Photoshop Tutorials

Installing scripts is much the same as installing any other preset. First, copy the script into the Presets/Scripts subfolder:

Mac: <hard drive>/Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS2/Presets/Scripts/
PC: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS2\Presets\Scripts\

Then, after you quit and restart Photoshop, the newly installed scripts will automatically appear in the File » Scripts submenu (in alphabetical order).

Note that you can also create subfolders inside of the Presets/Scripts folder. This is helpful if you have a lot of scripts, or if you want to keep your own scripts separate from those you acquire from a third party.

To run a script, simply select it by name from the File » Scripts submenu, or choose File » Scripts » Browse to locate and run scripts that don't appear in the Scripts menu.

Adding a script to an action is the same as adding any other command to an action: simply select the script (from the File » Scripts menu) while in record mode and the script will be inserted as a step in the action.

Alternatively, you can add a script to an action (whether in record mode or not) by using the Action panel's Insert Menu Item command:

1. Select the action step that appears above where you want the script to be inserted.
2. Choose Insert Menu Item from the Actions panel menu ().
3. When the Insert Menu Item dialog appears, choose File » Scripts » Script Name from the application menus.



4. After pressing the OK button, the selected script is added to the action (below the previously selected step).

Now when you play the action, the inserted script will be executed as part of the command sequence.

Scripts (and actions) may also be executed automatically, based on an event, such as on startup, opening a document, or creating a new document. These kinds of scripts are called "event-based scripts".

To define an event-based script, choose File » Scripts » Script Events Manager. Once the Script Events Manager dialog appears:

1. Turn on the Enable Events To Run Scripts/Actions checkbox.
2. Choose an event from the Photoshop Event drop-down.
3. Click on the Script radio button.
4. Select the desired script from the Script drop-down (or choose Browse from the bottom of the drop-down).
5. Press the Add button to add the event to the Event List.
6. Finally, press the Done button to apply all changes and enable the event.

To remove an event, select it by name in the Event List and press the Remove button — or use the Remove All button to remove all events from the Event List.

To disable all events without removing them, simply turn off Enable Events To Run Scripts/Actions. Again, you need to press the Done button to apply all changes.

Regardless of whether you install a single CS3 application or the entire Creative Suite, two other applications are installed by default: Adobe Bridge and the ExtendScript Toolkit.

Adobe Bridge is a flexible and powerful viewer/organizer and serves as a hub for all Creative Suite applications. Note that Bridge can also be used to select files and initiate suite-wide script-based commands. Several scripts are available by default in Bridge's Tools menu, depending on which of the Creative Suite applications you have installed (e.g., Tools » Photoshop » Image Processor).

The ExtendScript Toolkit serves as a full-featured development and testing environment for ExtendScript in all CS3 applications. The Toolkit includes such features as syntax-highlighting, multiple undo/redo, Unicode support, and much more.

ExtendScript is Adobe's extended implementation of JavaScript, which offers all of the standard JavaScript features, in additional to:

• platform-independent file and folder representation (meaning that scripts written on a Mac will work on a Windows-based machine without modification);
• tools for creating extensible, localized script-based user interfaces;
• inter-application communication; and much more.

For a complete overview of ExtendScript and the ExtendScript Toolkit, see Chapter 9 of the JavaScript Reference Guide.

For a more comprehensive understanding of scripting, or to learn how to create your own scripts, check out the many invaluable resources installed by default in the following location:

Mac: <hard drive>/Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS2/Scripting Guide/
PC: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS2\Scripting Guide

• Photoshop Scripting Guide - platform-independent file and folder representation (meaning that scripts written on a Mac will work on a Windows-based machine without modification);
• AppleScript Reference Guide – describes the Photoshop CS3 AppleScript objects and commands
• JavaScript Reference Guide – describes the Photoshop CS3 JavaScript objects and commands
• VisualBasic Reference Guide – describes the Photoshop CS3 VBScript objects and commands
• Samples Scripts folder – contains dozens of sample scripts written in AppleScript, JavaScript, and VBScript (see the Sample Scripts Description document for a description of each script)
• Utilities folder – contains the ScriptListener plugin. (For more information about the ScriptListener plugin, see Chapter 3 of the JavaScript Reference Guide or VBScript Reference Guide.)

Tip: The Scripting and Reference Guides are also available in electronic format (PDF) from Adobe's Photoshop Developer Center.

Below are several online resources dedicated to sharing scripts and information about scripting:

• Adobe Photoshop Developer Center (Adobe.com)
• Adobe Photoshop Forum (Adobe.com)
• Adobe Studio Exchange – Photoshop Scripts (Adobe.com)
• Working With Photoshop Scripts (PhotoshopSupport.com)
• Photoshop Scripting using JavaScript (Tranberry.com)
• Free Scripts for Photoshop (Morris-PhotoGraphics.com)
• Photoshop Scripting Community Forum (PS-Scripts)