Programming repeated tasks in Photoshop (or GIMP, etc.)

[StewartR]

I'd welcome some advice as to whether what I want to do is possible in Photoshop (or GIMP, etc.), and if so how easy it would be. To be clear I mean how easy for somebody with experience who knows what they're doing, not for me!

So the situation is that I want to create a whole bunch of banner adverts like the one at the top of this page on Camera Price Buster: [click]

Each one is an animated GIF constructed from three images like this:

But obviously each particular advert needs a particular image of the lens, a particular description of the lens, and a particular price; and it needs to be saved with a particular filename.

So my idea is that this ought to be programmable, and I ought to be able to get somebody to do this for me. I would supply a list like this:

and the basic idea would be:

• open the background image
• read the name of the lens from the list
• insert the name of the lens as text
• read the price from the list
• insert the price as text
• read the name of the lens image file from the list
• open the lens image and paste in in
• read the output filename from the list
• construct the animated GIF and save with the required filename
• repeat x 100 or more

Obviously that would be programmed to avoid having to do it all by hand. It would then be easily maintainable if, for example, we wanted to run a special offer.

Is that possible / easy? Or am I barking up the wrong tree altogether?

 

[srichards]

Sounds more like a job for PERL and use of appropriate image libraries to me.

 

[StewartR]

Sounds more like a job for PERL and use of appropriate image libraries to me.

Maybe. Trouble is, I know nothing whatsoever about PERL and these "appropriate image libraries" of which you speak. So I wouldn't even know how to specify the task.

Any other suggestions out there?

 

[srichards]

I had a quick look at photoshop batch processing and I don't think it is sophisticated enough to do it. It is more aimed at using fixed filters onto multiple images rather than combining multiple images depending on a wildcard ie lens name.

Imagemagick is one library. That's aimed at web use.

The task is as above, exactly how you specified it

I know a decent perl programmer that might want a weekender.

 

[StewartR]

I had a quick look at photoshop batch processing and I don't think it is sophisticated enough to do it. It is more aimed at using fixed filters onto multiple images rather than combining multiple images depending on a wildcard ie lens name.

Thanks. Very helpful.

I know a decent perl programmer that might want a weekender.

If you don't mind contacting him, or asking him to contact me, that would be very helpful. Thanks. I could always try my luck on a freelancing web site, but I'd rather work with someone who comes with good references!

 

[srichards]

I've emailed him. He's too busy at the moment unfortunately.

Whatever solution you find you could probably market it as a solution to others as there are bound to be people that would want something similar. A commercial solution may already exist. Worth contacting a few web developers too.