I'm afraid I haven't. I've had to resort pointing to external resources. I start thinking that the newest updates did introduce some weird bugs (as long as Photoshop is concerned, new window crash and extension icons for instance). Davide ... View more

Thanks Harald, I've been trying firing a keydown event, but it's quite a mess and I've basically given up this route. Another option would be to dynamically save a script on the hard drive for each operation and then trigger each script to produce a new recording step. But then these script files need to stay on the harddrive as long as the action is still in use. But I do not know if that would really work. Trigger each script to leave a trace in the Action Palette is what I've been working on these days, but I couldn't make it. I've also tried to manually build an ActionDescriptor with the proper keys - assigning it to the app.playbackParameters on a script with proper <javascriptresource> (basically what Mike Hale said): even if the Action is in record mode, no way. Alas, it seems that the script called from the Filter menu has some exclusive magic. Davide ... View more

Harald, have you been able to get through it? I've posted a similar question (see here), anything new to share? Thanks! Davide ... View more

Thanks Mike, I appreciate you've taken some time to help! I'm not sure I could implement this one (into a recordable script - shouldn't everything go into a single, "standard" history status?) but it looks very like the only compromise. I'll let you know if I come up with something different. Thanks again! Davide ... View more

I've cooked up a very simplified example just to show the dynamic involved: // EasyWin.jsx var win, windowResource; var dup = app.activeDocument.activeLayer.duplicate(); dup.name ="DUP"; var myWin = function() {           windowResource = "dialog {      orientation: 'column',     alignChildren: ['fill', 'top'],      preferredSize:[300, 130],     text: 'ScriptUI Window - palette',      margins:15,         sliderPanel: Panel {         orientation: 'row',         alignChildren: 'right',         margins:15,         text: ' PANEL ',         st: StaticText { text: 'Value:' },         sl: Slider { minvalue: 1, maxvalue: 100, value: 30, size:[220,20] },            }         bottomGroup: Group{         cd: Checkbox { text:'Checkbox value', value: true },         cancelButton: Button { text: 'Cancel', properties:{name:'cancel'}, size: [120,24], alignment:['right', 'center'] },         applyButton: Button { text: 'Apply', properties:{name:'ok'}, size: [120,24], alignment:['right', 'center'] },     }}";           win = new Window(windowResource);           win.sliderPanel.sl.onChanging = function() {                     this.parent.st.text = Math.floor(this.value);                     dup.opacity = this.parent.st.text;           }           win.bottomGroup.cancelButton.onClick = function() {                     return win.close();           };           win.bottomGroup.applyButton.onClick = function() {                     return win.close();           };           this.run = function() {win.show()} } var MyWin = new myWin(); app.activeDocument.suspendHistory('SINGLE STEP','MyWin.run();'); If you run the above code in PS (open at least an image before), a simple Dialog Window will pop up; a copy of the background layer is created and the slider controls the duplicate layer's opacity. Not cool but serves his purpose. Everything is packed into a single History step - i.e. the history state is written *after* the Apply button click. Now, try to modify just "dialog" with "palette" and the window will just flashes - it's a known behavior. // EasyWinCallee.jsx var win, windowResource; var dup = app.activeDocument.activeLayer.duplicate(); dup.name ="DUP"; var myWin = function() {           windowResource = "palette {      orientation: 'column',     alignChildren: ['fill', 'top'],      preferredSize:[300, 130],     text: 'ScriptUI Window - palette',      margins:15,         sliderPanel: Panel {         orientation: 'row',         alignChildren: 'right',         margins:15,         text: ' PANEL ',         st: StaticText { text: 'Value:' },         sl: Slider { minvalue: 1, maxvalue: 100, value: 30, size:[220,20] },            }         bottomGroup: Group{         cd: Checkbox { text:'Checkbox value', value: true },         cancelButton: Button { text: 'Cancel', properties:{name:'cancel'}, size: [120,24], alignment:['right', 'center'] },         applyButton: Button { text: 'Apply', properties:{name:'ok'}, size: [120,24], alignment:['right', 'center'] },     }}";           win = new Window(windowResource);           win.sliderPanel.sl.onChanging = function() {                     this.parent.st.text = Math.floor(this.value);                     dup.opacity = this.parent.st.text;           }           win.bottomGroup.cancelButton.onClick = function() {                     return win.close();           };           win.bottomGroup.applyButton.onClick = function() {                     return win.close();           };           this.run = function() {win.show()} } var MyWin = new myWin(); app.activeDocument.suspendHistory('SINGLE STEP','MyWin.run();'); I could use WaitForRedraw() but as I've written before, I can't. Now, save that file somewhere naming it EasyWinCallee.jsx and, besides it, save another file with this code (saving them is mandatory in order for the following script to read the previous one): // BTCaller.jsx #target photoshop var myPath = File($.fileName).parent; var callee = new File(myPath + "/EasyWinCallee.jsx"); if (!callee.exists) {alert("Missing!")} callee.open('r'); var message = callee.read(); callee.close(); var bt = new BridgeTalk(); bt.target = "photoshop"; bt.body = message; bt.send(); Run BTCaller. The Palette Window shows and sticks there, but as soon as it's shown, the history status is written and each time you drag the slider a new step is added to the History Palette. Which is what I would like to avoid... Any suggestion? Davide ... View more

