Only by creating an Action to do the self same process automatically.
Those are some impressive scripts Trevor. I’m not sure of the utility of contract canvas script, but those are some fine examples of your quality work.
Thanks Tony.
"I’m not sure of the utility of contract canvas script"
Not sure what you mean… do you mean that you don’t understand the purpose of the script? Or do you mean that it’s redundant to the similar action I’ve created? Or that neither is useful?…
Uhm, well, you know that I respect you a great deal and don’t want to call someone’s child ugly. That said, and with respect, I mean the following.
Since you can tranform a selection, and create an action out of it, I don’t see the utility in creating a script to do the eact same thing, with less power. I had d/l your contract canvas action early on, and I liked the novel approach – it was well documented.
Then I discovered that if you simply Select|All, Select|Transform Selection, you have some incredible power in contracting a selection. You can contract by percent, by pixels, by inches; you can contract with or without the aspect ratio being preserved.
So… with that, I have an action that automatically contracts the canvas by 3%, for my purposes. But with Select|Transform selection, even not "actionized" or scripted, there is a great deal of functionality there.
That’s a long winded way to say, that I think they may be redundant when a whole lotta power is available otherwise.
Peace,
Tony
Hmmm…I’m not sure that you completely understand the intent of the action/script (no offence intended).
First off, the script is far more intelligent that the action. One simple example is that if the selection only touches the canvas boundaries on three sides (instead of four), the action does not properly decrease the side that does not touch the edge (although there’s a documented fix inside the action). The script on the other hand work in all cases (that I’m aware of), and requires (in my opinion) little/no documentation, as it provides intelligent and descriptive errors/messages (e.g., no document present, no selection preset, etc.).
Second, there is no exact command in Photoshop that replicates the action/script. The Transform Selection command anti-aliases/feathers the edges when resized, and the Contract command simply doesn’t work (properly, if at all) if one or more sides of the selection touches the canvas boundaries. Also, I (personally) find the Transform Selection command much more difficult/tedious to use for simply contracting a selection.
Third, (really a continuation of the above) this script/action is in no way meant to replace the Transform Selection command, rather it was designed to provide a Contract command that works properly in all situations. Contract (both the existing command and my script/action) only provides for one uniform offset value, whereas (as you mentioned) the Transform Selection command allows for variations (although you also get anti-aliased edges).
Does that help clarify things a little more?
(BTW, the above is intended to read in an informative tone, no a defensive tone.) 😉
Trevor,
Let’s start this way, neither of us are being defensive. This discourse is an attempt at greater understanding by one or both <smile>.
The Transform Selection command anti-aliases/feathers the edges when resized,
I was pretty skeptical that this was happening. Using the Channels Palette, I discovered that you’re right to an extent – there is a one pixel boundary that is antialiased. New information, thanks. For my purposes, it doesn’t matter, but duly noted.
Also, I (personally) find the Transform Selection command much more difficult/tedious to use for simply contracting a selection.
See, this is where I don’t really understand. If you use a Contract Selection command, you are limited to Pixels. Using Transform Selection, you can use any unit you like.
So in essence the question becomes, does that one pixel border matter? Technically yes. Your script would then be a replacement for contract, having the power of tranform, without anti-aliasing. For my purposes, it doesn’t matter though.
This is good. I learned something today. Thanks.
Peace,
Tony
Glad we’re on the same page 😉
BTW, by education, I’m an engineer, so everything *must* be pixel perfect 😉
<nodding> Makes sense now. <smile>.
Trevor,
Just wanted to post a follow up note. I wanted to let you know that I think the Close Without Saving and Close ALL Without Saving scripts are brilliant. Thank you. One may not need them often but when you do, well, you do.
I also think that what you did with Contract Canvas was clever. It’s useful and will work well for many I’m sure. The only issue that makes it not as much of a contender with Transform Selection for me, is really, the ability to create an action that can either run in batch or without a dialog.
I’m sure it’s an oddball thing based on what I do, but I run a routine that basically Selects the canvas, transforms it 10%, then inverts the selection and deletes the border. I do this on thousands of images a day. The script you wrote isn’t amenable to a hotkey with no dialog, so that means I have to take the tradeoff of having a one pixel border of anti-aliasing. But as I say, that’s not that big of a deal for my purposes.
Overall, I just wanted you to know that I checked it out and gave it a test drive. Your work is always top shelf and I’m personally grateful for all of the work you do and have done in making PS easier for us all.
Peace,
Tony
Thanks Tony.
As an alternative to your current method (presumably used to get rid of the edge anti-aliasing caused by resizing images), try this:
1. Select All
2. Move Selection (only) down and right by 2 pixels
3. Invert Selection – twice
4. Move Selection (only) up and left by 1 pixel
This will give you a selection that is exactly 1 pixel from all boundaries with no anti-aliasing. (It’s the same steps followed for the action version of Contract Canvas Selection.)
I appreciate it Trevor. I had used your action early on which does, I believe, exactly what you’ve outlined above. In the event I run into an issue, I’ll employ that type of solution or use your script. Frankly though, the antaliasing is absolutely not a problem so my method is working nicely.
Peace,
Tony
