Quickly add symbol to currently open image?

[terrypin]

I frequently need to paste a specific JPG into the image I currently have open in PSP 8.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/401 ... mbol-1.jpg

What would be the quickest way of doing that please? Ideally as a new layer in case it needs resizing.

It's pretty quiet there, but I'll also post this to the corel.PaintShopPro_Scripting newsgroup in case there's a way of achieving this with a script.

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Kathy_9]

Picture tube?

[terrypin]

Thanks Kathy. I thought of that subsequently but I've just been trying it and not found it very successful. I made a single image tube and eventually after fiddling with the settings I was able to place it at the position of the mouse cursor click. But its position cannot then be adjusted it would seem?

So at present I'm opening up the symbol folder (from a desktop shortcut) and then manually dragging in the symbol of choice as a new image, copying it and then pasting into the target image.

I'll now use my macro program (Macro Express Pro) to automate that for one specific symbol.

Am I right that scripts can't handle file operations?

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Kathy_9]

Hi Terry - I don't know of a way to accurately place a picture tube exactly where I want it so I will usually add it to a new raster layer and then used the pick tool to re-position and or re-size it.

[LeviFiction]

Scripts can handle file operations just fine. Though you have to place such scripts in your scripts-trusted folder. That folder is for scripts that you trust to have greater access to your computer.

In fact, so long as you never change the location of the symbol you want to add you can just record a script direct inside of PSP that will always do what you want.

1) Hit Record on the scripts toolbar

2) Open symbol

3) Copy symbol

4) Close symbol

5) Paste as new layer

6) Save the script to your scripts-trusted folder

Now anytime you run the script it'll open the symbol image, copy it, close that image, and paste the symbol as a new layer.

You can also, since you have the picture tube made, create a script that creates a new layer, and then stamps the picture tube at a specific location.

[Forriner]

Hi LeviFiction and terrypin,

Please correct me if I'm wrong, just trying to help.

If I'm right, when you close an image in PSP, PSP activates the last active window?
So if there are several files open, make sure the image you want to paste the new layer to is active before running the script later when you use it, right?

Another point: In PSP X4 anyway, when you run a file open script, the file open dialog opens with the file name used when you recorded it. You can then navigate to another file or just hit 'open'. You can edit the step in the script to 'silent' open if you always want to use the same file, so you don't get the dialog.

[LeviFiction]

You are correct.

You can, however, make the script more intelligent if you're willing to make some small changes to the code. By more intelligent you can make certain actions silent, and you can force certain actions to always be performed on a specific document.

With these edits, so as long as you run the script on the image you intend the symbol to appear on, that image will always receive the "PasteAsNewLayer" command.

Loosely speaking the idea is to create a variable after the "EnableOptimizeUndo" command.

Code: Select all

CurrentDoc = App.TargetDocument

Then, after the last "}" and before the last ")" on the command "PasteASNewLayer" you add

", CurrentDoc"

It'll look loosely like this

Code: Select all

App.Do( Environment, 'PasteAsNewLayer', { ... , 'GeneralSettings':{} } , CurrentDoc ) 

That forces the command to execute on the image that was active when the script was run.

[Forriner]

Thank you, LeviFiction.

[terrypin]

Many thanks LeviFiction, that's good news. I'm inexperienced with PSP's Python scripting and recall from past attempts that it's strict about exact syntax. But I'll set aside time soon to try developing one along the lines you've outlined.

However, as a non-programmer, I am comfortable with Macro Express Pro and now have two macros working: one to add my Walkers symbol as a new selection, the other as a new layer, activated by a hotkey while the target image is open in PSP 8.

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK