Start by opening Photoshop CS2. Open any image you wish - we'll be using it to record the action but won't be saving any changes. If you prefer, open a copy of an image.

For the purposes of recording this action it's necessary to choose an image that does not have the following:

• a resolution of 72ppi
• an 8-bit colour depth

In my experience some steps in the action will not be recorded if you use a menu option to change a setting/value to what it's already set to.

Anyway, on with the show...

First of all create a new Action Set, a new Action and start recording:

1. Open the Actions palette (Alt + F9)
2. Click on the "Create New Set" icon and create a set called "Batch Watermark".
   Your new Action Set should be automatically selected after creation. If it isn't, single-click the set to select it.
3. Click on the "Create New Action" icon and create a new action called "Watermark - NFP". Double-check that the action is being created in our new action set and click the Record button. [screenshot]
   Anything you do from now until we stop recording later will be captured in our action - so be careful what you do!

Follow the next set of steps to record the steps in your action:

4. Press "d" - this resets your colour swatches.
5. Press "x" - this exchanges foregound and background colours.
6. "Image > Size", uncheck the "Resample Image" checkbox, set the "Resolution" to 72 ppi and [screenshot]
7. "File > Automate > Fit Image, set both Width and Height options to 550 pixels. [screenshot] At this point you may wish to set the Zoom to 100% and resize the image window - you can do this without affecting the action recording.

Follow the next set of steps to record the steps in your action:

8. Press "t" to select the Type tool.
9. Enter and format the text: [screenshot]
   • Click somewhere near the centre of the image and enter the text you want to watermark the image with, e.g.:
     "NOT FOR PUBLICATION [ENTER]
     mailbox@mydomain.com"
   • Select all the text with "ctrl + a".
   • Change the font-face to "Impact".
   • Change the font-size to something that covers about three-quarters of the image width; somewhere around "12pt" is usually a good choice.
   • Click on the icon to centre the text.

10. Now add some styling to the text layer: [screenshot]
    • Click on the "(f)" icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and select "Blending Options"
    • Enable and select "General Blending"; set the blend mode to "Linear Burn" and the opacity to "45%".
      (don't worry if there's no visible change to the image yet)
    • Enable and select "Drop Shadow"; use the default values of "Multiply" and "75%".
    • Enable and select "Bevel & Emboss"; select "Pillow Emboss" and "Smooth".

Rotate the text: [screenshot]

11. Press "Ctrl + t" so the text can be transformed.
12. In the menubar area, set the "Rotation" to "-45°".
13. In the menubar area, click the "Tick" icon to confirm the transformation.

14. In the Layers palette the text layer should already be selected. If it isn't single-click it to select it.
15. While holding the "Ctrl" key, single-click the background layer. You should now see both the text and background layers selected.
16. Position the watermark text in the centre of the image: [screenshot]
    • "Layer > Align > Vertical Centers"
    • "Layer > Align > Horizontal Centers"

17. In the Actions palette, click the "Stop" icon.
18. Close the image, without saving changes.

The action is now complete and ready to use. Follow the next set of steps to test the action:

1. Open an image ... any image should work.
2. In the Actions palette, single-click the "Watermark - NFP" action.
3. Click the "Play" icon at the bottom of the Actions palette.

Your action should be replayed, leaving you with a watermarked image.

From here you can proceed to the next stage in this glorious journey; How To ... Watermark A Set Of Images. Alternatively, return to the list of articles.