I was wondering if PL5 or PL6 offered any sort of batch mode processing.
I would like to be able to point PL at a folder and have it export all the images from that folder using whatever corrections were in the sidecars or DB at the time. I can do it by hand of course but I have multiple folders I want to run this with.
Another possible batch application would be to take an image and have PL apply corrections from all available presets, however many there are, or from a set of presets.
I can already use Terminal to open an image with PL5, but getting it to do anything beyond that doesn’t seem possible without an automator.
I have dozens (hundreds …) of folders with various photo collections amassed over a decade now. I’m looking for a way of sitting down and saying, “export all of the images in that folder” with a minimum of keyboard fuss. And doing that repeated several times over.
I can do that with a few clicks but my poor hands and eyes are beginning to feel the effects of age, and after an hour at it, they really start to hurt. A scripting function could be used to run a series of steps for image correction and processing that don’t really fit into the mold of a preset. Think of it as an “undo in reverse.”
Pondering it a bit more last night, I think the answer lies in AppleScript, which apparently can be programmed to virtually click UI elements. I would need to “select all”, “export”, select the right export profile, hit “ok”, and let it rip. That appears doable in AppleScript once all of the screen elements have been identified.
Ultimately, the answer would be to use a voice interface and speak to PL in the same way we speak to Alexa and other virtual assistants: “PL! Select the fifth image, add 10 points of contrast and apply a warm filter.” etc etc etc. That’s way beyond current expectations for DxO but I feel as though the current OS technology could (almost) take us there. A project for another time.
In the meantime, I’ll see about AppleScript and how to program it with PL. Thanks!
I’m not sure if this will help, Rex, but it’s possible to create your own custom preset in PL from the available settings and set that preset to be the one that runs by default when you open a folder. Exporting the images will bake in the settings from your preset.
Maybe having a look here in the PhotoLab Gudelines and searching in the page for “Creating a full preset from current settings” will be helpful.
I’m not completely sure, but you can probably automate the process using Applescript or the more recent Shorcuts app (formerly on iOS only, but added to Mac OS with Monterey).
I don’t think that there is any terminal interface.
What could work is using the search function in Photolab. I am not sure if it will display the pictures if you enter to search for a parent folder, you could try that. Or you can use a specific tag, star or color label for pictures that are finished editing. Then you can search for that label and it will display you all of them, you can select them and at once and export.
I recently created a “photo archive” of every photo in my library to a small-ish size so that there is an accessible collection of my photos that anyone can easily look at should something happen to me. That was over 40,000 photos arranged in monthly folders going back to 2004.
It wasn’t “simple” but I had more issues dealing with oddball images, old watermarks with missing graphics, and the like, than I did with setting them all exporting.
Here was my process:
Create an export preset to suit the task.
Select each folder in a year, one at a time, and…
Cmd-A to select all photos.
Cmd-K to open the Export window.
(Only on the first folder) select the preset.
Press Enter.
Go to step 2.
I would generally do a year’s worth at a time because it was a bit noisy on the fan, particularly when there were a lot of DeepPRIME photos, and I preferred to go off and do something else while it processed.
As per @maderafunk, you can break the folder structure down, possibly completely, if you can figure out a search that will find every photo, or near to it. Depending on how many different camera bodies you use/have used, that may be the most effective search term.
This is very much what I want to do (I am making contact sheets and want to export everything at 320-by-something). It’s that step 7 I want to avoid.
The search option is intriguing but I don’t want to lose the folder hierarchy.
