Free Sharpening Scripts for PhotoShop CS/CS2

[gmitchel]

I have posted a free set of three JavaScripts written for Photoshop CS and Photoshop CS2. The scripts will run on both the Windows and Mac platforms.

The scripts are based on a three-pass sharpening philosophy, although they can also be used for single-pass or two-pass sharpening.

I engineered the scripts to include the best features of commercial sharpening tools, like Focal Blade and Photokit Sharpener. Features include:

• Sharpen with Smart Filter or USM sharpening.
• Sharpen edges and surfaces separately (or either alone).
• Sharpen light and dark pixels separately.
• Generate masks using luminosity or enhanced color boundaries.
• Brush in creative sharpening/blurring.
• Haze Reduction.
• Blend If settings protect highlights and shadows.
• Select from presets or take control over settings.
• All sharpening is done non-destructively using layers.
• User-configured default settings
• Optionally suppress the UI and run the scripts in batch mode
without any user intervention.

The .ZIP file also includes a 24-page, full color .PDF manual.

http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/TLRProfessionalSharpeningToolkit.htm

The download is 3.7 MB. My site has limited bandwith, so please try again if you experience connection delays. This is likely to be a popular download.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Mitch

--------------------
http://thelightsright.com
http://thelightsrightstudio.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLightsRight/


Edited by Scottes 10/21/05 to correct link

[CyberDyneSystems]

I've just been experimenting with this...

Oh man!
Mitch your a twisted genius!

I can not belive the amount of loving time and effort that has to have gone into this project.. and your giving it away free!

this is the most serious "script" I have ever seen in action.. very complex.. and the results?
Fantastic!

Thanks Mitch! Awesome piece of work. :) :) :) :)

[the.digital.guy]

I am going to give it a try!!!
THANKS for all your HARD WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gmitchel]

I can not belive the amount of loving time and effort that has to have gone into this project.. and your giving it away free!

It is nice that you do appreciate just how much time went into this project.

It is not just the code per se that took time. The settings for different combinations of digital capture devices and mask widths took a long time for the capture sharpener. Same with the various combinations of output devices and output resolution; they also took a long time.

The manual also took a few evenings.

I figure, between the coding and then determining the initial values for the various sharpeners and then composing the user manual, I've given the digital photography community about 150 hours of my time on this project. ;)

It is nice when people do appreciate how much thought and effort went into these scripts.

It is important to recognize I did not do all of the work alone. I had lots of suggestions, lots of sample images forwarded to me, and lots of folks alpha testing and beta testing these scripts.

It's rather like watching a performer on stage. Even a solo performance requires lots of help behind the scenes. I'm grateful for all the help I received on this project.

I hope you find the scripts useful in your digital photography!

Cheers,

Mitch

[rgravel]

Mitch,

Thanks for your work.

Will it work using Elements 3 ?

I wonder if I should just give it a try :confused:

Robert

[tommykjensen]

I will download this and try when I have setup my new photo pc.

Thanks for sharing.

[gmitchel]

Mitch,

Thanks for your work.

Will it work using Elements 3 ?

I wonder if I should just give it a try :confused:

Robert

Unfortunately, Elements 3 does not support scripting. The scripts also use other features unavailable with Elements 3.

The scripts are designed to run with Photoshop CS/CS2 only. Sorry. ;)

Cheers,

Mitch

[tim]

I've used this before, it's good, but the problem was you need a reasonable amount of knowledge or experience to use it. Hopefully the documentation will help with this, I read it last time and it didn't really help me much, personally. Thanks for the effort Mitch :)

[Bob_A]

Hi Mitch,

I really appreciate all of your effort with this project. I am having a problem though with the output script, and am getting the following error message (after selecting continuous tone and 300 dpi):

[robertwgross]

Yes, I got Javascript errors like that also.

---Bob Gross---

[gmitchel]

Bob & Robert:

The JavaScript error is the result of not closing the layer set.

