Problems with batch tasks

[gordonwd]

I haven't used tasks or batch processing in PI much, but was trying to do it today in PI12 with mixed success.

What I wanted to do was to read in a TIF file, resize it to 30% of its original size, and then save it as a JPEG. In other words, take "foo.tif", resize it, and save it as "foo.jpg". The resize worked when I started the batch operation, but the save-as step would not work without bringing up the standard JPEG dialog where I'd have to select the target directory, etc., for each file, which would be very time-consuming.

So I figured I'd just do the resizing as a task, save the resulting images to a different directory, and then do a batch convert as a separate step. The problem was that the options for what to do with the opened files are "Open to workspace", "Save and close", and "Save to this directory and close". I chose the latter, and indeed the resized files were being saved where I wanted them, but the images remained open in the PI workspace. Why wasn't it closing them?

I was afraid that memory would start filling up if I had 100 images in the workspace at once, but then the program hit a TIF file that it didn't like and crashed.

But can anyone tell me how to do batch conversions like this so that I don't have open files stacking up in the workspace as it progresses?

[JCSullivan]

You are NOT alone.

The Destination (open to workspace, etc.) and the Disable Open/Save related commands in the Batch Task dialogue box do NOT always work.

With the number of complaints I have, related to the Batch processes in PI, I sometimes wonder how many people actually use the Batch Task.

Good luck in getting an answer to this.

[gordonwd]

It turns out that the "Save and close" does work, but it doesn't close the files until they have all been processed. So when I turned my batch resizing loose on a directory of 80 large TIFF files, it did the first 50 very quickly, opening a new window for each, and then slowed down more and more as memory was filling up and the program started paging to the disk. It did eventually finish without errors, and then all of the windows closed at once.

Nice that it did this, but it would be a lot more efficient to close each as it finished with it!

[njdowding]

You can do what you wanted much easier in PhotoExplorer. Goto Tools/convert image files. From here you can resize, rename, convert to different format and save as you want with ease.

Nick