CREATING A SIMPLE ACTION

How many times have you double-clicked on a layer to rename it? Wouldn't it be nice if there was a keyboard shortcut to access the Layer Properties dialog box? Well, why not make your own? Once you get used to using your new hotkey, you will wonder how you ever managed without it! This should prove especially useful for owners of Photoshop 6, who have to Alt+double-click on a layer to access the Layer Properties dialog box.

Before you begin recording an action, you should first consider the steps involved. For this example, we could record an action that renames a layer (using the Layer Properties dialog), but it would always name layers using the same name – not very useful. Turning on the Dialog checkbox ( ) does not help matters either: when the action is played the Layer Styles dialog is displayed (obviously a bug). Instead, we are going to use the Insert Menu Item command. It will allow us to add a command without assigning any values to it.



1. Make sure the Actions palette is visible by pressing F9 (Window » Show Actions). Add a new set by pressing the New Set button ( ), or choose New Set from the Actions palette menu. Name the set "Shortcuts", or whatever you like.



2. Create a new action by pressing the New Action button ( ), or choose New Action from the palette menu. The New Action dialog appears.

Note: First we need to decide which function key to assign to our action. Since the typical key for rename is F2, let's use that key. Secondly, because key assignments are only displayed in Button Mode, include the "F2" in the filename to remind you which key to press.

Name the action "Layer Properties (F2)", leave Shortcuts as the designated Set, choose F2 for the Function Key and select a color if desired (although it will only appear in Button Mode). Finally, begin recording by pressing the Record button ( ).


3. Next, choose Insert Menu Item from the Action palette menu – the Insert Menu Item dialog appears. Choose Layer » Layer Properties from the Photoshop menus; then, press OK. Notice that an action step called "Select Layer Properties menu item" has been added to the action.

4. Stop recording by pressing the Stop button ( ), or choose Stop Recording from the palette menu.



That's it! Now let's try it out. Create a new document [Ctrl+N] (File » New) and add several new layers by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N (or Alt-click on the New Layer button [ ] at the bottom of the Layers palette). Select a layer and press F2 – the Layer Properties dialog should appear. Name the layer and try it again on another layer.

Remember: Don't forget to save your actions by choosing the Save Actions command in the Actions palette menu.