Layers Workflow Dilema

How do i switch from an adjustment layer to a new layer ( Layer>New>Layer).
Example: When i go from, say a curves adjustment layer to a new transparent layer to run a High Pass Filter.
It comes up 'Unable as no pixels are selected'. The only way I know how to do it is by Flattening/Merging image and then doing a duplicate copy.
Surely there is a way to continue my layers workflow without having to flatten first.

The filters need pixels on the selected layer to work their magic so either encase everything in a Smart Object or press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E to make a merged duplicate of all your (visible) layers.

Similar Messages

How to configure JMS services in CQ

Hi,
I would like to know, is there any outofbox services where i can configure JMS Services in CQ. Please let us know.
if no such services exists in CQ, How can I do a JSM Services requirements in CQ.
Thanks
thummapuru

Hi thummapuru,
AFAIK In CQ we have 3 eventing layers: workflows, OSGi, CRX/JCR & need to utilize those.
http://sling.apache.org/site/eventing-and-jobs.html
Thanks,
Sham

Workflow: PS3/ACR. From PS3 after creating layers how do I make ACR tone adjustments?

I've recently upgraded to PS3 and would like to make all my global tone adjustments in ACR and then open as a smart object in PS3 and add layers (for localized adjustments). When I do this and save the file as .psd, I can't seem to get back to alter the originally made ACR global tone adjustments. Should I be able to do this? If so, how? I'm hoping I don't have to re-do my layer changes after returning to ACR to change the previously established global tone changes. Can someone suggest a work flow that allows subsequent changes to both ACR and PS3 layers? Thanks!

While the image is still a smart object, simply double-click on the base image layer. That will open the image in ACR for additional raw adjustments.

Workflow optimization layers panel

Hi guys
Every time I'm working in an Illustrator file with multiple layers and hundreds of objects on those layers that sometimes aren't grouped yet, I find it hard to select click on the objects in the layers panel on the right, selecting them via shift-click (you know, selecting all objects between the first and the last clicked object).
Is there a way I can select layer objects with the shift-option and afterwards have all of the items selected on the artboard? See the images for illustration.
Thanks!
Bob

There used to be a clunky way: Wiping over the object names (entries in the Layers palette) while holding down the Option key.
It may not work this way in the AI version you're using, though.

"Load files into Photoshop layers" fails to complete CS6

Hi all,
Hoping someone can help with the folling problem with Photoshop & Bridge CS6
When in Bridge, after selecting 6 images (CR2) using the command TOOLS>LOAD FILES INTO PHOTOSHOP LAYERS the first file will load into Photoshop, Photoshop will then generate a second blank layer and then read the second file. At this point the "script" will stop. I am left with a document with 2 layers. The top layer has my first image, the bottom layer is empty.
At this point when I quit Photoshop I am prompted to save this open document which appears to be the only open document. I choose not to save this as a file. I then get a dialogue box prompting to save another open document. Photoshop has loaded the second file to place as a layer but as the "script" has aborted I am left with an open, but invisible file.
When I first loaded CS6 on Snow Leopard, it would demonstrate this behaviour every time I attempted to run this command from Bridge.
I did a clean install on a blank HDD of OSX Lion. Installed CS6. The command worked without fail for about a month.
Then I would get the command aborting occasionally. Restarting Photoshop would let me continue for a few hours before this aborted script problem would happen again.
Over the last week it has become more frequent, to a point where this workflow is unusable.
A restart of Photoshop may fix the problem for the next batch of images, only to fail again soon after, or fail on the first attempt after a relaunch of Photoshop.
A reboot of my computer will allow my to load one or two sets of files before again failing to complete the command.
I have tried the following:
In Photoshop preferences:
disabling the "Use graphics Processor"
Increasing or decreasing the amount of RAM available to Photoshop
Changing the cache levels or changing the cache tile size
changing the scratch disk
Trashing the Photoshop preferences file (Photoshop Settings.psp)
In Bridge
Purging the cache
Increasing or decreasing the cache size
Resetting Bridge preferences (holding Command on launch) and deleting all cache files.
In general system
Quitting extra programs (Safari, Thunderbird, iTunes)
Sometimes this will seem to then allow Photoshop to load a full set of images, only to abort again after a few sets.
Rebooting the computer - again will work for a few images sets before again failing.
Now the fact that it worked fine for several weeks without presenting a problem would indicate that it is not a bug.
The fact that is slowly started happening then became more frequent would indicate something changing slowly over time - a larger cache folder perhaps, although purging known Bridge cache folders has not filed the problem.
Really at the end of my tether here. Even considering downgrading to CS5 - but don't want to have to use the older Adobe Camera Raw.
System is as follows:
Mac Pro 2 x 2.66 Quad Core
24GB RAM
ATI Radeon HD 4870 512
OSX Lion 10.7.4
I have seen a couple of others have posted having a the same problem, both with CS5 and CS6.
Hoping someone has an answer.
Thanks.

Hi JJMack - I just re-read your post. For some reason I thought you were suggesting to make sure "Open documents in Tabs" was selected, it was. Now I realize you were suggesting to turn it off! As another attemp to solve this problem I did de-select it today. Seemed to work for a good while. I was getting very excited, then, on the last set of images I had to do it displayed the same problem. But, it did go for quite a while without failing, and when it did I was thrashing about trying to make another app active. When loading documents like this - with "Open documents in Tabs" de-selected, Photoshop wants to put the loading images as the front-most window, no matter what other apps (Bridge, email, web etc) I click on in the dock. I think it is related to the bug you described effecting the "load files to stack" command.
Hopefully Adobe is looking at this - mind you, I have read reports of people having this problem in CS5! Looks like that was never resolved sadly.
I'll keep testing and post back.
I am looking to upgrade my video card to see if it's a video memory thing.
What is very weird though is the fact that this problem didn't present itself until after several weeks of working with this command with no problem. No additional apps installed, nothing changed. Why would it start happening only after a while?
Thanks again for your suggestion.

