Adobe CS5 Server InDesign Server Scripting Guide

ADOBE

®

INDESIGN

®

CS5 SERVER

ADOBE INDESIGN CS5 SERVER

SCRIPTING GUIDE

©

2010 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Adobe® InDesign® CS5 Server Scripting Guide

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Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Intended audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

For more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

InDesign online scripting resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

What you need to script InDesign Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Other JavaScript development options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

InDesign CS5 and InDesign Server CS5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Active document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Active script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Active windows and spreads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Dialogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Copy and paste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Your first InDesign Server script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Adding features to “Hello World” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

A simple script runner script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Constructing a document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Setting up measurement units and master spread margins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Adding a baseline grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

3

Contents

4

Adding master page items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Adding master text frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Overriding master page items and adding text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Adding and applying a paragraph style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Placing a text file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Placing a graphic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Converting an InDesign script to InDesign Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Adobe InDesign CS5 Server Scripting Guide

Introduction

Adobe® InDesign® CS5 Server is a powerful addition to your Adobe InDesign CS5 tool set. In addition to the high quality typesetting, page-layout, color, and output features of InDesign, InDesign Server provides extra capabilities for enterprise-wide document processing.

This document gives important background information for creating scripts for InDesign Server. It provides simple examples of common scripting operations.

N

OTE

: We strongly recommend that you develop InDesign Server scripts using InDesign CS5.

Intended audience

This document is for software developers who want to extend the capabilities of Adobe InDesign CS5 by writing plug-ins or by writing applications that integrate InDesign with a publication workflow. This document assumes that:

X

You are a programmer with a working understanding of one of the supported scripting languages:

AppleScript, JavaScript, or Visual Basic.

X

You have a basic understanding of the InDesign scripting object model.

X

You have a basic understanding of TCP/IP-based, client-server environments.

X

You are familiar with SOAP and know how to use it.

X

You are familiar with your system’s and your network server’s port configurations and know how to configure them.

X

You or your team are experienced at building and supporting customer solutions.

For more information

Introduction to Adobe InDesign CS5 Server provides basic information about running InDesign Server, including installation instructions and system requirements. It includes a simple demonstration of

InDesign Server’s capabilities.

To learn scripting terminology and to understand the InDesign object model, read "Scripting and the

InDesign object model" in the Adobe InDesign CS5 Scripting Tutorial.

Adobe InDesign CS5 Scripting Guide provides details on creating scripts for InDesign CS5.

For details about AppleScript, VBScript, or JavaScript, see the documentation for those languages.

5

Adobe InDesign CS5 Server Scripting Guide

Introduction 6

InDesign online scripting resources

For more information on InDesign Server scripting, see the following Web sites:

X http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/scripting/index.html

X http://forums.adobe.com/community/indesign/indesign_scripting — The InDesign scripting user-to-user forum. In the forum, scripters can ask questions, post answers, and share their newest scripts. The forum contains hundreds of sample scripts.

X http://www.adobe.com/products/indesign/scripting/index.html

What you need to script InDesign Server

The language you use to write scripts depends on the scripting system of your platform: AppleScript for

Mac OS®, VBScript for Windows®, or JavaScript for either platform. Although the scripting languages differ, the ways in which they work with InDesign are very similar.

Each sample script in this document is shown in all three scripting languages. Translating a script from one language to another is fairly easy.

JavaScript

InDesign supports JavaScript for cross-platform scripting in both Mac OS and Windows. InDesign’s

JavaScript support is based on an Adobe implementation of JavaScript known as ExtendScript. The

ExtendScript interpreter conforms to the current, ECMA 262 standard for JavaScript. All language features of JavaScript 1.5 are supported. Adobe Illustrator®, Adobe Photoshop®, and other Adobe Creative Suite® products also use the ExtendScript JavaScript interpreter.