When you run the capture sharpener or creative sharpener, the layer set is left open (i.e., you can see the layers in the layer set). There is no way to close this by a script. There is no keyboard shortcut to do, no method on the layer set object, and the script listener ignores it. So you have to do it manually.

(BTW, the same is true for automation objects. That's why Photokit Sharpener also leaves the layer set open.)

If you close the layer set, all will work fine. ;)

Cheers,

Mitch

[toddb]

I've only used it for 10 minutes and I did a little test on one of my photos that really could use some sharpening. WOW! I can't believe I was always using just USM sharpening before. I'm still in awe at this first photo I sharpened using your tool using smart sharpen. After using this I will be reading through your tutorial to see how this works. Great work!

[Bob_A]

Bob & Robert:

The JavaScript error is the result of not closing the layer set.

When you run the capture sharpener or creative sharpener, the layer set is left open (i.e., you can see the layers in the layer set). There is no way to close this by a script. There is no keyboard shortcut to do, no method on the layer set object, and the script listener ignores it. So you have to do it manually.

(BTW, the same is true for automation objects. That's why Photokit Sharpener also leaves the layer set open.)

If you close the layer set, all will work fine. ;)

Cheers,

Mitch

Thanks Mitch,

I'll try it out!

[gmitchel]

I just posted version 1.0f to my site.

It is not possible to close the layer sets generated by the scripts
automatically.

People sometimes forget and get an error and the new layer set stuck
in a previous layer set. Not what they want.

I could have designed the script to make the new layer set on top of
the Layer palette, but that would remove the ability to make an
intermediate layer active and create a new layer right above it.

So, I added code to check and see if the active layer set is inside
a layer set *OR* or it is a layer set. Either event will trigger a
warning to close the action set before proceeding and cause the
script to exit at that point.

This is a more user friendly solution. :)

http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/DigitalDarkroom/PhotoshopTools/TLRProfessionalSharpeningToolkit.htm

Cheers,

Mitch


--
http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com
http://www.thelightsright.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLightsRight/

[andygrif]

Mitch, I'm going to download this (and a couple of your other scripts) this weekend. I'd also like to add to thanks for your great contribution to the community (in the real sense of the word).

You're a gent amongst gents!

[tumb]

Thank you.

[Bob_A]

I just posted version 1.0f to my site.

It is not possible to close the layer sets generated by the scripts
automatically.

/ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLightsRight/)

Thanks for adding the message Mitch. The scripts work really well, and as always it pays to actually read the documentation before using something new :lol:

[EricKonieczny]

Well I have downloaded the actions have run them over a few different type of images.


I guess I need to read up on sharpening more and the terms, but I will ask here .

When should you use the different options. There is 13 different options. I understand the 4 main groups : capture, Creative, output , serice, but how to differeniate between all of these.


Thanks for the Actions, I just want to get the most out of them. I guess I need it broken down in laymens terms.

[gmitchel]

Capture sharpening should be done shortly after digital capture. Most peeople do it after they load their image in PS from ACR or a third-party RAW converter.

You might want to apply noise reduction first. If you do, you might want to run the capture sharpener first with Masks Only checked. You can use the surface mask as a layer mask for noise reduction. When you finish with that, you can delete the channels to save space.

Capture sharpening should be just enough to remove sharpness lost during digital capture. Do not get carried away and sharpen the image for output at this stage or you invite sharpening artifacts later as you adjust tone and color.

With CS2, you have a choice -- USM or Smart Sharpen. Smart Sharpen will use just one layer, so it consumes fewer resources. With CS, you get USM. USM gives you more flexibility. You can adjust the light and dark contours separately for edges and also apply some sharpening to surface details.

Creative Sharpening is optional. I find most images benefit from Haze Reduction. It gives images a bit more "pop." Again, you can choose from USM and Smart Sharpen for CS2. CS offers onl.y USM. With creative sharpening/bluring, you paint in the effect. So it is an excellent way to apply sharpening to localized areas of an image. If you use low opacity/fill, the sharpening will build up gradually and blend in smoothly.

