how to export indesign layers to photoshop layers (same structure)

[Arjan_Scholten_Muntz-MCG]

how can I export all individual layers in indesign to a photoshop file with the same layer structure?

is there a script you can use?

thanks

[rob day]

Oh wait, I see that your error is the missing PDF/X problem. Nevermind about the log I'll post a fix.

[sosoclumsy]

For some reason I didn't get an email notification for your response to my post - I apologize for not replying sooner! I did manage to get the script to work though. Following your instructions in your earlier response to mckoenig, I created a new pdf preset with PDF/X-4:2008 Compatibility / Acrobat (PDF1.4) and named it PSDLayers. I then changed "set myPDFPreset to "[PDF/X-4:2007]" to  "set myPDFPreset to "PSDLayers" in the script. I'm not sure why I couldn't get it working right the first time around, but I've had no problems with it since.  Thanks again for the great script

[rob day]

This version should solve the missing PDF preset problems. I've added the dropdown menu with all available PDF presets. PDF/X-4 works best for color management:

http://www.zenodesign.com/forum/PageToPSLayersCS5v2.zip

[anardinelli]

Thanks so much, but still no luck. The first two layers open in PS, but each one as a seprate document. Then, this error message pops up.

[rob day]

What version of Photoshop are you running?

[anardinelli]

PS5

[rob day]

Lets try the log idea. See my post 46. Try a simple document with a couple of layers so the log is short.

[anardinelli]

Sounds good. Here's the log:

tell application "Adobe Photoshop CS5"

    count every document of current application

        0

end tell

tell application "Adobe InDesign CS5"

    activate

    count every document of current application

        7

    get active document

        document id 7

    get name of document id 7

        "test_1.indd"

    get horizontal measurement units of view preferences of document id 7

        inches

    get vertical measurement units of view preferences of document id 7

        inches

    set horizontal measurement units of view preferences of document id 7 to inches

    set vertical measurement units of view preferences of document id 7 to inches

    get page height of document preferences of document id 7

        11.0

    get page width of document preferences of document id 7

        8.5

    get pages per document of document preferences of document id 7

        1

    choose folder with prompt "Please select the folder you want to save your PDF pages in"

        alias "Macintosh HD:Users:amelia:Desktop:test 1:"

    make with properties {name:"Export to Photoshop"} new dialog

        dialog id 538053

    make new dialog column

        dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    make new border panel

        border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    make new dialog column

        dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97835 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    make with properties {static label:"Color Mode:"} new static text

        static text id 97836 of dialog row id 97835 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    make with properties {string list:{"RGB", "CMYK", "Lab"}, selected index:0} new dropdown

        dropdown id 97837 of dialog row id 97835 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97838 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    make with properties {static label:"Page to Export:"} new static text

        static text id 97839 of dialog row id 97838 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    make with properties {edit contents:"1"} new real editbox

        real editbox id 97840 of dialog row id 97838 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97841 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    make with properties {static label:"Resolution:"} new static text

        static text id 97842 of dialog row id 97841 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    make with properties {edit contents:"300"} new real editbox

        real editbox id 97843 of dialog row id 97841 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97844 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    make with properties {static label:"Antialias", checked state:false} new checkbox control

        checkbox control id 97845 of dialog row id 97844 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

    show dialog id 538053

        true

    get selected index of dropdown id 97837 of dialog row id 97835 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

        0

    get edit value of real editbox id 97840 of dialog row id 97838 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

        1.0

    get edit value of real editbox id 97843 of dialog row id 97841 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

        300.0

    get checked state of checkbox control id 97845 of dialog row id 97844 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 538053

        false

    destroy dialog id 538053

    count every layer of document id 7

        3

    get name of every layer of document id 7

        {"Layer 3", "Layer 2", "Layer 1"}

    set visible of every layer of document id 7 to false

    set visible of layer 3 of document id 7 to true

    set page range of PDF export preferences to "1"

    set view PDF of PDF export preferences to false

    export document 1 format PDF type to "Macintosh HD:Users:amelia:Desktop:test 1:13test_1.indd" using PDF export preset "[PDF/X-4:2007]"

        "Adobe InDesign CS5 got an error: Invalid value for parameter 'using' of method 'export'. Expected PDF export preset, but received nothing."

