Chapter 10: Batching Basics

Introduction

The Power of DeBabelizer

Imagine taking all the images from a single project and automatically generating versions for print, the Web, and a CD-ROM. Wouldn't it be great if you could create a custom palette that would let you post super-compact graphics on the Web without distorting their colors? How about renaming every image in a folder or scaling hundreds of differently sized images to a set width-at the touch of a button? With DeBabelizer you can do all that, and more.

For quickly processing lots and lots of images, DeBabelizer can't be beat. It's indispensable for perfecting the colors of Web images. For all its powers, however, DeBabelizer isn't ideal for creating graphics. That's best left to Photoshop, Painter, Canvas, or a similar program. Instead, DeBabelizer's real strength is processing graphics with an amazing array of tools. In fact, it handles the drudge work of resizing, dithering, and saving images in various formats more ably than Photoshop because every step can be easily scripted. Sure, Photoshop has Actions but they pale next to DeBabelizer. For the best of all worlds, use DeBabelizer in tandem with your mainstay graphics program.

DeBabelizer's name, by the way, refers to the Babylonian city of Babel, whose residents reportedly lost their ability to understand each other as punishment for trying to build a great tower to heaven. DeBabelizer began life as a great translator between various graphics file formats, opening files that stumped other programs and resaving them in formats those programs could handle. Even now, it handles more than 90 file formats. With the spread of TIFFs, EPSs, GIFs, and JPEGs as semi-standards for still images, the graphics world now is less chaotic than it once was. But over the years, the DeBabelizer toolbox has grown far beyond its can opener origins. That's good and bad.

Consider the possibilities:

Create "hot" folders that instantly process any image dropped into them by applying editing actions you set up ahead of time. For details, see Batching Actions.

Produce the smallest possible GIF images by automatically reducing their colors, then precisely dithering the remaining colors for blazing Web performance. For details, see Modifying Palettes.

Extract all the graphics cited in an HTML file, create a palette tailored for the most used colors, and automatically apply the palette to the images. For details, see Batching Actions.

Create an animation from a group of still images or apply frame-by-frame effects to an existing animation. For details, see Handling Animation and Video Images.

Build conditional scripts that recognize various aspects of your images and respond appropriately. Then instantly save every step in the script for later use. For details, see Automating with Scripts.

Automatically convert graphics to colors that will look best on different computer platforms, including the Web, by using more than a dozen built-in palettes. For details, see Palette Basics.

Steep, but worth it

DeBabelizer is like a thousand blade Swiss Army knife: The tool you need is in there, somewhere. But finding the equivalent of the miniature saw isn't always easy. To put it kindly, DeBabelizer is not the friendliest program on the block. It's deep and deeper, crammed to the gills with nested dialog boxes (Figure i.1).

Exploring it can feel like going for a Sunday stroll and instead finding yourself camping overnight in the wilderness. It's no wonder that many DeBabelizer users only use a couple of its tools and never venture farther than that. That's where this book comes in: It lets you quickly find your way through DeBabelizer's somewhat intimidating interface to get straight to work. The learning curve can be steep, even maddening at times, but you'll find the effort rewarded by saving incredible amounts of time. (See How to use this book.)

Fig. i.1 DeBabelizer's penchant for dialog boxes inside dialog boxes can be intimidating. The payoff once you learn the program, however, is incredible time savings.

How to use this book

The key to this book, like all of Peachpit's Visual QuickStart Guides, is that word visual. As much as possible, I've used illustrations with succinct captions to explain DeBabelizer's major functions and options. Ideally, you should be able to quickly find what you need by scanning the page tabs, illustrations, and captions. Once you find a relevant topic, the text provides the essential details and tips.

Whether you plunge in or skip around, the choice is yours. Just don't overwhelm yourself with a learn-it-all-at once approach. Instead, focus on one tool and learn it well. DeBabelizer's Batch Save features, for example, will save you hours of work almost immediately. Where you start, of course, depends on the work you do. Begin with tools that perform tasks with which you're already familiar, then branch out from there.

This book covers DeBabelizer Pro 4.5 for Windows and DeBabelizer 3 for Macintosh. While the two versions often look quite different, especially when working with BatchLists and scripts, they function fairly similarly. The similarities and differences between the two versions are important and this book is formatted to highlight both. Menus or dialog boxes with slightly different names for each version show the Windows name first, then the Mac: for example, Insert Comments/Script Comments. When menus for both versions of the program appear in the same figure, the Windows version takes the top or left spot and the Mac version runs on the bottom or right. Windows-only text items and images are marked by a special square bullet, while Mac-only features are noted by a special round bullet (Figure i.2).

