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V
valera_9213
Participating Frequently
February 17, 2025
Answered

Can't get access to layers of Smart object by Script

  • February 17, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 487 views

Hi all. I have a small script that should open all folders and change all text layers. But I need to change text layers in smart objects too and this is the biggest problem. I don't know why but I can only get the name of the smart object and nothing else.

 

function replaceTextInLayers(layer) {
    if (layer.kind == LayerKind.TEXT) {
       
        var currentText = layer.textItem.contents;
        var newText = findTranslation(currentText);
        layer.textItem.contents = newText;
       


    }else if(layer.kind === LayerKind.SMARTOBJECT) {
        alert("Name of smart object: " + layer.name)
        layer.smartObject.editContents();
        var smartDoc = app.activeDocument;
        if (smartDoc != null) {
            alert("Layers count in smart objects: " + smartDoc.layers.length);
        } else {
            alert("Smart object is null");
        }
       
        smartDoc.close(SaveOptions.DONOTSAVECHANGES);
    }
     

    if (layer instanceof LayerSet) {
        for (var i = 0; i < layer.layers.length; i++) {
            replaceTextInLayers(layer.layers[i]);
        }
    }
}
Correct answer c.pfaffenbichler
var theSO = openSmartObject (activeDocument.activeLayer);
////// open smart object //////
function openSmartObject (theLayer) {
try {
activeDocument.activeLayer = theLayer;
var idplacedLayerEditContents = stringIDToTypeID( "placedLayerEditContents" );
var desc2 = new ActionDescriptor();
executeAction( idplacedLayerEditContents, desc2, DialogModes.NO );
return app.activeDocument
} catch (e) {return false}
};

2 replies

c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
February 17, 2025
var theSO = openSmartObject (activeDocument.activeLayer);
////// open smart object //////
function openSmartObject (theLayer) {
try {
activeDocument.activeLayer = theLayer;
var idplacedLayerEditContents = stringIDToTypeID( "placedLayerEditContents" );
var desc2 = new ActionDescriptor();
executeAction( idplacedLayerEditContents, desc2, DialogModes.NO );
return app.activeDocument
} catch (e) {return false}
};
    Stephen Marsh
    Community Expert
    Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 17, 2025
    quote
            layer.smartObject.editContents();

    By @valera_9213

     

    Assuming that you have a variable defining layer as the app.activeDocument.activeLayer, where did you get the following from:

     

    .smartObject

     

    and 

     

    .editContents();

     

    Would this have come from a generative LLM AI tool (ChatGPT or similar)?

     

    For the active smart object layer, you can:

     

    app.runMenuItem(stringIDToTypeID('placedLayerEditContents'));

     

    This assumes that the file can be edited in Photoshop. Otherwise, the associated app will open instead, such as Illustrator if the smart object is an .ai file. Otherwise, more complex code would be required to assess the type of smart object and handle it accordingly.

     

    So you would need to loop over all layers, check if the layer or a smart object layer and perform the required edits. A text layer only goes one level deep, however, a smart object can contain another smart object etc. So you would need more robust code to look at the edited smart object, detect layer groups and text layers, drill down into further smart objects, and repeat as needed. It depends on how bulletproof the script needs to be, which depends on your data or the expected data being processed.

      V
      valera_9213Author
      Participating Frequently
      February 17, 2025

      Hi Stephen. You correctly assumed that I take the data from AI chats because I have no other sources of information on how to open this or that object and what functions I have access to. At the moment, my main task is to open access to a smart object and get all the layers from there as their folders.

      c.pfaffenbichler
      Community Expert
      c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 17, 2025
      quote

      You correctly assumed that I take the data from AI chats because I have no other sources of information on how to open this or that object and what functions I have access to.

      Have you already found 

      photoshop-javascript-ref-2020.pdfGitHubhttps://github.com › blob › master › Documentation › ph...

      photoshop-scripting-guide-2020.pdfGitHubhttps://github.com › blob › master › Documentation › ph...

      ? 

      As far as Action Manager-code, which offers access to functionality that is beyond the DOM-code, is concerned one can use SciptingListener.plugin to record it and then try to adapt it as necessary. 

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