Help needed to enhance Image Processor Pro Script to save transparency in TIF

[Packesel]

Hi everyone,

this is my first post in this community.

We have a droplet which reduces the resolution of tif images to 72dpi and save the tif image with transparency. This works fine, but it took to long for the whole process of many picture in different folders. That's the reason why we searched for another script which can preserve the folder structure and set the resolution of every tif image to 72dpi.

We found Image Processor Pro, which does exactly what we needed. The script works perfectly in CS5 and CS5.5 as it saves the tif with the transparency. Those saved tif images could be used in InDesign with the transparency.

BUT Image Processor Pro script works not so perfectly in CS6 as it seems that this option to save a tif with transparency is not implemented or does not work in the script. The result is that those converted tif images are w/o transparency in InDesign. That's a huge problem for us.

This is the point where I need your help. Neither I have experience yet with jsx-files nor with the right syntax of it.

Is there a way for anybody of you to implement / enhance Image Processor Pro so it will save tif with transparency?

We used the latest German Version of Image Processor Pro: 2.3.1 (link: http://www.russellbrown.com/scripts.html)

(The German version contains only german on screen texts!)

I am very thankful for every help you can give.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[xbytor2 · Accepted solution]

The only reason I can invision that this would be happening is that they change the default behaviour on what to do when the transparency option is not specified.

The simplest fix, if you always want to have transparency with tif files is this:

Find this bit of code on or about line 3811:

     case "tif": {
        var value = (isWindows() ? ByteOrder.IBM : ByteOrder.MACOS);
        var str = fsOpts.tiffByteOrder.toString();

Change it to look like this:

     case "tif": {
        saveOpts.transparency = true;
        var value = (isWindows() ? ByteOrder.IBM : ByteOrder.MACOS);
        var str = fsOpts.tiffByteOrder.toString();

This will work correctly whether or not there is a transparency.

BTW, where did you get a German version of this? I wrote IPP but never Germanized it....

[Packesel]

Thanks for your help. You invision was absolutely right and your solution works perfectly.

I got the German Image Processor Pro Version from this site http://www.russellbrown.com/scripts.html . There are links in the first half of the webpage for the german version. Hope this helps and answers your question.

Thanks for this great piece of script, it save us a lot of time!

[Todd Shaner]

I am running Photoshop CS6 with recent update to 13.0.1.2 on Windows 7 64 bit and I am not encountering the problem with transparency using PS 64 bit or 32 bit versions.

Open a file with transparency, open Image Processor Pro, select  Save TIFF with 'Flatten Image' unchecked, and 'Resize tp Fit.' Transparency is retained in the new file.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding the issue?

[xbytor2]

Oddly enough, I just tested this with the same configuration and the transparency was retained. I'm not quite sure what file I was testing with before, but I do remember seeing this problem when this issue first came up. I'll see if I can figure out what's going on.

Edit: I'm stuck. If anyone can reproduce the problem, let me know so I can save the test case.

Message was edited by: xbytor2

[Packesel]

The CS version/system I experienced the problem with was CS6 (latest version) on Mac OS X 10.6.8.

The CS5 version works as you both described on a Mac OS X 10.6.8 & 10.8.4 and CS5 / CS5.5.

I am sorry that I can give you no more informattion as I already did, but as the changes xbytor2 suggested solved the problem, I have a working Image Processor in the CS6 now.

Nevertheless please let me know if I can somehow "repay" your help with providing some information. If I can provide this/the information of course!

[Todd Shaner]

I've tried numerous combinations of settings and have been unable to duplicate this issue on my Windows 7 system with PS CS6 13.0.1.2.

It's either Mac OS X platform dependent or something with the files. Perhaps the OP could post one of the original files with this issue for download and testing.

[Packesel]

Here ist the direct link to the download I used to get Image Processor in German:

https://workspaces.acrobat.com/app.html#d=QJTvtN0SPl5c1fiaNntbRg

If you want the exact file I downloaded and used than we have to find a public place to upload it and insert here a link to it, as I saw no option to directly upload a file here!

[Todd Shaner]

It also may be related to something in your original image files. If you could also post one of the image files that is losing transparency I can check that as well. I use a HIGHTAIL free account, which allows up to 50 MB file size and 2GB of online storage.

[Packesel]

Sorry, but I am not allowed to give the images to any third party. I am really sorry for that.