Editing Plug In Workflow

This is a follow up to a previous question. Firstly i know it's not not possible to add new plug ins to the internal adjustments within aperture which is a shame.
So i've tried using an external plug in, specifically Magic Bullet Photo Looks because i use the video version as well and like the results.
However is it me, or just this plug in, or is plug in integration with aperture really lame? These are the issues i've encountered, if someone knows a way around or can tell me i'm wrong that would be great
- when you edit with a plug in a 14MB RAW file is first turned into an 80MB tiff file (and at 8 bit too)
- that generates a new master, and then that starts the adjustment workflow anew basically from an 8 bit source now.
- i make adjustments then leave the plug in
- if open the image again any information about those adjustments have gone, there doesn't seem to be any storage of meta information so i cannot tweak. Like wise i'd expect some of the aperture adjustments to happen before the plug in is applied because they're more to do with source RAW conversion.
In reality i'd expect a plug in filter to be applied within the adjustments chain. So that it's live and can be tweaked. I'd also expect aperture to be able to send a screen resolution preview to the plug in or at least the image data aperture is working with rather than create an intermediate huge file.
Is this just the way it is or am i doing something wrong (please!)
cheers
paul

Like wise i'd expect some of the aperture adjustments to happen before the plug in is applied because they're more to do with source RAW conversion
That's exactly how it works. When you send a file to an external editor or plugin Aperture creates a TIFF or PSD file with all your adjustments applied. You then work with this rendered file and save it back into Aperture with whatever plugin effect applied.
that generates a new master, and then that starts the adjustment workflow anew basically from an 8 bit source now.
Or 16-bit. This is a choice in preferences.
if open the image again any information about those adjustments have gone, there doesn't seem to be any storage of meta information so i cannot tweak
Not if you work with Photoshop. You can save layered PSD files and go back in to change things from Aperture.
In reality i'd expect a plug in filter to be applied within the adjustments chain
It would be great to keep everything non-destructive. But right now it's simply not possible. In any DAM.
I'd also expect aperture to be able to send a screen resolution preview to the plug in or at least the image data aperture is working with rather than create an intermediate huge file
If you send a screen resolution preview, you're working with a screen resolution preview - not good. And for Aperture to share its image data, third party apps would need to be able to understand it. What you see in Aperture isn't an image: it's a set of instructions within an xml file that are applied in realtime. This is not trivial. It's code, just like each app or plugin has its own code. It's not something that can easily be shared universally.
Your wishes are pretty much what we all wish. But it's not yet reality.

How can I find all locked layers (visible or not) and then Unlock All at once?

OK, for anyone who cares here's the scenario.
I was on a tight deadline. I got a massively layered, -- nested folders everything -- .psd
I'm using Photoshop CS 5.5
I only needed the visible layers. So, I go to "Delete Hidden Layers" right? Ooops it was grayed out, I could not use it -- Ahhh that was because of the locked layers...
No problem. Ugh wait.
Then I realized -- in the complicated layer structure I had to go through every single folder, open it, look for a locked layer and unlock it (nested folders inside of nested folders etc.). If the layer was not visible and it was locked, I had to first turn it to visible, then unlock it, and then turn it off again.
Aaaarrggghhh I was on a deadline, and I just didn't have time -- but I had to do it anyway.
This was a painful experience... I'm telling designers from now on NEVER SEND ME A PSD WITH LOCKED LAYERS AGAIN
It would have been so much easier if I could just search for "locked layers", and "unlock all."
Does anyone know of a solution? Probably something I should have known years ago, or maybe a feature request?
Thanks!!!
:B

This feature is now available in Photoshop CS6. Layers panel has a layer filter option that simplifies the workflow and is designers dream come true! Please see screenshots below:

Large Still Images into PE - One Workflow

Everyone wants the highest quality that they can obtain when doing their videos. It’s natural to want the best. Well, when dealing with still images, bigger is not necessarily better, for two reasons. First, overly large still images can really tax a system and second, one is limited to the frame size of the video, so these have to be resized somewhere - this resizing can be in the NLE (Non Linear Editor) program, or in an image processing program like PS (Photoshop), which does a better job anyway. Doing this in PS, or PSE, will result in better resized images, and they are easier for the NLE to work with. Quality is as high as your Project’s Preset will allow, and you are more efficient, with fewer crashes, slowdowns and hangs. It is a win-win situation.
Here is my normal workflow when dealing with still images. This workflow is for NTSC 4:3 720x480 with a PAR (Pixel Aspect Ratio) of 0.9. If your Project’s Presets are different, use those specs to resize to.
Since I shoot my still images in RAW, I Copy my files from the CF card to my system and catalog these images by location, subject and date (if necessary). I’ll do a quick conversion and Save_As Adobe DNG for backup. I then process these RAW images in PS with the ARC (Adobe Raw Converter), correcting them and then doing a Save_As PSD into a sub-folder. All of this is in my still photo library.
Normally, I will edit these PSD’s to find the images that I wish to use in a Video Project, and will Copy the selected images to another folder. You’ll see that I work with a lot of Copies, so my original files are always untouched and stored elsewhere. This guards against anything happening to them.
At this point, I’ll decide how I wish to use these selected images in my Video Project. Let’s just say that they are all horizontal images, and are still full-size from my camera. As stated, my Video Projects are DV-NTSC 4:3 720x480 PAR 0.9. [Remember, your Video Project may vary, so you will need to plug in the dimensions for YOUR Video Project in that case.] I also will have done my Cropping on each image individually, to get them to 4:3 Aspect Ratio. I do this my eye and by hand, rather than via an Action, because I want full aesthetic control.
In PS, I have a set of Actions for Video. An Action is like a Script, but less powerful and less involved in the writing. As I have already done all of my image enhancements and additional processing before I did my Copy to the selected folder, I only have to worry about my Action resizing these selected images for use in my Video Project. My Action here is to resize to 720x480 with a PAR of 0.9, and I normally use the Action that does this with a particular resizing algorithm, Bicubic-Smoother (though I also use Bicubic-Sharper on occasion).
For the next step, I go to my folder structure (remember, this folder contains copies of my selected still images in PSD format), and create a new sub-folder "[Project Name]_720x480." Back in PS, I choose File>Automate>Batch. Here I set my Source Folder, my Destination folder and the Action to perform. In my case, it’ll be the Destination Folder, that I just created, [Project Name]_720x480, and my Action will be my NTSC 4:3 720x480 Smooth. I check to have the Open command by-passed, because I do not need to see this take place on my monitor. When I hit OK, PS grabs all files in my Source Folder, runs the commands of my Action and does a Save_As for all files into my Destination Folder. I can process hundreds of large images down to a great 720x480 PAR 0.9 via Bicubic-Smoother interpolation, in moments. Now, I’m ready to go. Last, I Copy my Destination Folder to my Video Project’s folder hierarchy (usually on another HDD), and then Import these processed stills into my NLE.
What if I need to pan on one, or more of these images, while they are zoomed out completely? I don’t have enough pixels in my horizontal dimension to do this. I am just filling the frame with my still. Well, if I find that there are such images, I go back to my folder with the full sized images in my still images library, and select the ones that need to be larger. I run another Action on these, but it’s one that resizes to something larger than 720x480, say 1000x750. Now, I have another Destination Folder with the name [File Name]_1000x750. I’ll Copy this over to my Video Project, and Import these into the NLE. Here, I can go to Project Panel and remove the 720x480 versions if I so choose, but since a Premiere Project file (.PRPROJ or .PREL) is only an XML database, I may just leave them. It does not contain any media files, just links to where they are on the system and to what operations are performed on them.
By doing my resizing in PS, rather than in Premiere, I have accomplished two things:
1.) I have better quality resized images, using the algorithms in PS, plus have a choice of several interpolation methods to work with.
2.) I have lessened the processing load on my NLE and on my system, while doing the editing
I get higher quality and lower resource overhead - hence my reference to "win-win."
Now, back to my aesthetic control. I do not do any automatic zooming or panning. If one allows the NLE to do this, then they will want to probably process all of their images to 1000x750 (remember, this is for an NTSC 4:3 Project, so you will need to calculate what YOUR Project will require).
The two programs that I use are Photoshop and Premiere Pro, but Photoshop Elements can do the same things, though the exact commands might be different. Premiere Elements will handle the resized still images, just like Premiere Pro and the only difference will be the terminology used when one wishes to Import the still images.
I also keep all of my images in .PSD (the native format of PS), and do not convert to JPEG, or other. If one’s camera shoots only JPEG, I suggest writing the Action to do the Save_As to .PSD, as another JPEG compression will cost one quality. Yes, the JPEG’s will be smaller, but remember we are looking for the ultimate quality, so larger file sizes are just part of that equation.
One does not have to deal with all of the Copies, as I do. However, this allows me to go back to the originals, or to the processed full-sized .PSD’s at any step along the way. There is only one thing worse than not being able to go back to an intermediate version with full Layers and Adjustment Layers, plus any Alpha Channels, and that is finding out that you’ve lost your original RAW and DNG backups! That’s why I do a lot of Save_As and also work from Copies all along the way.
Hunt

