Action Script User Interface: Preview Window

[Robert Massman]

Is it possible to create an Action Script User Interface "Dialog" with a Proxy Image Window for previewing the image inside it? Much like what you'd find in the Lens Blur Plugin Filter. My goal is to present intermediate steps of the action to the user, with a preview window, so that they can make fine adjustments to the image before the action is finished.

I've read through the ActionScript PDF. The only mention of an image preview seems to be related to the thumbnail that is created when saving the image. Is this true? Or could I use "docRef.preview = Preview.EIGHTBITTIFF;" to show a preview of the action before it?

Thanks

Rob

[JJMack]

ActionScript was developed by Macromedia for Flash which Adobe purchased.  Adobe added some Flash support to Photoshop scripting but removed that support a few releases ago from Photoshop. I believe you can display images in ScriptUI dialogs.   I have never tried they may need to be written to a temp file so your preview may not be very responsive and you would need to keep the UI open and refresh the image it displays.

[Robert Massman]

Hi JJMack,

Thank you for the reply. At the moment it's looking like putting the hard work into creating a Photoshop Plugin is the way to go. It seems that in photoshop 'dialogs' do not allow for photoshop to preform any image processing until the "OK" button is pressed. Is that true? I read somewhere that photoshop's action script no longer supports 'palette' or at least that "palette's" present a lot of coding issues.

Thanks,
Rob

[JJMack · Accepted solution]

The is Photoshop Scripting it is not call Action Script.  Adobe provides a ScriptUI feature you use to create dialogs used by scripts. Straight Photoshop scripting does not support Palette windows because of the way Adobe implemented Photoshop scripting. Scripts can not have Multiple active task. A script can not spawn an Active Palette windows task that wait for user interaction .  A running Photoshop script more or less has control of the Photoshop application to perform its processing. It  can process many documents. When the process ends and script terminates any Palette Window the process may have opened will be closed for the script task that opened the palette window has terminated. If the script fails to end Photoshop is hung for the script task has control of Photoshop.   However I use a Photoshop extension available from menu Help>Find Plug-ins and Extensions...  to make accessing set of Photoshop scripts quicker.  I found out  Script that are launches by the extension can create Palette windows. If launch when there is an active document the Palette window will stick around  as long as that document remain open The script task seems to become a subtasks of the document task.  If launched before there is an open document the Palette window can be active for the entire Photoshop session it seems to be a subtask of the JSX launcher extension.  It seem that a script launched from an extension can open a Palette window and wait for user interaction. Being launched from and extension the script task an independent task and not it control of Photoshop. It can wait for user interaction like Photoshop Palette winfows and not hang Photoshop.  https://creative.adobe.com/addons/search?pp=PHSP&ppv=18.0.1&locale=en&q=jsx%2520launcher

[Robert Massman]

Thank you JJMack for the link and all the info.

Rob