Automate selection of Clipping Path?

I'm trying to create a droplet that will strip out the background of an image using the active Clipping Path regardless of the path's name (similar to the way InDesign automatically selects the active Clipping Path and ignores the other paths. So far I've only managed to automate the selection of a path by name, not by Clipping Path status. Many of the images I work with come from far off lands where they are not simply named "Path 1." Any ideas?

When you select your pen tool, look up in the options bar. There are four path types. You want the fourth one, which cuts out donut holes. You may be able to simply select the paths and change their type to whichever one will cut out the holes for you, (make them all exclude overlapping, or make the inner paths subtract) or copy/paste them into a new path that was created while the fourth pen tool option was selected.

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Create clipping path from selection

I'm driving crazy!
Why this script does not work?
tell application "Adobe Photoshop CS3"
tell current document
make work path selection
make clipping path (path item 1) flatness 0.5
end tell
end tell
The work path is created with no prob.
But the clipping one returns this error:
"The command »Define« is not avalaible"
What's wrong?

I've found the solution!
You have to name the work path to memorize it in order to be able to create the clipping path.
This is the code:
tell application "Adobe Photoshop CS3"
tell current document
make work path selection
set name of path item 1 to "Détourage"
make clipping path path item "Détourage" flatness 0.5
end tell
end tell

Clipping Path Assigner

Hey All,
I export high-res pdfs from indesign, and one of the biggest problems I have is during our preflight. Each image we have linked has to be "told" to use it's photoshop path, or else it will not use it upon export (leaving big white boxes).
For every image, We have to choose Object - Clipping Path - Options: Then Photoshop Path, which automatically selects the available path, then Hit OK. And It won't let us do multiple images at once.
So the question of a document script comes to mind. Would it be easy to create a script like this?:
For each visible image:
    Do:
        Object - Clipping Path - Options
            Photoshop Path (will always be named "Path 1" (no quotes) if you need to specify a path name)
    End Do;
End For;
Popup - Finished
I looked for an "Actions" feature of sorts, to record menu actions like photoshop, but it just doesn't exist. Thoughts?
(I have pretty much zero scripting knowledge, so either a 'for dummies' instruction, or someone to help is in order...)

Just select the frame and move it...
What sort of difficulty are you having?

Quick selection tool vs clipping path

what is better to silhouette an image? a quick selection tool with follow up detailing or a clipping path?

a path is very control-able and great for well defined edges. It can be used to create a selection, which can be made into a mask, which can be refined and edited with a quickmask among other tools. There is rarely ever a one shot solution. Usually a combination of tools and techniques are required.

Clipping paths from magic wand selection

I've been looking through dozens of tutorials but even the one's that mention this they all assume you know how to do it. All I would like to do is turn a selection made using either the magic wand tool or the other selection tools/methods and turn that into a clipping path.
This is the selection i've made with the magic wand tool:
http://img414.imageshack.us/img414/9307/screen28qd.jpg
Also is their any way to turn a whole layers contents into clipping paths? For example I have that image on it's own layer with no background, could I turn everything on that layer into a clipping path?
Clipping paths for this kind of thing as far as i'm aware is the only way to import images into quarkxpress with no backgrounds.
thanks
sam

Hey Sam, if I'm not mistaken you simply have to make your selection, then select make "work path" from the Path window, next you save the path and then select "clipping path" from the Path window and select the saved path's name.
I would think this would work with layer selections as well.
Hope this helps...
Dan

ID3/4: Clipping Path of TIFFs selectable

Currently we are working with EPS files with clipping paths. These paths are - if not activated during import or in the menu - not selectable. If you have the same image as TIFF, clipping path is *always* selectable and can be modified (with direct selection tool). We want to avoid unwanted modification of the path, i.e. the same behaviour as EPS. Is that possible?
best regards,
Jörg

Kim
I don't think PSE4 has "clipping paths" per se; I've seen that referenced in posts about the full Photoshop CS2.
However, you can select the item using any of the selection tools. Why don't you start with the Lasso Tool? You can trace the outline of the ice cream (you'll see a series of "marching ants"). Anything inside the "ants" will be selected.
If you need to fine tune the selection, you can change to a small brush. Painting with the brush will add to the selection; painting while holding down the ALT key will shrink the edge of the selection. (easier to do than explain).
Once you get the area you like, you can do a Cntl+J and this will put the area selected (the ice cream) on a seperate layer.
Making clean selections takes a little practice but it is one of the key techniques in Elements.
Hope this helps-Ward.

Is it possible to make is so that, immediately after I import a new clip into FCP, the file is automatically selected in the Event Library? (Similar to how After Effects and Premiere work).

Is it possible to make is so that, immediately after I import a new clip into FCPX, the file is automatically selected in the Event Library? (Similar to how After Effects and Premiere work). Right now, after I import a new file, I have to then go searching for it amid all the other files in my project. It would be extremely helpful if the file I just imported was already highlighted and selected after import, making it instantly "locatable" and ready to go.