[rob day]

This is from the older version. Try it with the version I just posted in #49— PageToPSLayersV2

[anardinelli]

Hmm, sorry about that. I retried with the version from #49. Here's the error message and the event log. Thanks again for troubel shooting this with me, I really 

appriate it.

tell application "Adobe Photoshop CS5"

    count every document of current application

        0

end tell

tell application "Adobe InDesign CS5"

    activate

    count every document of current application

        7

    get active document

        document id 7

    get name of document id 7

        "test_1.indd"

    get horizontal measurement units of view preferences of document id 7

        inches

    get vertical measurement units of view preferences of document id 7

        inches

    set horizontal measurement units of view preferences of document id 7 to inches

    set vertical measurement units of view preferences of document id 7 to inches

    get page height of document preferences of document id 7

        11.0

    get page width of document preferences of document id 7

        8.5

    get pages per document of document preferences of document id 7

        1

    choose folder with prompt "Please select the folder you want to save your PDF pages in"

        alias "Macintosh HD:Users:amelia:Desktop:test 1:"

    make with properties {name:"Export to Photoshop (PDF/X-4 Preset Recommended)"} new dialog

        dialog id 541119

    make new dialog column

        dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make new border panel

        border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make new dialog column

        dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97835 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    get name of every PDF export preset

        {"[High Quality Print]", "[PDF/X-1a:2001]", "[PDF/X-3:2002]", "[PDFX4 2007]", "[PDF/X-4:2008]", "[Press Quality]", "[Smallest File Size]"}

    make with properties {static label:"PDF Preset:"} new static text

        static text id 97836 of dialog row id 97835 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make with properties {string list:{"[High Quality Print]", "[PDF/X-1a:2001]", "[PDF/X-3:2002]", "[PDFX4 2007]", "[PDF/X-4:2008]", "[Press Quality]", "[Smallest File Size]"}, selected index:4, min width:250} new dropdown

        dropdown id 97837 of dialog row id 97835 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97838 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make with properties {static label:"Color Mode:"} new static text

        static text id 97839 of dialog row id 97838 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make with properties {string list:{"RGB", "CMYK", "Lab"}, selected index:0, min width:250} new dropdown

        dropdown id 97840 of dialog row id 97838 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97841 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make with properties {static label:"Page to Export:"} new static text

        static text id 97842 of dialog row id 97841 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make with properties {edit contents:"1"} new real editbox

        real editbox id 97843 of dialog row id 97841 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97844 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make with properties {static label:"Resolution:"} new static text

        static text id 97845 of dialog row id 97844 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make with properties {edit contents:"300"} new real editbox

        real editbox id 97846 of dialog row id 97844 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97847 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    make with properties {static label:"Antialias", checked state:false} new checkbox control

        checkbox control id 97848 of dialog row id 97847 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

    show dialog id 541119

        true

    get selected index of dropdown id 97837 of dialog row id 97835 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

        4

    get selected index of dropdown id 97840 of dialog row id 97838 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

        0

    get edit value of real editbox id 97843 of dialog row id 97841 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

        1.0

    get edit value of real editbox id 97846 of dialog row id 97844 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

        300.0

    get checked state of checkbox control id 97848 of dialog row id 97847 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 541119

        false

    destroy dialog id 541119

    count every layer of document id 7

        3

    get name of every layer of document id 7

        {"Layer 3", "Layer 2", "Layer 1"}

    set visible of every layer of document id 7 to false

    set visible of layer 3 of document id 7 to true

    set page range of PDF export preferences to "1"

    set view PDF of PDF export preferences to false

    export document 1 format PDF type to "Macintosh HD:Users:amelia:Desktop:test 1:13test_1.indd" using PDF export preset "[PDF/X-4:2008]"

end tell

tell application "Adobe Photoshop CS5"

    activate

    «event PsCSodoc» file "Macintosh HD:Users:amelia:Desktop:test 1:13test_1.indd" given «class FmOp»:{class:«class cGPF», «class CPrP»:true, «class OMde»:«constant ****e082», «class ResL»:300, «class AnAl»:false, «class crto»:«constant ****crt5»}

        current application

end tell

tell application "Adobe InDesign CS5"

    set visible of every layer of document id 7 to false

    set visible of layer 2 of document id 7 to true

    set page range of PDF export preferences to "1"

    set view PDF of PDF export preferences to false

    export document 1 format PDF type to "Macintosh HD:Users:amelia:Desktop:test 1:12test_1.indd" using PDF export preset "[PDF/X-4:2008]"

end tell

tell application "Adobe Photoshop CS5"

    activate

    «event PsCSodoc» file "Macintosh HD:Users:amelia:Desktop:test 1:12test_1.indd" given «class FmOp»:{class:«class cGPF», «class CPrP»:true, «class OMde»:«constant ****e082», «class ResL»:300, «class AnAl»:false, «class crto»:«constant ****crt5»}

        current application

    get every document

        {}

        "Can’t get item 0 of {}."

