I used to use a third party application to batch resize images as a certain size is required to display properly on my personal blog. Anyhow I use Adobe Photoshop to manipulate images in many other ways and wanted to see if it would do the same batch resizing which would require one less application to be installed. Sure enough Photoshop does a great job of batch resizing images to any set sizes you prefer.
**NOTE** After writing this article I discovered a different way to resize images that is actually much easier. I wrote a new article located here describing the method which utilizes the Photoshop Image Processor.
In the example scenario below I resize images based on height and width maximum size settings. The width cannot be larger than 640 pixels and the height cannot be greater than 480 pixels. Follow the instructions below to set up a batch resize action followed by automating the batch resize of numerous images at the same time.
- Open Photoshop:Launch Adobe Photoshop CS4 from the start menu.
- Open an Image: Open a test image to setup the action with.
- Display Actions Window:Select Window from the top navigation menu in Photoshop and choose Actions from the drop down which will display a window similar to the below image.
- Create New Action: Now click the “Create new action” button in the Actions window as shown below in the image.
Once you click the “Create new action” button a new window will pop up asking for details about the actions as shown below.
Enter a name for the action and then click the Record button. Please note that after you click the Record button that all movements in Photoshop will be recorded so only follow the steps below to set up the batch image resize.
- Resize Image:Now we will resize the image we initially opened. Click the Image link in the top navigation and choose Image Size from the drop down which will open the Image Size configuration window as displayed below. Modify the image height to 640 pixels and click OK.
- Pause Action Recording: Now we are going to stop the action recording while we set the image back to the original size to then modify the height. Click the stop button in the Actions window.
- Undo Image Size: Select the image we have been working with, click Edit from the top navigation menu, and then select Undo from the drop down menu which will set the image back to the original size.
- Start Recording Again: Click the Record button in the Actions window to begin recording again.
- Resize Image Height: Now do exactly what was done in step 5 but modify the height this time. So select Image from the top navigation and select Image Size from the drop down. Change the Height to 480 pixels.
- Save GIF Image: Now we want to save the image for the web as a GIF. Select File from the top navigation menu and select “Save for Web & Devices” from the drop down menu which will open the “Save for Web & Devices” configuration window as shown below in the image.
Make any necessary modifications and save the image to the folder where you want batch resized images to be saved.
- Stop Recording: Click the Stop button in the Actions window to stop recording the action.
- Open Batch Window: Select File from the top navigation menu and choose Automate from the drop down. In the pop out window select Batch as shown in the below image.
Once you click on Batch it will open the Batch configuration window as shown below which is where you will set up the Batch job to use the action you created.
Make sure to select the correct action and the proper folders. Make sure to check the “Override Action ‘Save As’ Commands” option since we already have a save command in the Batch Action.
- Start Batch Action: Click the OK button in the Batch window and the Batch Action will start immediately.
- Verify Images Resized:Now open the folder where the images were saved and verify a copy of the image with the proper deminisions has been saved into it.
Photoshop CS4: The Missing Manual (Paperback)
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I think that is a great tool is there a way to change the dpi at the same time?
I save groups of photos as sets one is for print two sets for websites each a differents size.
Hello House,
Yes you can modify anything related to the image. During the recording steps above you can literally record any steps you take to modify an image so just record how you normally modify the DPI and it will perform that action on every image.
Thanks.
alex
Adobe Photoshop is the best photo editing tool in my opinion.Photoshop has been my bread and butter software on my current job which involves a lot of photo editing.
Hello detoxjulie,
There is no question Photoshop is awesome. They just released a free stripped down version of Photoshop for the iPhone which is awesome. The application is available via the iTunes App Store as Photoshop.com. Anyway I love Adobe products.
Thanks for the feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Stuck on one step. I do the save as it is recording and set the jpg size to 8 and then tell it to close the file. However, when I run my batch program, it always prompts me to hit ok for the file size rather than accepting what I told it to in the action step.
Hello Nicole,
Try without closing the file or also maybe try saving as a different type of file type. I know when I did this awhile back I had done so by saving for “Web & Devices” which was saving as a gif in a different method.
Hope that helps.
Thanks.
alex
Hello Nicole,
Nicole
If you still cant get around the jpeg options box, try using the Image Processor >
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Photoshop/11.0/WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-7426a.html
It worked well for me, but i had to seperate my horizontal pics from my vertical ones, and run a process for each… So the proportions were correct.
Hope this also helps.
Hello Buddy,
Hey thanks for mentioning. I actually had to do the same thing and should have mentioned. I appreciate you taking the time to write the above to hopefully help others if they didn’t figure that part out.
Thanks again.
alex
Thank you for putting this tutorial up. I used this a while back to batch resize for the web and it worked like a charm. BUT…..
I tried it again today (writing a new action so all the document windows close and save on completion of the action) and I keep getting
Image size not currently available (or export or close) every time I run the action.
So I want to open a RAW file (dng)
resize to 72 dpi
save for web
put in destination folder
save as jpeg
close all documents when done
Not sure where I am going off the beaten path here! Would love some direction thanks!
Hello Diane,
The above directions work for me so you might be missing a step or something. The main difference I can think of is you are attempting to do this with .dng files which I have never done. Can you do the steps you are taking manually on .dng files with success? If so then please list the exact steps you are taking along with links to images of the errors you are receiving and we will do our best to help out.
Thanks.
alex
Ok I think I was batch processing this instead of using the script to and “run”. It really helps to re-read the directions. The only thing I want my action to do now is close the file when it is done making a jpeg of it – any way to do that?
Thanks for your help alex
Hello Diane,
No problem. Glad it got worked out… I miss stuff all the time when I read directions… or in fact sometimes I am just to stubborn to read the directions. :) Anyway all that matters if you got the issue resolved and it is working as expected!
Thanks.
alex
Quick & Easy – thanks!
Hello Valentin,
No problem at all. “Quick & Easy” is what we like to hear in response to our article posts! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Wow! this is big help. Thanks so much for this tutorial. Now I don’t have to download separate program for batch resizing. Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!… “Quick & Easy” indeed! ^_^
Hello V.,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leaving such nice feedback.
Thanks.
alex
I ran a resize action on 200 images and told it to ‘save’ instead of ‘save as’ now all my original files are 700kb and I have no large size originals to order prints with. I edited each photo individually, is there any way I can undo this batch or have I lost all my large originals? Would stink to edit all 200 exactly the same way again if this family orders the dvd!
Hello Deanna,
Sorry to hear that. Unfortunately I am not sure but you could try data recovery software if it was critical to try and recover these files.
Thanks.
alex
Hi Deanna,
Did you ever figure out how to get back the original edited images (as they were before they were resized? Or did you have to end up re-editing them all?
Hi,
I just discovered this power in PS. However, I recorded a “Crop” automation, and when I go to “File>Automation” and try to select my crop recording it is grayed out, aka, unclickable/unselectable. What’s wrong?
Hello Seanicus,
You mean in the Batch window? What types of files are you attempting to run an automation on? What actions specifically happen in the action? Are there a bunch of files already open in Photoshop?
Thanks.
alex