Kryan73 wrote:
… after I import a new file, I have to then go searching for it amid all the other files…
in a perfect world, you do know the recording date, and you simply scroll to that date.
in a very perfect world, all your other imports are already tagged, so just have to create a smart list 'unrated' ...
(I know those messy Events… a friend of mine constantly ignores my advice to check the time/date on his camera; on every battery swap, the cam creates a very erratic timestamp ... his actual recordings are listed as made in "2004" or in "2020" .... )

Is there anyway to activate photoshop clipping paths automatically in CS4/5?

Hello,
Can a preference be set in Indesign to automatically apply the photoshop clipping path to Tiff images?
Cheers Joe.

You don't need to specify a flatness for indesign to pick up on that path, just need to set that it is the preferred path for an application to use. Paths aren't exclusively used for the purpose of knocking out a background or portion of a photo. You could google up device path flatness and you'll find a spiel something to the effect of set it quite a few pixels for very high res scans, fewer for low res. I believe it is just the tolerance for the application to use in interpreting which pixels to use. After all, a path is a vector outline and the application needs to determine how to cut the photo, which pixels to keep and which to exclude.
Short adobe word on it.
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/327/327368.html

Clipping path automatically appearing

Hi,
I have an art figure that was created in Illustrator without a clipping path. However, somehow when that art figure was saved as a black and white version, pieces of it were grouped and all of a sudden it has a clipping path tracing the artboard. This is creating problems because the original color version is seen by InDesign as a certain size, and then when we relink to the black and white version, it shrinks the art to accommodate the clipping path.
Anyone know how this is happening and/or how to keep it from occurring? COuld it be that the document was created in CS4 and then opened in CS3?
Thanks

You are welcome, liscola.
You should be aware that using new features in a newer version may lead to loss/deterioration of the actual contents when downsaving; some losses may be less obvious.
In some cases, you may have to Expand to make things survive.
I believe new features that may cause trouble from CS4 to CS3 include gradients with transparency, graphic styles, multiple artboards, and the blob brush.

We need a script that will select clipping path for multiple images in indesign

this is what we have, but it's not working:
app.scriptPreferences.userInteractionLevel = UserInteractionLevels.interactWithAll;
app.doScript(resetAllClippingPathsToActiveDoc, ScriptLanguage.JAVASCRIPT, [], UndoModes.ENTIRE_SCRIPT, "Reset all Clipping Paths of the Active Document");
function resetAllClippingPathsToActiveDoc(){
    var d=app.activeDocument;
    var allGraphicsInDoc = d.allGraphics;
    for(var n=0;n<allGraphicsInDoc.length;n++){
        if(allGraphicsInDoc[n].hasOwnProperty("clippingPath")){allGraphicsInDoc[n].clippingPath.c lippingType = ClippingPathType.PHOTOSHOP_PATH};
            allGraphicsInDoc[n].clippingPath.appliedPathName = "Path 1";

this is what we have, but it's not working:
app.scriptPreferences.userInteractionLevel = UserInteractionLevels.interactWithAll;
app.doScript(resetAllClippingPathsToActiveDoc, ScriptLanguage.JAVASCRIPT, [], UndoModes.ENTIRE_SCRIPT, "Reset all Clipping Paths of the Active Document");
function resetAllClippingPathsToActiveDoc(){
    var d=app.activeDocument;
    var allGraphicsInDoc = d.allGraphics;
    for(var n=0;n<allGraphicsInDoc.length;n++){
        if(allGraphicsInDoc[n].hasOwnProperty("clippingPath")){allGraphicsInDoc[n].clippingPath.c lippingType = ClippingPathType.PHOTOSHOP_PATH};
            allGraphicsInDoc[n].clippingPath.appliedPathName = "Path 1";

Clipping Path vs Alpha Channel

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but wondering which is better for outlined images (no soft transitions, just hard outline.)
I've used both and don't see an advantage to either EXCEPT when converting an InDesign file to PDF. Files with PSDs with clipping paths seem to make much larger pdfs than same file using PSD with alpha channel. Not important for a final press file, but when I have to email screen proofs, then it's a big deal.
Anyone care to weigh in? Thanks.
Ringo

