Photoshop¶

The NIM Photoshop Connector allows users to manage file directly through the integrated file browser. Browsing by Jobs & Assets or Shows, Shots, and Tasks allows users to circumvent navigating the servers folder structure and use the flow of production to open and save files.

When using NIM’s project structure management, the connectors manage all file naming conventions using task-centric organization of basenames, tags, and versions.

For an in depth look at the NIM Photoshop Connector functionality, check out the video here:

NIM - Photoshop Connector from NIM Labs on Vimeo.

Additional NIM videos can be found here: https://nim-labs.com/videos

Installation¶

The following procedures describes how to install the integrated Photoshop NIM browser. The connector adds a NIM extension available within the Photoshop / Window / Extension menu for file management. Once loaded a new NIM menu will be in the Window Panel. The script and the following installation procedures have been tested with Photoshop CC 2015.0.1 and later.

The NIM Connector folder structure is as follows:

nim             <-- NIM_CONNECTOR_ROOT
    css
    img
    nim-core
    plugins

In the following examples [NIM_CONNECTOR_ROOT] is the path to the top level NIM folder.

Replace all instances of [NIM_CONNECTOR_ROOT] with the actual path to the folder.

Windows¶

Double click the [NIM_CONNECTOR_ROOT]/plugins/Photoshop/install/nim-photoshop-win-install.bat file to install the NIM Photoshop connector.

The next time Photoshop is started, a NIM option will appear in the Window / Extension menu.

Note

When using Windows 10, the install may need to be run manually in an elevated powershell to work. We addtionally have seen situations where due to permission the install files need to be copied local before running. Once installed, the local files can be removed.

OSX¶

Double click the [NIM_CONNECTOR_ROOT]/plugins/Photoshop/install/nim-photoshop-mac-install.command file to install the NIM Photoshop connector.

The next time Photoshop is started, a NIM option will appear in the Window / Extension menu.

Setting Preferences¶

If you have already installed and launched other NIM Connectors your connection preferences will already be saved in the nim.prefs file.

The NIM preferences are in the following locations:

Windows:	drive:/Users/[USERNAME]/.nim
OSX:	/Users/[USERNAME]/.nim
Linux:	/home/[USERNAME]/.nim

If this is the first time accessing a NIM Connector, when you select a NIM menu option a dialog box will appear to enter the scripts path and the address of the NIM API.

Enter the NIM Scripts path as the full path to the NIM Connector folder [NIM_CONNECTOR_ROOT].

Enter the API URL as follows:

http://[hostname]/nimAPI.php

where [hostname] is the address you have assigned to the NIM server.

API Keys¶

NIM API keys are an optional security feature that restricts API access with time limited per user keys. Requiring API keys restricts all API access to only those users with an API key.

If Require API Keys is enabled in ADMIN/Security - Options, users will be presented with a dialog box the first time they attempt to use a NIM Connector. API keys are unique to each user. Enter the NIM API key provided to you by your NIM administrator. For more information on enabling NIM API Keys please refer to the API Keys section of the documentation. For information on creating user API keys please refer to the Users Grid section of the Administration documentation.

NIM Menu¶

The NIM menu is accessed through the Photoshop / Window / Extension menu. An entry will be labeled NIM. Clicking on this will load the NIM panel. This panel can be docked similar to any other window in the Photoshop UI.

Open / Import¶

Use OPEN or IMPORT to load an existing NIM version or publish.

NIM will automatically handle path translations for files saved using different operating systems.

Path translation settings are defined in the Server Administration section of NIM

The following steps outline the workflow to open a file:

Job:
- Files are loaded by first selecting the job from a list of jobs the user is assigned to.
Assets / Show Tab:
- Assets or Shows/Shots are accessed by selecting the appropriate type from the tabs.
Asset & Shots:
- In Assets, a list of assets on the selected job are available.
  
  Select the asset from the Asset dropdown
- In Shows/Shots, two dropdowns are available.
  
  Select the show on the job from the Show dropdown.
  
  After selecting a show, the available shots will be loaded into the Shot dropdown.
  
  Select the desired shot from the Shot dropdown.
Filter:
- Once the Asset or Shot is selected, the files may be filtered by:
- Published - Displays only published files
- Work - Displays all working versions
Task:
- Tasks show all tasks that have been made available to the current application.
  This is defined in the Task Types Administrative section of NIM
- If Published or Work is selected, select the Task Type to load the corresponding basenames.
Basenames:
- The available basenames for the selected task appear in the basename list.
- Select the desired basename from the list
- If loading an IMPORT and the Published filter is selected click the IMPORT button to load the published basename.
- If using the OPEN dialog and the Published filter is selected, selected a basename will display the list of published versions.
Versions:
- If the Work filter is selected, choosing a basename will load all working versions in the versions list.
- The version list displays the version file name as well as the version comment.
- Select the working version from the Version list.
- The version details will be displayed below including:
  
  Path - the full path to the file
  
  User - the user who saved the version
  
  Date - the date the version was logged
  
  Comment - the version comment
- Click the OPEN or IMPORT button to load the working version.

