|
|
Post by robertwa on Jan 14, 2019 2:34:39 GMT
Hi all,
Is there any way that Photoshop Elements can create captions which are permanently embedded onto the photograph? I would like to be able to put captions onto my photos in a way which enables them to be seen by viewers who do not have Photoshop Elements or other specialised software.
I know that I can write the caption information into the photo’s metadata where it is stored as the photo’s title, but the standard photo viewing programs which come with Windows do not display these titles.
I also know that I can use the Title tool to put permanent captions onto the photos, but this would mean re-typing the captions which I already have on the photos. And I found it extremely difficult to get the captions looking as nice as the real PSE captions.
Thanks.
Robert
|
|
|
|
Post by Sepiana on Jan 14, 2019 3:00:44 GMT
Robert, have you looked into using the Caption option in PSE's Process Multiple Files feature? Do you think it will work for you? You can also run it on just one photo although it says "Multiple".
|
|
|
|
Post by Bailey on Jan 14, 2019 6:06:35 GMT
Robert, have you looked into using the Caption option in PSE's Process Multiple Files feature? Do you think it will work for you? You can also run it on just one photo although it says "Multiple". For this method, you first have to File->Save Metadata To File in the Organiser.
This saves the data in the "Caption" field for the image in the Organiser database to the "Description" field in the IPTC header of the actual image file. The IPTC Description field is one of the 3 captions you can output onto the image when you File->Process Multiple Files in the PSE editor. The other 2 are Filename and Date Modified (pse 14).
You then have limited positioning options (3 in PSE 14) for the caption on the image but you can set the font, colour and size of the caption.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bailey on Jan 14, 2019 6:24:56 GMT
Personally I prefer to use the Meta Stamp Script in Elements+
It gives you many more options to display metadata on a jpeg. It also has more caption positioning options.
If you are familiar with javascript and OOP (Object Orientated Programming) you can modify the Elements+ script or write your own to output captions totally as you wish.
|
|
|
|
Post by robertwa on Jan 14, 2019 8:21:30 GMT
Thanks Sepiana and Bailey,
This process will work, i.e. it will put my "Caption" permanently onto the photo without having to retype all my captions. However the options are a bit too limited for me (perhaps I am just too fussy!) It seems that using the Text tool is the way I will have to go (but I will look at Elements + first).
Thanks again,
Robert
|
|
|
|
Post by Sepiana on Jan 14, 2019 9:06:35 GMT
This process will work, i.e. it will put my "Caption" permanently onto the photo without having to retype all my captions. However the options are a bit too limited for me (perhaps I am just too fussy!) It seems that using the Text tool is the way I will have to go . . . Robert, that's the downside of this process; it doesn't offer a lot of flexibility. Barbara Brundage in The Missing Manual suggests using the Type tool for maximum flexibility.
Photoshop Elements 9: The Missing Manual (Processing Multiple Files, pp. 288 - 296)
|
|
|
|
Post by Bailey on Jan 14, 2019 10:01:53 GMT
Thanks Sepiana and Bailey,
This process will work, i.e. it will put my "Caption" permanently onto the photo without having to retype all my captions. However the options are a bit too limited for me (perhaps I am just too fussy!) It seems that using the Text tool is the way I will have to go (but I will look at Elements + first).
Thanks again,
Robert
No problem robertwa,
The deal breaker for me would be having to retype the captions into the text tool, but each to their own on that one.
Maximum flexibility would be to somehow extract the caption from the Organiser database for an image using SQL straight into the Text tool. Reading through the PS Javascript Reference Guide it doesn't look like Adobe allow access to the Organiser database from their scripting feature.
|
|
|
|
Post by cats4jan on Jan 14, 2019 10:06:20 GMT
Don’t forget you can copy/paste into text box. That will save you a little work.
To use text box, open text tool and draw out a box. Copy text from any source and click within text box to paste.
