The Photoshop History Log

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 12:16 pm

Have you ever screwed around with an image file for an hour, and perfected it to your taste (or that of someone else), only to find that you can’t remember exactly what you did? And you have another image that would be ideal for the same treatment? But no matter what you try, you just can’t get it to have that same “look?” You should know about the Photoshop History Log!

I’m starting to use this feature more and more, and thought I would share it, in case there are people who are unfamiliar with it. Lately, it has saved my butt a couple of times. I use PS CS2, and have no idea which other versions might include this feature, but check your version and see!

Go to Photoshop>Preferences>General (or the PC equivalent) and you will (hopefully) see a check box for History Log, along with some options. I chose “Detailed,” and chose to have the information saved in the file’s metadata. You can have it automatically saved as a text file, too, but dropping it in metadata assures me that I will never lose it.

Now, I can go back to any image I have edited since setting up the History Log--I have no idea what the default settings are--and get exquisite detail about the manipulations I did. It includes everything, even stuff you UNdo, so it gets pretty cluttered, but it’s all there.

For example, someone asked me what I did to the grapefruit image I posted yesterday in the General forum (thread title: WAKE UP!!). I gave a very broad answer, the best of my recollection. But going back to the History Log, I find a lot more. I’ll post it as a separate post, just to give an idea of the level of feedback.

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 6:58 pm

Well, here it is! I seemed to be having trouble posting earlier:

Crop
Crop To: rectangle
Top: 0.277 inches
Left: 1.067 inches
Bottom: 6.31 inches
Right: 9.67 inches
Angle: 0°
Target Width: 0 pixels
Target Height: 0 pixels
Target Resolution: 0 per inch

Layer Via Copy
Layer Via Copy
Gaussian Blur
Gaussian Blur Radius: 13.5 pixels

Blending Change
Set current layer To: layer
Mode: screen

Reset Swatches
Blending Options
Set current layer To: layer
Blend Range List: blend range list
blend range
Channel: gray channel
This Layer Black Min: 112
This Layer Source Black Max: 179
This Layer Source White Min: 255
This Layer Source White Max: 255
Underlying Layer Black Min: 0
Underlying Layer Black Max: 0
Underlying Layer White Min: 255
Underlying Layer White Max: 255
Layer Styles: layer styles
Scale: 416.7%

Layer Visibility
Hide current layer
Layer Visibility
Show current layer
Master Opacity Change
Set current layer To: layer
Opacity: 44%

Delete Layer
Delete current layer
Layer Via Copy
Layer Via Copy
Gaussian Blur
Gaussian Blur Radius: 13.5 pixels

Blending Change
Set current layer To: layer
Mode: lighten

Blending Change
Set current layer To: layer
Mode: color dodge

Blending Change
Set current layer To: layer
Mode: linear dodge

Blending Options
Set current layer To: layer
Blend Range List: blend range list
blend range
Channel: gray channel
This Layer Black Min: 99
This Layer Source Black Max: 148
This Layer Source White Min: 255
This Layer Source White Max: 255
Underlying Layer Black Min: 0
Underlying Layer Black Max: 0
Underlying Layer White Min: 255
Underlying Layer White Max: 255
Layer Styles: layer styles
Scale: 416.7%

Master Opacity Change
Set current layer To: layer
Opacity: 53%

Layer Visibility
Hide current layer
Layer Visibility
Show current layer
Select layer “Layer 1” Without Make Visible

Add Layer Mask
Make New: channel
At: mask channel
Using: reveal all

Select brush
Brush Tool
Brush Tool
Undo
Delete Layer Mask
Delete current channel
New Layer
Make layer Using: layer
Mode: overlay
With Fill Neutral

Brush Tool
Undo
Brush Tool
Undo
Brush Tool
Undo
Exchange Swatches
Brush Tool
Undo
Redo
Brush Tool
Select history state -2
Select previous history state
Select previous history state
Select previous history state
Exchange Swatches
Brush Tool
Undo
Merge Down
Merge Layers
Play action “AA Wedding” of set “Custom Actions”
Gradient Map 1 Layer
Make adjustment layer Using: adjustment layer
Type: gradient map
With: gradient
Name: “Foreground to Background”
Form: custom stops
Interpolation: 4096
Colors: color stop list
color stop
Color: RGB color
Red: 0
Green: 0
Blue: 0
Type: user specified color
Location: 0
Midpoint: 50
color stop
Color: RGB color
Red: 255
Green: 255
Blue: 255
Type: user specified color
Location: 4096
Midpoint: 50
Transparency: transparency stop list
transparency stop
Opacity: 100%
Location: 0
Midpoint: 50
transparency stop
Opacity: 100%
Location: 4096
Midpoint: 50

Layer Visibility
Hide current layer
Make snapshot From: Current History State

Layer Via Copy
Layer Via Copy
Undo
Select layer “Background” Without Make Visible

Layer Via Copy
Layer Via Copy
Gaussian Blur
Gaussian Blur Radius: 13.5 pixels

Blending Change
Set current layer To: layer
Mode: overlay

Blending Options
Set current layer To: layer
Blend Range List: blend range list
blend range
Channel: gray channel
This Layer Black Min: 92
This Layer Source Black Max: 128
This Layer Source White Min: 255
This Layer Source White Max: 255
Underlying Layer Black Min: 0
Underlying Layer Black Max: 0
Underlying Layer White Min: 255
Underlying Layer White Max: 255
Layer Styles: layer styles
Scale: 416.7%

Master Opacity Change
Set current layer To: layer
Opacity: 67%

Layer Visibility
Hide current layer
Layer Visibility
Show current layer
Layer Visibility
Show layer “Gradient Map 1”
Delete Layer
Delete layer “Gradient Map 1”
2005-12-19T13:12:38-06:00 File morning light.psd saved

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 9:05 pm

Thats an awful long list of things done. Lets see your before and after pictures :)

Joined: 22 Aug 2005 Posts: 1875 Location: BRISTOL ENGLAND

Excellent find and thanks for sharing. I have often been in the situation you talk about.

I suppose the next logical step is to ask whether this could be combined into some sort of action to repeat the processes.

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 11:10 am

KurtSchneid wrote:

Thats an awful long list of things done. Lets see your before and after pictures :)

They are now both in THIS thread, Kurt.

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 11:13 am

digz wrote:

Excellent find and thanks for sharing. I have often been in the situation you talk about.

I suppose the next logical step is to ask whether this could be combined into some sort of action to repeat the processes.

Certainly once you have perfected a particular treatment it can be made into an action. But one cannot be directly made from the History Log. The Log is perfect though, if you have an old Photoshopped image that you might want to imitate in many other photos; just refer back to it as you construct your action.