What are actions?

Often when you work with a number of files, you perform the same tasks repeatedly. For example, it could be that you want to resize several images and add new metadata before you upload the resized images to a web server using FTP. In FotoStation it is possible to create an action that can perform these and many other tasks in a single operation.

An action in FotoStation consists of several small operations called sub actions. These sub actions can be combined in a chain to create an action. FotoStation comes with a few sample actions, such as copying a selection of pictures to the My Pictures folder. If you need actions other than those predefined, you can either create a new action or modify a sample actions.

Creating an action

Where: Expand the Actions node in the configuration tree.

To create an action, start by opening a side panel that contains actions (by default, the right side panel is configured to contain only actions).

These are the main steps involved when creating a new action:

In the Actions tab, right-click on a group heading and select Create action from the pop-up menu. The Action properties window appears. You can also open the Action properties window by going to Action > Create action.

Enter a descriptive name for the action in the Name field.

Select Add to add a sub action to this action. The Select action type window opens.

Select the required sub action from the list and then select OK. To be able to view and edit the sub action’s properties, select the sub action in question in the Sub action list to select it. Remove a sub action by selecting it in the Sub action list and then selecting Delete.

When you are finished, select OK.

If, at a later stage, you would like to change any of the action properties (for example the action name, any sub action properties, etc), open the Action properties window by right-clicking on the action and selecting Propertiesfrom the context menu.

Tip: You can also create actions in the program configuration, accessible by choosing File|Configuration in the program menu and selecting the Actions node.

Action properties

The Action properties window also provides access to these settings:

Select Group: In the Group drop-down list, select the group you would like the action to be a part of. If necessary, you can edit the group name, add a new group, or delete a group from this view by selecting Edit on the right-hand side of the Group drop-down list. If group headers are enabled, actions are sorted according to the group to which they belong.

Ask For Confirmation: Select this for FotoStation to display a message asking for confirmation before the action is executed. This can be useful, for example, if the action is configured to alter the original image data and you want to make sure that the action isn’t run unintentionally (for example, by dropping a file on the wrong action).

There are also other ways to prevent an action from being executed by accident. You can disable one or more actions for a specific archive (the Set disabled actions property in Archive properties), or you can choose to hide one or more actions from the action overview (the Display only selected action items property in the Side panel properties). Keep in mind you can have more than one Actions tab.

Select Icon: Select an icon for the action by selecting Select icon and then selecting the icon of your choice. FotoStation comes with a number of included icons that you can choose from. You can also import your own icons if you have, for instance, purchased icons from a collection or made your own using icon creator tools. To do so, select Import and choose the icon files that you want to add to your configuration. When imported into FotoStation, the files are converted to .png format and stored with your active configuration. Typically FotoStation is set up with a per-user configuration, which means your icons are stored in:  C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Fotoware\FotoStation\Configuration\Archive Icons

Running files through an action

To be able to run an action, you must first select one or more files in the image window. If no files are selected, none of the actions can be accessed. When you have selected the files you can either drag and drop them onto the relevant action, or you can simply selecct the action that you would like to perform. The action in question will then be executed.