10. Automating EditLab

When combined with Photoshop Actions, EditLab may be used in very productive workflows. Photoshop's Batch and Droplets both build upon the concept of the Action, so we will look more closely at the processes of recording and playing Actions.

Recording EditLab Into An Action

1. Create a New Action

Select New Action… from the Actions palette menu (or use the icon indicated by the red arrow):

2. Start Recording

Give your action a name and click the Record button.

3. Run EditLab

Run the EditLab plug-in, performing whatever correction you want.

4. Stop Recording

Stop recording the action by selecting "Stop Recording" from the Action palette menu:

Playing An EditLab Action

1. Set the Desired Modal Control

Enable or disable the modal control for the action. When enabled, EditLab's window will appear when the action is run, causing it to pause for user interaction. When disabled, EditLab will run without a window and without pausing.

2. Play the Action

Select "Play" from the Action palette menu:

Note: The behavior of EditLab depends upon the RGB working space selection. If you play an EditLab action when the current working space is different from the working space that was in effect when the action was recorded, then the color correction behavior will be different. In such cases where the behavior may be different because of a working space change, EditLab will issue a warning, allowing you to decide if you want to proceed or not:

How EditLab Behaves When Played As An Action

All of EditLab's settings and preferences are recorded into the action. When the action is played back, all of this recorded information is used by EditLab, causing EditLab's current settings and preferences to be overwritten. So playing a recorded action may also change your preferences.

If you leave your "Start With" preference set to "SmartColor" when the action is recorded, then each time you play back the action, the image is intelligently analyzed and the color correction is adapted to the content of the image. This means that each image will likely get a different color correction from the same recorded action.

If you leave your "Start With" preference set to "Previous Settings" when the action is recorded, then the same, fixed color correction will be applied to every image. Similarly, if you leave your "Start With" preference set to "Custom Settings" when the action is recorded, then that fixed color correction will be applied to every image. In these modes, EditLab is not adaptive, and therefore the color correction does not depend on the color content of the images.

When run as an action, EditLab always runs in "Edit Image" mode, regardless of how you set the mode.