Adobe 23102480 Scripting Guide - Page 8

Photoshop CS3

Adobe Photoshop CS3

Scripting Guide

Photoshop CS3 Scripting Basics

8

●

A single script can perform actions that involve multiple applications. For example, depending on the

scripting language you are using, you could target both Photoshop CS3 and another Adobe Creative

Suite 3 Application, such as Illustrator

®

CS3, in the same script.

●

You can open, save, and rename files using scripts.

●

You can copy scripts from one computer to another. If you were using an Action and then switched

computers, you’d have to recreate the Action.

●

Scripts provide more versatility for automatically opening files. When opening a file in an action, you

must hard code the file location. In a script, you can use variables for file paths.

Note:

See Photoshop CS3 Help for more information on Photoshop CS3 Actions.

Scripting Support in Photoshop CS3

Photoshop CS3 supports scripting in three scripting languages: AppleScript, VBScript, and JavaScript.

AppleScript and JavaScript run on Mac OS, and JavaScript and VBScript run on Windows. For information

about how to choose which scripting language to use, and for additional information about using these

languages with Adobe applications, see

Introduction to Scripting.

See

‘Creating and Running an AppleScript’ on page 15

,

‘Creating and Running a VBScript’ on page 16

, and

‘Creating and Running a JavaScript’ on page 17

.

You can call JavaScript scripts from AppleScript and VBScript scripts. See

‘Executing JavaScripts from AS or

VBS’ on page 9

.

For a file to be recognized by Photoshop as a valid script file it must have the correct file name extension:

JavaScript Support

For a JavaScript file to be recognized by Photoshop as a valid script file, it must use either a

.js

or a

.jsx

extension. On the Mac OS, there is no difference in the way scripts with the two extensions function. On

Windows, if the script files is opened from inside Photoshop, there is no difference between using the

.js

and

.jsx

extension. However, if the script is launched by double-clicking on it, a script with the

.js

extension is interpreted with the Microsoft JScript engine, and it cannot launch Photoshop CS3. For

Windows, using the

.jsx

extension is preferable, since it interprets the script with the ExtendScript

engine.

Scripts written in JavaScript can be accessed from the Adobe Photoshop CS3 Scripts menu (

File > Scripts

),

which provides quick and easy access to your JavaScripts. By putting a JavaScript file into the appropriate

location on disk, it can be accessed directly from the Photoshop CS3 menu.

Script Type

File Type

Extension

Platform

AppleScript

compiled script

OSAS file

.scpt

(none)

Mac OS®

JavaScript

ExtendScript

text

.js

.jsx

Mac OS & Windows

VBScript

text

.vbs

Windows

Visual Basic

executable

.exe

Windows

Section	Page
Contents	3
Introduction	5
About this manual	5
Conventions in this guide	5
Photoshop CS3 Scripting Basics	7
Scripting Overview	7
Why use scripts instead of actions?	7
Scripting Support in Photoshop CS3	8
JavaScript Support	8
Executing other scripts	9
Startup Scripts	9
Executing JavaScripts from AS or VBS	9
Photoshop CS3 Object Model	9
Containment Hierarchy	10
Application and Document Classes	10
Layer Classes	11
Layer Comp Class	11
Channel Class	11
Selection Class	11
History State Class	12
Document Info Class	12
Path Item, Sub Path Item, and Path Point Classes	12
Preferences Class	12
Notifier Class	12
Count Item Class	12
Color Sampler Class	12
Measurement Scale Class	12
The Containment Hierarchy and the Photoshop CS3 User Interface	12
Additional Objects	14
Constants	14
Creating a Sample Hello World Script	15
Creating and Running an AppleScript	15
Creating and Running a VBScript	16
Creating and Running a JavaScript	17
Scripting Photoshop CS3	19
Viewing Photoshop CS3 Objects, Commands, and Methods	19
Viewing Photoshop CS3’s AppleScript Dictionary	19
Viewing Photoshop CS3’s Type Library (VBS)	20
Targeting and Referencing the Application Object	20
Creating New Objects in a Script	21
Setting the Active Object	23
Setting the Active Document	24
Setting the Active Layer	25
Setting the Active Channels	25
Opening a Document	26
Opening a File with Default File Format	26
Specifying File Formats to Open	27
Saving a Document	29
Setting Application Preferences	30
Allowing or Preventing Dialogs	31
Working with the Photoshop CS3 Object Model	31
Using the Application Object	31
Using the Document Object	32
Manipulating a Document Object	32
Working with Layer Objects	34
Creating an ArtLayer Object	34
Creating a Layer Set Object	35
Referencing ArtLayer Objects	36
Working with Layer Set Objects	37
Linking Layer Objects	38
AS	38
VBS	38
JS	38
Applying Styles to Layers	38
Using the Text Item Object	39
Determining a Layer’s Kind	40
Adding and Manipulating Text in a Text Item Object	40
Working with Selection Objects	41
Creating and Defining a Selection	41
Stroking the Selection Border	42
Inverting Selections	43
Expanding, Contracting, and Feathering Selections	43
Filling a Selection	43
Loading and Storing Selections	44
Working with Channel Objects	45
Changing Channel Types	45
Using the Document Info Object	46
Using History State Objects	46
Using Notifier Objects	47
Using the PathItem Object	48
Working with Color Objects	50
Solid Color Classes	51
Using Hex Values for RGB Color	51
Getting and Converting Colors	51
Comparing Colors	52
Getting a Web Safe Color	52
Working with Filters	53
AS	53
VBS	53
JS	53
Other Filters	53
Understanding Clipboard Interaction	54
Using the Copy and Paste commands	54
Using the Copy Merged Command/Method	55
Working with Units	55
Unit Values	56
Special Unit Value Types	56
AppleScript Unit Considerations	56
Using Unit Values in Calculations	57
Unit Value Usage	57
Setting Ruler and Type Units in a Script	59
Sample Workflow Automation JavaScripts	59
Advanced Scripting	60
Working with Document Preferences	60
Applying Color to a Text Item	63
Applying a Wave Filter	66
Defining the Area of a Selection Object	66
Applying a MotionBlur Filter	69
Action Manager	72
The ScriptListener Plug-In	72
Installing ScriptListener	72
Action Manager Scripting Objects	73
Recording a Script using ScriptListener	73
Using the Action Manager from JavaScript	74
Using the Action Manager from a VBS Script	75
Running JavaScript-based Action Manager code from VBScript	78
Running JavaScript-based Action Manager code from AppleScript	78
Using ScriptListener to find event IDs and class IDs	79

Adobe 23102480 Scripting Guide - Page 8

Scripting Support in Photoshop CS3, JavaScript Support - photoshop cs3 for windows

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