You should know that the very same images which lost the transparency in the CS6 version of Image Processor were working with CS5 version. Maybe this could take out the images as a factor from the equation.

[Todd Shaner]

Possible causes:

1) It probably has nothing to do with your image files, but you won't know until someone else tests one of them. You could create a small 50% gray TIFF file with transparency and post it, assuming you know it exhibits the issue with IPP.

2) At the download link you provided:

http://www.russellbrown.com/scripts.html

There are two installers for Image Processor (CS5 and CS6). Did you download and install the CS6 Version Installer?

3) Another possible solution other than modifying the script is to reset the PS Preferences file. When strange things happen in PS with no explanation this usually fixes them. My PS CS6 was inflating  all new files by 1.4MB. After examining one of the files it turned out PS was inserting a Costco printer profile into every new file. So don't automatically assume your PS image files are not somehow being corrupted and causing loss of transparency in IPP. Creating a new Preferences file resolved my issue:

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/375776

You may want to record your old Preferences settings prior to creating a new one, but test it first with the default settings.

[Michael_L_Hale]

Just my two cents, if creating a new tiff with transparency still has the same issue then the problem has something to do with Packesel's system. Perhaps resetting the Photoshop or IPP preferences will help as suggested. At least I can't reproduce the issue by creating a new document.

Packesel, if you locked the layer's transparency and filled with black would that obscure the problem image enough for you to send/share to xbytor?

It is hard( if not impossible ) to 'fix' a problem you can't reproduce without a file that has that problem. Anything else is just guesswork.

[Packesel]

@trshaner & Michael L Hale:

1) I will see that I can provide you with a tiff image with transparency which has this issue with IPP CS6 (in the way Michael suggested!).

2) Yes, I downloaded and installed the CS6 version.  I tried both with the appropriate Photoshop version (Photoshop CS5 = IPP CS5 & Photoshop CS6 = IPP CS6).

3) This is a good idea, but I have to find a system where I can test it. Because on the system IPP CS6 (modified) is installed right now is a productive sytem and I can't experiment with it right now. But I will keep it mind!

@all:

Where should I upload the Image?

[Michael_L_Hale]

I would suggest contacting xbytor when you have a sample file you can share. He is the one that wrote IPP for Russell Brown and I would think would have the best chance of finding the problem quickly.

[Packesel]

OK

I contacted xbytor2 via PM and wait until he answers, so I can upload him the image anywhere he wants!

[Todd Shaner]

You can create a free account on HIGHTAIL and upload a TIFF file with the issue:

https://www.hightail.com/

Post the  link here and I can check it on my Windows 7 system with IPP. Someone with a Mac OS X system should check it as well.

[Packesel]

I already send the image via dropbox to xbytor.

Thanks anyway for the hint!

I send you a PM with the link to the image!

[Todd Shaner]

I downloaded the TIFF file and tested with IPP 2.3.1 using various settings. I can NOT confirm the issue with loss of transparency using PS CS6 on  my Windows 7 system.

Can you provide a screenshot of IPP 2.3.1 showing the settings and description of any actions you are running inside IPP on these files? That might reveal something we're missing.

[Packesel]

Yes I would gladly like to provide you with this information, but as  I wrote before I have no system at hand at the moment to test it on and make some screenshots. The system we had the issue with is a productive system and used with the modified IPP version which works well right now.

I will see what I can do to make these screenshots on another system. Hopefully I can reproduce the same behavior there as it was on the inital system with CS6.

[xbytor2]

I received the file and did not detect an error with CS6 on Win7 and OSX.

Instead of a screenshot, you can save your settings to an xml file and post/email that.

[Packesel]

@xbytor2:

I send you the dropbox link to the XML via PM.

Hope this helps.

[Sirbaxx]

Is it also possible to save the TIFF files with (more) compression?

Somehow the TIFF files that Image Processor Pro saves are a lot bigger than TIFF files that I manually (even with LWZ or ZIP encoding checked in the options)

[Todd Shaner]

Image Processor Pro does not allow setting the Layer Compression to LZW (RLE by default), only Image ZIP Compression.

Lightroom has the same issue so I use an Action and the Batch processor with a keyboard shortcut:

http://forums.adobe.com/message/5847695#5847695

[Sirbaxx]

I actually don't need a file with layers. A flat file with transparency would also be fine.

[Todd Shaner]

TIFF files with transparency are layered files and can be compressed further using ZIP Layer Compression instead of the default RLE Compression. Try it!