While you can write scripts using other versions of JavaScript, like Microsoft® JScript (on Windows) or Late

Night Software’s OSA JavaScript (on Mac OS), the terms you use in those languages are not the same as the terms you use in ExtendScript. ExtendScript examples do not work in other JavaScript versions.

Because ExtendScript tools and features are used in several Adobe products, we consolidated all

ExtendScript documentation.

To learn more about JavaScript utilities like the ScriptUI user-interface module and the ExtendScript Toolkit (a JavaScript development environment and object-model inspector), see JavaScript Tools Guide.

You can also create scripts for InDesign Server that interact with other Creative Suite 5 applications, using

ActionsScript and the Creative Suite extensibility model; see “Other JavaScript development options” on page 7 .

Windows

To use InDesign scripting in Windows, you can use JavaScript or some version of Microsoft Visual Basic, like

VBScript.

The Visual Basic tutorial scripts in this document are written in VBScript. We chose VBScript because no added software is required to run or edit VBScripts.

Other versions of Visual Basic include Visual Basic 5 Control Creation Edition (CCE), Visual Basic 6, Visual

Basic .NET, and Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition. Versions of Visual Basic before Visual Basic .NET work well with InDesign scripting. Visual Basic .NET and newer versions do not work as well, because they lack the

Variant

data type, which is used extensively in InDesign scripting.

Many applications contain Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel,

Microsoft Visio, or AutoCAD. Although you can use VBA to create InDesign scripts, InDesign does not include VBA.

Adobe InDesign CS5 Server Scripting Guide

Introduction 7

Mac OS

Using

Scripts from this

Document

To use VBScript or Visual Basic for InDesign scripting in Windows XP, you must install InDesign from a user account that has Administrator privileges. After you complete the installation, any user can run InDesign scripts, and any user can add scripts to the InDesign Scripts panel.

To use InDesign scripting on Mac OS, you can use AppleScript or JavaScript. To write AppleScripts, you must have AppleScript version 1.6 or higher and an AppleScript script editor. AppleScript comes with all

Apple® systems, and it can be downloaded gratis from the Apple Web site. The Apple Script Editor is included with the Mac OS. Third-party script editors also are available; for example, Script Debugger (from

Late Night Software, http://www.latenightsw.com).

To use any script from this document:

1.

Copy the script from this Adobe PDF document and paste it into your script editor, such as the Apple

Script Editor (for AppleScript examples), ExtendScript Toolkit (for JavaScript examples), or a text editor like Notepad (for VBScript examples).

2.

Save the script as a plain text file, using the appropriate file extension:

AppleScript:

.applescript

JavaScript:

.jsx

VBScript:

.vbs

3.

Run the script from your script editor, or send the script to InDesign Server using the sample client.

N

OTE

: If you are entering the JavaScript examples, it is very important to use the same capitalization shown in the example. JavaScript is case-sensitive, and the scripts will fail if they do not use the capitalization shown. The AppleScript and VBScript examples are not case-sensitive.

N

OTE

: If you are copying and pasting scripts from this document, be aware that line breaks caused by the layout of the document can cause errors in your script. As it can be very difficult to find such errors, we recommend that you use the scripts in the zip archive.

Other JavaScript development options

You can use the ExtendScript Toolkit to create JavaScript scripts explicitly for InDesign Server, or you can use the Creative Suite Extension Builder (CS Extension Builder) to develop CS extensions in ActionScript. CS extensions are Flash-based (SWF) and can potentially work in a variety of Creative Suite applications.

In Creative Suite 5, the applications have an extensibility infrastructure that allows developers to extend the capabilities of the applications; the infrastructure is based on Flash/Flex technology, and each CS5 extension is delivered as a compiled Flash (SWF) file. Creative Suite 5 includes the Extension Manager to enable installation of CS5 extensions.

An example of a CS5 extension that ships with the point products is Adobe Kuler. Kuler has a consistent user interface across the different suite applications, but has different logic in each, adapted to the host application.

