Aside from being helpful for personal use, the history log can be used to record time-tracking information for client work, to create a legal record, and for training purposes.
How to Turn On the History Log
The history log is turned off by default. To turn it on: Under Edit Log Items are three choices:
Sessions Only: Only records when Photoshop is opened and closed, and when each file is opened and closed. Useful for time tracking, but doesn’t record inactivity—so unless you were working on the image continuously from open to close, the recorded time will be only an estimate.Concise: Similar to the history window. Records basic functions, plus the text that appears in the History palette, but no detailed settings or information.Detailed: Records the items listed above, plus the text that appears in the Actions palette. This essentially tracks the complete history of edits to the file, from brush sizes and settings to saved location.
Recording a History Log in a Text File
If you’re editing an image for a third party, you might not want a recorded history of the image. You can still keep a history log, however, by recording it to a different location than the original image file by sending the information to a .txt file:
Accessing the History Log
You can view history data from the File Info dialog box and in the metadata panel of the File Browser. Now, for example, If you ever forget how you achieved a particular effect, just open the history log and follow the trail. The history log will remain active on all images until you manually disable it.
