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Record an action
Last updated on
Oct 27, 2025
Learn more about recording actions in Adobe Photoshop to automate repetitive tasks and save time.
Recording actions in Photoshop lets you automate repetitive tasks by capturing a sequence of steps and playing them back later. You can even include tool operations, such as brush strokes, by enabling tool recording in the Actions panel.
Select New Action from the Actions panel menu.
In New Action dialog box, set the following options:
- Name: Type the name of the action.
- Set: Select the Set you created, otherwise Default Actions is selected by default.
- Function Key: Assign a shortcut, for example Ctrl + Shift + F3 (Windows) or Command + Shift + F3 (macOS). On Windows, you cannot use F1 with Ctrl. If the shortcut is already in use, it will run the action instead of the original command.
- Color: Assign a color for display in Button mode.
Select the Record icon.
Perform the commands and operations you want to capture. For nonrecordable tasks, insert commands from the Actions panel menu.
Select Stop Playing/Recording icon to finish.
Tip
Select Create new set icon to create a folder to store and organize your recorded actions.
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