The user interface for an extension is written in ActionScript, using the Flex framework. A C5S extension is typically accessed through its own menu item in the application’s Extensions menu. CS Extension Builder allows you to design the user interface interactively using the Design view of FlashBuilder. It also allows you to develop all of the application logic for your CS5 extension in ActionScript; you can develop and debug your extension in the familiar FlashBuilder environment.

To develop your application logic, we recommend using the Creative Suite ActionScript Wrapper Library

(

CSAWLib

), which exposes the scripting DOM of each host application as an ActionScript library. This is

Adobe InDesign CS5 Server Scripting Guide

InDesign CS5 and InDesign Server CS5 8 tightly integrated with the CS Extension Builder environment, which includes wizards to help you build your extension’s basic structure, and run and debug your code against suite applications such as Adobe

InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator.

The methods, properties, and behavior of the scripting DOM is as described in the JavaScript Scripting

Reference for the host application. For details of how to use CS Extension Builder and the wrapper libraries, see the Creative Suite SDK documentation, which is accessible from within the Flash Builder or Eclipse

Help system when you have installed CS Extension Builder.

InDesign CS5 and InDesign Server CS5

This document presents scripts that show how to create simple documents using InDesign Server CS5. The bulk of the scripting documentation for InDesign Server, however, is in the documentation for the desktop

(that is, nonserver) version of InDesign.

We assume that you are developing your InDesign CS5 Server scripts using InDesign CS5, and that you have read Adobe InDesign CS5 Scripting Tutorial and Adobe InDesign CS5 Scripting Guide for the scripting language you want to use.

We also assume that you are familiar with the details of your InDesign Server installation. For the purposes of this document, we present sample scripts that work with a copy of InDesign Server on the same system as your scripting development environment.

InDesign CS5 is an essential tool for developing scripts for InDesign Server. We assume that you will develop scripts using InDesign CS5 before using them with InDesign Server CS5, because it is much easier to test and debug scripts when you can see the objects being created. To see the result of your script in

InDesign Server, you would have to save the document and open it using InDesign CS5, or export the document and view the exported file in another program (like Acrobat® or Adobe Reader®). If you use

InDesign CS5 to develop your InDesign CS5 Server scripts, you can reduce your development time dramatically.

Though the two programs are very similar, their scripting object models differ slightly. The following sections discuss objects, properties, and methods in InDesign CS5 that are not in InDesign Server CS5.

Keep these in mind as you convert scripts from InDesign CS5 to InDesign Server CS5.

Active document

Many InDesign CS5 scripts refer to the front-most document in the user interface using the active document (AppleScript), activeDocument (JavaScript), or ActiveDocument (VBScript) property of the application object. This property does not exist in InDesign Server CS5. Instead, you can refer to documents by their index or name.

Active script

Many InDesign CS5 scripts refer to the currently running script to locate other script files or resources.

InDesign Server does not have this property. Instead, locate the assets the script will need in specific locations on your server or system, then refer to those locations using complete file paths.

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Your first InDesign Server script 9

Active windows and spreads

InDesign CS5 scripts often refer to the active window or the active spread of the active window. These user-interface properties are not supported by InDesign server.

Selection

As you would expect, InDesign server does not have an object corresponding to the user selection. When you convert scripts from InDesign CS5, you must remove any reference to the selection and provide references to objects based on other qualities (like the object id, index, or label).

Dialogs

InDesign CS5 can create modal dialog boxes using the dialog object and populate them with common user-interface controls, like check boxes, text-entry fields, and radio buttons. InDesign server does not support the dialog object or any user-interface controls.

Copy and paste

Because InDesign Server has no user interface, it also lacks the copy and paste features of InDesign CS5.

Instead of using copy and paste, use duplicate and move. Both methods can create copies of objects, and can move objects from one document to another.

Your first InDesign Server script

The traditional first project in any programming language is to display, or print, the message “Hello World!”

