I need help testing a new AMS add-on if you have a minute...

[Corey]

I'm creating a new AMS button maker add-on for Photoshop, I've got the first part built and I just need to make sure it's working on different systems. It's attached. It should work in any version of Photoshop from 7.0 and up, but if you're using 7.0 you need to install the free Adobe scripting plug-in from here first:
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/thankyou.jsp?ftpID=1536&fileID=1470

To test this file please follow these steps:
1. Either open the included sample.psd in Photoshop *or* open Photoshop and create an image with 4 layers. They can be any type of layers, visible, locked, whatever... Just so long as you have 4 layers, you're set. The add-on will treat the bottommost layer as the buttons "normal" state, second from the bottom as the "up" state, second from the top as the "down" state, and the top layer as the "disabled" state.
2. Once you have a 4 layer Photoshop document open simply run "make.exe" from the attached zip. Then just click the ellipsis button to bring up the folder browse dialog and choose the folder where you would like your button images to go.

If you have pressed cancel it will just exit. If you have indeed selected a folder here's what should happen:

"make.exe" should pause for a few seconds, and you should see a little action in Photoshop. Then make.exe will close and you should be left with 4 images in the folder you specified, "normal.png", "up.png", "down.png", and "disabled.png", plus a generic xml button manifest. :yes

Please let me know if it works on your PC. In particular I'd like to make sure it's working with PS CS and PS CS2. :yes Thanks very much for your help, eventually this add-on will create a completed button and will give you a variety of cool options including automatically adding effects to make full buttons out of single layers files, and more! You'll be able to create awesome custom buttons from scratch in under a minute. And of course the add-on will be 100% free. :)

P.S. some people may need to install the free MS Visual Basic runtime:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=7b9ba261-7a9c-43e7-9117-f673077ffb3c&displaylang=en

[rhosk]

I would be glad to, but don't have Photoshop :(

Without looking at your file, would it be possible to integrate it with Paint Shop Pro? May be more trouble than it's worth?

[Corey]

Does Paint Shop Pro have a scripting system? If so then I'd definitely be happy to attempt to port it over. The easy thing about writing scripting add-ons for Photoshop in particular is that Adobe provides the scripting system free plus an *amazing* tool called "the scripting listener" which allows you to generate playable javascripts and VBscripts simply by doing things in the UI. Essentially it records your actions as code. Of course you have to sandwich it in a bit of VB to make a compiled add-on like this but I learned enough VB to do that in a week, so it's certainly not rocket surgery. Anyhow let me know if PSP has a scripting system... :yes

[rhosk]

Does Paint Shop Pro have a scripting system?

Affirmative!..although I've never used it personally. The extension is '*.PspScript'.

I have PSP 8.0 and never even bothered to upgrade because of my limited skills with this editor. I believe they're up to 10 now. I only know enough to be dangerous.

[Corey]

Hmm, I'll look into it. :yes

[stickck]

It work quick for me. About 3 seconds.
P4 3.2 Extreme
1 gig DDR 400
Geforce 6600GT 256mg PCIe
Matrix Raid WD Raptors 10,000RPM
WinXP SP2
Photoshop CS2
and
Photoshop CS

Do the layers have to be the same size for the button to work right?


Chris :yes :yes :yes :yes :yes

[Corey]

Whew! Glad to hear it. Thanks very much for the help Chris. :)

Button layers can contain "different size" images but you might have to experiment sometimes to get "the feel" of the finished button just right if you are using significantly different sizes... :yes

The good news is that I've worked out the last bit to create the finished button file. I'll post that later today. :yes

[TJ_Tigger]

Affirmative!..although I've never used it personally. The extension is '*.PspScript'.

I have PSP 8.0 and never even bothered to upgrade because of my limited skills with this editor. I believe they're up to 10 now. I only know enough to be dangerous.

Me too. I have PSP and it works, plus you can find it fairly cheap. I think one of the recent ads for BestBuy had version 10 for under $50. That means I can pick up the previous version for even cheaper :)

PSP will work with PS plugins, I know that. So I wonder if it will work with your tool too.

[rhosk]

PSP will work with PS plugins, I know that. So I wonder if it will work with your tool too.

Hm, never thought of that.

[Corey]

Not in this case since this isn't a plug-in, it's a "script". I looked into creating a plug-in for this but it would have taken too much time given my utter lack of programming skills... :o

[yosik]

Nice one, Corey!
Works well here with PS CS.
Suggestions, if I may:
1. ability to select an area of an image and work from there
2. adding the zipping and extension changing to btn

Thanks a lot for that.
Yossi

[Corey]

Hi Yosik, thanks for testing. :) Here's the thing about the area, I had to reconcile that as "assume the users has cropped the image" for this first version, but I'm not limited to that, I can easily upgrade so that you have an option for "use document area" or "use selected area" in the future. I've got the zip thing worked out but I was trying to find a solution for wrapping the zip .dll inside the executable. Seems like I can't do that for free so I'm going to wrap it up as an SFX and I'll release it tonight. :)

[Bruce]

Love it! CS2 :yes

[Corey]

Glad to hear it. Good news, I showed Worm's post to a VB developer friend and he has powerwrap and says he'll wrap the files if I send them over, so I'll just do that for now. Not a permanent solution but it'll work good for v. 1. :yes

[Worm]

For the record, I'd have wrapped them for you too :yes

[Corey]

Cool, thanks! I may just take you up on that some time. That sure looks like a great app, great idea they had... :yes

[yosik]

For the record, I'd have wrapped them for you too :yes

WormWrapped..The BEST packaging available... :lol

Yossi

[Corey]

Hee. Agreed. :)

Ron, I looked into the PSP thing. Definitely do-able, PSP is running a very similar system to PS although the PSP system is Python based rather than VB/Applescript/Javascript like PS. PSP includes a script listener also, so that makes it's very feasible to turn out add-ons for PSP.

That being said I have a couple obstacles which will take time to overcome, most notably that I need to upgrade the PS ona bit until I have the options added which I want. Once I have that, I'll look into it. If you don't hear anything back for a while don't worry, *eventually* I will either post a PSP version or an excuse for not posting one. This might take me a couple months to get done, so... Honestly I've never even seen the Python IDE, so another obstacle is figuring out a few Python basics. This add-on is very simple but still there's a couple little issues involved, i.e. "How do you create a zipfile in Python", etc... Nothing too difficult but time consuming nonetheless. Anyhow I have you PSPers in mind, I know there's quite a few of you, so... :yes

EDIT Good news, I spent a few minutes checking out Python before hitting the sack here and it's an amazingly simple language for sure. The only thing is that you will have to install the python runtime (free) in order to run customized PSP scripts authored using Python. You can record and run basic PSP scripts without Python however to do anything "good" Python is needed. For example in the case of my add-on for PS there's a dialog, a folder browse function, zip function, etc. That's all stuff I could never do in PS alone just as it would be impossible to create the same thing for PSP without using Python. :yes

[rhosk]

I (we) will be patient :)

[Bruce]

Hey Corey... I'm getting this on my laptop. :wow

[Corey]

Hi Bruce. The document has to have exactly 4 layers. Try it out on the included sample file, that'll work. Just open the enclosed sample.psd in Photoshop and run make.exe. :yes

[Bruce]

oops! Works. ;)

[kpsmith]

Tried it out in Version 7.01 and no problems here :yes

[Corey]

Eggsellent... :)