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Is it possible to get the paramaters used at any point of the history? Say I used the color balance tool, is it possible to view from the history the settings I used when applying it? (Photoshop must store this information if it can revert and reapply it right?)
I am using Photoshop CS4, thanks.
In the preferences set the History Log to a Text file (and set a save location for it) and choose "Detailed" from the drop down.
Once you do this Photoshop will track settings.
For example you could then open the text file and see something like this:
2012-03-29 15:33:47 File Untitled-1 opened
Curves
Curves
Preset Kind: Custom
Adjustment: curves adjustment list
curves adjustment
Channel: composite channel
Curve: point list
point: 0, 0
point: 100, 83
point: 172, 211
point: 255, 255
Color Balance
Color Balance
Shadow Levels: 0, 0, 0
Midtone Levels: 23, -52, 95
Highlight Levels: 0, 0, 0
With Preserve Luminosity
Note... if you don't have this set.. there's no way to get the info from a previous image. As far as I'm aware, this is the only way to get previous settings used and until it's set like this the data is not stored anywhere specifically.
The short-but-inadequate answer is "No, Photoshop doesn't store that information." The real answer takes a little longer to explain, but is important for an understanding of how to use the program most effectively.
To work with Photoshop efficiently you must develop the habit of using non-destructive editing techniques for everything you do. "Non-destructive" means that you don't take actions that change original pixels or that you can't change later, and Photoshop provides plenty of tools to make this possible.
In your case, you have applied a color balance correction. If instead of using Image > Adjustments > Color Balance you apply a Color Balance adjustment layer (using the adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the Layers Panel), your settings are stored in the adjustment layer itself and are forever editable. You have not changed the original pixels at all. This applies to any image adjustment. Even Highlight/Shadow, which is not available directly as an adjustment layer, can be applied after you convert a layer to a Smart Object, and will thereafter be editable as a Smart Filter.
Rules like "Never apply corrections directly to a layer," "Don't erase -- mask instead" and "Make it a Smart Object before you apply a filter" will allow your Photoshop composites to "remember" the adjustments you applied and they will be editable no matter how many times you save the file or how long ago you saved it.
Adjustment layers come with an additional bonus: you can copy them from one document to another, so you can (for example) apply exactly the same Color Balance settings to multiple images just by pasting the same adjustment layer onto each image.
For a thoroughly readable and practical introduction to Photoshop, I recommend Scott Kelby's "Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers" and Deke McLelland's "Photoshop CS4 One-on-One." Both will groove in the techniques you need for a non-destructive workflow, get you up to speed on all the most essential features of Photoshop, and keep you entertained at the same time.
Perhaps you know this trick - hold the Alt key when invoking an adjustment dialog via keyborad shortcut (e.g. Ctrl+Alt+B for color, Ctrl+Alt+U for hue, etc), which will pop-up the dialog with the last parameters used. Obviously will work only for the LAST color, hue, etc.. adjustment you made.
