[ANN] MouseScript - a new way to automate Photoshop, no coding required!

Discussion of Photoshop Scripting, Photoshop Actions and Photoshop Automation in General

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MouseScript
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[ANN] MouseScript - a new way to automate Photoshop, no coding required!

Post by MouseScript »

Hi All!

I'd like to announce a new product here, that lets creating and running scripts, that could have everything possible with ExtendScript and much more - MouseScript. https://www.mousescript.com

* Why MouseScript?

1. It makes creating/modifying/running scripts extremely easy. No coding skills required!
Graphic designers, photographers, other Photoshop users often need to automate their routine tasks or want to experiment with their graphics/image processing workflow steps in a way that Actions don't let. Most of such people don't know how to and don't want to code in ExtendScript. MouseScript fills the gap.

2. Even for those of Photoshop users who do know JavaScript/ExtendScript, MouseScript should save time as dealing with scripts - creating, modifying, stabilizing - designed to be made much more efficient even for JS coders.

* What is MouseScript?

MouseScript is the name of the technology implemented in MouseScript Studio - a software for Mac and Windows, where you can create, modify, run scripts for Photoshop, a bit later for Illustrator and InDesign. After that - other apps planned to be included, like Sketch App or Invison Studio. MouseScript Studio is written in C++, runs fast and smooth, it's a standalone app, not a plugin or extension.

* When and how I could try it?

To be launched soon, later this spring. Please visit https://www.mousescript.com and leave your email to get notified of the product launch and the project updates!

If you'd like to become a beta tester, please email us: support@mousescript.com. Please tell us a bit about yourself and what kind of Photoshop (Illustrator, InDesign, other apps) automation and scripts you'd like to have, which steps of your workflow could be made better with scripting, etc.

Thank you!

--
Nick
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Kukurykus
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Re: [ANN] MouseScript - a new way to automate Photoshop, no coding required!

Post by Kukurykus »

I use http://forums.highrez.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=6 for years that is meant for Windows only though. What I know it's the most advanced tool developed every day by one man for over than 10 years. All bugs encountered are fixed as fast reported while new ideas users come with are constantly introduced to next releases. There is also Beta stage before each full version were I participate to make this tool better. It's not dedicated for Photoshop, but there's nothing I couldn't combine with Extend/JavaScript.

I guess that will be challange for you to make something better, however there are no any examples yet to see isn't it already in any part yet. I believe you'll make professional tool with great support and like it's in X-MouseButtonControl also chance to make own quite complex commands they appear in XMBC as Simulated Keystrokes. Probably MaouseScript is going to be more integrated with native Photoshop commands, what surely may gives opportunity to use it smootly as part of this application.

As experienced user of XMBC and Photoshop Scripting I'm happy to hear someone is going to create something like it and I'm probably first who's going to join beta phase of your new tool - good luck :D
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Jaroslav Bereza
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Re: [ANN] MouseScript - a new way to automate Photoshop, no coding required!

Post by Jaroslav Bereza »

I still have no Idea what it is. Do you have screen record or something like that? :-)
MouseScript
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Re: [ANN] MouseScript - a new way to automate Photoshop, no coding required!

Post by MouseScript »

Kukurykus, thanks! You are in the first rows of our beta-testers :)

How MouseScript is different from XMouse and similar software:

These software are of RPA (Robotic Process Automation) kind - keyboard and mouse events get executed as if a real user acted. Other examples of RPA soft are Automation Anywhere, BluePrizm, UIPath, WorkFusion.

MouseScript works differently - it uses automation tools that are built-in into products it can talk to. In case of Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign, MouseScript translates its script to JavaScript/ExtendScript and feeds Photoshop with it - "command by command", not the whole JS script at once.

MouseScript has the full set of commands, specific to Photoshop. Commands are grouped. Groups are Document, Layer, Selection, Tools, etc. Commands cover everything that's in Adobe's "Photoshop JavaScript Reference" doc. Plus more - many extra "undocumented" commands, recorded with ScriptListener.

Besides that commands, specific to e.g. Photoshop, there're sets of commands not specific to any app - for file handling, network communication, advanced math operations, image recognition algorithms, etc etc - these commands get executed outside Photoshop in MouseScript's own runtime environment. Basically, any C/C++ (or other language) library could be plugged-in to MouseScript and its interface adapted to datatypes and commands for MouseScript. Think of OpenCV lib as an example.

Sending mouse events and keystrokes to Photoshop (or other app) is also possible, but that's not our main focus. We do not currently plan to directly compete with RPA apps that I listed above.

We want to specialize - in Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign and other apps and libs, frameworks later. In order to provide not a generic solution that's good for everything, but the solution that's the best for scripting specific apps and libs.

