Photoshop on server?

[_Keith28_]

Is it possible to run Photoshop on a server to run online tasks?

I'm looking to user it for one purpose.
I want to run and action thru photoshop and have it return a result in a browser.

Basically I upload a photos, run an action thru photoshop and have it return a result in a browser.

Thank you for any feedback.

[qu1j0t3]

Have you looked into ImageMagick?

http://www.imagemagick.org/

[_Curvemeister_]

Yes, this can be done, but there are enough problems that it probably never
will be.

For starters, it would use up a Photoshop license, and take over the host
machine by popping up Photoshop. There would also be substantial
programming work involved to interface the Photoshop scripting engine to a
web compatible language such as php or perl. Photoshop can only do one
operation at a time, so you would need to provide queing functionality, so
that web clients can wait their turn when Photoshop is busy. If Photoshop
decides to put up a dialog, you'll need some way to ensure that the OK or
Cancel button is clicked, or the whole thing will hang.

As Toby says, consider using imagemagick. It solves all of the above
problems, and may do all you need.

I would add a recommendation that you look for web scripts, in php, perl,
or javascript, that already do something similar to what you want. For
example, if you want a thumbnail gallery, or a slideshow, there are many
free examples that you can use or adapt to your own purpose.

[_young_nacs_]

What do you mean "ImageMagick solves all of the above problem"? If I have tons of action scripts of Photoshop, does ImageMagick can import these and apply to image? how does it work with ImageMagick? Is there anyway to automate this process without deal with Phothoshop app or popup such as SDK or API to run action scripts regardless of either Photoshop app or other app? Thanks,

[_young_nacs_]

One more thing, can you explain below few quesitons to start:
a. which product I have to use? Plugin, lightroom, droplet or action script,or others?
b. what technology I have to deal with? Photoshop SDK, or others?
what is the design environment? C++ only or other language?
what is design process to do so? Thanks,

[_Curvemeister_]

> a. which product I have to use? Plugin, lightroom, droplet or action script,or others?

I'm starting in the middle of this conversation, but if I understand the
goal (running Photoshop actions and other operations on a server), IMHO,
this is probably not a practical project.

That said, perhaps it could be used this way in a limited setting, for a
server in a controlled environment shared by a few cooperating individuals.
If you did want to persue this, you would need to have Photoshop installed.

> b. what technology I have to deal with? Photoshop SDK, or others?

You do not need the SDK. If you needed scripting, the documentation and
sample code are included with Photoshop - look for a folder named something
like
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS4\Scripting Guide

> what is the design environment? C++ only or other language?

I'd recommend using Javascript or Visual Basic Script, and a Microsoft web
server that supports .asp.

> what is design process to do so? Thanks,

If you can package all of the necessary operations as droplets, you can
avoid scripting completely. One place to start would be to save one of
your actions as a droplet, and write a .asp script that runs the droplet,
then returns the URL of the resulting image. You could adapt an existing
.asp script that runs a program for this.

Keep in mind that this would be suitable for light use by a few people
only, and would probably need to be restarted manually even in that
scenario. The person who mentioned ImageMagick is providing good advice.
If your goal is to have a robust, reliable server, I would recommend
translating your actions to IM. There is a large user base for IM, and a
body of sample code that you can draw upon.

Good luck with your project.