Fig. i.2 The icons for Windows-only items (left) and Mac-only items (right).

Updates and feedback

For software patches, updates, and examples of how companies are using DeBabelizer, drop by the web site of Equilibrium, DeBabelizer's maker.

As you use the book, feel free to send me your comments, suggestions on improving it, and stories of how you use DeBabelizer.

Not everything, but enough

DeBabelizer is such a deep, complex program that to cover every aspect of it would require 1,500 pages, so by necessity, this book focuses on DeBabelizer's most popular features. As a graphics sage might say, better to learn a hundred tools well than remain intimidated by a thousand. And, like the cover says, this book aims to get you up and running quickly.

So dig in. You'll quickly wonder how you ever worked without DeBabelizer.

Nolan Hester

The beauty of BatchLists

Batch processing, or batching, lets you quickly apply an action to multiple images. The batch action can be simple, such as renaming a group of files, or relatively complex, such as creating an animation from a series of still images. The basic approach, however, remains the same: you assemble a group of images and then apply an action to them. This chapter covers assembling images for a BatchList. Batching Actions on page 205 covers what you can do with a BatchList once you've assembled one.

The beauty of a DeBabelizer BatchLists is twofold. First, no matter what you do to the BatchList itself, your original files are left alone and, so, remain safe. Secondly, you can set the BatchList's order, which determines the order of actions applied to it, independently of where the files reside or how they're named.

While the BatchList can perform similar actions in DeBabelizer's Windows and Mac versions, the Mac BatchList window is more elaborate with a variety of icons and a preview window (Figure10.a).

Fig. 10.a While the BatchList can perform similar actions in DeBabelizer's Windows (left) and Mac (right) versions, the Mac window is more elaborate with a variety of icons and a preview window.

BatchList Window's Function and Action Icons
Icon	Batchlist functions
	Opens a new BatchList
	Saves BatchList (-click to Save As)
	Adds file to BatchList
	Adds a URL to BatchList
	Opens DeBabelizer Help
	Reverts BatchList to original listings
	Selects all BatchList items
	Deselects all BatchList items
	Sorts BatchList A-Z (click again to reverse sort)
	Checks for missing items (items moved since added to BatchList)
	Opens selected image (or double-click list items)
	Deletes item in BatchList
	Batchlist actions
	Starts batch Slideshow (click for dialog box)
	Starts batch Save (click for dialog box)
	Starts SuperPalette (click for dialog box)
	Starts batch catalog (click for dialog box)
	Starts batch thumbnails (click for dialog box)

Creating and opening BatchLists

You can create a new BatchList from scratch or by taking an existing BatchList, editing it, and then saving it under another name. The BatchList built from scratch will contain no files. If you've already compiled a lengthy BatchList of files and need to make only some minor changes to it, the renaming route will save you some time.

To create and save a BatchList

1.
Choose File > New > BatchList (Windows) or Window > BatchList (Mac) (Figure 10.1). You also can click in the File Commands toolbar (Windows) or the main toolbar (Mac).

2. A new BatchList window will appear with a generic name (Windows) or a name based on the date (Mac) (Figure 10.2). To give the BatchList a distinctive name, choose File > Save (Windows) or click on its name (Mac) (Figure 10.3).

3. Type a new name for your BatchList into the dialog box and click Save (Windows) or OK (Mac). The BatchList will appear with its new name (Figure 10.4).

Tips

To rename a BatchList at any time, choose File > Save As (Windows) or click on the BatchList name and the BatchList name dialog box reappears (Mac). Once you've typed in a new name, click Save (Windows) or OK (Mac).

To create a BatchList based on an existing BatchList, edit the existing BatchList and then give it a new name by choosing File > Save As (Windows) or clicking on the existing BatchList's name. Type in a new name, click Save (Windows) or OK (Mac) and the new BatchList is created.

Avoid cluttering your desktop with open images by passing your cursor over any BatchList item: You'll see a preview of the image, cutting down on the need to actually open a full-sized image.

Fig. 10.1 To create a BatchList, choose File > New > BatchList (Windows) or Window > BatchList (Mac).

Fig. 10.2 A new BatchList window appears with a generic name (Windows, left) or a name based on the date (Mac, right).

Fig. 10.3 To give a BatchList a distinctive name, choose File > Save (Windows, left) or click on its name (Mac, right).

Fig. 10.4 Once you save the new BatchList name, it appears in the title bar (Windows, top) or the BatchList window (Mac, bottom).

