Learn How to Script Adobe Photoshop CS2

This chapter is from the book

Adobe Photoshop CS2 Official JavaScript Reference

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This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book 

Adobe Photoshop CS2 Official JavaScript Reference

Learn More Buy

Advanced scripting

This section demonstrates how to use the information contained in the previous sections of this chapter to create scripts that do the following:

• Configure document preferences.
• Apply color to text items. In this section, you will also learn how to do the following:
  • Create a reference to an existing document.
  • Create a layer object and make the layer a text layer.
• Rasterize text so that wrap and blur processing can be applied to words. In these sections you will also learn how to do the following:
  • Select and work with a specific area of a layer by creating a selection object.
  • Apply wave and motion blur filters to selected text.

Working with document preferences

The sample scripts in this section activate a Adobe Photoshop CS2 Application object and then save the default configuration settings into variables so that they can be restored later when the script completes. These are the default configurations you most probably set up in the Preferences dialog when you initially installed and configured Adobe Photoshop CS2.

Next, the scripts set the following preferences to the following values:

Next, variables are declared that store document dimensions in inches and document resolution in pixels. A display resolution is declared and the text “Hello, World!” is assigned to a string variable.

Finally, an if statement checks whether a Document object has been created and then creates a new Document object if none exists.

• To work with document preferences:

1. Create the following script.

   Note

   See “Creating and running a JavaScript” on page 20 for details on creating a JavaScript.

   //create and assign variables for default preferences
   startRulerUnits = app.preferences.rulerUnits
   startTypeUnits = app.preferences.typeUnits
   startDisplayDialogs = app.displayDialogs
   
   //change settings
   app.preferences.rulerUnits = Units.INCHES
   app.preferences.typeUnits = TypeUnits.PIXELS
   app.displayDialogs = DialogModes.NO
   
   //create and assign variables for document settings
   docWidthInInches = 4
   docHeightInInches = 2
   resolution = 72
   
   //use the length property of the documents object to
   //find out if any documents are open
   //if none are found, add a document
   if (app.documents.length == 0)
      app.documents.add(docWidthInInches,
   docHeightInInches, resolution)
   
      //restore beginning preferences
      app.preferences.rulerunits = startRulerUnits
      app.preferences.typeunits = startTypeUnits
      app.displayDialogs = startDisplayDialogs
   

2. Name the script HelloWorldDoc.jsx and save it in the Scripts folder.
3. Open Adobe Photoshop CS2 and choose File > Scripts > HelloWorldDoc to run the script.
4. Choose Edit > Preferences > Units & Rulers to verify that your preferences have been returned to your original settings.
5. After viewing the document in Adobe Photoshop CS2, close the document without saving it.
6. To prepare the script for the next section, comment the statements that restore the beginning preferences by adding slashes as follows:

   //app.preferences.rulerunits = startRulerUnits
   //app.preferences.typeunits = startTypeUnits
   

7. Save the script.

Applying color to a text item

In this section, we will add a layer to the HelloWorldDoc script, then change the layer to a text object that displays the text Hello, World! in red.

Before you begin, do the following:

• Quit Adobe Photoshop CS2.
• Open the script file HelloWorldDoc in your script editor application.

• To create and specify details in a text item:

1. Type the following code into the HelloWorldDoc script immediately before the commented statements that restore original preferences.

   //create a reference to the active document
   docRef = app.activeDocument
   
   //create a variable named textColor
   //create a SolidColor object whose color is red
   //assign the object to textColor
   textColor = new SolidColor
   textColor.rgb.red = 255
   textColor.rgb.green = 0
   textColor.rgb.blue = 0
   
   helloWorldText = "Hello, World!"
   
   //create a variable named newTextLayer
   //use the add() method of the artLayers class to create a
   //layer object assign the object to newTextLayer
   newTextLayer = docRef.artLayers.add()
   
   //use the kind property of the artLayer class to make the
   //layer a text layer
   newTextLayer.kind = LayerKind.TEXT
   
   newTextLayer.textItem.contents = helloWorldText
   newTextLayer.textItem.position = Array(0.75, 1)
   newTextLayer.textItem.size = 36
   newTextLayer.textItem.color = textColor
   

2. Save the script, and then open Adobe Photoshop CS2 and select the script from the Scripts menu (choose File > Script > HelloWorldDoc). Be patient while Adobe Photoshop CS2 executes your commands one by one.
3. After viewing the document in Adobe Photoshop CS2, close Adobe Photoshop CS2 without saving the document.