Output sharpening is the final round of sharpening. This is the round of sharpening where you want the image to look a bit over-sharpened if you are sending it to print.

With capture sharpening, you can choose from four mask widths. For most images, you just check the normal width and leave it at that. Portraits can benefit from wide. Images that are predominantly very fine details can benefit from a narrower mask.

Expert mode lets you take control over the sharpening settings.

Cheers,

Mitch

[toddb]

The doc you included with your scripts is a great touch, very helpful in explaining what is going on and when to use what.

I've always wondered how sharpening applies to images when they are going to be used for displaying to a Television Set (standard or High Dev)? I use an excellent program from Canopus called Imaginate2 that can use very high res images and you can zoom into a photo so the image my not be completely static. I was just wondering if there are standards in terms of sharpening applied to this situation such as it is with the many other output mediums you've talked about.

[Ron Wilson]

I tried these scripta and they did nothing. What am I doing wrong. It went thru tons of adjustments but the final image was the same.

[dwterry]

I've tried many sharpening tools and finally settled on PhotoKit. From what I've read, your scripts sound very similar. So I was wondering, what, in your opinion, separates your scripts from PhotoKit? (in what ways is it better or different)

I'm asking mainly because I've tried and thrown away so many that I'm a little leary of trying yet another. But your description here so far has been very interesting... I might even get lured in one more time. :-)

[Ron Wilson]

I tried these scripts. Quite a few adjustments but little or no change to my image. What am I doing wrong?

[toddb]

Ron, I think it depends on what script your using. If you are using the "creative" script, then it mask the entire sharpened layer and you basically paint in the spots you would like sharpened. If you are using the other scripts, perhaps the script is running on a layer that doesnt have anything to sharpen on. I can't remember if you have to have the background layer selected or not. Mitch could say for sure. I usually go into sharpening with a flattened image to conserve memory.

It's worth reading through the guide to better understand what this type of sharpening is doing to your image.

[gmitchel]

Ron:

Which version are you using? Version 1.0f is the latest.

Todd is correct. If you select the Creative Sharpener, there will be no evident effect until you "paint in" where on the layer mask you want the sharpening with the brush tool set to white as the foreground.

If you are using an earlier version and you forgot to close the layer set that the capture script generates, you can wind up with a mess if you subsequently run the creative sharpener or output sharpener. Version 1.0f will not run if the layer set is open and active. It cannot close it, but it will display a warning and exit.

Cheers,

Mitch

[gmitchel]

I've tried many sharpening tools and finally settled on PhotoKit. From what I've read, your scripts sound very similar. So I was wondering, what, in your opinion, separates your scripts from PhotoKit? (in what ways is it better or different)

I'm asking mainly because I've tried and thrown away so many that I'm a little leary of trying yet another. But your description here so far has been very interesting... I might even get lured in one more time. :-)

Important differences:

PK Sharpener costs $99.95. My scripts are free.

PK Sharpener provides only one method for capture sharpening and creative sharpening. USM for both. My scripts offer two. USM or Smart Sharpen.

PK Sharpener provides only luminosity edge mask sharpening for capture sharpening. My scripts offer both luminosity edge masks and enhanced edge masks that also include color boundaries.

My script set allows you to generate masks only. Helpful for noise reduction (use the surface mask) or to "roll your own" sharpening.

PK Sharpener offers you no control over the strength of the sharpening effect, except to adjust layer opacity. My scripts offer a choice of five presets.

My scripts allow you to apply surface sharpening. PK Sharpener does not.

My scripts allow you to customize the default values for the various features. PK Sharpener allows no customization.

My scripts will run without a UI, making them well-suited to be called by an action or another script for batch processing. PK Sharpener does not.

My scripts are open source. If you know JavaScript, you can customize everything. PK Sharpener uses compiled automation objects that are not open to modification.

