Blinkie Finisher

  Script Summary:

The purpose of this script is to "finish up" a blinkie for the user. It does NOT generate a blinkie, but it will help you to finalize a blinkie after you've added a tube, some text, or a background image.

Before you use this script, you must have a multiple-layer blinkie open in your workspace, to which you have added another layer for text, a graphic, or merely a background for the blinkie. The new layer can be either the topmost layer in the Layers palette, or it can be on the bottom, and it can be either a raster or a vector layer.

In case you don't have an unfinished blinkie available, there's one in the ZIP file you can practice on. The sample blinkie is called $sample_blinkie.psp, and you can find it in the folder where you installed this Quick Guide. The sample blinkie has 3 blinkie layers; you'll have to add the text and/or graphic.

Before executing this script, your Layers palette should resemble this:

The bottom three layers are the blinkie layers, and the TOP layer contains the text and/or tube for the blinkie. At this point, your blinkie might look like this:

The layer could also be below the blinkie layers, as in this example:

Here, the top three layers are the blinkie layers, with a tube added to the BOTTOM layer. Here's what it might look like:

This is where the BlinkieFinisher script comes in. It will take the image with the 4 layers and combine them properly so that you will once again have the 3 layers you need to bring into Animation Shop.

The BlinkieFinisher script will first ask you whether your added layer is at the TOP - it needs this information to properly combine the layers. Be ready to respond to this question at the start of the BlinkieFinisher script.

  Installation Instructions:

Place the script in your Scripts-Restricted folder, or run the script from this Quick Guide (see Running the Script below).

  Plugin Settings:

N/A

  Running the Script:

To run this script, select the ss-BlinkieFinisher-03 script in the scripts list and press play.
Run Script for me.

  Change History:

• 00 - original version
• 01 - added code so script works on blinkie images having 2, 3, or 4 layers (102903)
• 02 - revised script so it works on blinkie images with any number of layers; added layer can be either raster or vector (092104)
• 03 - revised script so that layers retain their opacity (030505)
• -- - added a "TopOnly" version of the script to the ZIP file - see further info below (101205)

Notes and Tips:
	You can actually use this script multiple times, for each item you want to add to the blinkie. For instance, you might want to add text as a top layer, and then a tube behind the blinkie as the bottom layer. Just do one part at a time. Add the text, and run the script. Then add the tube, and run the script. In the end, if you follow the directions carefully, you'll have a blinkie ready to be saved and opened in Animation Shop.
	Remember, you must have ONLY 1 extra layer when you run this script. If you use several layers to add a tube and text to the blinkie, merge those layers before invoking the BlinkieFinisher.
	For taggers using the ss-MultipleTags script, call the ss-BlinkieFinisher-TopOnly script at the end of your Format script to place your formatted text on all layers. This can be done as follows: # RunSelectedScript App.Do( Environment, 'RunSelectedScript', {        'ScriptName': u'ss-BlinkieFinisher-03TopOnly',        'GeneralSettings': {              'ExecutionMode': App.Constants.ExecutionMode.Default,              'AutoActionMode': App.Constants.AutoActionMode.Match               }        })