Your workflow looks good. I do similar, but use PS, in lieu of LightRoom. I also do DNG's for my archives.
Provided that one chooses a JPEG compression algorithm setting that does not do too much compression, I doubt that anyone, but the most very critical, could tell the difference in Video. Most of my tests on PSD vs JPEG have been for print. There, one can more easily detect the differences. Video "hides" some of that.
To date, I have not had a Project where the Asset size differences between equally sized PSD's vs JPEG's caused any slowdown, or problem. There could be a resources savings with the smaller JPEG files, but there is a tiny bit of overhead dealing with the JPEG compression. I have never tested this, so can only guess that the smaller Asset size of the JPEG would trump that overhead - just a guess on my part.
For me, keeping the images in PSD does save a tiny bit of work in my Action (basically one less operation to perform), but I doubt that one could measure that time difference, even over the automation of hundreds of images. Besides, it's only one additional line in the Action. My feelings on JPEG vs PSD is firmly based in my print experience, and I am probably being too critical with images going to video. When I move up to HD and BD authoring, I need to apply a very critical eye, to see if I can tell the differences on an HD TV. So long as one does not apply too much JPEG compression, the differences should be very slight, at the worst, and maybe not even noticed, at best.
I do minimize the impact of many files on my Project by sizing to what I need. If I will not be doing any pans on zoomed-out images, I size to my Project. For pans on zoomed-out images, I calculate just what I will need for those pans, and might end up with several groups of sizes, to accommodate each. Still, the vast majority will be sized to exactly what I need for the Project - very few extra pixels.
In my case, and yours too, I have my RAW, my DNG, my working Layered PSD's, and then my sized output. I always keep all working PSD's, as I might change my mind, or my client might change theirs, and I do not want to have to go back and redo work, if I still have those working files. I also do as little destructive editing, as I can, using Dupe Layers, and Adjustment Layers, whenever possible. If I can, I never Flatten, or Merge Layers, so I can make any/all changes at any time, and only have to do the resizing via the same Actions. That is basically a "one-button" solution, once I have made the changes required.
Good luck,
Hunt

Open as Smart Object as Layers in Photoshop?

I apologize if this has been addressed already, but I am looking for a way to open Smart Objects as LAYERS. I do compositing work and would like to retain as much information as possible by using Smart Objects PRIOR to going into Photoshop. My current workflow is to highlight the photos in Lightroom CC > Open as Smart Object in Photoshop CC > Manually Drag layers from each open file in Photoshop to main PSD.
Edit - Opening as Layers in Photoshop then applying the Camera Raw Filter is not a good work around, information is lost.

davepinminn wrote:
I must still be doing something wrong here..............
You have the wrong expectation—namely because you don't grasp the concept. A smart object is not a linked file. It's a new file all on its own (in PSB format) with no connection to the original file at all.
davepinminn wrote:
…I can open my raw (.dng) into Photoshop as a smart object. And in PS, I can open the smart object into ACR. Works fine. And I can change stuff. For example, if I change the exposure from -.25 to +.20, it changes perfectly in PS, as I'd expect. But, I'm still not getting the changes back to the original raw (.dng) file…
There is no reason why the changes made to a Smart Object oject should be refleftef to a totally unrelated file.
davepinminn wrote:
…Do I need to do something different to get the changes back to the original file…
Yes. you have to go back to that original file and apply the changes directly to it. In a previous post, Jeff Schewe told you of a shortcut to achieve that:
Jeff Schewe wrote:
When you are in the Camera Raw SO with ACR open, go to the main flyout menu and select Export settings to XMP. This will write the new image settings from the SO to the xmp metadata. Then in Lightroom, select Read metadata from file in the main Metadata menu. That will bring in all the settings of the raw SO back into Lightroom. So, while not automatic, it's not as bad as writing down the settings and entering them by hand.

Stacking layers top-to-tail to create a long banner print of software code in Photoshop

I have lots of software code (in tSQL, html, JavaScript, XAML, and C#) that I need to print in a long scroll. The scroll will be no more than 440mm wide and as long as it needs to be (though the roll of paper is 45 m long so I’ll need to make sure it is shorter than that). The resulting code listing is to from part of an exhibit contrasting the ‘sketching’ phase in a multidisciplinary project between design, social science, and software engineering. The exhibit will form part of the Research Through Design conference http://www.praxisandpoetics.org/researchthroughdesign/ next week
At first I thought I’d print straight from the development environment (Visual Studio 2012 and SQL Server Management Studio) but I realise now that is not possible because
1) Both tools assume standard page sizes, and
2) I need to rotate the software code listing 180 degrees so that the end of the listing is at the tail of the paper roll.
For these reasons I’m doing it in Adobe Photoshop (CS5, 64 bit, on Windows 8).
My workflow for this is verging on the ridiculous.
1) If I cut-and-paste the code listings file by file from Visual Studio 2012 and SQL Server Management Studio into Photoshop (or Illustrator) I lose the formatting, for example the coloring of comments differently form variable declarations. (See http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/how_could_i_paste_a_rtf_pdf_word_tex t_keeping_the_formatting_into_photoshop .) Thus Step 1 is to cut-and-paste each file into a Microsoft Word document.
2) If I cut-and-paste from the Microsoft Word document into Photoshop I still loose the formatting, and Microsoft Word does not seem to be able to cope with the paper roll nor rotating the print. So I save the Microsoft Word document as a PDF and open that into Photoshop.
3) I now have 51 Photoshop files each with one layer containing the text for that ‘page’, though I think it’s an image as it is not editable as text. I then save each of these files.
4) Using Adobe Bridge I open all 51 Photoshop files created in Stage 3 and “Load Files into Photoshop Layers” so that I have a new single Photoshop file with all 51 text image layers in.
5) The layers sit on top of each other. What I need is for them to sit head-to-toe. I don’t know how to do this without spending a million years selecting layers and moving them by hand.
6) If I ever get Stage 5 done I will then group the 51 layers and rotate the result through 180 degrees.
7) I will then resize the result to have a width of 400mm and print the resulting file on our banner printer, having first calculated the resulting paper ‘height’ and turned off the automatic paper cutting.
So my questions are:
1) Is there a better way of doing this?
2) I can see the Photoshop actions that will align layers by their tops, their bottoms, or their centers but how do I automatically align them so that the bottom of layer 1 touches the top of layer 2, the bottom of layer 2 touches the top of layer 3, etc.?