You can see all of the settings used by my scripts. Great for learning or modifying. PK Sharpener's settings are a trade secret that Bruce Fraser has been unwilling to disclose.

My scripts have an Advanced mode that allows you to modify all of the relevant settings. PK Sharpener does not.

I've seen the customer service that Pixel Genius provides. I own a copy of PK Sharpener. I answer questions here and about a dozen other forums and my own Yahoo! Group. When bugs are discovered or new features are suggested, I try to take care of them promptly (I think I've had six updates in as many weeks). IOW, I think I provide better user support than Pixel Genius.

The only comparative advantage I can see, is that using compiled automation objects is faster than going through Photoshop's scripting engine. So PK Sharpener does typically run faster. It's hard to quantify, however, since my scripts do a lot more in some cases.

When it comes to sharpening results, depending on the settings you select, my testing shows that you will get results as sharp or sharper and with the same or fewer artifacts.

I spent weeks going blind comparing the results from my scripts, PK Sharpener, Focal Blade, and Nik! Sharpener on my own files, submitted files, and offset & dye sub test prints forwarded by alpha/beta testers.

I won't tell you that on every image you will see a significant difference with my scripts, PK Sharpener, Focal Blade, or Nik! Sharpener. On any particular image and depending on the settings you choose for each package, the results might vary.

Where you are likely to see a jaw dropping difference is between the results with any of thes tools and sharpening with something like USM without all the extra features these tools add.

Certainly, the price is right for a comparison! :) All you have to lose with my scripts is a little time testing them. They are free to all for the download. There's no string attached. You're downloading the full scripts. No demo or crippled copy.

Thanks for the question.

Cheers,

Mitch

[gmitchel]

I made a minor change to the output sharpener script.

You could get some color shifts with the output sharpener.

The capture and creative sharpeners use a luminosity blend for RGB
images. Experienced users know that USM should use luminosity blend or
fade to luminosity to limit color shifting during sharpening. My
experience is that you should do the same with Smart Sharpen.

Highpass filter sharpening, which is used by the output sharpening
script, uses a layer blend mode. Instead, what you can do is use
Desaturate on the layer to prevent color shifting. Version 1.0g does
just that.

Enjoy your digital photography!

Cheers,

Mitch

[CyberDyneSystems]

Mitch...

Do you mind if I, our anyone else recommends your free scripts on other forums,. and we provide links to TLRS?

(I assume you don't but like to ask first :) )

[gmitchel]

I welcome others pointing to the URLs for the scripts.

I want as many people as possible to know about the scripts and have the opportunity to use them.

Some people get testy when I point people to the URLs, claiming it is an effort drive people away from one site and to another (not my motivation). When you or someone else points to them, it's not an issue. ;)

I added a reference on Adobe's download site. I sent a copy of everything today to Jim Lewis at Acton Central, too. Matt Kloskowski is including them (and other actions from my site) on his forthcoming training DVD. More references helps spread the news.

The only site that houses a copy is Jim's Action Central site. Adobe points back to my site. The reason is the frequent updates. If I allow lots of people to redistribute, keeping the copies on the Web synchronized becomes difficult. ;)

I'm pleased you find the scripts worth recommending to others. :) Thanks for the courtesy of asking. :)

Cheers,

Mitch

[jfrancho]

Mitch,
Just want to say THANK YOU!!: http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/29641582-L.jpg

[gmitchel]

Mitch,
Just want to say THANK YOU!!: http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/29641582-L.jpg

You're welcome! :)

Nice, sharp image. Well done!

Cheers,

Mitch

[martook]

I just wanted to go with the flow here and say thank you! Amazing what you have done for the photo community, the amount of time you've put into this project... wow!

I saw that you credited Michael Reichmann on the site, I suppose you've shown him the script? You should ask him to do a comparison between your scripts and PK sharpener on his site, that would give a lot of credibility for those that don't dare to try it :)
I was halfway through an email to him, when I noticed you mentioned him on the site, so I gave up that idea... ;)

Once again, thanks a lot!

