It is very well known that TIFF, PDF, and PostScript since Level 2 support ZIP, etc. This has no relevance to PSD, of course. TIFF was NOT originally developed by Adobe (some of us can remember life before Adobe), but through acquisitions they are now its nominal "owner". > you will see that the ZIP compression option dates back to days of PS 3.0! I have no idea what you mean by that. It was not even mentioned until Release 2 of the V6 document, and even then, nobody is even sure if CS2 can generate ZIP compressed PSD. There is one very important reason why it would not arbitrarily choose compression types in the way you suggest: Doing so would unpredictably make files incompatible with older Photoshop versions (you may believe PS3.0 decompresses ZIP, but I don't for a moment). As I said above, however, it is quite possible that PSB uses ZIP, even adaptively as you suggest. However the document does not even discuss whether this is true; discussion of ZIP is limited to about five words. This is by no means "documentation"; it's merely "mentioning". The File Formats document is one of the most incomplete and poorly expressed specs I've ever seen, as is soon discovered by anyone, like the original poster, or myself, who tries to use it to write working code. Some of the typos were fixed in the CS version, but none of the serious flaws and omissions. Public domain? It's not my site. Anyone can find those links on Google. ... View more

I see now how the confusion has arisen. There is in fact no mention of ZIP anywhere in Photoshop 6.0 File Formats Specification Release 1 (September 2000). However, I just today stumbled across a copy of Release 2 - and you're right, it's right where you say it is. (I also stumbled across a copy of the Photoshop CS File Formats document, which also mentions ZIP.) But I cannot find an option to produce ZIP compressed PSDs in CS2 (I did say this above). Maybe it's intended for PSB. ... View more

No, it won't work (obviously) - psdparse reads only uncompressed data and the single compression type defined in v6: PackBits (table 2-16). I cannot find a reference to ZIP in the File Formats document and I've never seen it in the wild, not even from CS2 - so how would one actually create one?? Perhaps the OP knows. Here's a run on a CS2-created PSD; note compression type: $ ./psdparse ~/Desktop/40843316_2534716d2d_o.psd -v "/Users/toby/Desktop/40843316_2534716d2d_o.psd" channels = 3, rows = 1024, cols = 768, depth = 8, mode = 3 (RGBColor) (color mode data is empty) Image resources (31334 bytes): resource '8BIM' ( 1061,""): 16 bytes resource '8BIM' ( 1060,""):16583 bytes resource '8BIM' ( 1002,""): 7600 bytes resource '8BIM' ( 1001,""): 120 bytes [Macintosh print record] resource '8BIM' ( 1005,""): 16 bytes [ResolutionInfo] resource '8BIM' ( 1062,""): 14 bytes resource '8BIM' ( 1037,""): 4 bytes [Global Angle] resource '8BIM' ( 1049,""): 4 bytes [Global Altitude] resource '8BIM' ( 1011,""): 9 bytes [Print flags] resource '8BIM' ( 1034,""): 1 bytes [Copyright flag] resource '8BIM' (10000,""): 10 bytes [Print flags info] resource '8BIM' ( 1013,""): 72 bytes [Color halftoning info] resource '8BIM' ( 1016,""): 112 bytes [Color transfer functions] resource '8BIM' ( 1032,""): 16 bytes [Grid and guides info] resource '8BIM' ( 1054,""): 4 bytes [URL List] resource '8BIM' ( 1050,""): 863 bytes [Slices] resource '8BIM' ( 1064,""): 12 bytes resource '8BIM' ( 1041,""): 1 bytes [ICC Untagged] resource '8BIM' ( 1044,""): 4 bytes [Document specific IDs] resource '8BIM' ( 1036,""): 4103 bytes [Thumbnail resource] resource '8BIM' ( 1057,""): 85 bytes [Version Info] resource '8BIM' ( 1058,""): 1094 bytes resource '8BIM' ( 4000,""): 268 bytes resource '8BIM' ( 4001,""): 28 bytes (layer info section is empty) (global layer mask info is empty) merged channels: >>> dochannel 0/3 filepos= 31380 compression = 1 (RLE) uncompressed size 2359296 bytes (row bytes = 768) channel 0 (@ 37526): 0: < 360> 05fafbfcfcfbfbf8fcfffdfdfcfffdf9fc08fdfcfdfefefdfd ...335 more 1: < 378> fffbfdfcfffd00fbfefc00fdfbfc01fbfcfdfdfffcf9fd00fe ...353 more 2: < 361> fffbfdfc07fdfcfcfdfcfcfdfdfafcfefd00fef7fdfefeffff ...336 more ...1018 rows not shown... 1021: < 728> 7b3437373b3c383c3c41464949484e525453544c4445224161 ...703 more 1022: < 727> ff3c5d3b3c342c2c26343b4144434b4d4f4d4a3c3b3d21535e ...702 more 1023: < 728> 0036fe37642d2a2e23252c3336333734362e2219293532645a ...703 more channel 1 (@ 559903): 0: < 362> 05fafbfcfcfbfbf8fcfffdfdfcfffdf9fc08fdfcfdfefefdfd ...337 more 1: < 373> fffbfdfcfffd00fbfefc00fdfbfc01fbfcfdfdfffcf9fd00fe ...348 more 2: < 348> fffbfdfc07fdfcfcfdfcfcfdfdfafcfefd00fef7fdfefeffff ...323 more ...1018 rows not shown... 1021: < 723> 7f6b72777f828085888d92989a999fa1a1a2a39b97987394ba ...698 more 1022: < 731> 1e656b717876747874778088908f939292959084888c73abbe ...706 more 1023: < 734> 7f5f666d736f727a7168717a827f7f7979766861768484bcba ...709 more channel 2 (@ 1086844): 0: < 379> 05fafbfcfcfbfbf8fcfffdfdfcfffdf9fc08fdfcfdfefefdfd ...354 more 1: < 388> fffbfdfcfffd00fbfefc00fdfbfc01fbfcfdfdfffcf9fd00fe ...363 more 2: < 362> fffbfdfc07fdfcfcfdfcfcfdfdfafcfefd00fef7fdfefeffff ...337 more ...1018 rows not shown... 1021: < 730> 5b707a818a8e8e94989da2a9abaab0b0b1b3b2aaa9aa84a4cc ...705 more 1022: < 728> 0c6b737b838280858187909aa09ffea26fa49c92989d81b9ce ...703 more 1023: < 729> 7f656e777e7b7e877e78818c928f8e898985746f869592caca ...704 more done. ... View more