To create a BatchList from an animation or video
1.	Open the animation or video and use its frame range arrows to select which frames you want added to a BatchList (Figure 10.5).
2.	Choose Tools > Create BatchList (Figure 10.6). If the BatchList toolbar is active, you also can click .
3.	When the Save As dialog box appears, choose a destination, file format, and name for the new BatchList (Figure 10.7). DeBabelizer will automatically add "Frame 00" to the first frame's name and extend it for each subsequent frame (01, 02, etc.).
4.	Click Save and the animation will be used to generate a new BatchList (Figure 10.8).

Tip

Once you've converted an animation to a BatchList, you can apply any DeBabelizer action to individual frames (such as palette correction) and then generate a new animation from the BatchList. For details, see To create an animation on page 52.

Fig. 10.5 Before you create a BatchList from an animation or video, set the frame range using the arrows in the image's viewing window.

Fig. 10.6 To create a BatchList from an animation or video, choose Tools > Create BatchList.

Fig. 10.7 When the Save As dialog box appears, choose a destination, file format, and name for the new BatchList. DeBabelizer automatically adds "Frame 00" to the first frame's name and extends it for subsequent frames.

Fig. 10.8 By using an animation to generate a new BatchList, you can batch edit the frames and then save them as a new animation.

To open an existing BatchList
1.	Choose File > Open > BatchList (Windows) or select the BatchList you want from the BatchList window's pop-up menu (Mac) (images 10.9 and 10.10). If the File Commands toolbar is active, you also can click .
2.	On the Mac, the BatchList will open immediately. In Windows, the Open BatchList dialog box will appear, showing only BatchList-type (.dbb) files. Double-click on the BatchList you want or highlight it and click Open (Figure 10.11).

Fig. 10.9 To open an existing BatchList, Choose File > Open > BatchList.

Fig. 10.10 To open an existing BatchList, select the list you want from the BatchList window's pop-up menu.

Fig. 10.11 When the Open BatchList dialog box appears, double-click on the BatchList you want or highlight it and click Open.

Adding BatchList items

The ability to add and rearrange items within a BatchList - without actually moving the original image files - lies at the heart of the BatchList's power. There are several ways to add images to the BatchList: with a dialog box, an ActionArrow, or various click-and-drag methods. The click-and-drag approach is often quicker than using a dialog box (see Tips).

DeBabelizer also includes one very slick trick for Web workers: You can add Web images that are embedded within an HTML file to a BatchList. See page 198. This lets you quickly track down images on your Web site and then change them with BatchList actions.

It can take some getting used to, but remember: When you delete an image from a BatchList you do not delete the original image.

To add items to a BatchList

1.
Choose Batch > Add Files (Windows) or click in the BatchList Commands toolbar (Windows) or the BatchList window (Mac) (Figure 10.12).

2. When the Add Files to BatchList dialog box appears, navigate to the image(s) you want to add. Click on the desired image (-click to select multiple images) and then click Add to Batch (Windows) or BatchList+ (Mac) (images 10.13 and 10.14).

3. Once you're done selecting and adding images to the BatchList, click Done (Windows) or Cancel (Mac). On the Mac, you can add all the images in a folder to the BatchList by clicking All+. The selected images will appear in the BatchList. (The dialog box's filter and preview features work exactly as those in the Open dialog box. For details, see page 32.)

Tips

You can add images to the BatchList by clicking on their icons in any system-level window and dragging them into the BatchList window (Figure 10.15).

The click-and-drag approach also can be used to add image icons from a Windows Explorer window to the BatchList.

	To add any open image or frame, click on its ActionArrow and drag the arrow into the BatchList window (Figure 10.16).
	You can even drag items from one BatchList window to another and they will be copied into that BatchList (Figure 10.17). (To have more than one BatchList open at once, just repeat the steps in To open an existing BatchList on page 195.) This can be particularly handy if you have a subset of BatchList images to which you want to apply a BatchList action without affecting the other images.
	If you move an image out of its original folder after you add it to the BatchList, DeBabelizer won't be able to find and process it. To make sure all your images are in place, pass your cursor over the list. DeBabelizer will alert you about any missing images (Figure 10.18). You also can verify that all images are in place by clicking in the BatchList window. A dialog box will appear if any items cannot be found.

Fig. 10.12 To add items to a BatchList, Choose Batch > Add Files or click the Add File icon in the BatchList Commands toolbar (Windows, left) or the BatchList window (Mac, right).

Fig. 10.13 When the Add Files to BatchList dialog box appears, click on the desired image (-click to select multiple images) and then click Add to Batch.

Fig. 10.14 When the Add Files dialog box appears, click on the desired image (-click to select multiple images) and then click BatchList+.

Fig. 10.15 You can add images to the BatchList by dragging them from any system window into the BatchList window.

