Action / batch to open only 1 file type in folder?

ML
Posted By
Mary_L_Bernard
Jun 11, 2005
Views
811
Replies
9
Status
Closed
I want to change all my .TIF files to .PSD., using a batch command. I have thousands, in about 200 folders. Many of those folders also contain .JPG files. I’ve tried to write an action to open only .TIF files, but without success. I’ve combed through Danny Raphael’s wonderful Photoshop Actions tutorial, but if the information is there, I’ve missed it. Can it be done?

Mary
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DR
Danny Raphael
Jun 11, 2005
Hi Mary:

Thanks for the kind comment. You didn’t miss the info you’re looking for. Your question isn’t addressed in that version, but it will be in the update.

Unfortunately actions cannot be made smart enough to pick files of a certain format out of a folder. It’s "all" or nothing.

If you have PS CS or CS2 (I don’t yet), look into the Russell Brown script for doing file conversions. (It’s built into CS2; for CS, it’s named "Dr. Brown’s Image Processor 2.3".) This application "may" have an option that allows you to specify the input file format.

About halfway down here…
<http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html>

If the Brown script doesn’t cut it, another option is a home grown PS script. The script could determine if a file is in .tif format and if so convert it to .psd.

Your request seems like it would be common need, so I would be surprised if this hasn’t been done before. You might try posting your question in the Scripting forum (see link near the top of this forum to get you there).

Hope this helps…

~Danny~
MM
Mick_Murphy
Jun 11, 2005
Mary

I have a script (actually a small VB program) which I can tailor in a few minutes to do what you want. It’s CS or CS2 compatible. Post an email address if you want it.
Y
YrbkMgr
Jun 11, 2005
If you’re in version 7 or earlier, it’s a breeze to select only tiff files from specific folders from the file browser, and have your batch run against the file browser instead of a folder.
MM
Mick_Murphy
Jun 11, 2005
Sounds like a bit more than a breeze to manually select all the TIFF files in 200 folders though.
LL
Larry_Ligon
Jun 11, 2005
What version of Photoshop are you using?
Do the folders have sub-folders?

Larry
ML
Mary_L_Bernard
Jun 13, 2005
Mick, YrkbkMgr, Danny

Thanks for your helpful replies. I should have said, I’m running CS (upgrading to CS2 in a week or 2), and yes, the folders have subfolders. It’s scanned negs and digital images from 1965 on, with this folder structure:

Initial Scans
Year
Neg. no. (or, recently, date of digital shoot)
Working Copies
Year
Neg. no. or date
Final
Year
Neg. no. or date

There are 361 folders containing 2111 TIFs.

I downloaded Dr Brown’s image processor today, also the tutorial. I’m very glad to have it – thanks for the steer, Danny – but it doesn’t select just .TIFs. I’d have to do that by hand for each folder, and as Mick says, it’s a bit more than a breeze.

So, Mick, I’ll take you up on your kind offer to adapt your script. My email is:

I’m not familiar with VBS scripting (I’ve only programmed an obscure language called XPL). Do I just add your script to the \presets\scripts folder and run it?

Best wishes
Mary

PS I’m changing formats because I’ve just discovered how much smaller layered PSDs are than TIFs in Photoshop CS!
MM
Mick_Murphy
Jun 13, 2005
Mary

I use VB.NET for PS scripting which results in an independent compiled application (.exe) which you run like any other app. To run it you need the .NET framework 1.1 installed (it’s essentially a runtime which .NET apps need to run). You need to check your Add or Remove Programs control panel to check if it’s already installed. If not you would need to download it from Microsoft.

I will need to tweak my app to just look for TIFF files but I’ll be able to send it to you later today. In the meantime if Larry comes back, he might offer to do you a JavaScript which is run from within PS. The end result would be the same, just the methods differ. I’ll check back later before I tweak my app to see if Larry has been around.
MM
Mick_Murphy
Jun 13, 2005
Mary

I’ve emailed the app to you.
LL
Larry_Ligon
Jun 14, 2005
I’m sure that Mick’s program will do the trick. I don’t have any JavaScript code that does anything like this. I would have to
write it from scratch. It would have to recursively walk the directory tree. I haven’t tried this yet in JavaScript. It is on my
list of thing to do.

Larry

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