Hi, there,
I found this discussion during a search for alpha channels vs. clipping paths for clipping (for a job I'm working on), and thought I'd offer my own feedback based on my own experiences w/ similar files. I can't really offer a printer perspective, however, although we do work closely with many and also print film fairly regularly for local printers who are not yet Direct-To-Plate.
For what it's worth, I use paths, myself, and save the file as a TIFF. Then I use the Object: Clipping Path menu in InDesign to select the path (I don't specifically designate a path as an actual clipping path in Photoshop anymore, as sometimes an image will have more than one path to isolate different elements).
I find that alpha channels don't look very good when used in InDesign. They're just not that smooth/precise, in my admittedly limited use.
I've uploaded a quick sample to http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr222/Xiebinrui/Alpha_vs_Clipping.jpg -- it's pretty self-explanatory, but the left side shows the bottom of an image using an alpha channel created from the original clipping path (cmd-click on the path to create a selection and then click the "create channel" button in the Channels tab, which automatically creates an "Alpha 1" channel), with the original clipped version on the right. I've tried adjusting the threshold and tolerance in InDesign, but it just always looks bad.
I also haven't used the behemoth Photoshop EPS format since my QuarkXPress/Mac OS 9 days (even then, it eventually became possible to use TIFFs w/ clipping paths -- I could finally see my photo correctly instead of with the horrible Quark EPS preview).
Anyway, re: alpha channels, maybe it's just that I don't know the right way to use them, but they don't seem to be very smooth when importing into InDesign (I was working on a job yesterday and today for which I had to download hi-res images from the client -- many of which used alpha channels instead of actual paths, but they're used on white backgrounds in InDesign, so I just didn't use the channels).
So, anyway, I personally use and recommend paths (vector masks, as Artdirectorringo mentioned, seem to work fine, too) as opposed to standard pixel-based alpha channels, in general, if you're going to be placing the file into InDesign.

How do I transform a clipping path and layer at same time?

I have a bunch of images with clipping paths that need to be altered. Most images need skewed or distorted, and I can't figure out how to transform the path at the same time I transform the layer - so I do not have to create new paths. Thanks
Working in Photoshop CS2

I’m afraid You will have to employ a workaround.
I would recommend applying the Path as a Vector Mask to the Layer (with the Path selected command-click on the Add Layer Mask-button in the Layers-panel), then transforming, subsequently duplicating the Vector Mask and removing it from the Layer.
Or copy-paste it into the existing Clipping Path and then remove it.
Some part of the procedure may be automate-able with Actions or Scripts and hopefully it will still save at least some time.

Illustrator CS6: deleting unwanted items outside a clipping path

Hi everyone,
I'm creating a logo that employs a stippled texture (a half-tone) in various sections of objects comprising the logo. I've placed the stipple where I want it, created a clipping path to capture the area. Now I have all these other points that I don't need that I want to delete.
Is there anyway short of releasing the clipping path, manually delete unwanted sections of the stipple and then re-apply the clipping path again? It would be like 'Applying Mask' in photoshop.

You can enter isolation mode without releasing the clipping mask. Beyond that I don't see a way to do this automatically unless you want to make your stipples a compound path or group and use Pathfinder operations. Unfortunately AI doesn not have inside/ outside detection for these kinds of scenarios that wouzld allow to quickly select separate objects in this fashion...
Mylenium

Automated Clipping Paths

We have over 150 images of small mechanical parts that need clipping paths. Is there any way to automate the process? Are there any Plug Ins out there?? The plan is to use the Magic Wand to select the background and invert to create the clipping path.
Just wondering if anyone knows of a better way to fly thru 150+ images using batch processing or automation?????

To see clippin gpath options you'd need to have the image frame or the image selected, but from your desription I don't think you really want to use a clipping path (where your options are to detect edges, use a Photoshop path, or an alpha channel).
Instead, draw the rectangle you want to use to clip the oval frame and positionit as you want it, then move it behind the oval and select both. Open the Pathfinder panel and click the Intersect button.
Or for more flexibilty cut the oval frame and "Paste Into" the rectangle and you can move it around to change the masking any way you like.

[CS3] Clipping Path Options Zero Out?

Hi:
I'm posting this for a couple of users in my studio (haven't actually experienced it myself).
They swear that they occasionally place an EPS and in Object/Clipping Path they select the type: Photoshop Path and choose a path.
Then, for no apparent reason, the type swings from "Photoshop Path" to "None".
I tend to think this is actually occurring when they drag a bunch of images from one document to another (these two operators work on a monthly catalog where a lot of art carries forward). Still, I don't understand why a clipping path option would change.
Anyone else experience this behavior? (Please, no rants on how we should stop using EPS -- we are moving as quickly as possible to psds wtih transparencies, but I've got a ton of images with both "tight to image" clippling paths and "drop shadow" clipping paths so it isn't that easy).
Thanks.
--jon

Bob:
In the studio everyone has Intel MacPros with 4GB of RAM -- up in Creative land, there's still a lot of old 1.8GHz G5s kicking around that just die when the ADs are working with a catalog with dozens of hi-rez images. (The more junior ADs with the crappy G5s get stuck with the print work while the senior guys who spend all their time in broadcast editing suites have Intels they use for email and web surfing -- makes no sense to me). Also, the ADs involve complain bitterly at the time it takes to print a catalog out with hi-rez art.
So, we stage the hi-rez art on a Xinet volume, give them access to the FPO volume (Xinet automatically creates and imbeds a low-rez proxy of anything that's thrown on the hi-rez volume) and that's what they use in their comps. When the comps transition to the studio, we simply re-link the art to their hi-rez versions.
We only do this on the big monthly projects -- everyday ads and direct mail pieces are handled as you describe.
--jon

Automate selection of Clipping Path?

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