If you can make an image file for each page you may want to look at my paste image roll Photoshop script.
http://www.mouseprints.net/old/dpr/PasteImageRoll.html
http://www.mouseprints.net/old/dpr/PasteImageRoll.jsx
A Script included in my Photoshop Photo Collage Toolkit
http://www.mouseprints.net/old/dpr/PhotoCollageToolkit.html

Is there a way to combine layers into precomp AND trim them

Hi. I have a bunch of image sequences that I bring in from a 3D program. Each sequence may have a separate set of images for Shadow, Specular color, Ambient Color, Glow etc - so clip A could have several layers, each with identical length. The same would hold for each other clip.
Ideally, I would like to put all the Shadow, specular, ambient, and glow images of clip A into a precomp, and the same for clips B,C, D, and so on.
When I do this, however, the precomp suddenly occupies the whole timeline, and if I manually trim comp back to correct size, the precomp goes to beginning of the timeline and I have to mannually reposition it. This can quickly get tedious.
Is there a way to automate this process? Or something to use other than precomps that would essentially group the layers/lock them together so all the A clips function as one unit, and all the B clips as another?
Andrew Kramer (at Video Copilot.net) has a script to automatically trim compositions, but I can't figure out if there's a way to use it in this instance where I need to combine multiple layers first.
Thanks for any suggestions.

I'm not where I can look but there is a script that takes the in and out point of a bunch of layers in your Pre-comp, trims the pre-comp, then trims the pre-comp and keeps it in the right place.
I usually don't take the time to do this. Instead I set timeline markers for the in and out points of the pre-comp, then, if the comp starts getting really confusing, I'll just set an in and out point for the pre-comp rather than change the length of the pre-comp. This makes my ELAT (edit this look at that) workflow easier if I have to dive into the pre-comp to make changes.
Let me make another observation. From your description it sounds like you are trying to make too long a movie in AE. AE shines at making shots, and occasionally, making sequences. Even Pixar renders out shots and then moves those shots into a NLE to turn them into a sequence, then a scene, then a movie. When I do the kind of compositing you're doing I treat each rendered 3D shot with all of the render passes as a single composition. I render the result, and then edit the sequence in a NLE. Only on rare occasions will I do the editing of the sequence using a bunch of pre-comps as layers in AE.
Hope this helps.

Can After Effects CC handle this many Illustrator layers?

I designed a world map in Adobe Illustrator with many layers for a documentary about interwar Europe (1919-1939). The Illustrator map actually has 80 layers. Would this be a map with too many layers to animate in After Effects?
In AE I plan to add a camera to zoom in on parts of the map like Europe and the Middle East. But I'll also need to animate the opacity of individual layers to show territorial changes and invasions in Europe before and after 1919 Versailles Treaty and the 1938 Munich Agreement. The reason I have so many layers is that I thought I could use this one map in multiple different map animations for my film.
Can AE handle this many layers? Or is it wiser to keep the layers to a minimum number?
Also, is there no way in After Effects to group the layers other than pre-comping them? It would be great to be able to have sub-layers in AE like you can in Illustrator. I could then reduce the number of layers in my map from 80 to less than 20, by grouping all European states as sub-layers into a Europe layer, as so on for Africa, Asia, etc.
Unless I'm mistaken, Illustrator sub-layers are not visible in After Effects, are they?

Rick and Mylenium,
Thank you both for your feedback. Much appreciated. Mylenium, I'm sure you're right. I probably was trying to do too much in one map. I'll follow your suggestion and use the minimum number of layers for each scenario. I'm spending too much time as it is looking for particular layers among the 80.
I do wish it were possible in AE to simply group layers without pre-comping them though. Or that Illustrator sub-layers could be visible. It would really help to streamline the workflow. I suppose I could precomp all layers and then simply add a camera to the pre-comp.
Rick I'll try the expression controls and parenting, but can you elaborate a little further regarding your suggestion of pre-planning in Illustrator?
Thank you both again for your helpful suggestions.

Is it normal to use over 9,000,000k of memory (Private Working Set) when working on 3-4 photos with approx. 10-12 layers each while running CC??

I started using CC in December with absolutely no issues. In April, CC suddenly started crashing on me when I would run certain actions that I have used for years. My first thought was that my computer was going bad. This began a two month process of eliminating any potential computer problems. Fixes were as follows:
Installed new SSD.
Installed new 2T storage drive.
Installed new video card and power source to run new video card.
I am operating Windows 7 with 16G of RAM on a quad core, which should be more than sufficient to handle the demands of CC. It worked fine for four months, so obviously it is capable of doing the job.
$400 later, CC still crashed while using certain actions.
As a test, I tried running the same files with the same actions on my husband's computer, which is a year newer. CC crashed on his as well when the actions were ran. After much head banging, tears, and communication with Adobe, it was determined that it's not uncommon for older actions to not be compatible with newer versions of photoshop. As a result, I spent weeks reworking my entire workflow to redo/remove the actions I had come to rely on.
Fast forward to today. I have fixed everything I possibly know how to fix, yet I still have to be VERY careful not to push CC too hard. I used to be able to work on 6 photos at a time, with 10-15 layers on each photo. CC NEVER crashed on me. Now, I can barely work on 2 or 3 photos and it will crash if I'm not careful about running one action at a time (instead of batching) and I have to keep my layers to a minimum. During the time I was trying to figure out my computer problems, I started paying more attention to my memory usage while CC was opened. Before all the changes, I would use 5-6,000,000k of memory with only 2 or 3 photos opened. AFTER all the fixes, I still continue to use an insane amount of memory.
Things to consider before offering any suggestions:
*Yes, I have re-installed CC about 5 times after my computer upgrades, mainly because I could not get my actions to populate. So I don't think a re-install will help.
*I tried removing most of my actions from CC, and it made no difference in memory usage. Besides, when I did the test on my husband's computer, the only actions installed were the few I was trying to test.
*I disabled auto-save and the recovery feature. Still no difference.
So, bottom line, my question is if it is normal to use so much memory when doing such simple tasks?? Most of my layers are levels, curves, fill, and a sharpening layer and noise filter. It doesn't seem those would be considered task intensive. Not only that, but also when I did the test on my husband's computer, I checked his memory usage and he didn't even break 2,000,000k at the same time I was using 5-6,000,000k for the same task. And he only has 12G of RAM. So SOMETHING is not right! Is there a setting I need to change so that CC is not so memory intensive?? I could see if I were doing 3D graphics of something, but these are simple photo edits that I have done for years without any problems.
Sincerely hope that somebody has some/any suggestions on how I can get the memory usage down so I can run CC as it's meant to be - fast and efficient!
Thanks in advance for any help!!

