Nik Color Efex cannot batch edit with CC 2018 running High Sierra (10.13.1) - Crashes PS

[sunshinegirlnw]

I purposefully drag my feet with updates because they always end in misery.  I finally bit the bullet yesterday and updated my Mac OS to High Sierra (10.13.1) and Adobe PS CC to 2018 (19.1.0).  I've spent the day reading all the threads in this forum and followed all the advice and tips get Nik Color Efex to work again and it won't work.  (I don't seem to have problems with the other plugins like Define...it's just Color Efex that causes PS to crash every.single.time I try to batch edit my recipe.)

I CAN successfully get Color Efex to succeed if I open it through Filter>Nik Collection>Color Efex Pro 4 (select my recipe and click OK).....and....it will also work directly from the Selective Tool selecting my favorite recipe under the Recipes tab.

My problem is I batch edit my galleries and I don't have time to go through each file and hand apply this recipe one file at a time.  Previously, I batch edited this plugin and never had any problems.  The recipe is the base of my editing and I'm just really sad and frustrated.  I know that Google abandoned Nik and maybe there will be hope for a paid version resolution through DXO, but I'd really love (need) a working solution now.

If anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears.  I'd especially like to know if others can successfully batch edit.  (If so, that gives me hope it's possible.). If it crashes for others, then I know to give up.

Grateful for the help.  Thanks!

[Jeroen_Oosterveld]

I have the same problem when using NIK-filters during batch processing in Photoshop CC 2018.

Very annoying and time-consuming having to modify the images one-by-one.

[Richard Quindry]

I have the same problem. I came up with a workaround that seems to work, but is far from perfect.

I run an action on all of my studio images that copies the background layer, makes it a smart object and adds three adjustments, Color Efex Pro being the last. If I set up the action so that it pauses for manual adjustment on Color Efex Pro, it won't crash. I also slowed the speed of the actions to go step by step. Don't know if that helped or not.

I hate being forced to upgrade the OS. Everything was running fine on Yosemite. Putting out lots of fires the past few days on High Sierra. So much lost productivity.

[sunshinegirlnw]

Thanks Richard for sharing your thoughts.  How are you recording the action so that it pauses (therefore not causing it to crash??).  I've gone as simple as not batch editing my multiple steps, but creating an action for JUST Color Efex and it still crashes.  Do you think it's working because you are duplicating the background later and making it a smart object?  I dup my BG layer, but I don't make it a smart object.  (Could you test the theory and see it your work around works without creating it as a smart object??). Thank you!

[Richard Quindry]

What I'm doing is this -

In the action, there is a place to the left of the "Color Efex Pro" step where you can check a box. Check the box. Then close Photoshop (only this one time) so that step is saved in Photoshop and doesn't go away if you have a crash.

I have it as the last step to a smart object after applying two other adjustments.

I find that if I want to crop the image or do some other steps that Photoshop still crashes when it recalculates the smart object, so this is what I do - I needed to get rid of the smart object after I was done with it, but still keep it's results.

Run the action with the pause in Color Efex Pro to manually tweak. Then point to the last step in the action and you're going to add some additional steps to the action - Press the record Button. Press CMD-Option-Shift-E to copy everything to a merged top layer. Click on the layer name and call it "Merged". Click on the icon on that layer icon to make that layer name take. Go down a layer to the smart object layer and delete it. Now, go back to the actions and stop the recording. Now exit Photoshop so it saves the whole action and you don't have to do it again. Now this merged layer can be turned on or off or the opacity changed or you can paint it in or out with a layer mask.

[sunshinegirlnw]

Thanks Richard - does this process work if you create it as an action to batch edit on many images at once?   I CAN get Nik Color Efex to work, but have to do it one image at a time and all the tips and tricks I found don't work when trying to batch edit the Nik steps as an action. 

[cmerritt1351]

Here is your solution:

How to Stop Nik Collection from crashing in Photoshop CC 2018 - YouTube

Be sue to give the guy a thumbs-up!

[sunshinegirlnw]

Thanks for the video.  Unfortunately, it still doesn't solve my problem which is batch editing my Nik actions.  I'm a newborn photographer and created a special recipe that I run (well, used to run) on all my images and it takes too much editing time to do every image individually.   Appreciate the link and hopefully it can help someone else who uses Nik that way. 

[mr_v54900486]

ok]

[mr_v54900486]

How to Stop Nik Collection from crashing in Photoshop CC 2018 - YouTube

[erikk59472881]

If anybody could figure out exactly what layers to create with contrast, sat, whites, blacks, etc..... we could all share that recipe and easily incorporate that into an action. Perhaps we're too focused on thinking we need to use Nik collection.... I say that as a Nik user for my job.

[filipinto]

Same here...

Can't find a solution to successfuly batch edit with color efex in photoshop action, crashes everytime.

So many recipes I depend on...

Solving this would be a life saver due to editing time involved.

[erinferinferinf]

Hi there filipinto​!

Is it the case that you used to be able to batch edit with Nik Color Efex before updating Photoshop or your Mac?

If it's a Photoshop version problem, you could try re-installing a previous version of Photoshop using these instructions. Then you could try batching and at least narrow down the problem.

Has anyone reading this thread tried contacting Nik Efex support with a link to this thread? I can tweet at them, but I'm not a paid user so I can't open a support request.

Let me know what you try!