I need a Photoshop action / script required for batch processing thousands of folders of images.

[michaelw91583982]

I need a Photoshop action / script required for batch processing thousands of folders of images.

Images to be displayed on a website, all photos are live music photography, with a bit in studio and location.

Files are either;

1.  old films scans off neg, usually jpg, with a few tiff
2. Digital files in RAW of DNG

Whatever the best looking size is for web use. 600 x 800 pixels, what ever the current web protocol is for web display.  I have a photoshop pro who can help with the settings here.

The action - script  needs to process folders and sub folders. 

All images are  on a 20 TB primary  drive.

I've shot about 3500 bands on film and digital. In digital, some bands have been shot 10 or more times, plus the film scans from pre 2007. In these band folders there are sometimes jpg files already prepared for web. I'd like to use these if possible. I had a huge site up for years [weblink removed by moderator] however it got too old and clunky so I took it down.

I have no problems paying to get a solution to my requirements. Its a vast amount of work I need to get started on.  

I had a couple of scripts made that worked for years, which are now stalling before they finish processing the images. A tweak of these scrips may be all I need.

[Stephen Marsh]

You might find a lightweight app or command line tool to be better suited to such a volume of images.

Anyway, the usual suspects for Photoshop scripting include:

Image Processor:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/processing-batch-files.html#convert_files_with_the_image_pro...

Image Processor with PNG from the late Mike Hale:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/how-to-save-in-other-formats-automate...

https://www.ps-scripts.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=10225&p=54270

Image Processor Pro:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/ps-scripts/files/Image%20Processor%20Pro/v3_2%20betas/

Picture Processor:

https://github.com/Paul-Riggott/PS-Scripts/blob/master/Picture%20Processor.jsx

Raw Image Converter:

https://github.com/SetTrend/Raw-Image-Converter

Batch Multi Save:

https://www.marspremedia.com/software/photoshop/batch-multi-save

[michaelw91583982]

Thanks Steve,

I’ll talk to my photoshop / tech guys. No problem buying an app to get the job done.

Given the fine tuning abilities of Photoshop, I’d assume that it’s the best tool, but I don’t really know.

I have my files set up so I only want 1* and 2* star rated images processed. I’ve tried to use image processor in the past but it invariable stalled during the process. I may have been an advance photoshop user during my film scan era, but I certainly aren’t any more.

I also need to replicate the file structure.

[Stephen Marsh]

Given the fine tuning abilities of Photoshop, I’d assume that it’s the best tool, but I don’t really know.

This would depend on what you mean by "fine tuning abilities".

You should be able to easily batch resize and convert to different non-raw file formats using many tools, Adobe or otherwise. Photoshop has a lot of overhead, so it's not the best choice for industrial-sized image volumes.

For raw camera files such as DNG, you would need to use Adobe Camera Raw to retain your processing intent.

I have my files set up so I only want 1* and 2* star rated images processed...I also need to replicate the file structure.

By @michaelw91583982

Then you will need software that can read this metadata and conditionally process images based on the ratings. Probably not that common, but I don't know.

You can easily setup a filter or search in Bridge based on ratings and then only process these selected files. Depending on the tool used, you may or may not have the option to replicate the source folder/file structure (you do with Adobe Camera Raw, Image Processor or Image Processor Pro).

The new files should probably have a prefix or suffix added to the filename to avoid overwriting the originals.

[Conrad_C]

One important question is…do these images need any processing with features that only Photoshop has?

Or do they just need to be converted for a website?

If it’s the latter, then Photoshop might not even be necessary.

If the images don’t need any Photoshop-specific processing and only need conversion for the web, Photoshop might not be the best solution because of the older way it processes multiple images serially. If all you need is conversion for the web, you might already have these vastly simpler and faster options:

A. Bulk convert using Camera Raw. Start from Adobe Bridge. Set Camera Raw to open JPEG and TIFF files as well as its usual raw and DNG files. Select a large number of images in Bridge, and choose File > Open in Camera Raw. In Camera Raw, select all of the images and click the Save button. Set the Save options, which include dimensions, resolution, format, metadata handling, and even batch file renaming. Have the exported copies sent to a folder of your choice. When it’s finished, you can click Cancel to get out of Camera Raw.

B. Bulk convert using Lightroom Classic. Start from Adobe Lightroom Classic. Import all of the images, select all, click the Export button. Set up the export similarly to A (size, resolution, file format, file rename, metadata, destination folder…). Run it.

C. Bulk conversion using Export or Workflow panel in Bridge. Start from Adobe Bridge. Select all the images and run them through a preset you create in the Export panel, or in the Workflow panel. Note: The Export and Workflow panels in Bridge seem to be less mature and reliable than A or B above.

