Streamline your apps and workflows with Actions for iPad

When it comes to our creative apps, a lot of folks (myself included) sometimes have a contradictory set of requirements. We want our apps to be powerful and packed with features so they can do anything we want. And at the same time, we want those apps to be streamlined, efficient, and easy to learn and use.

Adobe knows how complex an app like Photoshop is, so they offer up resources like the Photoshop Quick Reference Guide, and the Photoshop Features panel. These can be very handy, but they don’t remove the complexity, they just help you navigate it better.

Actions is a new app for iPad that aims to help you navigate complex Mac and Windows applications by putting just the tools and commands you want at your fingertips, via buttons you can customize with colors, labels, and icons. In effect, your iPad becomes a customizable remote control for any application. If you have a common set of tasks that you have to perform in sequence, you can order the buttons to match that workflow.

Actions also works in sync with your computer, so when you switch to a different application, the correct action set will always be displayed on your iPad.

Actions supports the creation of subsets of actions, multi-touch gestures, and automatic re-connection with your computer. It also comes with built-in presets for popular applications like Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, InDesign, and After Effects, Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Aperture, Final Cut, and more.