adobe-ps-scripts-loreal/API-UPDATE-FIX.md

Adobe Photoshop API Text Layer Update Fix

Problem

The Adobe Photoshop API text layer updates were failing to update the text while preserving the original font styling.

Solution

After analyzing the Adobe API documentation and conducting further testing, we've fixed three critical issues:

1. Layer Identification: Using the layer name for identification works reliably.
2. Font Preservation: Using the correct characterStyles structure to maintain fonts.
3. File Management: Fixing output paths and adding automatic cleanup.

Changes Made

1. Simplified Layer Identification:

   • Using only the layer name as the identifier
   • Avoiding complex path or ID-based identification

2. Font Preservation Options:

   • Added proper characterStyles structure
   • Implemented globalFont and manageMissingFonts options
   • Converted font sizes to the proper format (points)

3. Better File Management:

   • Files are saved in the original directory
   • Clear prefix naming (api_updated_)
   • Automatic cleanup of temporary files

Correct Payload Structure

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "storage": "external",
      "href": "https://signed-url-to-psd.psd"
    }
  ],
  "options": {
    "manageMissingFonts": "useDefault",
    "globalFont": "FontName-Bold",
    "layers": [
      {
        "name": "Layer Name",
        "text": {
          "content": "New text content",
          "characterStyles": [
            {
              "fontPostScriptName": "FontName-Bold", 
              "size": 0.444  // Size in points (pixels/72)
            }
          ],
          "paragraphStyles": [
            {
              "alignment": "left"
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "outputs": [
    {
      "storage": "external",
      "href": "https://signed-url-for-output.psd",
      "type": "image/vnd.adobe.photoshop"
    }
  ]
}

Key Insights for Font Preservation

1. Font Specification: The API requires fonts to be specified in characterStyles, not at the text level.

2. Size Units: The API expects font sizes in points, not pixels. Convert pixel sizes to points by dividing by 72.0.

3. Complete Style Information: Including both characterStyles and paragraphStyles improves formatting preservation.

4. Font Names: The API only supports the fontPostScriptName property:

   • Use the exact PostScript name of the font (e.g., "FuturaPT-Demi")
   • The Adobe API is strict about property names and doesn't support alternatives like fontName

5. Font Fallback Behavior: The API supports two values for manageMissingFonts: "useDefault" (uses Arial when font is missing) or "fail" (returns an error when font is missing).

Testing

The updated scripts now successfully update text layers in PSD files via the Adobe API while preserving the original font styling. Test using:

python simplified_payload.py /path/to/your-textonly.json /path/to/your.psd

or

python update_text_with_api.py --json-path /path/to/your-textonly.json

Notes

• The API works asynchronously - it returns a 202 (Accepted) status when the request is accepted for processing.
• The script monitors the processing status and downloads the result when complete.
• Output files are now saved with the api_updated_ prefix in the same directory as the original file.
• Temporary files in Google Cloud Storage are automatically cleaned up after successful download.