Thanks again for your suggestions Noel! I do hope that resetting my preferences will be a last resort. After my re-install it took me a week or two to get everything back to where I wanted it! For some reason, the way the computer techs set up my new drives, CC did not populate any of my actions/preferences/etc. I figured a round about way to get my actions to load, but it was a real pain in the butt!! I certainly hope I don't have to do that all over again. Although I will say that even before I got everything reset in photoshop, I was still having problems. The only thing I pulled into a fresh install of CC were the few actions that were giving me problems ( I worked with the defaults until I could figure out how to reconfigure everything). Before and after my changes, CC was still crashing on me and using tons of memory. Just something to keep in mind regarding my preferences being an issue.
Here is the information you requested. Hopefully the answer lies within! I have been in tears many times since April trying to get my CC/computer back to running the way it used to. This has put me SO far behind on editing I've even had to stop taking sessions for now. So I am VERY appreciative of any and all suggestions you can offer!
Adobe Photoshop Version: 14.2.1 (14.2.1 20140207.r.570 2014/02/07:23:00:00) x64
Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit
Version: 6.1 Service Pack 1
System architecture: AMD CPU Family:15, Model:1, Stepping:0 with MMX, SSE Integer, SSE FP, SSE2, SSE3
Physical processor count: 4
Processor speed: 2399 MHz
Built-in memory: 16361 MB
Free memory: 4728 MB
Memory available to Photoshop: 14679 MB
Memory used by Photoshop: 71 %
Image tile size: 1028K
Image cache levels: 4
Font Preview: Medium
TextComposer: Latin
Display: 1
Display Bounds: top=0, left=0, bottom=1080, right=1920
OpenGL Drawing: Enabled.
OpenGL Allow Old GPUs: Not Detected.
OpenGL Drawing Mode: Advanced
OpenGL Allow Normal Mode: True.
OpenGL Allow Advanced Mode: True.
AIFCoreInitialized=1
AIFOGLInitialized=1
OGLContextCreated=1
NumGPUs=1
gpu[0].OGLVersion="3.0"
gpu[0].MemoryMB=2048
gpu[0].RectTextureSize=16384
gpu[0].Renderer="AMD Radeon R7 200 Series"
gpu[0].RendererID=26131
gpu[0].Vendor="ATI Technologies Inc."
gpu[0].VendorID=4098
gpu[0].HasNPOTSupport=1
gpu[0].DriverVersion="14.100.0.0"
gpu[0].Driver="aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx32,aticfx32,aticfx32,atiumd64. dll,atidxx64.dll,atidxx64.dll,atiumdag,atidxx32,atidxx32,atiumdva,atiumd6a.cap,atitmm64.dl l"
gpu[0].DriverDate="20140417000000.000000-000"
gpu[0].CompileProgramGLSL=1
gpu[0].TestFrameBuffer=1
gpu[0].OCLPresent=1
gpu[0].OCLVersion="1.2 AMD-APP (1445.5)"
gpu[0].CUDASupported=0
gpu[0].OCLBandwidth=2.25491e+010
gpu[0].glGetString[GL_SHADING_LANGUAGE_VERSION]="4.30"
gpu[0].glGetProgramivARB[GL_FRAGMENT_PROGRAM_ARB][GL_MAX_PROGRAM_INSTRUCTIONS_ARB]=[214748 3647]
gpu[0].glGetIntegerv[GL_MAX_TEXTURE_UNITS]=[8]
gpu[0].glGetIntegerv[GL_MAX_COMBINED_TEXTURE_IMAGE_UNITS]=[192]
gpu[0].glGetIntegerv[GL_MAX_VERTEX_TEXTURE_IMAGE_UNITS]=[32]
gpu[0].glGetIntegerv[GL_MAX_TEXTURE_IMAGE_UNITS]=[32]
gpu[0].glGetIntegerv[GL_MAX_DRAW_BUFFERS]=[8]
gpu[0].glGetIntegerv[GL_MAX_VERTEX_UNIFORM_COMPONENTS]=[1024]
gpu[0].glGetIntegerv[GL_MAX_FRAGMENT_UNIFORM_COMPONENTS]=[1024]
gpu[0].glGetIntegerv[GL_MAX_VARYING_FLOATS]=[128]
gpu[0].glGetIntegerv[GL_MAX_VERTEX_ATTRIBS]=[29]
gpu[0].extension[AIF::OGL::GL_ARB_VERTEX_PROGRAM]=1
gpu[0].extension[AIF::OGL::GL_ARB_FRAGMENT_PROGRAM]=1
gpu[0].extension[AIF::OGL::GL_ARB_VERTEX_SHADER]=1
gpu[0].extension[AIF::OGL::GL_ARB_FRAGMENT_SHADER]=1
gpu[0].extension[AIF::OGL::GL_EXT_FRAMEBUFFER_OBJECT]=1
gpu[0].extension[AIF::OGL::GL_ARB_TEXTURE_RECTANGLE]=1
gpu[0].extension[AIF::OGL::GL_ARB_TEXTURE_FLOAT]=1
gpu[0].extension[AIF::OGL::GL_ARB_OCCLUSION_QUERY]=1
gpu[0].extension[AIF::OGL::GL_ARB_VERTEX_BUFFER_OBJECT]=1
gpu[0].extension[AIF::OGL::GL_ARB_SHADER_TEXTURE_LOD]=1
License Type: Subscription
Serial number: 96040756894339264519
Application folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC (64 Bit)\
Temporary file path: D:\Users\Coleen\AppData\Local\Temp\
Photoshop scratch has async I/O enabled
Scratch volume(s):
E:\, 930.0G, 665.3G free
D:\, 933.0G, 852.8G free
Required Plug-ins folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC (64 Bit)\Required\Plug-Ins\
Primary Plug-ins folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC (64 Bit)\Plug-ins\
Installed components:
   ACE.dll   ACE 2013/10/29-11:47:16   79.548223   79.548223
   adbeape.dll   Adobe APE 2013/02/04-09:52:32   0.1160850   0.1160850
   AdobeLinguistic.dll   Adobe Linguisitc Library   7.0.0
   AdobeOwl.dll   Adobe Owl 2013/10/25-12:15:59   5.0.24   79.547804
   AdobePDFL.dll   PDFL 2013/10/29-11:47:16   79.508720   79.508720
   AdobePIP.dll   Adobe Product Improvement Program   7.0.0.1786
   AdobeXMP.dll   Adobe XMP Core 2013/10/29-11:47:16   79.154911   79.154911
   AdobeXMPFiles.dll   Adobe XMP Files 2013/10/29-11:47:16   79.154911   79.154911
   AdobeXMPScript.dll   Adobe XMP Script 2013/10/29-11:47:16   79.154911   79.154911
   adobe_caps.dll   Adobe CAPS   7,0,0,21
   AGM.dll   AGM 2013/10/29-11:47:16   79.548223   79.548223
   ahclient.dll    AdobeHelp Dynamic Link Library   1,8,0,31
   aif_core.dll   AIF   5.0   79.534508
   aif_ocl.dll   AIF   5.0   79.534508
   aif_ogl.dll   AIF   5.0   79.534508
   amtlib.dll   AMTLib (64 Bit)   7.0.0.249 BuildVersion: 7.0; BuildDate: Thu Nov 14 2013 15:55:50)   1.000000
   ARE.dll   ARE 2013/10/29-11:47:16   79.548223   79.548223
   AXE8SharedExpat.dll   AXE8SharedExpat 2011/12/16-15:10:49   66.26830   66.26830
   AXEDOMCore.dll   AXEDOMCore 2011/12/16-15:10:49   66.26830   66.26830
   Bib.dll   BIB 2013/10/29-11:47:16   79.548223   79.548223
   BIBUtils.dll   BIBUtils 2013/10/29-11:47:16   79.548223   79.548223
   boost_date_time.dll   DVA Product   7.0.0
   boost_signals.dll   DVA Product   7.0.0
   boost_system.dll   DVA Product   7.0.0
   boost_threads.dll   DVA Product   7.0.0
   cg.dll   NVIDIA Cg Runtime   3.0.00007
   cgGL.dll   NVIDIA Cg Runtime   3.0.00007
   CIT.dll   Adobe CIT   2.1.6.30929   2.1.6.30929
   CITThreading.dll   Adobe CITThreading   2.1.6.30929   2.1.6.30929
   CoolType.dll   CoolType 2013/10/29-11:47:16   79.548223   79.548223
   dvaaudiodevice.dll   DVA Product   7.0.0
   dvacore.dll   DVA Product   7.0.0
   dvamarshal.dll   DVA Product   7.0.0
   dvamediatypes.dll   DVA Product   7.0.0
   dvaplayer.dll   DVA Product   7.0.0
   dvatransport.dll   DVA Product   7.0.0
   dvaunittesting.dll   DVA Product   7.0.0
   dynamiclink.dll   DVA Product   7.0.0
   ExtendScript.dll   ExtendScript 2013/10/30-13:12:12   79.546835   79.546835
   FileInfo.dll   Adobe XMP FileInfo 2013/10/25-03:51:33   79.154511   79.154511
   filter_graph.dll   AIF   5.0   79.534508
   icucnv40.dll   International Components for Unicode 2011/11/15-16:30:22    Build gtlib_3.0.16615
