Batch Processing

MyNameIsNeo

So, I have around 1000 images from a recent 1.5 week trip. I shot them at the highest JPEG resolution on my camera (Canon 10D), but now I need to resize them to something like 8x10 @ 100 dpi and save them again in JPEG format with a compression level of around 8 (Photoshop Elements). How can I do this in batch mode? The "Batch" tool has preset dpi options and doen't allow me any control over the JPEG compression level...or does it? I certainly can't figure it out. Help! I'm even willing to switch to something like GIMP if need be. I am a software engineer and could write my own PERL script to do this if there were some tools at CPAN to allow me to resize and save at my desired compression level. Many thanks.

jfriend

File/Export

MyNameIsNeo wrote:

So, I have around 1000 images from a recent 1.5 week trip. I shot them at the highest JPEG resolution on my camera (Canon 10D), but now I need to resize them to something like 8x10 @ 100 dpi and save them again in JPEG format with a compression level of around 8 (Photoshop Elements). How can I do this in batch mode? The "Batch" tool has preset dpi options and doen't allow me any control over the JPEG compression level...or does it? I certainly can't figure it out. Help! I'm even willing to switch to something like GIMP if need be. I am a software engineer and could write my own PERL script to do this if there were some tools at CPAN to allow me to resize and save at my desired compression level. Many thanks.

Select your images in the organizer. Then, choose File/Export in Photoshop Elements. This will let you set the number of pixels in the output files and the JPEG compression level and an output directory.

MyNameIsNeo

jfriend wrote:

Select your images in the organizer. Then, choose File/Export in Photoshop Elements. This will let you set the number of pixels in the output files and the JPEG compression level and an output directory.

Thanks, but the File->Export option in PE is grayed out, even when I have an image open, and I can't figure out why. Also, I've been using PE for several years now, but I don't know what you mean by the "organizer". Thanks for your patience and help.

jfriend

Two free downloads

MyNameIsNeo wrote:

Thanks, but the File->Export option in PE is grayed out, even when I have an image open, and I can't figure out why. Also, I've been using PE for several years now, but I don't know what you mean by the "organizer". Thanks for your patience and help.

niz

You don't say what version of Elements you have, but in recent versions, there are two main programs, the organizer and the editor. The editor is where you actually modify images. The organizer is a program for categorizing, organizing and converting the images to other resolutions/formats. The File/Export feature I'm speaking of is in the organizer program and I know it was available at least starting in PSE3. In that program, you would select the images you wanted to convert and then choose File/Export. If you want to launch the organizer, just go to the directory where you've installed Elements and find the right executable to launch. I don't remember the exact name, but it's something with "organizer" in the name.

If that doesn't work for you, there are some free programs that can do what you want. The two I've heard recommended most often are below, though I have no personal experience with either one:

• Irfanview - http://www.irfanview.com/
• Fastone - http://www.faststone.org/

quark

Have you ever played with ImageMagik? Nice software tool that runs in command line mode which is perfect for converting huge batches of photos. I always use it in Fedora so it comes built in, but I think you can make it work in Windows. It also has a PerlMagik module that you would probably be comfortable with but I have never used it with Perl.

You can also do simple conversions using the export features in Picassa. Not sure if it would give you all the options you want.

Brett Mickelson

If you have Photoshop and Bridge (which I highly reccomend if you don't), you can just select all the images and run an image processor and put the dimensions you want in the "fit to size" field (make sure you account for both vertical and horizontal images, so put the maximum size you want in both columns). You can also run any actions you might have or want by doing this. It will resize and save all of the images.

mrcoons

In PhotoShop Elements 4.0 the help says to:

To process multiple files
The Process Multiple Files command applies settings to a folder of files. If you have a digital camera or a scanner with a document feeder, you can also import and process multiple images. (Your scanner or digital camera may need an acquire plug-in module that supports actions.)
When processing files, you can leave all the files open, close and save the changes to the original files, or save modified versions of the files to a new location (leaving the originals unchanged). If you are saving the processed files to a new location, you may want to create a new folder for the processed files before starting the batch.
Choose File > Process Multiple Files.
Choose the files to process from the Process Files From pop-up menu:
Folder Processes files in a folder you specify. Click Choose to locate and select the folder.
Import Processes images from a digital camera or scanner.
Opened Files Processes all open files.
Select Include All Subfolders if you want to process files in subdirectories of the specified folder.
For Destination, click Browse and select a folder location for the processed files.
If you chose Folder as the destination, specify a file-naming convention and select file compatibility options for the processed files:
For Rename Files, select elements from the pop-up menus or enter text into the fields to be combined into the default names for all files. The fields let you change the order and formatting of the components of the file name. You must include at least one field that is unique for every file (for example, file name, serial number, or serial letter) to prevent files from overwriting each other. Starting Serial Number specifies the starting number for any serial number fields. Serial letter fields always start with the letter “A” for the first file.
For Compatibility, choose Windows, Mac OS, and UNIX® to make file names compatible with Windows, Mac OS, and UNIX operating systems.
Under Image Size, select Resize Images if you want each processed file resized to a uniform size. Then type in a width and height for the photos, and choose an option from the Resolution menu. Select Constrain Proportions to keep the width and height proportional.
To apply an automatic adjustment to the images, select an option from the Quick Fix panel.
To attach a label to the images, choose an option from the Labels menu, then customize the text, text position, font, size, opacity, and color. (To change the text color, click the color swatch and choose a new color from the picker.)
Select Log Errors That Result from Processing Files to record each error in a file without stopping the process. If errors are logged to a file, a message appears after processing. To review the error file, open with a text editor after the Batch command has run.
Click OK to process and save the files.