PhotoRobot Macros Configuration and Functionality Guide

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The following user guide describes the configuration and functionality of Macros in the PhotoRobot Controls App (“CAPP”). Macros are a highly powerful automation tool designed to streamline even the most complex capture workflows across single or multiple folders (spins, stills, etc.). Far beyond executing basic commands, Macros allow you to fully automate your studio production. 

For example, you can program a sequence to pause so you can physically turn an object upside down and capture its other hemisphere into a separate folder. This is an essential feature for photographing the bottom of items on any machine which does not photograph from below (unlike the PhotoRobot Frame 3D turntable). It is then possible to automatically extract specific frames from a spin and copy them into a static image gallery, completely eliminating the need to photograph the same angles twice.

Whether you need to run automated image edits, apply workspaces and presets, or trigger actions via barcodes and tags, Macros offer endless possibilities to drastically speed up your photography process.

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1 - How to View and Customize PhotoRobot Macros

To view a Macro or customize its basic settings (name, barcode, tag, notes), open Settings in CAPP, and click Macros in the side-bar menu options:

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• Use Advanced search at the top of the list of macros to find a macro by name, or individually select macros by clicking a macro name from the list.

‍Note: Selecting a macro displays the macro with its commands in read-only. However, users can configure macro name, barcode, tag, or notes here:

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• If customizing any fields, click Save in the bottom-right part of the Macro dialogue to confirm user settings.

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2 - How to Create a New Macro

To create a new macro, create a new item or open any existing item in the local version of CAPP.

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Within the item, the button to access Macros is in the bottom-right part of the capture mode interface. Access macro settings by clicking the Macros button and New macro:

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When creating a new macro, a pop-up box will open to define the macro by name and commands:

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Click the field at the top of the macro dialog to set its name, and tap + Add to configure macro commands:

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• Configure Change folder to run commands on an existing folder, for example on a spin or stills folder.

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• Set Run sequence to run a sequence, for example: only on a spin folder, or to specify which folder the sequence should run in (stills only, spin only, etc):

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• Use Copy images to specify source and destination folders of specific swing or turn angles to copy:

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For example, a macro can instruct the system to capture a 360 spin, and copy two frames from the spin folder into a separate stills folder.

In this case, macro commands would be Run sequence (1) on the spin folder, Copy images (2) from the spin folder to a stills folder, and Copy specific swing and turn angles (3) into the stills folder:

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Often, a macro will also include one or more Presets.

• Load preset will assign individual or multiple Presets to the new macro. 
• Select Presets by clicking on the empty Preset field:

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After assigning all commands, save the new macro by clicking the file icon in the bottom-right part of the macro settings box:

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The macro is now stored in the system, and it can be loaded for any item in one of two ways.

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3 - How to Load an Existing Macro

To load a macro, open any item in CAPP, and tap the button for Macros at the bottom-right part of the capture mode interface:

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• The name of the previous macro in use will display to the left of the Macros button. Click the start button next to the macro’s name to load this macro. 
• If loading a different macro, use the Macros button on the right to select from all macros in the system:

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After selecting a macro, the Play button will run the capture process with all macro commands and presets assigned to it.

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If reshooting individual images and running the macro again, first select the frames to reshoot, and then click the button for the previous macro, or Load macro.

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• Double-check the macro commands, and, when satisfied, click Play to run the macro for only the selected images.
• Note: If running copy images for a second time, the macro will replace the previous copies in the folder with the new copies.

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