Well, I'm happy with what I've done based on v6 PSD doc - it reads rasters from all subsequent versions, which is why (to get back to topic) I'm surprised if somebody found anything other than PackBits on rasters. ... View more

Of course I read it carefully myself (all 14 pages). And since I could not satisfy myself that it was safe to write GPL plugins under the terms of that agreement, I discussed it further with always-helpful Mark Niemann-Ross, who gave his verbal opinion (as he has done on his blog) that it would not be a problem. But that discussion was more about the plugin API. As you say, it's only prudent to get an attorney's opinion before taking the risk, when it comes to PSD docs. It seems safe to assume that Adobe is motivated to enthusiastically prosecute any leakage from controlled documents - as vaguely defined as such leakage may be - which must surely chill any GPL code that works with post-v6 PSD. But maybe I'm the only person on these forums who cares about the GPL (does anyone else actually write GPL plugins?) ... View more

OK, mea culpa, it's possible I just didn't request it. If I didn't, the reason is simple: I didn't want my related GPL work to be poisoned by the onerous agreement. ... View more

Neither the free CS2 SDK nor "Advanced" SDK - at least the bits I received - contain any information on file formats whatsoever. This is rather less useful than, for instance, the v6 SDK everyone received on CD. As I said above, I don't know if there's an "Really Really Advanced (We Were Just Kidding About That Other One)" SDK that costs money that might have this info, and nor would I know how to get it, since Adobe personnel have not responded to any probing on such questions. Naturally I welcome correction on these points by any whose jousts with Adobe have had better results. ... View more