In this example, we create a new InDesign Server publication, add a frame containing this message, and save the document. At that point, you can open and view the document using InDesign CS5.

N

OTE

: These examples assume that you are entering and running the script on the system on which

InDesign Server is installed. For instructions on running scripts using the Test Client or SOAP commands, see Introduction to Adobe InDesign Server CS5.

AppleScript

To create an AppleScript script:

1.

Locate and open the AppleScript Editor.

2.

Enter the following script. The lines preceded by double dashes (

--

) are comments and are ignored by the scripting system. They are included to describe the operation of the program. As you look through the script, you will see how we create, then address, each object in turn. The AppleScript command tell

specifies which object will receive the next message we send.

Adobe InDesign CS5 Server Scripting Guide

Your first InDesign Server script 10

--HelloWorld.applescript

tell application "InDesignServer"

--Create a new document.

set myDocument to make document

--Get a reference to the first page.

tell myDocument

--Create a new text frame on the first page.

tell page 1 set myTextFrame to make text frame

--Change the size of the text frame.

set geometric bounds of myTextFrame to {"6p", "6p", "18p", "18p"}

--Enter text in the text frame.

set contents of myTextFrame to "Hello World!" end tell

--Save the file (fill in a valid file path).

save to "Macintosh HD:HelloWorld.indd" end tell

--Close the document.

close document 1 end tell

3.

Save the script as a text file with the file extension

.applescript

.

4.

To run the script from the Script Editor, click the Run button.

5.

Open and view the document with InDesign.

JavaScript

To create a JavaScript:

1.

Using the ExtendScript Toolkit, enter the following script:

//HelloWorld.jsx

//Create a new document.

var myDocument = app.documents.add();

//Get a reference to the first page.

var myPage = myDocument.pages.item(0);

//Create a text frame.

var myTextFrame = myPage.textFrames.add();

//Specify the size and shape of the text frame.

myTextFrame.geometricBounds = ["6p0", "6p0", "18p0", "18p0"];

//Enter text in the text frame.

myTextFrame.contents = "Hello World!";

//Save the document (fill in a valid file path).

myDocument.save(new File("/c/HelloWorld.indd"));

//Close the document.

app.documents.item(0).close();

2.

Save the text as a plain text file with the file extension

.jsx

.

3.

Choose InDesign Server from the target drop-down menu.

4.

Click Run.

5.

Open and view the document with InDesign.

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Adding features to “Hello World” 11

VBScript

To create a VBScript:

1.

Using any text editor (such as Notepad), enter the following script:

Rem HelloWorld.vbs

Set myInDesignServer = CreateObject("InDesignServer.Application")

Rem Create a new document.

Set myDocument = myInDesignServer.Documents.Add

Rem Get a reference to the first page.

Set myPage = myDocument.Pages.Item(1)

Rem Create a text frame.

Set myTextFrame = myPage.TextFrames.Add

Rem Specify the size and shape of the text frame.

myTextFrame.GeometricBounds = Array("6p0", "6p0", "18p0", "18p0")

Rem Enter text in the text frame.

myTextFrame.Contents = "Hello World!"

Rem Save the document (fill in a valid file path).

myDocument.Save "c:\HelloWorld.indd"

Rem Close the document.

myInDesignServer.Documents.Item(1).Close

2.

Save the file as text with the file extension

.vbs

.

3.

Use the InDesign Server sample client to run the script.

4.

Open and view the document with InDesign.

Adding features to “Hello World”

Next, we create a script that creates another “Hello World” document. Our second script will do the following:

X

Use a function (or handler in AppleScript) to get the page dimensions and page margins of a document.

X

Resize a text frame.

X

Change the formatting of the text in the text frame.

X

Export as PDF.

AppleScript

To create the script:

1.

