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adobe-ps-scripts-loreal/WORKFLOW-EXAMPLE.md
DJP 4a192a8c97 Initial commit: Adobe Photoshop API text management scripts 
Local and cloud-based workflows for extracting and updating
text layers in PSD files via ExtendScript and Adobe PS API.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-03-02 13:46:52 -05:00

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Text Layer Update Workflow Example

This document provides a step-by-step walkthrough of using the local script workflow to extract and update text in PSD files.

Example Scenario

In this example, we'll update the text in a product marketing PSD file:

  1. Extract text from a Vichy product PSD
  2. Modify the product description text
  3. Update the PSD with the new text
  4. Verify the changes

Step 1: Extract Text from PSD

First, we'll extract the current text from the Vichy product PSD file:

python mac_ps_extract.py TESTFILES/BATCH-UPDATES/

This will create JSON files with the -textonly.json suffix next to each PSD file:

Successfully processed 6 of 6 PSD files.
JSON files saved next to their PSD files

Let's examine one of the extracted JSON files:

cat TESTFILES/BATCH-UPDATES/Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Ingredients-textonly.json

The output will show the text layer content:

{
  "documentName": "Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Ingredients.psd",
  "psdPath": "/Users/daveporter/Desktop/CODING-2024/Adobe-API-PS-scripts/TESTFILES/BATCH-UPDATES/Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Ingredients.psd",
  "extractedAt": "Mon Apr 22 2025 15:12:27",
  "dimensions": {
    "width": 1200,
    "height": 800
  },
  "textLayerCount": 2,
  "textLayers": [
    {
      "id": "",
      "name": "Key Ingredients",
      "path": "Key Ingredients",
      "text": "KEY INGREDIENTS",
      "updatedText": "KEY INGREDIENTS",
      "visible": true,
      "styleInfo": {
        "font": "Arial-Bold",
        "size": 24,
        "color": null,
        "alignment": "left",
        "styles": [
          {
            "start": 0,
            "end": 15,
            "text": "KEY INGREDIENTS",
            "font": "Arial-Bold",
            "style": "Bold",
            "size": 24
          }
        ]
      },
      "hasRichTextFormatting": false
    },
    {
      "id": "",
      "name": "Ingredient List",
      "path": "Ingredient List",
      "text": "• VITAMIN C: Brightens skin and provides antioxidant protection\n• HYALURONIC ACID: Hydrates and plumps skin with moisture\n• NIACINAMIDE: Reduces appearance of pores and evens skin tone\n• PEPTIDES: Support collagen production for firmer skin\n• GLYCERIN: Attracts moisture to keep skin hydrated\n• VICHY VOLCANIC WATER: Rich in minerals to strengthen skin",
      "updatedText": "• VITAMIN C: Brightens skin and provides antioxidant protection\n• HYALURONIC ACID: Hydrates and plumps skin with moisture\n• NIACINAMIDE: Reduces appearance of pores and evens skin tone\n• PEPTIDES: Support collagen production for firmer skin\n• GLYCERIN: Attracts moisture to keep skin hydrated\n• VICHY VOLCANIC WATER: Rich in minerals to strengthen skin",
      "visible": true,
      "styleInfo": {
        "font": "Arial",
        "size": 14,
        "color": null,
        "alignment": "left",
        "styles": [
          {
            "start": 0,
            "end": 11,
            "text": "• VITAMIN C",
            "font": "Arial-Bold",
            "style": "Bold",
            "size": 14
          },
          {
            "start": 12,
            "end": 59,
            "text": ": Brightens skin and provides antioxidant protection",
            "font": "Arial",
            "style": "Regular",
            "size": 14
          },
          {
            "start": 60,
            "end": 76,
            "text": "• HYALURONIC ACID",
            "font": "Arial-Bold",
            "style": "Bold",
            "size": 14
          },
          {
            "start": 77,
            "end": 114,
            "text": ": Hydrates and plumps skin with moisture",
            "font": "Arial",
            "style": "Regular",
            "size": 14
          },
          {
            "start": 115,
            "end": 128,
            "text": "• NIACINAMIDE",
            "font": "Arial-Bold",
            "style": "Bold",
            "size": 14
          },
          {
            "start": 129,
            "end": 174,
            "text": ": Reduces appearance of pores and evens skin tone",
            "font": "Arial",
            "style": "Regular",
            "size": 14
          },
          {
            "start": 175,
            "end": 185,
            "text": "• PEPTIDES",
            "font": "Arial-Bold",
            "style": "Bold",
            "size": 14
          },
          {
            "start": 186,
            "end": 227,
            "text": ": Support collagen production for firmer skin",
            "font": "Arial",
            "style": "Regular",
            "size": 14
          },
          {
            "start": 228,
            "end": 238,
            "text": "• GLYCERIN",
            "font": "Arial-Bold",
            "style": "Bold",
            "size": 14
          },
          {
            "start": 239,
            "end": 276,
            "text": ": Attracts moisture to keep skin hydrated",
            "font": "Arial",
            "style": "Regular",
            "size": 14
          },
          {
            "start": 277,
            "end": 297,
            "text": "• VICHY VOLCANIC WATER",
            "font": "Arial-Bold",
            "style": "Bold",
            "size": 14
          },
          {
            "start": 298,
            "end": 342,
            "text": ": Rich in minerals to strengthen skin",
            "font": "Arial",
            "style": "Regular",
            "size": 14
          }
        ]
      },
      "hasRichTextFormatting": true
    }
  ]
}

