GIMP Bible

Chapter 18. Batch Processing with Automating Filters

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Processing multiple images all at once

• Applying a pre-assigned sequence of filters

• Filtering all of the layers in a single image

Whether you're a photographer, a filmmaker, an animator, or even a web designer, chances are good that you're going to run into situations where you need to run the same set of operations on a whole batch of images. You may want to perform standardized color correction on a series of photos of a single location. Or you may want to take a folder of images and quickly generate thumbnail previews of each one. Or perhaps you have a sequence of images from an animation and want to do a gradual blur-out effect. These are examples of batch processing and GIMP allows you to perform these kinds of actions in a few different ways. This chapter covers the methods that are available through the Filters menu. The other way to get this sort of automation is by way of scripting. That, however, is covered in Chapter 22.

Something to note, though, is that the features covered in this chapter aren't shipped with the default installation of GIMP. They're provided by plug-ins, or programmed extensions to GIMP. Chapter 21 covers plug-ins in a more thorough manner, including where to find plug-ins and how to install them. As I go through this chapter, I'll indicate which plug-in provides the feature I'm covering. From there, you can either track them down online or download them directly from this book's companion ...