Hi Michael, actually the last script doesn't fail (i.e. halts or throws an error), but it keeps returning the wrong path. For the eval(), I've seen that I must eval a binary string, otherwise it doesn't work. var message = eval("@JSXBIN@ES@2.0@MyBbyBnACM2kA... ... ...FbyBn0AGO2kBFby2kCFn0ABJ2kCFnASzBjPBGEV") I think the reason $.fileName doesn't work is becaue the eval is done in memory not a file. Ok, I see! I'm stuck in another dead end with Bridge Talk, but I will open another thread. Thanks for the reply Mike, Davide ... View more

Neat! ... View more

As far as I know, ESTK is the only one that can code-assist you except for Extension Builder (an Eclipse Plugin by the way), which hinting is far more precise than ESTK. Easy peasy... Alas, EB code completion is limited to DOM in Actionscript, so if you're willing to write ExtendScript code I'm afraid you've to stick with ESTK. Personally, I don't even write code there - instead I use a text editor (like TextMate or Sublime Text) and paste the code in ESTK for debug (actually I write coffeescript so a third part editor which compiles in JS is a nice option). Davide ... View more

Sorry Pedro, I didn't get that the file should have been edited directly by the user. The preferences panel writing XML is not as straigthforward as a the first option, but from the usability point of view far superior. Anyway, you can find here a General purpose Preference tool, it may inspire you Davide ... View more

You could give XML a try - the Javascript Tools Guide should give you enough information to deal with them. Regards Davide ... View more

Well, that would be an annoyance - I'd have liked to avoid writing a cryptografied file on disk, though. ... View more

Harald, I don't know if this applies to your case, but couldn't you add listeners to the panel and record what the user does - then try to convert these steps into an action (XTools has various utilities you can look at)? It doesn't look easy, though. Davide ... View more

I confirm that with Flex SDK 3.6 the problem disappears - following versions are not supported (alas). You can download it here. Davide ... View more

Hi Michael, in fact resource images work to me too - it could be like you say (yet it would be a weird limitation anyway). I've tried with File object, direct path, even ScriptUI.newImage() but with no luck. Thanks Davide ... View more

