Tk-multi-loader2 - any way to get thumbnails from linked entity, rather than published file entity?

#1

Hi there,

I’m looking to use Shotgun Load as a tool for our set assembly artists to quickly pull in set dressing elements. However, out of the box, the loader app shows the thumbnail for each published file entity listed for each asset/shot - and oftentimes, our artists are a bit slack about taking a screenshot in the publish tool.

Ideal behaviour for me would be to have the thumbnail from the entity that is linked to the published file, e.g. if it’s a set dressing asset, could it be possible to get the latest thumbnail from the asset entity (e.g. a turntable or other still render, possibly from an uploaded Version)?

I’m not really interested in forking the loader app, unfortunately, so if this is the only option, I can work around it.

Thanks for your help!

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#2

Hey Rob

I’m not sure, without trying it my self, but you might be able to make use of the filter_publishes.py hook.

The hook provides you with a list of publishes, and you can filter down the list using custom logic. But you could also change the image field’s value on each publish dictionary to point at a different URL, and that might work?

Also, a different approach entirely would be to add a validation check to the publisher, so they can’t publish without a thumbnail, but you might end up suffering the wrath of your artists then :wink: .

Cheers
Phil

#3

Hi Philip,

Thanks for the quick reply! That’s an interesting approach, I didn’t know about the filter_publishes hook. I’ll give that a whirl when I get a few minutes and see if it’s something that can be done. Do you think just switching out the URL might be enough, or would I have to download the thumbnail?

As regards enforcing thumbnails at publish time - it’s low priority on my to-do list, but I’ll gladly have fights with artists about it!! I think it’s essential!

Thanks again,
Rob

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#4

I just mocked up a rather crude test here, and this worked:

        for apub in publishes:
            apub["sg_publish"]["image"] = "https://sg-media-ireland.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/72477b394a...full URL redacted"
        return publishes

So looks like you should be able to just pass a URL with out downloading it.

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#5

I love that, thanks Philip.

1 Like