Inspiring

Answered

is it possible to restore an unsaved action?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
December 11, 2021
4 replies
1672 views

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?

Actions and scripting

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Correct answer Stephen Marsh

Perhaps this will help:

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

Stephen Marsh

Community Expert

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%20Settings%20Folders

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MarshySwamp/Backup-Photoshop-Settings/main/Open%20Photoshop%20Presets%20%26%20Settings%20Folders

Stephen Marsh

Community Expert

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

Community Expert

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

Correct answer

Community Expert

Perhaps this will help:

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

zeke_smithAuthor

Inspiring

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

Community Expert

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.

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