Hi, I add my experience with ESTK CS6 (3.8.0.12) doing strange things when dealing with binary files. I've run the following script: var infile = File ("/d/test_jpg/icon.png"); var outfile = File ("/d/test_jpg/icon.txt"); infile.open ("r"); infile.encoding = "binary"; var temp = infile.read(); infile.close(); outfile.open ("w"); outfile.write (temp.toSource ()); outfile.close (); which goal is to convert the content of a binary file into a string. The .txt file is created, but just once. If you try to run the script a second time (changing filenames for instance) nothing happens - actually, after the first run, EXTK gets useless (doesn't run, debug, etc) and I've to reboot the app. Davide ... View more

I've been asking something along those lines here, it may be helpful too. Davide ... View more

You may want to use a progressbar - there is an example in the ESTK Samples/javascript folder (see SnpCreateProgressBar.jsx) Davide ... View more

Hi, for those who don't know it, there's a (unofficial but very informative) pdf called ScriptUI for Dummies - I've discovered it recently and it may be considered a nice add-on to the JS Tools Guide for building interfaces. Davide ... View more

I hope they would somehow embed an Halide interpreter within the CS SDK - like they did with PixelBender, but I don't really believe it would happen (soon) ... View more

What puzzles me is that the ActionManager code of the USM filter looks identical no matter if you apply it to a SO or a bitmap layer (I would have thought that it implied some "FilterFX" things). Maybe on a bitmap layer it is possible to encapsulate a "Fade to Luminosity" command, but I've to deal with SO. Proper Filters are a bit off my current skills - I've been tempted by PixelBender (now discontinued), JNack wrote something about a new language targeted to image processing (called Halide), let's see in which way they will support it. Kind regards Davide ... View more