[rob day]

I can see that it's breaking on the Photoshop PDF open command. Are you running the most recent Photoshop (12.0.4)? What's the version of your OSX? I have not tested the script with Lion.

[anardinelli]

No, I'm running PS 12.0.

I'm on OS 10.5.8.

[rob day]

No, I'm running PS 12.0.

Try updating to the most recent 12.0.4. I don't think there was full scripting support in 12.0.

http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=39&platform=Macintosh

[anardinelli]

Rob, that did the trick! I can't thank you enough for your patience and

perseverance. The script works beautifully. Bravo!

[rob day]

Your welcome. I'll update the read me so users know about the 12.0 problem.

[on_a_slant]

hello rob,

I have stupidly used indesign to create this whole website layout, so now i need to export it to photoshop for the web guy to code....

Thank you for the script, it is fantastic! - the answer to my prayers (...nearly)

     it's just, with the script you've provided, it exports all the layers and flattens all my sub-layers/items in those layers.

     .... say i've created a navigation bar, and i've group all the items into one big layer, it gets flattened when exported...

I know i've dug my own hole, and should probably just make the items into layers, but it will take too long and there's so many pages...

do you happen to have a solution? or did i just confuse you more?

thanks!

[rob day]

It would be possible to script but it wouldn't be trivial, you'd have to consider groups, inline graphics, and maybe Photoshop's total layer limit.

[rob day]

Try this version, which uses a different open command:

http://www.zenodesign.com/forum/PageToPSLayersV3.zip

[anardinelli]

Still no good. See error message and event log.

tell application "Adobe Photoshop CS5"

    count every document of current application

        0

end tell

tell application "Adobe InDesign CS5"

    activate

    count every document of current application

        9

    get active document

        document id 7

    get name of document id 7

        "test_1.indd"

    get horizontal measurement units of view preferences of document id 7

        inches

    get vertical measurement units of view preferences of document id 7

        inches

    set horizontal measurement units of view preferences of document id 7 to inches

    set vertical measurement units of view preferences of document id 7 to inches

    get page height of document preferences of document id 7

        11.0

    get page width of document preferences of document id 7

        8.5

    get pages per document of document preferences of document id 7

        1

    choose folder with prompt "Please select the folder you want to save your PDF pages in"

        alias "Macintosh HD:Users:amelia:Desktop:test 1:untitled folder:"

    make with properties {name:"Export to Photoshop (PDF/X-4 Preset Recommended)"} new dialog

        dialog id 546806

    make new dialog column

        dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make new border panel

        border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make new dialog column

        dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97835 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    get name of every PDF export preset

        {"[High Quality Print]", "[PDF/X-1a:2001]", "[PDF/X-3:2002]", "[PDFX4 2007]", "[PDF/X-4:2008]", "[Press Quality]", "[Smallest File Size]"}

    make with properties {static label:"PDF Preset:"} new static text

        static text id 97836 of dialog row id 97835 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make with properties {string list:{"[High Quality Print]", "[PDF/X-1a:2001]", "[PDF/X-3:2002]", "[PDFX4 2007]", "[PDF/X-4:2008]", "[Press Quality]", "[Smallest File Size]"}, selected index:4, min width:250} new dropdown

        dropdown id 97837 of dialog row id 97835 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97838 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make with properties {static label:"Color Mode:"} new static text

        static text id 97839 of dialog row id 97838 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make with properties {string list:{"RGB", "CMYK", "Lab"}, selected index:0, min width:250} new dropdown

        dropdown id 97840 of dialog row id 97838 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97841 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make with properties {static label:"Page to Export:"} new static text

        static text id 97842 of dialog row id 97841 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make with properties {edit contents:"1"} new real editbox

        real editbox id 97843 of dialog row id 97841 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97844 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make with properties {static label:"Resolution:"} new static text

        static text id 97845 of dialog row id 97844 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make with properties {edit contents:"300"} new real editbox

        real editbox id 97846 of dialog row id 97844 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make new dialog row

        dialog row id 97847 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    make with properties {static label:"Antialias", checked state:false} new checkbox control

        checkbox control id 97848 of dialog row id 97847 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

    show dialog id 546806

        true

    get selected index of dropdown id 97837 of dialog row id 97835 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

        4

    get selected index of dropdown id 97840 of dialog row id 97838 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

        0

    get edit value of real editbox id 97843 of dialog row id 97841 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

        1.0

    get edit value of real editbox id 97846 of dialog row id 97844 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