Choose File > New in the Script Editor and enter the following script:

Adobe InDesign CS5 Server Scripting Guide

Adding features to “Hello World” 12

--ImprovedHelloWorld.applescript

tell application "InDesignServer" set myDocument to make document set myPage to page 1 of myDocument tell myPage set myTextFrame to make text frame end tell set contents of myTextFrame to "Hello World!"

--Get page width and page height using the function "myGetBounds".

set myBounds to my myGetBounds(myDocument, myPage)

--Resize the text frame to match the publication margins.

set geometric bounds of myTextFrame to myBounds set myParagraph to object reference of paragraph 1 of myTextFrame

--Change the font, size, and alignment.

--Enter the name of a font on your system, if necessary.

try set myFont to font "Arial" of application "InDesignServer" set applied font of myParagraph to myFont end try

--Change the size of the text.

set point size of myParagraph to 48

--Set the justification of the paragraph to center align.

set justification of myParagraph to center align

--Set the first baseline offset of the text frame to ascent.

set first baseline offset of text frame preferences of myTextFrame to ascent offset

--Set the vertical justification of the text frame to center.

set vertical justification of text frame preferences of myTextFrame to center align

--Export the document as PDF (fill in a valid file path).

tell myDocument

--You'll need to fill in a valid file path on your system.

export format PDF type to "Macintosh HD:ImprovedHelloWorld.pdf" end tell

--Close the document.

close document 1 saving no end tell on myGetBounds(myDocument, myPage) tell application "InDesignServer" set myPageHeight to page height of document preferences of myDocument set myPageWidth to page width of document preferences of myDocument tell margin preferences of myPage if side of myPage is left hand then set myX2 to left set myX1 to right else set myX1 to left set myX2 to right end if set myY1 to top set myY2 to bottom end tell set myX2 to myPageWidth - myX2 set myY2 to myPageHeight - myY2 return {myY1, myX1, myY2, myX2} end tell end myGetBounds

2.

Save the script as a text file with the file extension

.applescript

.

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Adding features to “Hello World” 13

3.

To run the script, click the Run button in the Script Editor.

4.

Open and view the exported PDF with Acrobat or Adobe Reader.

JavaScript

To create the script:

1.

Using the ExtendScript Toolkit, enter the following script:

//ImprovedHelloWorld.jsx

var myDocument = app.documents.add(); var myPage = myDocument.pages.item(0); var myTextFrame = myPage.textFrames.add(); myTextFrame.contents = "Hello World!";

//Get page width and page height using the function "myGetBounds".

myBounds = myGetBounds(myDocument, myPage);

//Resize the text frame to match the publication margins.

myTextFrame.geometricBounds = myBounds; var myParagraph = myTextFrame.paragraphs.item(0);

//Change the font, size, and alignment.

//Enter the name of a font on your system, if necessary.

try { var myFont = app.fonts.item("Arial"); myParagraph.appliedFont = myFont;

} catch (e){}

//Change the size of the text.

myParagraph.pointSize = 48;

//Set the justification of the paragraph to center align.

myParagraph.justification = Justification.centerAlign

//Set the first baseline offset of the text frame to ascent.

myTextFrame.textFramePreferences.firstBaselineOffset = FirstBaseline.ascentOffset;

//Set the vertical justification of the text frame to center.

myTextFrame.textFramePreferences.verticalJustification =

VerticalJustification.centerAlign;

//Export the document as PDF (fill in a valid file path).

myDocument.exportFile(ExportFormat.pdfType, new

File("/c/ImprovedHelloWorld.pdf"));

//Close the document.

app.documents.item(0).close(); function myGetBounds(myDocument, myPage){ var myPageWidth = myDocument.documentPreferences.pageWidth; var myPageHeight = myDocument.documentPreferences.pageHeight

if(myPage.side == PageSideOptions.leftHand){ var myX2 = myPage.marginPreferences.left; var myX1 = myPage.marginPreferences.right;

} else{ var myX1 = myPage.marginPreferences.left; var myX2 = myPage.marginPreferences.right;

} var myY1 = myPage.marginPreferences.top; var myX2 = myPageWidth - myX2; var myY2 = myPageHeight - myPage.marginPreferences.bottom; return [myY1, myX1, myY2, myX2];

}

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Adding features to “Hello World” 14

2.