   icudt40.dll   International Components for Unicode 2011/11/15-16:30:22    Build gtlib_3.0.16615
   imslib.dll   IMSLib DLL   7.0.0.145
   JP2KLib.dll   JP2KLib 2013/10/29-11:47:16   79.248139   79.248139
   libifcoremd.dll   Intel(r) Visual Fortran Compiler   10.0 (Update A)
   libiomp5md.dll   Intel(R) OMP Runtime Library   5.0
   libmmd.dll   Intel(r) C Compiler, Intel(r) C++ Compiler, Intel(r) Fortran Compiler   12.0
   LogSession.dll   LogSession   2.1.2.1785
   mediacoreif.dll   DVA Product   7.0.0
   MPS.dll   MPS 2013/10/29-11:47:16   79.535029   79.535029
   msvcm80.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005   8.00.50727.6195
   msvcm90.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2008   9.00.30729.1
   msvcp100.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2010   10.00.40219.1
   msvcp80.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005   8.00.50727.6195
   msvcp90.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2008   9.00.30729.1
   msvcr100.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2010   10.00.40219.1
   msvcr80.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005   8.00.50727.6195
   msvcr90.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2008   9.00.30729.1
   PatchMatch.dll   PatchMatch 2013/10/29-11:47:16   79.542390   79.542390
   pdfsettings.dll   Adobe PDFSettings   1.04
   Photoshop.dll   Adobe Photoshop CC   CC
   Plugin.dll   Adobe Photoshop CC   CC
   PlugPlugOwl.dll   Adobe(R) CSXS PlugPlugOwl Standard Dll (64 bit)   4.2.0.36
   PSArt.dll   Adobe Photoshop CC   CC
   PSViews.dll   Adobe Photoshop CC   CC
   SCCore.dll   ScCore 2013/10/30-13:12:12   79.546835   79.546835
   ScriptUIFlex.dll   ScriptUIFlex 2013/10/30-13:12:12   79.546835   79.546835
   svml_dispmd.dll   Intel(r) C Compiler, Intel(r) C++ Compiler, Intel(r) Fortran Compiler   12.0
   tbb.dll   Intel(R) Threading Building Blocks for Windows   4, 1, 2012, 1003
   tbbmalloc.dll   Intel(R) Threading Building Blocks for Windows   4, 1, 2012, 1003
   updaternotifications.dll   Adobe Updater Notifications Library   7.0.1.102 (BuildVersion: 1.0; BuildDate: BUILDDATETIME)   7.0.1.102
   WRServices.dll   WRServices Mon Feb 25 2013 16:09:10   Build 0.19078   0.19078
Required plug-ins:
   3D Studio 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Accented Edges 14.2.1
   Adaptive Wide Angle 14.2.1
   Angled Strokes 14.2.1
   Average 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Bas Relief 14.2.1
   BMP 14.2.1
   Camera Raw 8.4.1
   Camera Raw Filter 8.4.1
   Chalk & Charcoal 14.2.1
   Charcoal 14.2.1
   Chrome 14.2.1
   Cineon 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Clouds 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Collada 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Color Halftone 14.2.1
   Colored Pencil 14.2.1
   CompuServe GIF 14.2.1
   Conté Crayon 14.2.1
   Craquelure 14.2.1
   Crop and Straighten Photos 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Crop and Straighten Photos Filter 14.2.1
   Crosshatch 14.2.1
   Crystallize 14.2.1
   Cutout 14.2.1
   Dark Strokes 14.2.1
   De-Interlace 14.2.1
   Dicom 14.2.1
   Difference Clouds 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Diffuse Glow 14.2.1
   Displace 14.2.1
   Dry Brush 14.2.1
   Eazel Acquire 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Embed Watermark 4.0
   Entropy 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Extrude 14.2.1
   FastCore Routines 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Fibers 14.2.1
   Film Grain 14.2.1
   Filter Gallery 14.2.1
   Flash 3D 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Fresco 14.2.1
   Glass 14.2.1
   Glowing Edges 14.2.1
   Google Earth 4 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Grain 14.2.1
   Graphic Pen 14.2.1
   Halftone Pattern 14.2.1
   HDRMergeUI 14.2.1
   IFF Format 14.2.1
   Ink Outlines 14.2.1
   JPEG 2000 14.2.1
   Kurtosis 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Lens Blur 14.2.1
   Lens Correction 14.2.1
   Lens Flare 14.2.1
   Liquify 14.2.1
   Matlab Operation 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Maximum 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Mean 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Measurement Core 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Median 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Mezzotint 14.2.1
   Minimum 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   MMXCore Routines 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Mosaic Tiles 14.2.1
   Multiprocessor Support 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Neon Glow 14.2.1
   Note Paper 14.2.1
   NTSC Colors 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Ocean Ripple 14.2.1
   Oil Paint 14.2.1
   OpenEXR 14.2.1
   Paint Daubs 14.2.1
   Palette Knife 14.2.1
   Patchwork 14.2.1
   Paths to Illustrator 14.2.1
   PCX 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Photocopy 14.2.1
   Photoshop 3D Engine 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Photoshop Touch 14.0
   Picture Package Filter 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Pinch 14.2.1
   Pixar 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Plaster 14.2.1
   Plastic Wrap 14.2.1
   PNG 14.2.1
   Pointillize 14.2.1
   Polar Coordinates 14.2.1
   Portable Bit Map 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Poster Edges 14.2.1
   Radial Blur 14.2.1
   Radiance 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Range 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Read Watermark 4.0
   Reticulation 14.2.1
   Ripple 14.2.1
   Rough Pastels 14.2.1
   Save for Web 14.2.1
   ScriptingSupport 14.2.1
   Shake Reduction 14.2.1
   Shear 14.2.1
   Skewness 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Smart Blur 14.2.1
   Smudge Stick 14.2.1
   Solarize 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Spatter 14.2.1
   Spherize 14.2.1
   Sponge 14.2.1
   Sprayed Strokes 14.2.1
   Stained Glass 14.2.1
   Stamp 14.2.1
   Standard Deviation 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   STL 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Sumi-e 14.2.1
   Summation 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Targa 14.2.1
   Texturizer 14.2.1
   Tiles 14.2.1
   Torn Edges 14.2.1
   Twirl 14.2.1
   Underpainting 14.2.1
   Vanishing Point 14.2.1
   Variance 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Variations 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Water Paper 14.2.1
   Watercolor 14.2.1
   Wave 14.2.1
   Wavefront|OBJ 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   WIA Support 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   Wind 14.2.1
   Wireless Bitmap 14.2.1 (14.2.1 x001)
   ZigZag 14.2.1
Optional and third party plug-ins:
   Imagenomic Plug-in Console 1, 2, 0, 0
   Portraiture 2.3.3.0
Plug-ins that failed to load: NONE
Flash:
   Adobe Exchange
   Kuler
Installed TWAIN devices: NONE

