Action Converter documentation
How to convert Photoshop actions, run the scripts in Affinity, and what each step becomes.
Convert a file
- On the converter page, drop in a Photoshop actions file (.atn). Files saved by Photoshop CS or newer work; very old files (Photoshop 5 and 6) need to be re-saved in a newer Photoshop first.
- The free preview lists every action and every step: converted (does the same), approximate (nearly the same; the note says what differs), skipped (not possible in Affinity scripts yet), or not needed (Photoshop-only steps such as history snapshots).
- To download, sign in with your email (we send a 6-digit code), then buy the file or a plan if you haven’t. Use the same email on the payment page, then press I’ve paid.
Set up Affinity
You need the current Affinity app (free, by Canva) with scripting, version 3.3 or later.
- Affinity → Settings (Mac) or Edit → Settings (Windows) → Scripting → turn on Enable Affinity Scripting.
- If your actions save or export files, also turn on Access the file system and add the folders where your photos are.
Run a script
- Open Window → Scripting → Script Editor and click New Script.
- Paste the downloaded script. Click Save As to keep it in your Scripts Library.
- Open a photo and run the script (click it in the Scripts Library, or Run in the editor). If the file has several actions, choose one from the list.
Each step is one entry in the History panel, so you can undo it. Adjustments stay editable as layers.
Save As steps export next to your document (for example
photo.afphoto → photo.jpg), never to the folder recorded in Photoshop. If a file with that name exists, the script adds -edited instead of overwriting it. Save the document once before running such actions.What each step becomes
| Photoshop | In Affinity |
|---|---|
| Image → Adjustments (Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation, Black & White…) | The same adjustment, nested inside the current layer, so it affects only that layer and stays editable |
| New adjustment layer | The same adjustment as a layer above, named like Photoshop’s (“Curves 1”) |
| Filters (Gaussian Blur, Unsharp Mask, Add Noise, High Pass, Motion Blur, Median) | The same filter applied to the current layer |
| Hue/Saturation with Colorize | Recolour adjustment |
| Duplicate layer, Layer via Copy, blend mode, opacity, rename, show, hide, select by name, delete | The same, with Photoshop’s names (“Background copy”, “Layer 1”) |
| Solid colour fill layer, Fill with a colour | A colour rectangle covering the canvas, with the same blend mode and opacity |
| Merge Visible, Stamp Visible, Merge Layers, Flatten Image | The same |
| Image Size | Applied when the script exports (Affinity scripts can’t resize the document yet) |
| Save As JPEG, PNG, TIFF | Export with Affinity’s preset for that format |
Not converted yet: selections (marquee, feather, inverse, color range), layer styles, gradient and pattern fills, text, painting, transforms, and the Channel Mixer, Selective Color, Photo Filter and Gradient Map adjustments. When a step works on a selection in Photoshop, the preview says so, and fills inside a selection are skipped rather than covering the whole picture.
Account and licence
- Your licence ID (for example
SL-ABCDE-FGHJK) is shown on the converter page and written at the top of every script. - You can be signed in on up to 3 browsers; signing in on a 4th signs out the one used least recently.
- Downloading a file you already converted is free, even years later, and gives you the latest conversion.
- Yearly plans: use manage plan on the converter page to cancel or change payment details.
Troubleshooting
- “Scripting is disabled”: turn it on in Settings → Scripting.
- The action stops with “Save the document once first”: the action exports a file; save your document first so the script knows the folder.
- NOT_ALLOWED or permission errors on export: allow file system access for the script (Script Editor → Settings) and add the folder in Settings → Scripting.
- “No layer named …”: the action selects a layer by a name your document doesn’t have. The script continues with the current layer and lists these notes at the end.
- Something else: contact us and include the licence ID and the .atn file name.