Script Editing

Editing or Coding Custom Scripts

Script Files

ArtRage scripts are simple Unicode UTF16 text files which can be edited using Notepad, Notepad+++, TextEdit, or any similar program. For ArtRage to be able to read the script file, the file extension must be ‘.arscript’. You can manually rename the extension if you accidentally saved a script file as something else while editing. When saving a new file, make sure to save the type as ‘Unicode’ or ‘Unicode UTF-16’.

Refer to the Script Programmer’s Guide for help interpreting and writing script code. The guide assumes a basic knowledge of programming, using variables, declaring and calling functions.

Very Simple Script Editing

Any recorded script can be edited directly in a text editor to change or remove certain sections. See this page for a breakdown of a standard script.

To create a very simple script or find out what code is used to record a certain action, make a short test script and then open it in a text editor, or download a custom script and use it as a template.

The tool or menu name will always be in the script file, so use the text search options to find all relevant lines easily.

Use a code editing program such as Notepad++, Atom Editor, BBEdit, or similar, to edit scripts, as normal text editors may be very slow and difficult to work with.

Script Editing Resources

Third party resources for working with script files. These are for advanced users and may require additional script editing or programming knowledge.

Strip out all undo actions from a script
Script (Github project) | Forum post.

Strip out canvas movement (play back with a fixed fullscreen view):
Video Tutorial (YouTube) | Forum post.

Strip out references and tracing images:
Video Tutorial (YouTube) | Forum post.

Convert recorded scripts into stroke data for 3D programs
Final Script (Github) Development process (Github) | Video Tutorial (YouTube) | Forum post.

Use Filter Plug-ins for Advanced Operations

Scripts are ideal for simple actions and straightforward recordings, but more complicated processes are better suited to filter plugins. ArtRage 5 already includes some default filters, but ArtRage will support standard Photoshop plug-ins (the Ambient Design team wrote many of the KPT 5, 6 and KPT effects suites of filters for MetaCreations and Corel, as well as the Texture Anarchy suite of Photoshop filters for Digital Anarchy). Bear in mind that you will need to run ArtRage in 32bit mode to support older 32bit filters, and some Photoshop filters will use features not available in ArtRage.

For tutorials and resources for filter creation, visit www.filtermeister.com.