Those three options should all be much faster than Photoshop because they can process in parallel. Instead of processing one image at a time, they take advantage of today’s multi-core computers so the more CPU cores you have, the more images they process at the same time, and the faster it gets done.

In other words:

Photoshop: Open image, process, save, close image. Open image, process, save, close image. 

Options A through C: Load as many images at once as CPU/GPU/RAM allow. Process all images at the same time. As each finishes, keep loading and processing more in parallel.

In addition, at least A and B support GPU acceleration for export (not sure about C), making a bulk export go even faster. I’m not sure how much Photoshop can use the GPU during open/convert/save.

Also, options A through C do the bulk processing in the background. They don’t tie up their foreground application, so you can keep working on other things.

Another option is to use a non-Adobe solution such as the open source ImageMagick, which is widely used as the basis for many bulk processing applications. But I think that requires knowing how to program.

[michaelw91583982]

Thanks Conrad,

I’ll talk to my photoshop / tech guys.

Given the fine tuning abilities of Photoshop, I’d assume that it’s the best tool, but I don’t really know.

I have my files set up so I only want 1* and 2* star rated images processed. I’ve tried to use image processor in the past but it invariable stalled during the process. I may have been an advance photoshop user during my film scan era, but I certainly aren’t any more.

I also need to replicate the file structure.

When I installed Lightroom in 2013, it deleted a friends wedding (True story, even Adobe got involved in tying to salvage it), so lightroom is a no for me.

I had scrips created that I have attached that used to work fine, but now stall; I have nio idea what hey were created in. I cant attach them here but can email them to you if ya like.

[Conrad_C]

I have my files set up so I only want 1* and 2* star rated images processed. I’ve tried to use image processor in the past but it invariable stalled during the process. I may have been an advance photoshop user during my film scan era, but I certainly aren’t any more.

I also need to replicate the file structure.

By @michaelw91583982

OK. Those change the solutions a little.

The filtering can be done by Adobe Bridge or Lightroom Classic. Filtering by star rating is easy in both.

Replicating the file structure (I assume you mean the folder hierarchy) is somewhat of a special request. It shouldn’t be, because a lot of people need to do it, but it hasn’t been a big priority for Adobe or other developers so it isn’t built into the export features of any of the Adobe apps I mentioned.

A Photoshop script is one way to make sure the exported files are organized in the same folder structure that you fed in. There is also at least one plug-in for Lightroom Classic that will do this, the one I know is called LR/TreeExporter. It’s donationware. Personally I would lean toward LR/TreeExporter for two reasons: One is that it’s tried and tested; on the other hand if a ready-made Photoshop script for this doesn’t exist yet it’s going to have to be written and tested. Another is that, as I explained before, high volume bulk exporting from Lightroom Classic should finish much faster than Photoshop due to its more modern export handling and use of hardware resouces.

So in Lightroom Classic, it might be as easy as filtering the images by star rating, setting up an export to your web specifications and using the LR/TreeExporter plug-in, and running that. (Note: I have not actually used LR/TreeExporter.)

When I installed Lightroom in 2013, it deleted a friends wedding (True story, even Adobe got involved in tying to salvage it), so lightroom is a no for me.

By @michaelw91583982

That’s unfortunate, but to many of us it is also very unusual since Lightroom (now Lightroom Classic) doesn't make it easy to delete originals, and is nondestructive by nature. You may have had one bad experience over 10 years ago, but there are many on the forum (including me) and working pros who have been using it for far longer and have not lost photos ever. I use Lightroom Classic almost every day, and since version 1.0 in 2007 it’s been a reliable workhorse managing well over 100,000 images and videos for me.

[Conrad_C]

Given the fine tuning abilities of Photoshop, I’d assume that it’s the best tool, but I don’t really know.

By @michaelw91583982

Photoshop is still the most precise image editor Adobe sells. Nothing else comes close. Total control down to the pixel.

However, that isn’t what you’re doing. Your question is not about how to make the most precisely color-corrected, finely tuned composite image in a single document, the kind of thing Photoshop is best at. Instead, you want to do a mass file conversion, a bulk processing workflow. For that, other tools are often better.

Also, one thing that has changed over the years is that Adobe has taken advantage of the parametric architecture of Camera Raw and Lightroom to the point that there are now some significant advanced features that those applications have that are better than Photoshop, or that you can’t even find in Photoshop. Today I prefer to edit photos in Lightroom Classic or Camera Raw first, and only the few percent that need advanced corrections or effects will be passed on to Photoshop. I’m doing some bulk scanning of old film and prints, and Lightroom Classic is hands down faster and more efficient at the bulk processing of those than Photoshop, while preserving and improving image quality.

That’s just to give you a sense of where those applications stand today, in 2025.