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Aperture Supports Custom Editing

The Aperture application performs professional post-production processing and maintenance of RAW, JPEG, and TIFF photo images—preserving the metadata and pixel integrity of the original image file throughout the post-production workflow.

Now Aperture 2.1 provides two sets of protocol definitions that third party developers can use to directly integrate custom image editing or expanded export capabilities into the application.

Custom Image Editing

The Aperture 2.1 SDK provides protocol definitions for creating an Edit plug-in that lets you make your image processing software directly available to Aperture users. In particular, an Edit plug-in can:

  • Display a custom interface
  • Request an editable versions of an image.
  • Add metadata to images. 
  • Manipulate image data for images in the Aperture library. 
  • Import result images back into the Aperture library

An installed Edit plug-in automatically appears in the Aperture Images menu. A user can select one or more images and apply virtually any type of specialized imaging operation to either TIFF or RAW images.

This new Aperture capability promises to provide users with access to an entire industry’s worth of imaging expertise without ever leaving Aperture. 

Expanded Export

Other protocols in the Aperture 2.1 SDK let you build Export plug-ins that can greatly expand a user's workflow. With an Export plug-in, an Aperture user can:

  • Submit individual or groups of images to stock agencies such as iStockphoto.
  • Store images online—on Photoshelter, for example—where they are accessible 24/7 regardless of location.
  • Market a wedding photography business to thousands of prospective clients on Pictage.com
  • Transfer images to Digital Fusion for high-end post-production work—scanning, retouching, printing.
  • Sell images directly through such online commercial services as PhotoShelter.

The Aperture Export plug-in protocols let your plug-in:

  • Control the visibility of the Aperture controls in the export window, such as Version or Master export, Export Presets, and File Naming Policy.
  • Display its own custom user interface within the Aperture export window.
  • Provide users with custom export presets.
  • Track the type of image (Master or Version) being exported.

The Aperture 2.1 SDK

The Aperture 2.1 SDK consists of two protocol definitions for both the Edit and Export plug-ins: one to implement and another to use to communicate with Aperture. As well, the SDK includes sample plug-ins and complete documentation. You can download it from the Apple Applications Downloads page.

For more information, you can join the Aperture-Dev mailing list, a public mailing list focused on developing plug-ins for Aperture.

 

Posted: 2008-04-21