Photoshop 2020 Mac : How do I browse Javascript Object Model for Photoshop CC ?

[user620]

I was using a script to find the location of Photoshop Scripts folder on a Mac.

var aeFolder = Folder.appPackage.parent;
var scriptFolder = aeFolder.toString() + "/Scripts/";
var scriptUIFolder = scriptFolder.toString() + "ScriptUI Panels/";
 
alert(aeFolder + "\n" + scriptFolder + "\n" + scriptUIFolder);

Would like to know how I can browse the properties and Methods of the Folder Class. The Scripting support for Photoshop is really screwed, it points to use ExtendScript CC Tool at devnet, which then is not found on devnet. :clown_face:

So I tried browsing the Object Model using AppleScript editor on a Mac, but in Applescript there is no equivalent class for `Folder`.

[Manan Joshi]

See the following

https://www.adobe.com/devnet/photoshop/scripting.html

Also Folder class is a part of Extendscript and not PS DOM, so you can use it in other applications like Illustrator and InDesign as well. Its documentation can be seen from the following link.

https://www.indesignjs.de/extendscriptAPI/indesign-latest/#Folder.html

All the classes mentioned under the section Javascript in the above page should be accessible across the applications that use Extendscript as the scripting language.

-Manan

[user620]

@Manan Joshi Thanks. Been there, Seen that..

It Seems ExtendScript is on the brink of being Obsolete (: Adobe itself calling it Legacy, whatever that means 🙂 and Adobe has removed the ToolKit from installers since 2015. 😦

https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/legacy-and-extend-script-engine.html

ESTK had a syntax checker, class browser and a debugger for javascript. If ExtendScript Toolkit has turned Legacy, what is Adobe's Tool recommendation for Scripting with Javascript on Creative Cloud 2020+ Applications ?

[Manan Joshi · Accepted solution]

Extendscript is not going anytime soon. Legacy here means that an ancient version of JS, i.e., ECMA script, is used, so JS's modern features are not available while writing scripts for Adobe applications. Yes, Extendscript and ESTK haven't been updated by Adobe for a long time. Regarding ESTK, it won't be updated going forward as it would need a lot of work to port it to the 64-bit architecture required to run on MAC Catalina. If you are not using Catalina OS, you can still download and use ESTK from the following link

https://github.com/Adobe-CEP/CEP-Resources/tree/master/ExtendScript-Toolkit

Adobe has released an extension for VSCode as well. You can have a look at it here

-Manan