Applying a wave filter

In this section we’ll apply a wave filter to the word Hello in our document. This entails the following steps:

• Set the document width and height to pixels and then rasterize the text object in the Text Layer.

  Note

  Because text is a vector graphic and a wave filter cannot be applied to vector graphics, we must first convert the image to a bitmap. Rasterizing converts mathematically defined vector artwork to pixels. For more information on rasterizing, refer to Adobe Photoshop CS2 Help.

• Select the area of the layer to which we want to apply the wave filter.

  Note

  See “Defining the area of a selection object” on page 54 in order to understand the code within the script that accomplishes this task.

• Apply a wave filter to the selection.

  Note

  The wave is a truncated sine curve.

Defining the area of a selection object

To define the area of a selection object, we will create an array of coordinates, or points specified in pixels within the document. The array indicates the coordinates that define the outside corners of a rectangular area that begins at the top left corner of the document and extends half way across the document.

The array values in order are:

• Upper left corner of the selection: 0,0
  • 0 indicates the left-most column in the document.
  • 0 indicates the top row in the document.
• Upper right corner of the selection: theDocWidthInPixels / 2, 0
  • theDocWidthInPixels / 2 indicates the column in the middle of the document; that is, the column whose coordinate is the total number of columns in the document divided by 2.

    Note

    The value of theDocWidthInPixels is the total number of pixels that defines the document’s horizontal dimension. Columns are arranged horizontally.

  • 0 indicates the top row in the document.
• Lower right corner: theDocWidthInPixels / 2, theDocHeightInPixels
  • theDocWidthInPixels / 2 indicates the middle of the document.
  • theDocHeightInPixels indicates the bottom row in the document; that is row whose coordinate is the total number of rows in the document.

    Note

    The value of theDocHeightInPixels is the total number of pixels that determine the vertical dimension of the document. Rows are stacked vertically.

• Lower left corner: theDocWidthInPixels / 2, 0
  • theDocWidthInPixels / 2
  • 0
• Upper left corner of the selection: 0,0

• To select an area and apply a wave filter to it:

1. Type the following code into the script file HelloWorldDoc just above the commented statements that restore original preferences:

   //create new variables to contain doc width and height
   //convert inches to pixels by multiplying the number of
   inches by
   //the resolution (which equals number of pixels per inch)
   docWidthInPixels = docWidthInInches * resolution
   docHeightInPixels = docHeightInInches * resolution
   //use the rasterize method of the artLayer class
   newTextLayer.rasterize(RasterizeType.TEXTCONTENTS)
   
   //create a variable to contain the coordinate values
   //for the selection object
   selRegion = Array(Array(0, 0),
      Array(docWidthInPixels / 2, 0),
      Array(docWidthInPixels / 2, docHeightInPixels),
      Array(0, docHeightInPixels),
      Array(0, 0))
   
   //use the select method of the selection object
   //to create an object and give it the selRegion values
   //as coordinates
   docRef.selection.select(selRegion)
   
   //
   newTextLayer.applyWave(1, 1, 100, 5, 10, 100, 100,
      WaveType.SINE, UndefinedAreas.WRAPAROUND, 0)
   

2. Save the script, and then open Adobe Photoshop CS2 and select the script from the Scripts menu (choose File > Script > HelloWorldDoc).
3. After viewing the document in Adobe Photoshop CS2, close Adobe Photoshop CS2 without saving the document.

Applying a motionblur filter

In this section, we will apply a different filter to the other half of our document.

Additionally, because this is the last exercise in this that deals with our Hello World document, we will uncomment the statements that reset our original application preferences for rulers and units.

• To apply a motionblur filter to HelloWorldDoc:

1. Type the following code into the script file HelloWorldDoc just above the commented statements that restore original preferences.

   //change the value of selRegion to the other half of the
   document
   selRegion = Array(Array(docWidthInPixels / 2, 0),
      Array(docWidthInPixels, 0),
      Array(docWidthInPixels, docHeightInPixels),
      Array(docWidthInPixels / 2, docHeightInPixels),
      Array(docWidthInPixels / 2, 0))
   
   docRef.selection.select(selRegion)
   
   newTextLayer.applyMotionBlur(45, 5)
   
   docRef.selection.deselect()
   

2. Delete the slashes from the commented statements above the end tell statement as follows:

   app.preferences.rulerUnits = startRulerUnits
   app.preferences.typeUnits = startTypeUnits
   

3. Save the script, and then open Adobe Photoshop CS2 and select the script from the Scripts menu (choose File > Script > HelloWorldDoc).