Can I build a plugin that allows my clients to export a photos or a collection as a catalog?

[mnunezpi]

All I want to know is if I can invoke the export as catalog feature (file>export as catalog) from a plugin. For a example, I want my users to put their photo on any collection created under my plugin and allow them to export their selection as a catalog. So I can receive their catalog on the destination site, I dont want to receive individual photos, I want to be able to receive the catalog.

Is that possible?

[John R Ellis]

The plugin SDK doesn't provide the functionality for File > Export As Catalog.  But if you provide a little more detail about what you want your users to be able to do, it is very likely achievable with other functionality of the SDK. 

[mnunezpi]

Hi,

John R. Ellis  what I need to know is if the exporting services provided by SDK  and the API somehow would allow me to export a collection or a group of collections as a catalog, so I can take advantage from the smart previews. I would like to perform this action as a comand, i.e. Right click send to melvin.

I know that the API provides a function to build smart previews, but am I able to export those smart previews without the catalog? If so, would I be able to edit those files on other computer and then import them back ?

Rob Cole when you say Keyboard stuffing, those that means that I can program and execute those shorcuts ? or teach the user the shortcuts so the can execute them from their keyboard?

Thanks.

[John R Ellis]

The SDK doesn't provide any functionality equivalent to File > Export As Catalog.  Rob could probably better answer how you might export smart previews some other way.

[areohbee]

mnunezpi wrote:

Rob Cole when you say Keyboard stuffing, those that means that I can program and execute those shorcuts ?

Yes. I've used an auto-hotkey based solution in Windows, and an applescript-based solution on Mac - you can see it in some of my plugins (e.g. 'Stacker').

It's getting harder as system security gets tighter, but if you have some say over the systems using your plugin you can assure it works.

Good luck,

Rob

[areohbee]

You can try keyboard stuffing (to auto-invoke the file>export as catalog function), but it's a road filled with pot-holes.., and you can't stuff keystrokes into the subsequent popup dialog (or at least I don't know how), so users would still have to approve (e.g. press 'Enter'..).