Save the text as a plain text file with the file extension

.jsx

.

3.

Choose InDesign Server from the target drop-down menu.

4.

Click the Run button.

5.

Open and view the exported PDF with Acrobat or Adobe Reader.

VBScript

To create the script:

1.

Start any text editor (such as Notepad) and enter the following script:

Rem ImprovedHelloWorld.vbs

Set myInDesignServer = CreateObject("InDesignServer.Application")

Set myDocument = myInDesignServer.Documents.Add

Set myPage = myDocument.Pages.Item(1)

Set myTextFrame = myPage.TextFrames.Add

myTextFrame.Contents = "Hello World!"

Rem Get page width and page height using the function "myGetBounds".

myBounds = myGetBounds(myDocument, myPage)

Rem Resize the text frame to match the publication margins.

myTextFrame.GeometricBounds = myBounds

Set myParagraph = myTextFrame.Paragraphs.Item(1)

Rem Change the font, size, and alignment.

Rem Enter the name of a font on your system, if necessary.

If TypeName(myInDesignServer.Fonts.Item("Arial"))<>"Nothing" Then

Set myFont = myInDesignServer.Fonts.Item("Arial") myParagraph.AppliedFont = myFont

End If myParagraph.PointSize = 48

Rem If you are running the script using the Application.DoScript

Rem method, you can use the full name of the justification enumeration:

Rem myParagraph.Justification = idJustification.idCenterAlign

Rem If you are running the script from Windows Explorer, use

Rem the decimal version of the enumeration: myParagraph.Justification = 1667591796

Rem Set the first baseline offset of the text frame to ascent.

Rem If you are running the script using the Application.DoScript

Rem method, you can use the full name of the justification enumeration:

Rem myTextFrame.TextFramePreferences.FirstBaselineOffset = idFirstBaseline.idAscentOffset

Rem If you are running the script from Windows Explorer, use

Rem the decimal version of the enumeration: myTextFrame.TextFramePreferences.FirstBaselineOffset = 1296135023

Rem Set the vertical justification of the text frame to center.

Rem If you are running the script using the Application.DoScript

Rem method, you can use the full name of the justification enumeration:

Rem myTextFrame.TextFramePreferences.VerticalJustification = idVerticalJustification.idCenterAlign

Rem If you are running the script from Windows Explorer, use

Rem the decimal version of the enumeration: myTextFrame.TextFramePreferences.VerticalJustification = 1667591796

Rem Export the document as PDF (fill in a valid file path).

Rem myDocument.Export idExportFormat.idPDFType "c:\ImprovedHelloWorld.indd" myDocument.Export 1952403524, "c:\ImprovedHelloWorld.pdf"

Rem Close the document.

Adobe InDesign CS5 Server Scripting Guide

A simple script runner script 15 myInDesignServer.Documents.Item(1).Close

Function myGetBounds(myDocument, myPage) myPageWidth = myDocument.documentPreferences.pageWidth

myPageHeight = myDocument.documentPreferences.pageHeight

If myPage.Side = idPageSideOptions.idLeftHand Then myX2 = myPage.marginPreferences.Left

myX1 = myPage.marginPreferences.Right

Else myX1 = myPage.marginPreferences.Left

myX2 = myPage.marginPreferences.Right

End If myX2 = myPageWidth - myX2 myY1 = myPage.marginPreferences.Top

myY2 = myPageHeight - myPage.marginPreferences.bottom

myGetBounds = Array(myY1, myX1, myY2, myX2)

End Function

2.

Save the text as a plain text file with the file extension

.vbs

.

3.

Use the InDesign Server sample client to run the script.

4.