A very important part is that MouseScript requires no coding skills! And even if you are a developer, MouseScript should save your time.
Last edited by MouseScript on Thu Mar 22, 2018 3:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
MouseScript
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Re: [ANN] MouseScript - a new way to automate Photoshop, no coding required!

Post by MouseScript »

Jaroslav Bereza wrote:I still have no Idea what it is. Do you have screen record or something like that? :-)
Jaroslav,

Please read my answer to Kukurykus above - it could give some high-level understanding of MouseScript concepts. Building blocks of a MouseScript script are commands. How commands' params set, how commands form script, how loop or if-then-else command look like, etc - I'd prefer to not dive into these details right now. I just can say that in terms of UX/UI MouseScript Studio aims to be as pro and as nice-looking as the best apps for designers - e.g. InVision Studio - i.e. much more usable and nicer then RPA apps listed in my previous post.

Please leave your email at http://www.mousescript.com and you'll be notified of everything important we want to show!
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Kukurykus
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Re: [ANN] MouseScript - a new way to automate Photoshop, no coding required!

Post by Kukurykus »

It all sounds professionaly and I see this tool will be integrated with Photoshop the way I was affraid it may not be after your original post. I do understand most users of Photoshop don't use scripts and don't want to learn it so you're going to make friendly and intuitive regular user tool in first instance. To be honest if not 'Simulated Keystrokes' I would not use XMBC. All my buttons use them and I am not interested in single default commands choosen from list. If I understand well you're going to let for single actions that will trigger some for ex. Action Manager codes. You'll make access to some libraries that I guess are going to utilize some more complex codes as well. I hope it will be possible to call own scripts by MouseScript as well as add MS codes inside of own scripts. Still there are some areas not handled by ActionManager that only way is to combine AM with 'Simulated Keystrokes'. That's also important if your tool had to be used by developers who make their paid scripts/extensions, as they may want to write their own set of commands by MouseScript, so not only using default ones provided with.

Other reason why "Simulated Keystrokes" would be good option is for example native Photoshop "'Levels" palette you can not program with Action Manager. When you open it in Photoshop you will see you can use some shortcuts to access options / items / fields. Although you can set shortcuts for most things in Photoshop there are areas you can use only default ones. Moreover even if they were changable still there're some combinations you can't do without 'Simulated Keystrokes'. Please open 'Levels' dialog to check what I mean. But take into consideration that is only one example I mention. It is extremally useful to operate dialogs with 'Simulated Keystrokes', with mouse only. It speeds up work a lot if someone like me usees this dialog hundrets times every day! Only to these 'Levels' (as specific Window) I have set 17 different 'Simulated Keystrokes' sets, each for other mouse button! If there is something worth of automation with mouse, they are dialogs / palettes of course.

Irrespectively which Adobe app. users use there is one that is used together with every of them. It is Adobe Bridge (downloable for free with Creative Cloud). It's mainly image browser, but fully integrated with Adobe produtcs, with many commands where all of them are scriptable. In my workflow I use XMBC mainly with Bridge, that is 70% of 'Simulated Keystrokes' codes, and just 30% for Photoshop. Unfortunatelly there are only default shortcuts you cannot modify like that is in Photoshop. It's why I use simple Windows keys combined into one code I bind by XMBC to certain mouse button. I use XMBC also to execute Bridge scripts rather than imitiate them asynchronous with some Windows set of keys. It's great method but with one disadvantage. For my reasons I don't execute directly .jsx files but .exe files that beside doing some programmed stuff also run .jsx files. That disadvantage is because before .jsx scripts will be initiated I have to wait about 1 sec., what is noticable and annoying when some things triggered by XMBC buttons I do many times a day and often in a row.


Some questions:
  • how many people are involved in this project (excl. beta testers), and how many of them are programmers?
  • what about setting and reading mouse cursor position, that can be used as code line in user .jsx script?
  • will 'Button Chording', 'Button Held Dependand Actions' and 'Multi Clicks' be part of MouseScript tool?
  • beisde all mentioned Adobe Apps (mainly Photoshop) are you going to expand MouseScript of Bridge?
  • what about license for developers who want to use MouseScript with their extansions, is it free?
  • can MouseScript be used to run own Action Manager codes, also be placed inside those scripts?
  • is MS going to work with all 9 Windows detectable buttons (LMB, RMB, MB, 4th, 5th, roll, tilt)?
  • when approximately beta testers will be allowed to download pre-release version?
  • will manipulations in range of built-in Ps dialogs be possible with MouseScript?
  • are you going to focus on 'Simulated Keystokes' in future as well?