Step 2: Modify the JSON

Now let's edit the JSON file to update the ingredient list. We'll add a new ingredient and modify the description of an existing one:

# Copy to a new file to preserve the original
cp TESTFILES/BATCH-UPDATES/Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Ingredients-textonly.json TESTFILES/BATCH-UPDATES/Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Ingredients-textonly-updated.json

Edit the copied file with your preferred text editor, and modify the "updatedText" field for the "Ingredient List" layer:

"updatedText": "• VITAMIN C: Brightens skin and provides antioxidant protection\n• HYALURONIC ACID: Provides intense hydration and plumps skin with long-lasting moisture\n• NIACINAMIDE: Reduces appearance of pores and evens skin tone\n• PEPTIDES: Support collagen production for firmer skin\n• GLYCERIN: Attracts moisture to keep skin hydrated\n• VICHY VOLCANIC WATER: Rich in 15 minerals to strengthen skin barrier\n• COLLAGEN PEPTIDES: Helps restore skin's natural bounce and elasticity",

Key changes made:

  1. Enhanced description for HYALURONIC ACID
  2. Added specificity about mineral count in VICHY VOLCANIC WATER
  3. Added a new ingredient: COLLAGEN PEPTIDES

Step 3: Update the PSD

First, let's do a dry run to verify the changes would be applied correctly:

python mac_ps_update.py TESTFILES/BATCH-UPDATES/ --dry-run

Output:

DRY RUN MODE: Changes will be previewed but not applied.

Found 7 JSON files that would be processed:
  MATCH: Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Ingredients-textonly-updated.json → Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Ingredients.psd
  MATCH: Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Clinical Results-textonly.json → Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Clinical Results.psd
  MATCH: Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv -Collagen 16 Bonding Serum -30ml-3337875912600-Routine-textonly.json → Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv -Collagen 16 Bonding Serum -30ml-3337875912600-Routine.psd
  MATCH: Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv -Collagen 16 Bonding Serum -30ml-3337875912600-Safety-textonly.json → Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv -Collagen 16 Bonding Serum -30ml-3337875912600-Safety.psd
  MATCH: Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv -Collagen 16 Bonding Serum -30ml-3337875912600-Texture-textonly.json → Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv -Collagen 16 Bonding Serum -30ml-3337875912600-Texture.psd
  MATCH: Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen 16 Bonding Serum -30ml-3337875912600-Packshot-texture-textonly.json → Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen 16 Bonding Serum -30ml-3337875912600-Packshot-texture.psd
  MATCH: Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Professional Endorsement-textonly.json → Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Professional Endorsement.psd

Dry run complete. No changes were made to PSD files.