Open and view the exported PDF with Acrobat or Adobe Reader.

A simple script runner script

Another way to run a script in InDesign Server is to take advantage of the do script

(in AppleScript; doScript

in JavaScript; or

DoScript

in VBScript) method to send a script to the application. This gives you a way to send JavaScripts directly to the application, rather than running them from the ExtendScript

Toolkit. In this section, we provide AppleScript and VBScript examples that you can run from the Finder (on

Mac OS) or Explorer (on Windows). For more information about working with the do script

method, see

Adobe InDesign CS5 Scripting Guide.

This script is something like a miniature sample client for use on your local system.

AppleScript

set myScript file to choose file with prompt "Select a script file:" tell application "Finder" set myFileExtension to name extension of myScriptFile end tell tell application "Adobe InDesign Server CS5" if myFileExtension is "jsx" then do script myScriptFile language javascript else do script myScriptFile language applescript language end if end tell

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A simple script runner script 16

VBScript

Set myDialog = CreateObject("UserAccounts.CommonDialog") myDialog.Filter = "JavaScript Files|*.jsx|VBScript Files|*.vbs|" myDialog.FilterIndex = 1 myDialog.InitialDir = "C:\" myResult = myDialog.ShowOpen

If myResult = True Then myScriptFile = myDialog.FileName

Set myFileSystemObject = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") myFileExtension = myFileSystemObject.GetExtensionName(myScriptFile)

If myFileExtension = "jsx" Or myFileExtension = "vbs" Then

Set myInDesign = CreateObject("InDesign.Application")

Rem Use the decimal form of the enumerations, since this script

Rem will be run from Explorer.

If myFileExtension = "jsx" Then

Rem idScriptLanguage.idJavaScript = 1246973031 myInDesign.DoScript myScriptFile, 1246973031

Else

Rem idScriptLanguage.idVisualBasic = 1447185511 myInDesign.DoScript myScriptFile, 1447185511

End If

End If

End If

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Constructing a document 17

Constructing a document

.

Obviously, our “Hello World!” script is not very useful in your daily work. While you can use an InDesign script at any point in your production process, we start by creating scripts that start at the same point you do—creating new documents, setting page margins, and creating and applying master pages. The following figure shows the objects with which we will work.

document viewPreferences horizontalMeasurementUnits verticalMeasurementUnits rulerOrigin masterSpreads.item(0) pages.item(0) marginPreferences top left bottom right columnCount columnGutter

In this section, we create one long script by adding short blocks of scripting code. Each block demonstrates a specific area or task in InDesign Server scripting. As you enter each block, you can run the script to see what happens. If you are using AppleScript, you will need to add the text end tell

to the end of the script before you run it, then remove the text before continuing.

N

OTE

: The preceding figure uses the JavaScript version of the scripting terms. For AppleScript, you would add spaces between words ( view preferences

, rather than viewPreferences

). For VBScript, you would use an item index starting at 1, rather than 0 ( masterSpreads.item(1)

, rather than masterSpreads.item(0)

).

Setting up measurement units and master spread margins

The following script shows how to create a new document and set the margins of the first master spread.

In this section, we show how to build a complex script using simple building blocks of scripting code. Start your script editor and enter the following lines in the scripting language of your choice.

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Constructing a document 18

AppleScript

Enter the following code in the Script Editor, or open the

DocumentConstruction.applescript

tutorial script: tell application "Adobe InDesign Server CS5"

--Create a new document.

set myDocument to make document

--Set the measurement units and ruler origin.

set horizontal measurement units of view preferences to points set vertical measurement units of view preferences to points set ruler origin of view preferences to page origin

--Get a reference to the first master spread.

set myMasterSpread to master spread 1 of myDocument

--Get a reference to the margin preferences of

--the first page in the master spread.

set myMarginPreferences to margin preferences of page 1 of myMasterSpread

--Now set up the page margins and columns.

