JPEG export: set width AND height in pixels

[winterm]

Honorable experts,

DOM only offers jpeg export resolution *as a real number*:

app.jpegExportPreferences.exportResolution = 72;

With the little trick you can get the desired width in pixels, and usually that's enough.

Now to the problem: on a regular basis, have a page to export, with both exported jpeg pixel dimensions strictly pre-defined, and those don't match to original layout dimensions. Well, client doesn't care about aspect ratio here, so this is easily doable in Photoshop, from *regular* pdf.

However, being so lazy, I'd love to include this little function in a some bigger script, and avoid firing up Photoshop just for this.

Is there still a itty bitty teeny weeny chance to force InDesign to follow both given dimensions, and don't care about aspect ratio?

[Laubender]

Hi winterm ,

you can do that by using a workaround:

Export the page to PDF.

Prepare a graphic frame with the desired aspect ratio.

Frame fitting options set so that a placed image will fit the frame.

Place the PDF to the frame.

Export the container frame of the PDF to JPEG.

Regards,
Uwe

[winterm]

Hi, Uwe,

thank you for your comment and sorry for the weekend delay.

Your post, my own understanding and absence of any other comments make me sure this just can't be done directly from print-ready layout.

In this project, I use a script to export final package for output in one go: 3 versions of pdf, and 2 of jpegs. Only this little one requires additional manipulations to *break* aspect ratio. Now I grab one of generated pdfs, drop it onto Photoshop window (only the 1st page is needed), and run pre-saved action, which does the job instantly.

Still two steps, in any way. Well, not a big deal.

[Laubender]

Hi winterm ,

using PhotoShop for rendering the JEPGs from PDFs is better than exporting pages to JPEG from InDesign if we talk of quality and efficency in quality/file size ratio. One could do all this in one script as Malcom pointed out. It's of course you who has to decide if it's worth the effort 🙂

FWIW: You could also scale an InDesign page to yield the new aspect ratio and then export to JPEG.

Just to mention yet another alternative.

Regards,
Uwe

[BarlaeDC]

Hi,

The going to Photoshop part could be automated, probably from your script, this would remove the need for any additional steps. Using Bridgetalk you can control Photoshop from InDesign.  (On a mac you can easily call Applescript from InDesign to control Photoshop, not sure if you can do the same on windows)

Regards

Malcolm

[winterm]

Thank you, Malcolm,

yes, it's doable in JS too, like here

However, I must perform all this on an ancient machine (not mine), with only 1 Gb RAM onboard, do I need to say more? It struggles to keep ID and PS just running simultaneously.

I'm only a *guest star* in that office, coming once a week to do some final touches to layout, and prepare the output.

My logic was: since ID is a pro app (that said, not fool-proof), since it technically allows such a silly things like editing [Basic Paragraph] style, or setting even page numbers on recto pages and vice versa, why it wouldn't be possible to export distorted image?

Well, speaking about that machine, I think its time to stop with automation at this stage.