Released a portrait retouching plugin — some UXP lessons from the build

Photoshop UXP Plugin API
1

I released my first Photoshop UXP plugin last month, after about a year of
building. A few things I ran into that might save someone else time.

Opening a folder is not possible. I wanted a button that opens the export
folder in Explorer or Finder. It cannot be done. shell.openExternal does not
support the file scheme, and shell.openPath rejects any path without a file
extension — including with an empty extension listed in the manifest. Opening
the exported file works, after the user grants permission. I tested both
routes across two plugins before accepting it.

host must be an array. With host as an object the panel loads but stays
empty, with no error anywhere. Cost me an evening.

layerSectionExpanded is silently ignored when placed in the to object of
a batchPlay call rather than in the target reference chain. No warning, it just
does nothing.

Text layer creation reuses the selected text layer instead of creating a new
one. Fix: select a non-text layer before each creation call.

The plugin is a portrait retouching workflow — fourteen ordered steps plus eight
optional modules, all non-destructive. There is a free edition if anyone wants
to see how it is put together: velderflow.com

Happy to answer questions about any of the above.

2

Let’s start from the beginning… Opening a folder is definitely possible. I’ve implemented this several times myself. What does your code look like exactly?

Edit: The links from your site to Adobe Exchange result in 404 errors… haven’t they been approved by Adobe yet?

3

Happy to be wrong on this — I would like the folder to open.

Three routes tested, in Photoshop 27.10, with launchProcess permissions in place:

1. openExternal with a file URL

await shell.openExternal(“file:///E:/Users/aveld/Downloads/ExportTEMP”);

file scheme is not supported — also with “file” in schemes.

2. openPath on the folder

await shell.openPath(“E:\\Users\\aveld\\Downloads\\ExportTEMP”);

Extension “” is not accepted for the path — also with “” listed in extensions.

3. openPath on the exported file

await shell.openPath(“E:\\…\\ExportTEMP\\portrait-ONL.jpg”);

works, after the user grants permission. This is what I ship now.

Manifest:

“requiredPermissions”: {

“localFileSystem”: “fullAccess”,

“launchProcess”: {

"schemes": \["https"\],

"extensions": \[".jpg", ".jpeg", ".psd"\]

}

}

So: file opens, folder does not. If you have the folder itself opening, could you share the manifest permissions and the exact call? Windows or macOS also matters here — I have only tested on Windows.

4

I’m not at my work computer right now, so here are just the first two things I can think of that might be causing the error…

  1. I haven’t tested PS 27.10 yet, since we have enough work to do with 27.9.X… but I don’t think Adobe changed anything there. At least, I hope not, and I’ll test it.

  2. Add " " to the “Extensions” section in the manifest… I think that’s more likely where the “error” lies.

And yes, you have to pay attention to the path for Mac and Windows! :wink:

Edit: Open Finder folder window from button

5

Thanks Jan, that is a good catch — I tested “” (empty string), not " " (space). Subtle difference, and exactly the kind of thing UXP would care about.

I am away at the moment, but I will try it as soon as I am back at my machine and report here either way. If it works it saves me a feature I had already written off.

Good point on the paths too. I am using nativePath from the folder object, so that should handle both platforms — but I have only tested on Windows so far, so I will keep it in mind.

Will follow up.

6

“” So without a space is correct… Just checked it a moment ago. Did you reload or restart the plugin again with DevTools? Changes in manifest need a restart! I dont know if you know this?

7 
I created a test version for opening a folder and saving. See if it works for you.

ExternalFolder.ccx (10.7 KB)

8

Good question Jan — I did Unload → Load in UDT, but I did not restart Photoshop itself. That may well be the difference. I will retest with “” and a full Photoshop restart when I am back at my machine, and report here.

Thanks for checking it on your side, that is useful to know.

9

Thanks for putting that together — much appreciated Ancelmoa.

I think we may be talking about two different things though. Your plugin opens the UXP folder picker (fs.getFolder()) and creates a subfolder to save into, which is useful, but that part already works fine on my side.

What I am after is opening the folder in Windows Explorer / macOS Finder — the equivalent of “Reveal in Finder”, so the user can see the exported file sitting there. That would be shell.openPath() or shell.openExternal(). I noticed your require(“uxp”).shell line is commented out, so I do not think that path is exercised here.

One thing in your manifest did catch my eye:

Json

“requiredPermissions”: {

“localFileSystem”: “fullAccess”,

“launchProcess”: {}

}

An empty launchProcess object rather than explicit schemes and extensions. Since the plugin never calls shell, that does not tell us much on its own — but it is a variant I had not tried. I will test it alongside the empty-string extension Jan suggested when I am back at my machine, with a full Photoshop restart this time.

Also noted that your host is an object rather than an array and the plugin loads fine. Good to know — I had assumed the array form was required.

Will report back either way.