Now let's run the update with just our edited file, and save the changes:

python mac_ps_update.py TESTFILES/BATCH-UPDATES/Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Ingredients-textonly-updated.json -s

Output:

Processing JSON files from: TESTFILES/BATCH-UPDATES/Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Ingredients-textonly-updated.json
Looking for PSD files in: TESTFILES/BATCH-UPDATES/Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Ingredients-textonly-updated.json
Found matching PSD based on documentName: Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Ingredients.psd
Found Photoshop at: /Applications/Adobe Photoshop 2025/Adobe Photoshop 2025.app
Photoshop (Adobe Photoshop 2025) launched successfully
Opened file: /Users/daveporter/Desktop/CODING-2024/Adobe-API-PS-scripts/TESTFILES/BATCH-UPDATES/Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Ingredients.psd
JSX script executed successfully
Closed document (save=True)
Successfully updated text in Vichy-Product-Skincare-Liftactiv-Collagen-16-Bonding-Serum-30ml-3337875912600-Ingredients.psd and saved changes

Update complete:
  Successfully processed: 1 of 1 files
  Changes have been saved to PSD files

Step 4: Verify the Changes

Open the updated PSD file in Photoshop to verify that:

  1. The HYALURONIC ACID description now shows "Provides intense hydration and plumps skin with long-lasting moisture"
  2. The VICHY VOLCANIC WATER description includes "15 minerals"
  3. The new COLLAGEN PEPTIDES ingredient appears at the end of the list
  4. All text formatting (bold for ingredient names, regular for descriptions) was preserved

Additional Examples

Batch Processing Multiple Files

To update multiple files at once:

# Extract text from all PSDs in a directory
python mac_ps_extract.py /path/to/psd_directory

# Edit the JSON files as needed

# Update all PSDs with a dry run first
python mac_ps_update.py /path/to/json_directory --dry-run

# Apply and save the changes
python mac_ps_update.py /path/to/json_directory --save

Working with Complex Text Formatting

When working with complex text that has multiple formatting styles:

  1. The mac_ps_extract.py script preserves detailed formatting information in the "styles" array
  2. This includes font, style (Bold, Regular, etc.), size, and character ranges
  3. When updating, mac_ps_update.py will attempt to preserve this formatting
  4. For best results with complex formatting:
    • Try to keep the same general structure of paragraphs
    • Don't change the order of specially formatted sections
    • When adding new text, follow similar patterns to existing text

Common Issues and Solutions

Text Layer Not Found

Problem: Script reports "Layer not found" despite being visible in Photoshop
Solution:

  • Ensure the layer name in the JSON exactly matches the layer name in Photoshop
  • Check for hidden spaces or special characters in layer names
  • Verify the layer isn't inside a hidden group

Formatting Lost After Update

Problem: Bold or italic formatting is lost after updating text
Solution:

  • Check if the layer has "hasRichTextFormatting": true in the JSON
  • Review the "styles" array for proper formatting information
  • Try keeping the text structure similar to the original
  • For complex formatting, consider making smaller incremental changes

Photoshop Not Launching

Problem: Script can't find or launch Photoshop
Solution:

  • Launch Photoshop manually before running the script
  • Check the path in the script matches your Photoshop installation
  • Ensure you have granted necessary permissions to terminal/scripts

Best Practices

  1. Always make backups before batch updating PSD files
  2. Use dry-run mode before applying changes with --save
  3. Keep text structure similar when making updates to preserve formatting
  4. Check layer names in the extracted JSON match the PSD exactly
  5. Use absolute paths when specifying directories with spaces
  6. Close Photoshop documents before running scripts to avoid conflicts
  7. Monitor memory usage when batch processing large files