Re: [Gimp-user] Workflow through scripting

[Ofnuts <ofnuts gmx com>]

On 02/10/16 09:24, John Smith wrote:
> Here is an example of the work-flow I have with Photoshop and I'd like to
> have with the Gimp. I am NOT afraid of coding.
>
>
> Cursor:
>
> I move the cursor in the general area of where the click is needed without
> fussing and then, if a non-moving tool is selected (lasso, brush, stamp
> etc.), hitting the arrows moves the cursor 1 pixel (or 10 with a ctrl
> arrow, 50 with an alt arrow) allowing me to have the cursor exactly where I
> need it to be.
>
> In order to do that I have to write a script that will get the information
> about the tool that is selected. Then I have to access the part of the
> application that moves the cursor.

Can't do. Neither cursor information nor current tool are available in 
the scripts (and BTW, you would also need to know the zoom factor). 
Scripts are meant to enhance the function, not the UI.

> If the Gimp doesn't allow me to move the cursor from inside, I'll have to
> build a tool working besides it to move the cursor when a non moving tool
> is selected. It is basically a listener and a Boolean so that is no big
> deal. What I need to know FOR CERTAIN before starting to learn the Gimp is
> “Can I do this with the Gimp?” Or “Am I able to ascertain which tool is
> selected and send the result elsewhere?”

Not without forking Gimp and writing a lot of C code, I am afraid. The 
SMOP is in the eye of the person who hasn't stated coding.

> Layers:
>
> I have very often 500 layers (yeah, you read right, five hundred) in my
> images. Some of them have layer masks some don't.
>
> I activate a layer by right-clicking in the image and choose from a list.
> Then I want to add a mask if there is none or activate the layer mask if
> there is one just by pressing the f3 key.
>
> I can write the code to do this IF IT IS POSSIBLE, So my question is can I
> do things like that with the Gimp.

You can do *that*. You may be able to do *other things like that* (but 
not knowing exactly what the are, I can't answer).
> So you see my problem is NOT to unlearn Photoshop as someone said. I have
> the time and capacities to adjust a program to my needs, provided the
> program can send me the right information. Can I get the information
> needed? I meant the program knows what tool is selected or if there is a
> layer mask, or what layer is below my cursor. Can I have access to that
> information?

Your problem is still to unlearn Photoshop. Here you are focusing on one 
specific task, but differences are all over the place. Gimp is not a 
Photoshop clone, it is an image editing application on its own right, 
with its own ways. You are going to spend a lot more time coding than 
Gimping. For what it's worth, you would  not be the first to try, and 
there used to be a a Gimp fork called GimpShop (don't use the version 
you'll find of the web, since the project has been hijacked and is now 
mostly a vector for malware).

Maybe you should stick to Photoshop. Or maybe you should use Gimp which 
I have heard is somewhat easier to script, so maybe you can handle your 
500 layers in very different ways if you look at the problem from a Gimp 
perspective.