Text boxes can be manipulated by the move tool.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bailey on Jan 14, 2019 11:43:58 GMT
Don’t forget you can copy/paste into text box. That is a good compromise  |
|
|
|
Post by cats4jan on Jan 14, 2019 11:55:23 GMT
I would like to be able to put captions onto my photos in a way which enables them to be seen by viewers who do not have Photoshop Elements or other specialised software.
Found out -- You can hit return/enter to start a new line of text - you can do it multiple times to add more space, you can make multiple lines of text.
However, I know we all have our favorite ways of doing something, but from all I've read so far in this and the other thread, it seems opening your photo in PSE and adding text using a text box (for most versatility) - instead of using Preview's Captioning - can be a compromise you could live with. Once you incorporate it into your workflow, you may not find it as inconvenient as you might think. (Remember - use copy/paste to save even more time) Of course, this doesn't address the issue of multiple photos where you want to add the same text.Make sure you save the photo as a jpg after captioning it, (use a different file name so as to not corrupt your original) -- and the photo with it's caption will be readable to anyone just as any jpg is. Anything you create in PSE - if saved as a jpg - will be viewable to anyone who can view jpgs. Realize the default format for PSE is psd - so you have to actively choose jpg as the format when saving. After that, you can email or text your jpg to anyone - or you can send them out to print by any company. |
|
|
|
Post by Bailey on Jan 14, 2019 20:28:28 GMT
Of course, this doesn't address the issue of multiple photos where you want to add the same text. This can be easily overcome and automated with scripting. Adding the captions assigned to images when multiple files are opened in the editor can also be done with scripting. I am going to have a play with the Meta Stamp script to customise my own script to extract image captions from multiple files onto individual new layers in each image. The caption text layers will then be editable using the Move tool. Once the captions are styled as required the images with their captions can be outputted into jpgs using Process Multiple Files. |
|
|
|
Post by cats4jan on Jan 14, 2019 22:11:43 GMT
Bailey - I can see that being so useful when you have a lot of vacation photos and you want to title them.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bailey on Jan 15, 2019 11:56:45 GMT
Bailey - I can see that being so useful when you have a lot of vacation photos and you want to title them.
I have been reading through the Photoshop Javascript Reference. I see that you can access (read/write) all the header information in a document.
This will be an interesting "fill-in" project for me
|
|
|
|
Post by Sepiana on Jan 15, 2019 21:31:31 GMT
I would like to be able to put captions onto my photos in a way which enables them to be seen by viewers who do not have Photoshop Elements or other specialised software. . . . from all I've read so far in this and the other thread, it seems opening your photo in PSE and adding text using a text box (for most versatility) . . . can be a compromise you could live with. Of course, this doesn't address the issue of multiple photos where you want to add the same text.
One could use the Process Multiple Files feature to address this issue of multiple photos and adding the same text:
File>Process Multiple Files>Labels>Caption/Watermark.
This can be accomplished by choosing the Watermark option in the dialog box. Your text will get applied to each photo in the batch. Ex.: New York, Christmas Vacation, 2015; Grandson’s First Birthday; Our Beach House; etc. etc.
Unfortunately, your choices are limited when using the Process Multiple Files feature.
Choices:
- Three Text positions.
- Font type, size, and color.
- Text opacity.
Limitation:
The text length in the Custom Text box seems to be limited to a single-line. PSE will stop entering your text when that limit is reached. If you have your speakers turned on, you will hear a beep. There is no provision for using Copy/Paste/Text box or Paragraph Text .
|
|
|
|
Post by Bailey on Jan 15, 2019 21:46:48 GMT
One could use the Process Multiple Files feature to address this issue of multiple photos and adding the same text:
File>Process Multiple Files>Labels>Caption/Watermark.
This can be accomplished by choosing the Watermark option in the dialog box. Thank you for the reminder sepiana. Yes, the watermark option is too limiting. I will now have options in my script to output either the same user input or the saved caption to each opened image. Users will then have the option to style the caption as they wish as described by cats4jan. |
|
