - The second part of the link you forwarded saved me from a deep
despair - I feared that years of work had been lost. Actions aren't the
easiest thing to maintain, and mine have years of tweaks that make them
really useful. I can't begin to thank you for your prompt bit of advice.
>From the first part of the link, I have a couple of follow-up questions, if
you'd be so kind:

1. How I can improve my ps 'housekeeping' to deal with this strange bit
of PS data (mis)management. My actions (unsaved for 2+ years) are in a
folder under my user name. I put them there, with the misapprehension that
the folder was current; I back this folder up, along with all my image
files (in addition to Time Machine). Is there some advantage to using the
Library location over this approach?
2. I'd like to have the actions backed up upon closing the PS app. Is
this possible? I'm using automator to back up presets and plugins (do they
require an explicit user save?) and actions. A more elegant solution would
be an automatic backup, which would avoid the operator error I discovered
today.

Thank you again,
Bob

[Stephen Marsh]

Stephen - The second part of the link you forwarded saved me from a deepdespair - I feared that years of work had been lost. Actions aren't theeasiest thing to maintain, and mine have years of tweaks that make themreally useful. I can't begin to thank you for your prompt bit of advice.

Your welcome. Please do yourself a favour and save out each action set to an individual unique .atn file and backup these files. Learn from this and please don't rely on the .psp file to always work.

I'll come back to your 2 questions when I have time.

[Stephen Marsh]

1. How I can improve my ps 'housekeeping' to deal with this

Get in the habit of manually saving the action set to an .atn file directly after editing it, this is how it is designed to work.

2. I'd like to have the actions backed up upon closing the PS app. Isthis possible? 

Yes, it is possible to some extent, it works, but takes some setup.

Download and unzip the entire xtools to a folder in your downloads folder (just as an example, it could be anywhere).

Then save and install this simple script:

if (confirm("Backup actions to .atn files before quitting Photoshop?", true));
    $.evalFile(File("~/Downloads/xtools v2.3/apps/ActionsPaletteToFiles.jsx"));
var idquit = stringIDToTypeID("quit");
executeAction(idquit, undefined, DialogModes.NO);

Then change the keyboard shortcuts to use the CMD/CTRL Q for this installed script... Then when you quit Photoshop, it should bring up the xtools script to convert your active .psp file to individual .atn files. This will effectively backup the current live state of the action sets and action residing in the actions panel.

There are more than 20,600 complex lines of code in this script, if one had the time it would be possible to remove the GUI or to at least pre-populate the GUI which would make this a little bit more automated. When one quits an app, one generally doesn't wish to wait around for it do do stuff.

As mentioned in my blogpost, you can also setup an operating system automation to regularly backup the .psp file, however I don't recommend this as the only form of backup as I have heard reports of this file not working for some users which is why the .atn save is the preferred method.

EDIT: You could add or swap out the ActionsPaletteToFiles.jsx for the BackupActions.js which saves the .psp file to the desktop.

[zeke_smith]

Stephen - using your script sounds like what I am hoping for. I think I could follow your instructions if I knew how to "install the simple script", and how to reconfigure the ctrl/cmd Q keystroke. If you have a moment, could you please give me a little guidance? Not the least bit urgent.

My problem with the actions was the consequence of a cascade of problems, starting with an issue with my Wacom Intuos Pro tablet. I'll create a new subject in the forum on this.

Because the Wacom tech support suggested I reinstall PS, that's when I lost my actions. I also lost other things, such as the most recent 'select and mask' configuration. Do you know where these volatile settings are stored?

Thanks again,

Bob

[jane-e]

---

@zeke_smith wrote:

Because the Wacom tech support suggested I reinstall PS, that's when I lost my actions. I also lost other things, such as the most recent 'select and mask' configuration. Do you know where these volatile settings are stored?

A better response from the Wacom tech support would have been "...after backing up customizations." This is typically done in the panel menu (the lines in the upper right) in whichever panel you made your customization. The panel menu is also where you can load it back in again. All customization should be saved as you go, or you risk losing it in a crash. In the case of Actions, select the Set (folder) and not the action itself, then save the Set everytime you add or edit an action.

Jane

[zeke_smith]

thank you,.

[Stephen Marsh]

There are two options for running scripts, browsing to them – or installing them. Follow the link to my blogpost that was titled "installed script":

https://prepression.blogspot.com/2017/11/downloading-and-installing-adobe-scripts.html

Adobe Photoshop Script Installation Location

Scripts are installed in the /Presets/Scripts folder

Mac OS Example:

• /Applications⁩/Adobe Photoshop CC 2019⁩/Presets⁩/Scripts
• /Applications/Adobe Photoshop 2021/Presets/Scripts

(If this path does not match your version, it should be a simple enough process to find the correct folder using this guide)

Win OS Example:

• C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2018\Presets\Scripts
• C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2021\Presets\Scripts

(If this path does not match your version, it should be a simple enough process to find the correct folder using this guide)

Alternatively, select File > Scripts > Browse and navigate to the script file.

Further information at the Adobe site:
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/scripting.html

NOTE: If running, Adobe Photoshop must be quit and restarted for newly added scripts to become accessible.

[Stephen Marsh]

Once you have saved and installed my script and downloaded xtools, you can change the keyboard shortcut for the installed script to "quit":

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/customizing-keyboard-shortcuts.html

Edit menu > Keyboard Shortcuts: Application menus > File > Scripts >

Then assign the CMD/CTRL Q for my script, the name will depend on what you saved the .jsx file as.

[Stephen Marsh]

also lost other things, such as the most recent 'select and mask' configuration. Do you know where these volatile settings are stored?

Thanks again,

Bob

By @zeke_smith

You can use the following script to open up the three common folders where many (not all) settings are stored and manually copy them for backup. Of course, this could also be automated at the operating system level.

https://github.com/MarshySwamp/Backup-Photoshop-Settings/blob/main/Open%20Photoshop%20Presets%20%26%...

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MarshySwamp/Backup-Photoshop-Settings/main/Open%20Photoshop%20Pres...