Table of Contents
File format sub action
Explains how to use the file format sub action
31. March 2025
Table of Contents
How to use the File Format sub action
The File format sub action is used to apply changes made to an image by a preceding image processing sub action. The changes are stored in a temporary folder. This way, a file operating sub action that comes later in the sub action chain can for example copy, move, or upload the edited image to a new location. When the last sub action in a sub action chain is complete, the temporary file is removed.
File Format Settings
Using the dropdown list shown in the Format options part of the Action properties window, you can choose between JPEG, TIFF, and EPS format for the saved file. By clicking on the Format options button you can adjust settings specific for the chosen format. For JPEG files, this includes a Quality setting that determines the compression rate and choice of whether an ICC profile should be embedded in the file or not. With TIFF files, you can only enable or disable the ICC embedding option, and with EPS you have a choice of Encoding (JPEG, ASCII or binary), Quality (assuming you choose JPEG encoding), Preview format, and an ICC profile embedding alternative.
The reason why a File format sub action is needed after image processing sub actions is that these sub actions work with images in system memory. Hence, in a chain of sub actions, any changes made by an image processing sub action must be applied, i.e. saved to a file, before your can execute file operations such as copy, move and upload.
The Difference Between the Two Save Sub Actions
As described in the Action Overview topic, an image must be saved after performing one or more image processing sub actions. FotoStation provides two different sub actions to utilize this: The File format sub action and the Save file sub action. Make sure that you understand the difference in use between these two sub actions.
Use the File format sub action if you are working with images and you don’t need to keep a copy of the processed file.