Ok, time to share - does the following works with you? The exact, repeatable steps that cause me troubles are: 1. I create in PS a new document (whatever size), RGB, 8bit. 2. Run the script (below the code) in ESTK 3. Wait for it to create the layers it has to create, then when it's done: 4. Select in the History Palette the initial snapshot (i.e. I return back in time to the blank document) 5. Run again the script in ESTK. 6. Bang! (at least to me, it stops at line 209, the first ActionDescriptor in the createCurvesAdjLayer function You're maybe more lucid than me to find something wrong in it. (the actual script is really small, it's after a whole bunch of utility functions - please borrow them if you're in need ) // Generated by CoffeeScript 1.3.3 // A bunch of utility functions =============== var blendModes, c2s, c2t, s2t, t2s, w,   __slice = [].slice; w = function(txt) {   return $.writeln(txt); }; c2t = function(charID) {   return app.charIDToTypeID(charID); }; s2t = function(stringID) {   return app.stringIDToTypeID(stringID); }; t2s = function(typeID) {   return app.typeIDToStringID(typeID); }; c2s = function(charID) {   return app.typeIDToStringID(c2t(charID)); }; blendModes = {   "Normal": "normal",   "Dissolve": "dissolve",   "Darken": "darken",   "Multiply": "multiply",   "Color Burn": "colorBurn",   "Linear Burn": "linearBurn",   "Darker Color": "darkerColor",   "Lighten": "lighten",   "Screen": "screen",   "Color Dodge": "colorDodge",   "Linear Dodge": "linearDodge",   "Lighter Color": "lighterColor",   "Overlay": "overlay",   "Soft Light": "softLight",   "Hard Light": "hardLight",   "Vivid Light": "vividLight",   "Linear Light": "linearLight",   "Pin Light": "pinLight",   "Hard Mix": "hardMix",   "Difference": "difference",   "Exclusion": "exclusion",   "Subtraction": "blendSubtraction",   "Divide": "blendDivide",   "Hue": "hue",   "Saturation": "saturation",   "Color": "color",   "Luminosity": "luminosity" }; PSUtils = function PSUtils() {}; PSUtils.getBlendMode = function(blendString) {   return s2t(blendModes[blendString]); }; PSUtils.makeSO = function(layer) {   var doc, newSO;   doc = app.activeDocument;   layer = layer != null ? layer : doc.activeLayer;   if (doc.activeLayer !== layer) {     doc.activeLayer = layer;   }   try {     newSO = s2t('newPlacedLayer');     executeAction(newSO, void 0, DialogModes.NO);     return doc.activeLayer;   } catch (error) {     w("error: " + error);     return void 0;   } }; PSUtils.clipLayer = function() {   var d, r;   d = ActionDescriptor;   r = ActionReference;   r.putEnumerated(s2t('layer'), s2t('ordinal'), s2t('targetEnum'));   d.putReference(s2t('target'), r);   return executeAction(s2t('groupEvent'), d, DialogModes.NO); }; PSUtils.selectLayersByName = function() {   var d, firstLayer, layer, r, secondLayer, _i, _len;   firstLayer = arguments[0], secondLayer = 2 <= arguments.length ? __slice.call(arguments, 1) : [];   PSUtils.deselectAllLayers();   d = new ActionDescriptor();   r = new ActionReference();   for (_i = 0, _len = arguments.length; _i < _len; _i++) {     layer = arguments[_i];     r.putName(s2t('layer'), layer);   }   d.putReference(s2t('target'), r);   d.putEnumerated(s2t('selectionModifier'), s2t('selectionModifierType'), s2t('addToSelectionContinuous'));   d.putBoolean(s2t('makeVisible'), false);   return executeAction(s2t('select'), d, DialogModes.NO); }; PSUtils.selectLayersByArtLayer = function() {   var d, firstArtLayer, item, layer, r, secondArtLayer, _i, _len;   firstArtLayer = arguments[0], secondArtLayer = 2 <= arguments.length ? __slice.call(arguments, 1) : [];   PSUtils.deselectAllLayers();   d = new ActionDescriptor();   r = new ActionReference();   for (_i = 0, _len = arguments.length; _i < _len; _i++) {     item = arguments[_i];     layer = item.name;     r.putName(s2t('layer'), layer);   }   d.putReference(s2t('target'), r);   d.putEnumerated(s2t('selectionModifier'), s2t('selectionModifierType'), s2t('addToSelectionContinuous'));   d.putBoolean(s2t('makeVisible'), false);   return executeAction(s2t('select'), d, DialogModes.NO); }; PSUtils.hasLayerMask = function(layer) {   var d, hasMask, r, wasActive;   if (layer != null) {     wasActive = app.activeDocument.activeLayer;     app.activeDocument.activeLayer = layer;   } else {     layer = app.activeDocument.activeLayer;   }   d = new ActionDescriptor();   r = new ActionReference();   