RED Workflow questions with Mac Pro (including third party plugins)

Hello all,
I’ve been searching many forums for the better part of a day trying to get some workflow questions sorted. I’m experiencing (very) slow export times, and mediocre playback for a machine that should be screaming fast.
Here is what I’m working with:
2014 Mac Pro
-2.7 GHz 12-core intel xeon E5
-64GB Ram
-Dual AMD FirePro D700 6GB
-1TB Flash Storage
Editing all footage off 96TB Raid 6 mini-sas server (getting about 1100mbs read/write rate according to AJA system test) which is faster than any Thunderbolt/TB2 drive array I have.
Media I work with is footage from the RED Epic (normally 5K) as well as DSLR footage from the 5d.
Software:
-PrPro CC 2014 (8.1)
-Magic Bullet Looks 2.5.2
My question(s) pertains to RED post-pro workflow in combination with third party plug-ins and the different approaches to make it more efficient.
Right now, majority of the clients need a 1080p HD master, and they are generally anywhere from 2-8 minutes (usually). So my sequence settings are as follows:
Video:
Editing Mode: RED Cinema
Size: 1920 x 1080
Audio: 48Hz
Video Previews
Preview File Format: I-Frame Only MPEG
Codec: MPEG I-Frame
1920x1080
Maximum Bit Depth unchecked
Maximum Render Quality unchecked
Composite in Linear Color checked
Export Settings
H.264
1920x1080
VBR 1 pass
Target Bitrate 12mbs
Max bitrate 12mbs
Maximum render quality/depth/previews unchecked
Issues I have:
-Playback is fine at 1/2 or even full, but once effects (especially magic bullet looks) start to go on the clips, it’s very choppy and has difficult playback at 1/4
-Export times (especially with magic bullet looks) will take the better part of 1-4 hours for a video that is 3-6 minutes long. This doesn’t seem like it should be the case for a maxed out MacPro
So my questions are:
Do these seem like the right sequence/export settings for mastering at 1080p? If not, what would you suggest?
Would using offline editing help at all?
Do you place your effects on adjustment layers?
Is there anyway to improve export settings when using an array of filters?
Have you stopped using third party plugins for their inefficiency in unreliability and switched to more integrated applications like SpeedGrade?
Is there any other tweaks that you would suggest for RED workflow with PrPro?
Should I consider switching to FCPX or (besides the iMovie-likeness) does it carry problems of its own?

