As a UI/UX designer, I've spent countless hours tweaking pixel densities and exporting assets for various screen sizes. It's tedious work that can eat up half your afternoon. Years ago, I stumbled upon a set of scripts that completely transformed my workflow. I'm talking about the 21+ Free Bjango Actions. Marc Edwards created these to automate repetitive tasks in Adobe Photoshop, and in my experience, they are essential for anyone dealing with complex UI design.
Why I Still Rely on These 21+ Free Bjango Actions
When you design for both iOS and Android, you have to manage multiple resolutions, color spaces, and scaling factors. Doing this manually is a recipe for carpal tunnel and misplaced pixels. The Bjango collection handles everything from resizing canvases by specific percentages to converting layers into smart objects. Here’s the thing: while newer tools like Figma handle some of this natively, Photoshop remains a powerhouse for detailed raster work. Having a reliable script bundle means you don’t have to rebuild your document structure just to get a clean 1x export. It just works.
⚠️ Note: Always duplicate your original document before running batch resizing actions. It's much easier to revert a copy than to rebuild a complicated layer hierarchy if an error occurs.
Comparing the Most Useful Scripts
I tested the entire bundle over a week of client work. Not all actions are created equal, but certain scripts stand out for daily use. Below is a breakdown of the ones I reach for most frequently.
| Action Name | Primary Function | My Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Scale and resize | Resizes the entire canvas by exact percentages | Indispensable for generating 1x, 2x, and 3x assets |
| Pixel grid align | Snaps layer boundaries to the nearest whole pixel | Crucial for preventing blurry 1px lines on high-DPI screens |
| Layer to smart object | Converts selected layers into smart objects | Saves time, though I rarely use it for vector shapes |
| Rename layer | Strips spaces or applies suffixes automatically | A massive time-saver when prepping developer handoff files |
How to Set Up the 21+ Free Bjango Actions
Installation is straightforward, but there’s a specific order of operations I recommend. First, load the .atn file through your Photoshop Actions panel. Don’t just double-click the file, as that can sometimes cause Photoshop to nest it weirdly in older CC versions. Once loaded, you’ll see the folder populate in your panel.
- Open the Actions panel menu (top right hamburger icon).
- Select Load Actions and locate the downloaded .atn file.
- Select a layer or group, then click the specific action you need.
- Press the play button at the bottom of the panel.
Honestly, the hardest part is remembering which action does what, since the bundle includes over twenty distinct scripts. I ended up assigning keyboard shortcuts to the three I use most.
Real-World Limitations to Keep in Mind
This is where it gets interesting. These scripts are fantastic, but they aren’t magic. I’ve found that running the scaling actions on heavily layered documents with complex vector masks can sometimes cause a slight rendering shift. That said, rasterized layers handle the scaling perfectly every time. If you’re working with text layers, ensure your font interpolation settings in Photoshop are set to Smooth before running the resize script, otherwise your typography will look jagged at smaller sizes.
💡 Note: If an action throws an error, check your layer panel for locked background layers. The scripts cannot modify locked layers and will halt the automation immediately.
Automating the tedious parts of UI production gives you more time to actually solve design problems. Instead of manually resizing canvases and renaming layers for an hour, you can run a script and focus on the pixel-perfect details that matter. If you haven’t integrated these scripts into your workflow yet, you’re leaving hours on the table every week.
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