./martin

[gmitchel]

I just wanted to go with the flow here and say thank you! Amazing what you have done for the photo community, the amount of time you've put into this project... wow!

I saw that you credited Michael Reichmann on the site, I suppose you've shown him the script? You should ask him to do a comparison between your scripts and PK sharpener on his site, that would give a lot of credibility for those that don't dare to try it :)
I was halfway through an email to him, when I noticed you mentioned him on the site, so I gave up that idea... ;)

Once again, thanks a lot!

./martin

Feel free to write Michael.

I have a lot of respect for Michael. I think he is one of the best landscape and journalism photographers. :)

I have even contributed to his site. ;)

A message from somone else would be better received.

I am pleased that you find the scripts to be helpful! :)

Cheers,

Mitch

[condyk]

Thanks Mitch for all your hard work and for considering people enough to write a user guide. I know from experience what a mission this must have been, so credit to you. Very generous.

I will try it when I get a chance with some suitable shots and feedback any results ... tho' my needs are going to be fairly simple.

[RTMiller]

This is probably a dumb question but how do you "close the layer set"?

After running Capture sharpening, you need to close the layer before you can run Creative sharpening or you get the error. I have been using Layer/Flatten Layer. Is this right?

[jfrancho]

Click the down arrow to the left of the layerset name in the Layers panel.

[RTMiller]

Thanks. :o

[jfrancho]

Thanks. :oThis goofed me up a bunch of times too.

[gmitchel]

This goofed me up a bunch of times too.

OK. That's something I can take a screenshot of and include in the manual. ;)

I'll take care of it.

Cheers,

Mitch

[gmitchel]

This is probably a dumb question but how do you "close the layer set"?

After running Capture sharpening, you need to close the layer before you can run Creative sharpening or you get the error. I have been using Layer/Flatten Layer. Is this right?

Flattening will do it, but then you lose the opportunity to make adjustments later.

JFRANCHO explains the better option. Just click the little triangle icon to the left of the layer set name.

I'll add a screenshot to the manual.

Cheers,

Mitch

[jfrancho]

OK. That's something I can take a screenshot of and include in the manual. ;)

I'll take care of it.

Cheers,

MitchActually, I've been goofed up a lot longer than your scripts have been around...

[tumb]

Works very well! I downloaded it when this thread first came up, and just got back from a mountain trip. I d'loaded the newer version and tried it out on a few landscapes. My first impression is that it works better than any of my other scripts or actions. Thanks again.

[gmitchel]

Cool. There will be a version "h" release this weekend. When I added the call to Desaturate to the output sharpener, that step will fail in Grayscale. I need to add a conditional statement. Just a quick, minor fix.

Cheers,

Mitch

[gmitchel]

Done. Version 1.0h is posted.

Cheers,

Mitch

[gmitchel]

I received a request to add Masks Only to the defaults that can run without a UI. The person wanted to use the script just to create the masks, primarily to have a surface mask for Noise Ninja or Neat Image.

It was a reasonable request. You can find version 1.0i on the site.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Mitch

[mdclaros]

I do not have enough words to thank you for such magnificent work
Thanksa million
the scripts are great

[Noni]

I am going to download it and try it. I've not gotten the results I've wanted or expected from what I use right now (the default on on PS), so I'm going to give this a go. I'll post a before and after, if I can, once I've learned how to use it.

Thanks for this opportunity!!!

Best-
Noni

[Desertraptor]

Fantastic. :)

[toddb]

I use it more and more. In fact, I just batched last years best images. Hope Adobe fixes the Bridge issue with useing scripts.

This was the first image I tried it on. It was soft. The TLR sharpening totally saved this image. The standard USM just didn't do the trick. In fact, images that were in focus that I used the TLR sharpening scripts were awesome. Totally put new life in my aging 10D. Here is a 100% crop sample of capture sharpening. Even though I did let the Raw converter sharpen the normal amount too. But this was just to show how even the default settings made a big difference from the original and definitely better then the standard USM filter.

http://pws.cablespeed.com/~toddb/forumpost/Aug/TLR_sample.jpg

[ryno4youth]

Thanks so much.