Hi This Is Ironclad,
thisisironclad wrote:
Hello all,
I’ve been searching many forums for the better part of a day trying to get some workflow questions sorted. I’m experiencing (very) slow export times, and mediocre playback for a machine that should be screaming fast.
The biggest issue is that most people have is that updating OS X causes certain folders to be set to Read Only. See this blog post: Premiere Pro CC, CC 2014, or 2014.1 freezing on startup or crashing while working (Mac OS X 10.9, and later).
thisisironclad wrote:
Hello all,
I’ve been searching many forums for the better part of a day trying to get some workflow questions sorted. I’m experiencing (very) slow export times, and mediocre playback for a machine that should be screaming fast.
Here is what I’m working with:
2014 Mac Pro
-2.7 GHz 12-core intel xeon E5
-64GB Ram
-Dual AMD FirePro D700 6GB
-1TB Flash Storage
It's a nice base system. How about an additional speedy disk for media cache files. You also did not mention which version of OS X you are running.
thisisironclad wrote:
Software:
-Magic Bullet Looks 2.5.2
The Red Giant website does not indicate that this software is yet updated to work with Premiere Pro CC 2014.1 (8.1). Proceed with caution here.
thisisironclad wrote:
Issues I have:
-Playback is fine at 1/2 or even full, but once effects (especially magic bullet looks) start to go on the clips, it’s very choppy and has difficult playback at 1/4
I would not use this plug-in until you get the OK from the manufacturer.
thisisironclad wrote:
-Export times (especially with magic bullet looks) will take the better part of 1-4 hours for a video that is 3-6 minutes long. This doesn’t seem like it should be the case for a maxed out MacPro
Again, I suspect your plug-in.
Keep in mind that exports are largely CPU based but you can make sure that GPU acceleration is enabled for AME at the bottom of the Queue panel.
thisisironclad wrote:
So my questions are:
Do these seem like the right sequence/export settings for mastering at 1080p? If not, what would you suggest?
It's OK.
thisisironclad wrote:
Would using offline editing help at all?
No need when you should be able to edit natively. Relinking might also be an issue.
thisisironclad wrote:
Do you place your effects on adjustment layers?
That's one way you can do it with the benefit of being more organized.
thisisironclad wrote:
Have you stopped using third party plugins for their inefficiency in unreliability and switched to more integrated applications like SpeedGrade?
I do. Of course, that's a preference.
thisisironclad wrote:
Is there any other tweaks that you would suggest for RED workflow with PrPro?
Try the following:
Sign out from Creative Cloud, restart Premiere Pro, then sign in
Update any GPU drivers
Trash preferences
Ensure Adobe preference files are set to read/write(Hopefully you checked this out already)
Delete media cache
Remove plug-ins
If you have AMD GPUs, make sure CUDA is not installed
Repair permissions
Disconnect any third party hardware
If you have a CUDA GPU, ensure that the Mercury Playback Engine is set to CUDA, not OpenCLYou have AMD GPUs.
Disable App Nap
Reboot
thisisironclad wrote:
Should I consider switching to FCPX or (besides the iMovie-likeness) does it carry problems of its own?
I really shouldn't answer that question.
Hope this helps.
Thanks,
Kevin

Add layers from other psd file and retain text layers (Batch processing)

I want to batch process a large number of portraits adding text info from the filename (year_name_number.jpg) to existing text layers. I want to make a template psd file containg the correct labeled text layers formatted and adjusted (With bleding effects and more) How can i add layers from an other psd file to the active document and retaining the text layers editable. The place command in PS5 adds the file as a smart object, no use.
Any ideas?
I tried the combined action/script way, but no joy so far. Right now i am making the text layers with a action, then calling the script from the action. It works but its difficult to make different templates from adjusting a action.
The code i am using now (in combination with a action creating the 3 text layers and other grapchical elements)
var docRef = activeDocument;
// strip the extension off
var fileNameNoExtension = docRef.name;
fileNameNoExtension = fileNameNoExtension.split( "_" );
if ( fileNameNoExtension.length > 1 ) {
fileNameNoExtension.length--;
fileNameNoExtension = fileNameNoExtension.join("_");
var myString = fileNameNoExtension;
var mySplitResult = myString.split("_");
var textLayer = docReflayers['Year']; // define the existing text layer to a var
docRef.activeLayer = textLayer;
textLayer.kind = LayerKind.TEXT;
var T1 = textLayer.textItem;
T1.contents = mySplitResult[0]
var textLayer = docRef.layers['Name']; // define the existing text layer to a var
docRef.activeLayer = textLayer;
textLayer.kind = LayerKind.TEXT;
var T2 = textLayer.textItem;
T2.contents = mySplitResult[1]
var textLayer = docRef.layers['Number']; // define the existing text layer to a var
docRef.activeLayer = textLayer;
textLayer.kind = LayerKind.TEXT;
var T3 = textLayer.textItem;
T3.contents = mySplitResult[2]
Thanks
Eivind

norway_photo wrote:
Here is my intended workflow:
- A set of same size portraits labeled "year_name_number.jpg"
- A template.psd os same size with graphical elements and text layers (named "year", "name" and "number")
- A script or action copy/pasting og adding all layers from the template.psd file to the open portrait file, retaining text layers editable.
- A script (The one i have working) changing the text layers added from the template to text from the filename.
- A action saving this as a PDF ready for print.
This way i can process a large number of portraits, add names and other information and save it as a file ready for print.
I can image it is much easier to edit a template than writing a script or an action creating all the graphical elements.
And even better, to change this template for different customers/departments/logos.
Basically i need a way to add layers to an open file using a batch file or script.
Eivind
OK I understand what your trying to do and now I do not agree with your conclusion you made in you first append about place being no good for you. Its is I think a perfect solution for you. I feel you need to address the process from a new angle.
I am very familiar with templates I use them all the time for collages which I populate with an actions. However I do not batch this process and my process is interactive. If you look at what your trying to do from the angle of creating a collage. You will see what you are trying to do is automate the population of a single image collage using a single template in a batch process. An example of one of my single image collage populated by one of my actions that has been saved as a jpeg image file. My actions are played in Photoshop with no document opened. After my action is play there is a single collage document in Photoshop that contains layers that can be tweaked all text is in text layers the can be edited.
If I wanted to automate the batch population of a single collage template I think all I would need to know is three thing.
1.) The location of the input images
2.) The full Path of the PSD template file.
3.) The location to store the output file
Looking at some of the recent threads in this forum I could almost cut and past the script you want to put together. There was a recent thread that had javascript code to process files in a folder and process only a list of file types. There also was a thread that had a place function in it to place images into the current document or create a new document to place the image into. The image was read from the web using a URL. This thread has code to change a text layer. At first I though you may need to open these image file to get at its meta-data to get the Portrait image Exif creation data. But see all you need is the Filename for it has the data you want the year and name. So the function that get the image files from the folder will give you that. The Script needs to Open the Template PSD file and retrieve the prototype text layers text content then the scrip needs a loop that get the next image file to be processed from the folder get filename function. In the loop the image files are place into the open template above a place holder layer like the Background layer. Then using the prototype text contents and the filename are used create the new content for the text layer and then change the text layers content to it. Follow that up with a save as for the output file. Once the output file is saved delete the placed smart object layer. When this loop ends the script will close the document with no save and end. As for the three inputs you need the script could either have a dialog like the images processor or simply prompt you for the folders and template file.

Layers Workflow Dilema

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