r.putEnumerated(s2t('layer'), s2t('ordinal'), s2t('targetEnum'));   d = executeActionGet(r);   hasMask = d.hasKey(s2t('userMaskEnabled'));   if (wasActive != null) {     app.activeDocument.activeLayer = wasActive;   }   return hasMask; }; PSUtils.deleteLayerMask = function(layer) {   var d, layerName, r;   layerName = layer != null ? layer.name : app.activeDocument.activeLayer.name;   d = new ActionDescriptor();   r = new ActionReference();   r.putEnumerated(s2t('channel'), s2t('channel'), s2t('mask'));   r.putName(s2t('layer'), layerName);   d.putReference(s2t('target'), r);   return executeAction(s2t('delete'), d, DialogModes.NO); }; PSUtils.deselectLayer = function() {   var d, item, layer1, layer2, r, _i, _len, _results;   layer1 = arguments[0], layer2 = 2 <= arguments.length ? __slice.call(arguments, 1) : [];   _results = [];   for (_i = 0, _len = arguments.length; _i < _len; _i++) {     item = arguments[_i];     d = new ActionDescriptor();     r = new ActionReference();     r.putName(s2t('layer'), item.name);     d.putReference(s2t('target'), r);     d.putEnumerated(s2t('selectionModifier'), s2t('selectionModifierType'), s2t('removeFromSelection'));     d.putBoolean(s2t('makeVisible'), false);     _results.push(executeAction(s2t('select'), d, DialogModes.NO));   }   return _results; }; PSUtils.deselectAllLayers = function() {   var d, r;   d = new ActionDescriptor();   r = new ActionReference();   r.putEnumerated(s2t('layer'), s2t('ordinal'), s2t('targetEnum'));   d.putReference(s2t('target'), r);   return executeAction(s2t('selectNoLayers'), d, DialogModes.NO); }; PSUtils.deleteSmartFilterMask = function(layer) {   var d, layerName, r;   layerName = layer != null ? layer.name : app.activeDocument.activeLayer.name;   d = new ActionDescriptor();   r = new ActionReference();   r.putEnumerated(s2t('channel'), s2t('channel'), s2t('filterMask'));   r.putName(s2t('layer'), layerName);   d.putReference(s2t('target'), r);   return executeAction(s2t('delete'), d, DialogModes.NO); }; PSUtils.setSmartFilterBlendMode = function(layer, blending) {   var d, d2, d3, r;   d = new ActionDescriptor();   r = new ActionReference();   r.putIndex(s2t('filterFX'), 1);   r.putEnumerated(s2t('layer'), s2t('ordinal'), s2t('targetEnum'));   r.putName(s2t('layer'), layer.name);   d.putReference(s2t('target'), r);   d2 = new ActionDescriptor();   d3 = new ActionDescriptor();   d3.putUnitDouble(s2t('opacity'), s2t('percentUnit'), 100.000000);   d3.putEnumerated(s2t('mode'), s2t('blendMode'), PSUtils.getBlendMode(blending));   d2.putObject(s2t('blendOptions'), s2t('blendOptions'), d3);   d.putObject(s2t('filterFX'), s2t('filterFX'), d2);   return executeAction(c2t('setd'), d, DialogModes.NO); }; var createCurvesAdjLayer = function(layerNameString, blendingMode) {   var d, d2, d3, r;   d = new ActionDescriptor();   r = new ActionReference();   r.putClass(s2t('adjustmentLayer'));   d.putReference(s2t('target'), r);   d2 = new ActionDescriptor();   d2.putString(s2t('name'), layerNameString);   d2.putEnumerated(s2t('mode'), s2t('blendMode'), PSUtils.getBlendMode(blendingMode));   d3 = new ActionDescriptor();   d3.putEnumerated(s2t('presetKind'), s2t('presetKindType'), s2t('presetKindDefault'));   d2.putObject(s2t('type'), s2t('curves'), d3);   d.putObject(s2t('using'), s2t('adjustmentLayer'), d2);   executeAction(s2t('make'), d, DialogModes.NO);   return app.activeDocument.activeLayer; }; // Actual script =============== // Generated by CoffeeScript 1.3.3 var USMDark, base1, curve, darkSet, doc, invertLayer, lay; doc = app.activeDocument; lay = doc.activeLayer; darkSet = doc.layerSets.add(); darkSet.name = "Dark Halos"; darkSet.blendMode = BlendMode.LINEARBURN; base1 = lay.duplicate(darkSet); base1.name = "base"; curve = createCurvesAdjLayer("subtract", "Subtraction"); if (PSUtils.hasLayerMask(curve)) {   PSUtils.deleteLayerMask(curve); } USMDark = PSUtils.makeSO(base1.duplicate(darkSet)); USMDark.applyUnSharpMask(500, 10, 0); PSUtils.setSmartFilterBlendMode(USMDark, "Luminosity"); PSUtils.deleteSmartFilterMask(USMDark); USMDark.blendMode = BlendMode.DARKEN; USMDark.name = "USM - Darken"; PSUtils.clipLayer(); I've tested this on 2 different Mac (PS CS6 and PS CS5) - after the error has been fired, no any other script can create ActionDescriptor() and ActionReference() objects anymore, no way. WTF?! Me, I'm quite in desespair. Cheers Davide ... View more