        300.0

    get checked state of checkbox control id 97848 of dialog row id 97847 of dialog column id 97834 of border panel id 97833 of dialog column id 97832 of dialog id 546806

        false

    destroy dialog id 546806

    count every layer of document id 7

        3

    get name of every layer of document id 7

        {"Layer 3", "Layer 2", "Layer 1"}

    set visible of every layer of document id 7 to false

    set visible of layer 3 of document id 7 to true

    set page range of PDF export preferences to "1"

    set view PDF of PDF export preferences to false

    export document 1 format PDF type to "Macintosh HD:Users:amelia:Desktop:test 1:untitled folder:13test_1.indd" using PDF export preset "[PDF/X-4:2008]"

end tell

tell application "Adobe Photoshop CS5"

    activate

    «event PsCSodoc» alias "Macintosh HD:Users:amelia:Desktop:test 1:untitled folder:13test_1.indd" given «class FmOp»:{class:«class cGPF», «class CPrP»:true, «class OMde»:«constant ****e082», «class ResL»:300, «class AnAl»:false, «class crto»:«constant ****crt5»}

        current application

end tell

tell application "Adobe InDesign CS5"

    set visible of every layer of document id 7 to false

    set visible of layer 2 of document id 7 to true

    set page range of PDF export preferences to "1"

    set view PDF of PDF export preferences to false

    export document 1 format PDF type to "Macintosh HD:Users:amelia:Desktop:test 1:untitled folder:12test_1.indd" using PDF export preset "[PDF/X-4:2008]"

end tell

tell application "Adobe Photoshop CS5"

    activate

    «event PsCSodoc» alias "Macintosh HD:Users:amelia:Desktop:test 1:untitled folder:12test_1.indd" given «class FmOp»:{class:«class cGPF», «class CPrP»:true, «class OMde»:«constant ****e082», «class ResL»:300, «class AnAl»:false, «class crto»:«constant ****crt5»}

        current application

    get every document

        {}

        "Can’t get item 0 of {}."

[RJensenArtDirector]

Rob, great script. An extra Christmas present as I'm in need of creating layered PS files of quite number of InD files that I've already created for a client who is now demanding PS instead of InD.

The only thing that I'm trying to get in the PS now is the crop marks and a bleed of .125". I've made a PDF preset that is such and I select that preset once the dialogue box comes up when the script is activated. But, I don't get either the bleed or crop marks in the final PS document.

If you have any suggestions, I'd REALLY appreciate it.

Thanks,

Rick

[RJensenArtDirector]

Rob,

I just did a work-around  by changing the size of my InD document to include the bleed and then have added guides in PS for client reference.

Thanks again for the great script — it's working flawlessly.

Rick

[rob day]

I'm traveling, the script sets the PDF bounds to the trim, but it could include crops. I'll post something later today.

[RJensenArtDirector]

Rob,

Thank you for your quick reply. First of all, thanks for the super time saving script. It's working great.

I've done a work around by changing the InD document size to include the .125 of bleed I need and then in PS I'm adding the guides for the client reference. So, thank you and whenever you get around to it — I'd certainly take the updated script the next time I need to do this.

Who wants a layout in PS anyway? Dang clients.

Thanks Rob.

Rick

[rob day]

Who wants a layout in PS anyway? Dang clients.

You don't mean this is a print job? Hope you're getting paid up front.

To include the PDF preset's crops you need to edit the script. Look for the 3 lines where the crop page is set to trim box and change to bounding box.

So this:

if colorMode is "CMYK" then

          set myOpenOptions to {class:PDF open options, constrain proportions:true, mode:CMYK, resolution:res, use antialias:aa, crop page:trim box}

               else

          if colorMode is "RGB" then

                set myOpenOptions to {class:PDF open options, constrain proportions:true, mode:RGB, resolution:res, use antialias:aa, crop page:trim box}

                    else

               if colorMode is "Lab" then

                    set myOpenOptions to {class:PDF open options, constrain proportions:true, mode:Lab, resolution:res, use antialias:aa, crop page:trim box}

               end if

          end if

end if

Needs to be:

if colorMode is "CMYK" then

          set myOpenOptions to {class:PDF open options, constrain proportions:true, mode:CMYK, resolution:res, use antialias:aa, crop page:bounding box}

               else

          if colorMode is "RGB" then

                set myOpenOptions to {class:PDF open options, constrain proportions:true, mode:RGB, resolution:res, use antialias:aa, crop page:bounding box}

                    else

               if colorMode is "Lab" then

                    set myOpenOptions to {class:PDF open options, constrain proportions:true, mode:Lab, resolution:res, use antialias:aa, crop page:bounding box}

               end if

          end if

end if

[RJensenArtDirector]

Hey Rob.

Yeah, this is a print job! Crazy. He's got InDesign too!

We're past being billable on this one.

Thanks for the edit to the script.