Fig. 10.16 To add any open image or frame, click the ActionArrow and drag it into the BatchList window.

Fig. 10.17 To copy items to another BatchList, click and drag them from the original BatchList window.

Fig. 10.18 If you move an image out of its original folder after adding it to the BatchList, DeBabelizer won't be able to find it. By passing your cursor over the list, you'll see an alert about missing images.

To add images to a BatchList from an HTML file
1.	Choose Batch > Add Files (Windows) or click in the BatchList Commands toolbar (Windows) or the BatchList window (Mac) (Figure 10.12).
2.	When the Add Files to BatchList dialog box appears, set the Files of type/Open File Type pop-up menu to All.
3.	Navigate to the desired folder, select the image(s) you want (s-click to select multiple images), and click Add to Batch (Windows) or BatchList+ (Mac) (images 10.13 and 10.14).
4.	Once you're done selecting and adding images to the BatchList, click Done (Windows) or Cancel (Mac). The HTML file will appear in the BatchList with its referenced images listed below its name. Once you've processed the images, you can replace the originals on the Web site or save them to a new location.

Tip

You also can add images to a BatchList by clicking and dragging an HTML file from a system-level window or from an Explorer window (Windows) (Figure 10.19).

Fig. 10.19 To build a BatchList from an HTML file, click and drag the file from a system-level or Explorer window.

To add images to a BatchList from a Web site
1.	Open a BatchList and click within the BatchList window. When the dialog box appears, type in the URL that you want to reach (Figure 10.20).
2.	Your Web browser will launch and connect to the Web site. When the globe-like icon for the site appears in the BatchList window, -click the icon. The BatchList window will list the URL for every image referenced by the HTML file (Figure 10.21).
3.	-click on an image's page-like icon and DeBabelizer will retrieve it and display its palette as well (Figure 10.22).

Tips

If you're retrieving Web images that use a variety of palettes, store each Web page's images in its own BatchList. You can then combine or merge the various palettes without generating a confusing mess of SuperPalettes. For more, see Modifying Palettes on page 127 and Using SuperPalettes on page 155.

Assuming you've created proper relative URLs, you also can use this method for batching HTML files and Web images stored locally on your hard drive. You can then use the BatchList to optimize any Web-bound images before you post them on the Web itself.

Fig. 10.20 To build a BatchList from a Web site's images, click the Add URL icon within the BatchList window. When the dialog box appears, type in the URL you want to reach.

Fig. 10.21 When the globe-like icon for a site appears in the BatchList window, -click it and you'll see the URL for every image referenced by the HTML file.

Fig. 10.22 -click on the image's page-like icon and DeBabelizer will retrieve the image and display its palette as well.

Rearranging, sorting, and grouping BatchList items

The order of the images in any BatchList determines the order in which they are processed, whether it's by a batch action or by a DeBabelizer script. Sorting gives you another tool for changing the order of BatchList items.

Grouping, a Windows-only feature, offers a convenient way to rearrange images within the BatchList by letting you quickly rearrange whole groups of images. Adding items to and deleting them from a group uses the same steps as working with regular BatchList items.

To rearrange items in a BatchList

With the BatchList open, click on any image (-click to select multiple images) and drag to where in the BatchList you want the image to appear (Figure 10.23). Use the gray line (Windows) or arrow (Mac) as a guide for positioning it in the order. Release the mouse and the items will shift to exactly where the line or arrow appears in the BatchList.

Tip

The click-and-drag method also can be used to rearrange groups within the BatchList (Figure 10.24).

Fig. 10.23 To rearrange BatchList items, click on any listing and drag it to a new spot in the BatchList.

Fig. 10.24 The click-and-drag method also can be used to rearrange groups within the BatchList.

To sort BatchList items
	With a BatchList open, right-click in the list and choose a sorting method from the pop- up menu (Windows) or click Sort-icon in the BatchList window (Mac) (Figure 10.25).

Tips

	If the BatchList Commands toolbar is active, click any of the sort icons: (name), (file type), (size), (date), (number), (frame). Clicking the icon again reverses the order.
	BatchList sorting can also be done with a menu command: Choose > Batch > Sort and pick from the submenu.

Fig. 10.25 To rearrange BatchList items, click on any listing and drag it to a new spot in the BatchList.

To create a BatchList group
1.	With a BatchList open, choose Batch > New Group (Figure 10.26). If the BatchList toolbar is active, you also can click .
2.	When the group appears in the BatchList, right-click on it, choose Rename from the pop-up menu, and type in a distinctive name (Figure 10.27).

To delete a BatchList group
	Select the group you want to delete and press or right-click on the group and choose Delete from the pop-up menu.