Save As¶

Use SAVE AS to:

Start a new basename
Save a file into an existing basename
If saving into an existing basename you will be prompted to either:
- Save the file into the existing basename as the latest version.
- Start a new basename by adding a tag.

Follow these steps to save a file:

Job:
- Files are loaded by first selecting the job from a list of jobs the user is assigned to.
Server:
- Select the project server to save the file to.
  The project servers are defined in the NIM job under Production / Config
Assets / Show Tab:
- Assets or Shows/Shots are accessed by selecting the appropriate type from the tabs.
Asset & Shots:
- In Assets, a list of assets on the selected job are available.
  
  Select the asset from the Asset dropdown
- In Shows/Shots, two dropdowns are available.
  
  Select the show on the job from the Show dropdown.
  
  After selecting a show, the available shots will be loaded into the Shot dropdown.
  
  Select the desired shot from the Shot dropdown.
Task:
- Tasks show all tasks that have been made available to the current application. This is defined in the Task Types Administrative section of NIM
- Select the Task type from the Task dropdown.
Basenames:
- A list of available basenames are displayed.
- To save into an existing basename:
  
  Select the basename from the basename list
  
  Enter a comment in the Comment field ( 8 )
  
  Click SAVE AS
  
  The filename will be named automatically and versioned up in the current basename.
  
  The version information will be logged into NIM on the corresponding Asset or Shot including:
  
  Filename
  
  File Path
  
  Owner
  
  Date
  
  Version
  
  Note
- To create a new basename:
  
  Enter a Tag ( 7 ) to append to the basename ( OPTIONAL )
  
  Enter a comment in the Comment field ( 8 )
  
  Click SAVE AS
  
  A new folder with the Task Folder name will be created under the NIM ASSET_ROOT or SHOT_ROOT as appropriate
  Task Folder names are defined in the Task Types Administrative section of NIM
  
  A new folder will be created for the basename under the Task Folder with the basename as the name
  
  All versions of this basename will be saved to the basename folder
  
  The file will be named according to the following convention
  
  File naming is defined as:
  
  Asset: assetname_taskShortName_version
  
  Shot: shotname_taskShortName_version
  
  Adding a tag to a basename will append the tag in the following convention:
  
  Asset: assetname_taskShortName_tag_version
  
  Shot: shotname_taskShortName_tag_version
  
  The version information will be logged into NIM on the corresponding Asset or Shot including:
  
  Filename
  
  File Path
  
  Owner
  
  Date
  
  Version
  
  Note
Optionally choose whether or not to export additional elements
Click the Save As button to save the file

Version Up¶

To version up a file that is already part of a NIM version stream, choose VERSION UP from the NIM menu.
A dialog box will appear with an entry to add a note.

Follow these steps to version up a file:

Enter the comment that will be saved with the version
Select the file type
Optionally choose whether or not to export additional elements
Click the Version Up button to save the file
- The file will be saved to the appropriate location.
- The filename will be automatically versioned up.
- The version information will be logged into NIM on the corresponding Asset or Shot including:
  
  Filename
  
  File Path
  
  Owner
  
  Date
  
  Version
  
  Note

Publish¶

Publishing a version saves the working file, creates a published file, and generates a versionless version of the basename version stream:

Follow these steps to publish a file:

Note

To publish a file you must be in an existing version stream

Enter the comment that will be saved with the version and published files
Select the file type
Optionally choose whether or not to export additional elements
Click Publish:
- First this will save the current working version as a new version
- A new file with a _PUB tag appended to the name will be saved and flagged as the current published file.
  
  These _PUB “published” files are not considered a “working” file and filtered out of the version stream when loading working files
  
  Creating a separate publish file aids in the prevention of modifying a publish by accident
- A “versionless” version of the basename will be linked at the root level of the Task folder.
  
  eg. CAR_TEX_v01.psd will be linked as CAR_TEX.psd

When a published file is saved the _PUB file is the currently loaded file. NIM will ask you if you wish to revert the scene to the current working version.

Export Elements¶

The NIM Photoshop connector gives you the option to save additional export elements with each save option including Save As, Version Up, and Publish.

Exported elements are logged as elements on the associated asset or shot and saved with a e01 tag after version number, where 01 in this example is the number of the element.

ie. CAR_TEX_wheel_v04_e01.png

From the Save As, Version Up, or Publish windows you can select when to export additional elements.

The options are:

Never

Always

Only on Publish

_images/nim_connector_ps_version_elements_01.png

To add an Export Element, click the Export Elements tab, select the file type you wish to export from the dropdown and click the Add Element button. You can add multiple exports by selecting another file type and clicking the Add Element button.

_images/nim_connector_ps_version_elements_02.png

To modify the element settings select the item you wish to adjust in the list and then click the Edit Element button.

In the edit dialog choose the NIM element type to associate with this element.

In addition to the file format settings you can specify optional resolution (Full, 1/2, and 1/4 resolution) as well as bit depth options.