Can Photoshop actions be used on RAW files in CS6?

Asked 5/5/2014

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I'm starting to use Photoshop actions (for example Florabella or MCP) in Photoshop CS6. I can run them on JPEG files, but when I open a RAW file it first opens in Adobe Camera Raw, where I don't see any option to load Photoshop actions.

Can actions be used with RAW files, or only with JPEGs? If so, what is the correct workflow for applying them to RAW images in CS6?

cs6 photoshop camera-raw actions raw

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

12y ago

2 Answers

To open a raw file in Photoshop it must go through ACR first. ACR basically converts the raw image into something photoshop understands. If you don't want to have to mess with the adjustments you could just leave everything at default or download a basic preset, and just let ACR pass the image over to PS.

Originally by user7178. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user7178

12y ago

AI Answer

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Yes. In Photoshop CS6, a RAW file must first open through Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) before Photoshop can use it. ACR handles the RAW conversion, because Photoshop actions do not run directly inside the RAW-opening stage.

Typical workflow:

Open the RAW file in ACR.
Either leave the settings at their defaults or make basic adjustments there.
Open the image from ACR into Photoshop.
Run your Photoshop action on the image once it is in Photoshop.

So the key point is: actions are applied after the RAW file has been converted and passed from ACR into Photoshop, not inside ACR itself.

Can Photoshop actions be used on RAW files in CS6?

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