[lostdoggy]

Works great, but haven't try the h version yet.

[martook]

Works great, but haven't try the h version yet.

Well, skip right to the i version instead... or wait another day and get the z version or whatever. Man, he's making new versions often.. *me like* :)

[toddb]

I notice Mitch's site has been updated and a new link is need to access the scripts. Very nice work on the site! These scripts are just fantastic. Now that I've been using them for a few months now, they are indispensable. I can not go back to normal sharpening, you've ruined me forever. :-)

http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/TLRProfessionalSharpeningToolkit.htm

[JohnnyG]

The download site doesn't seem to be there anymore!

[Scottes]

JohmmyG, click on the link in toddb's post right above yours. Glenn redesigned his site is all.

[JohnnyG]

JohmmyG, click on the link in toddb's post right above yours. Glenn redesigned his site is all.

I only looked at the first post on page 1 and tried it! After I posted I looked at the later posts and saw the updated one!

I'm sorry that I wasn't more careful!:oops:

[supplier]

Folks,

I'm sorry for this dumb question, but I cannot figure it out on my own. I like to run TLS output sharpening script in batch for many Tiffs meant to be printed via shutterfly.com (or similar). I have created actions for sharpening and conversion to JPEG. But I cannot run it in batch as on every file a script window pops-up and I need to choose output type selection. How to overcome this issue?

Thanks

[lostdoggy]

I don't know how to answer that question but if you post it as a new thread someone out there might be able to help you. As it is right now you are buried in an old thread.

[jfrancho]

Folks,

I'm sorry for this dumb question, but I cannot figure it out on my own. I like to run TLS output sharpening script in batch for many Tiffs meant to be printed via shutterfly.com (or similar). I have created actions for sharpening and conversion to JPEG. But I cannot run it in batch as on every file a script window pops-up and I need to choose output type selection. How to overcome this issue?

ThanksIn Windows, browse to: \Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS2\Presets\Scripts\.
Right click on TLR Creative Sharpening.js
Choose Edit.
Go down to this line:

// Run without user interface
var suppressUI = false;
Change the false to true.
Save and Close.
Be sure you restart Photoshop and Bridge.
Now it will run silently. You'll also note that all the presets can be changed to your liking just by setting the variables in the top declare section. The code is nicely commented, so you can tell what you're editing. Do not change the code in the methods - unless you really know Javascript. If you run into issues, email Mitch.

[tdaugharty]

Works great ... The source is written well and sharpens to a razors edge.

[benf64]

OK, i give....i have never used action scripts before and i cannot figure out how to access this script in Photoshop cs2...i installed the file here C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS2\Presets\Photoshop Actions...is this correct? Any help would be great...thanks

[jfrancho]

You can save the file wherever you want. You drag the .atn file into the Action Pallet. Or you can click on the little arrow in the Actions Pallet and choose Load...

For a script (.js) install to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS2\Presets\Scripts\ folder.

You do realize there are instructions for this on the site: http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/tools/ActionBasics.pdf and http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/tools/TLRProfessionalSharpeningToolkit.pdf

[benf64]

thanks for the help, i was aware of the one pdf but not the other...thanks!

[Buckeye1]

Ladies and Gentlemen, this thread is way too good to not have a "Thank You" for two years!!! Mitch, you generosity is very rare in this world indeed! Thank you and God bless!!

[cfcRebel]

I agree. I've been using the Sharpening Toolkit for a long time. A BIG Thank you to Mitch's hardwork and effort. And his new eBook is another great thing that i have my eyes on.

[ggt1_02]

Thanks Mitch, they are great. And thanks to Buckeye 1 for digging this one out.

[Buckeye1]

Unfortunately, some folks here got mad at Mitch for "helping" and he is no longer here in POTN ;-( He is still willing to answer questions though through his website.