To delete items from a BatchList

	Select the image(s) within the BatchList you want to delete (-click for multiple images), then press (Windows) or click the BatchList window's (Mac). The images will be removed from the BatchList but the original images will remain in their original folder(s).

Tips

To delete everything in the active BatchList, choose Batch > Delete All. If the BatchList toolbar is active, you also can click .

You also can click on BatchList item(s) and drag them to the trash icon (Figure 10.28).

If you accidentally delete a BatchList item, click the BatchList window's (Mac).

Fig. 10.26 To create a BatchList group, choose Batch > New Group.

Fig. 10.27 To rename a group within a BatchList, right-click on it, choose Rename from the pop-up menu, and type in a new name.

Fig. 10.28 The click-and-drag method also can be used to delete items from the BatchList.

To delete only the group items
1.	Open the BatchList containing the group items you want to delete (Figure 10.29).
2.	Choose Batch > Delete All Items but Retain Groups (left, Figure 10.30). The items within each group are deleted while the group headings remain (right, Figure 10.30).

To delete only group headings
1.	Open the BatchList containing the group items you want to delete (Figure 10.29).
2.	Choose Batch > Delete All Groups but Retain Items (left, Figure 10.31). The group headings are deleted, not the items within the groups (right, Figure 10.31). If the BatchList toolbar is active, you also can click .

Fig. 10.29 To delete a group or the items within the group, first open the BatchList.

Fig. 10.30 Choose Batch > Delete All Items but Retain Groups (left) to delete only the items within each group (right).

Fig. 10.31 Choose Batch > Delete All Groups but Retain Items (left) to delete only the group headings.

Deleting BatchLists

As you accumulate BatchLists over time, you'll probably want to remove BatchLists you no longer need. The removal process is straightforward. Before you delete a BatchList on the Mac, however, you have the option of saving it as a part of a preferences file. You can use that same BatchList later by launching the saved preferences file. For more on saving and launching preferences files, see Setting DeBabelizer's Preferences on page 291.

To delete a BatchList

1.
Open the folder containing the BatchList (Windows) or click the pop-up menu within the BatchList window (Mac) and select the BatchList you want to delete.

2. Choose File > Delete (Windows) or click within the BatchList window. When the alert dialog box appears, make sure you've selected the correct BatchList and click Yes (Windows) or Delete (Mac) (images 12.32 and 12.33). The BatchList will be deleted.

Fig. 10.32 To delete an entire BatchList, choose File > Delete and when the alert dialog box appears, click Yes.

Fig. 10.33 To delete an entire BatchList, click

within the BatchList window and when the alert dialog box appears, click Delete.

To create and save a BatchList
1.	Choose File > New > BatchList (Windows) or Window > BatchList (Mac) (Figure 10.1). You also can click in the File Commands toolbar (Windows) or the main toolbar (Mac).
2.	A new BatchList window will appear with a generic name (Windows) or a name based on the date (Mac) (Figure 10.2). To give the BatchList a distinctive name, choose File > Save (Windows) or click on its name (Mac) (Figure 10.3).
3.	Type a new name for your BatchList into the dialog box and click Save (Windows) or OK (Mac). The BatchList will appear with its new name (Figure 10.4).

To add items to a BatchList
1.	Choose Batch > Add Files (Windows) or click in the BatchList Commands toolbar (Windows) or the BatchList window (Mac) (Figure 10.12).
2.	When the Add Files to BatchList dialog box appears, navigate to the image(s) you want to add. Click on the desired image (-click to select multiple images) and then click Add to Batch (Windows) or BatchList+ (Mac) (images 10.13 and 10.14).
3.	Once you're done selecting and adding images to the BatchList, click Done (Windows) or Cancel (Mac). On the Mac, you can add all the images in a folder to the BatchList by clicking All+. The selected images will appear in the BatchList. (The dialog box's filter and preview features work exactly as those in the Open dialog box. For details, see page 32.)

To rearrange items in a BatchList
	With the BatchList open, click on any image (-click to select multiple images) and drag to where in the BatchList you want the image to appear (Figure 10.23). Use the gray line (Windows) or arrow (Mac) as a guide for positioning it in the order. Release the mouse and the items will shift to exactly where the line or arrow appears in the BatchList.

To delete a BatchList
1.	Open the folder containing the BatchList (Windows) or click the pop-up menu within the BatchList window (Mac) and select the BatchList you want to delete.
2.	Choose File > Delete (Windows) or click within the BatchList window. When the alert dialog box appears, make sure you've selected the correct BatchList and click Yes (Windows) or Delete (Mac) (images 12.32 and 12.33). The BatchList will be deleted.