I've never seen them distinguished by Adobe, so I don't know what you mean. Is there some supa-sikrit SDK you only see if you're in the Partner programme? Which I now am... ... View more

videohead, I've signed the NDA-like agreement for the "Advanced" SDK - and 9 months later I received some snippets of source code for Export and File Format plugins which merely confirmed things I'd already figured out. No additional documentation for PSD/PSB was provided. It seems there is no "kit" as such, they just send material ad-hoc according to what they feel like passing on. My reply emails asking for further information have been ignored. That said, I have no information about PSD's use of zlib/ZIP, and nor do I know how to get it, if it exists as you say. But that's not the only undocumented part of PSD, of course... ... View more

"Not public"? That's non-existent as far as 3rd party developers are concerned. There was no sign of it in CS2, CS3 beta or "Advanced" CS2 SDKs. I've never seen a PSD (even from CS2) that used anything other than PackBits. ... View more

Which version of the format are you talking about? For v6 (PackBits) this code works. Does any documentation exist for versions beyond v6? ... View more

Re: Xcode docs, I just use a Makefile anyway. :) Re: UI, you can use Carbon API as usual. ... View more

Finley Lee (Alienskin) told me to try CS2 9.0.2. Thanks Finley!! ... View more

Sorry no idea, I don't build Automation plugins. ... View more

I tried to register but it told me the email I used was already registered. How do I proceed? ... View more

Michael, it's a non-issue. You can see dozens of plugin source trees (GPL) at my site. This is sanctioned by none other than Adobe's Mark Niemann-Ross. Conditions are awkward enough for plugin development. Anyone who wants to quibble over publishability of plugin source can kiss my shiny metal ass. ... View more

Can I see your code? ... View more

I think that's the platformData field of parameter blocks? ... View more

Eric, I may have been too definite. Actually I can't remember whether the CS2 sample code does include Xcode projects. But there is a PDF document in the Illustrator CS2 (and maybe PS CS2) SDK, something like "MovingProjectsToXCode", which should give you enough info to migrate. The CS3 "beta" SDK linked above definitely does have the Dissolve filter as an Xcode project, so that could give you a head start both on Mach-O and Universal plugins. ... View more

I have posted GPL code to do this for Mac and Windows. ... View more

At CS2, SDK samples were moved to Xcode for the Mach-O plugin format, and for CS3, it's essential, since only gcc can build Universal plugins (you'll need the "CS3 Public Beta" SDK from Adobe). You can also build these from CLI using a Makefile (example source code is available on my site - e.g., "DITABIS" and "ICOFormat" plugins). ... View more

Generic icon could be due to missing Contents/PkgInfo file. ... View more

A Lego block is normal, for a bundle format plugin. The linker error would seem related to a failure to re-activate. Caveat emptor... You could try Xcode instead (it's free and doesn't suffer from DeActivation). ... View more

Haha, you've only been waiting 3 months? I handed my agreement to a product manager in person in JUNE and have not had any result. 1. Such a delay is tough to explain to a client. 2. I end up wondering if I want the damn thing at all. 3. Way to strengthen your platform, Adobe! For the desperate, if you want Advanced for Mach-O porting of Format plugins, it appears you can copy the PIFormat.h from an earlier SDK and at least get a build. I haven't yet tested the result however. ... View more

I had a hunch that the format described in that document was actually v5.0 ABR, but I'm not certain. It seemed to morph into something entirely incompatible, anyway (procedural brushes?) ... View more

You can't ignore it entirely - a PSD that consists of background image only has just this section and no layers. A layered file saved without "Maximise compatibility" will have a placeholder image in this section, containing multilingual text, "This layered Photoshop file was not saved with a composite image." Otherwise it is the merged composite. ... View more

The only doc I've seen is PS 6.0 SDK, "Photoshop File Formats.pdf", which describes this version of ABR. The Advanced CS2 SDK may have more up to date information, but I've not seen that. ... View more

(1) The "image data" section is the merged composite (i.e. unrelated to layers). (In psdparse, this is handled by the call to doimage(), line 727). (2) Yes, the channel image data comes after the "layer info" section. The layer info section describes each layer (see this loop in dolayers()). Immediately after processing that section, the channel image data is extracted by another looped call to doimage(). Hope this clarifies. ... View more

Is this not clear from my source? Btw I'm still considering your suggestion of adding a C++ interface to it. ... View more