set left of myMarginPreferences to 84 set top of myMarginPreferences to 70 set right of myMarginPreferences to 70 set bottom of myMarginPreferences to 78 set column count of myMarginPreferences to 3 set column gutter of myMarginPreferences to 14

--Page margins and columns for the right-hand page.

set myMarginPreferences to margin preferences of page 2 of myMasterSpread set left of myMarginPreferences to 84 set top of myMarginPreferences to 70 set right of myMarginPreferences to 70 set bottom of myMarginPreferences to 78 set column count of myMarginPreferences to 3 set column gutter of myMarginPreferences to 14

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Constructing a document 19

JavaScript

Enter the following code in the ExtendScript Toolkit, or open the

DocumentConstruction.jsx

tutorial script:

//Create a new document.

var myDocument = app.documents.add();

//Set the measurement units and ruler origin.

myDocument.viewPreferences.horizontalMeasurementUnits = MeasurementUnits.points; myDocument.viewPreferences.verticalMeasurementUnits = MeasurementUnits.points; myDocument.viewPreferences.rulerOrigin = RulerOrigin.pageOrigin;

//Get a reference to the first master spread.

var myMasterSpread = myDocument.masterSpreads.item(0);

//Get a reference to the margin preferences of the first page in the master spread.

var myMarginPreferences = myMasterSpread.pages.item(0).marginPreferences;

//Now set up the page margins and columns.

myMarginPreferences.left = 84; myMarginPreferences.top = 70; myMarginPreferences.right = 70; myMarginPreferences.bottom = 78; myMarginPreferences.columnCount = 3; myMarginPreferences.columnGutter = 14;

//Page margins and columns for the right-hand page.

var myMarginPreferences = myMasterSpread.pages.item(1).marginPreferences; myMarginPreferences.left = 84; myMarginPreferences.top = 70; myMarginPreferences.right = 70; myMarginPreferences.bottom = 78; myMarginPreferences.columnCount = 3; myMarginPreferences.columnGutter = 14;

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Constructing a document 20

VBScript

Enter the following code in your script or text editor, or open the

DocumentConstruction.vbs

tutorial script.

Set myInDesign = CreateObject("InDesign.Application")

Rem Create a new document.

Set myDocument = myInDesign.Documents.Add()

Rem Set the measurement units and ruler origin.

myDocument.ViewPreferences.HorizontalMeasurementUnits = idMeasurementUnits.idPoints

myDocument.ViewPreferences.VerticalMeasurementUnits = idMeasurementUnits.idPoints

myDocument.ViewPreferences.RulerOrigin = idRulerOrigin.idPageOrigin

Rem Get a reference to the first master spread.

Set myMasterSpread = myDocument.MasterSpreads.Item(1)

Rem Get a reference to the margin preferences of the first page in the master spread.

Set myMarginPreferences = myMasterSpread.Pages.Item(1).MarginPreferences

Rem Now set up the page margins and columns.

myMarginPreferences.Left = 84 myMarginPreferences.Top = 70 myMarginPreferences.Right = 70 myMarginPreferences.Bottom = 78 myMarginPreferences.ColumnCount = 3 myMarginPreferences.ColumnGutter = 14

Rem Page margins and columns for the right-hand page.

Set myMarginPreferences = myMasterSpread.Pages.Item(2).MarginPreferences

myMarginPreferences.Left = 84 myMarginPreferences.Top = 70 myMarginPreferences.Right = 70 myMarginPreferences.Bottom = 78 myMarginPreferences.ColumnCount = 3 myMarginPreferences.ColumnGutter = 14

Adding a baseline grid

:

Now that we have a master spread set up, we add a baseline grid. Add the following script lines (from the appropriate language) to the end of the script you created earlier. Here is a diagram (with the scripting terms shown in their JavaScript form): document gridPreferences baselineDivision baselineStart baselineGridShown

AppleScript

set myGridPreferences to grid preferences set baseline division of myGridPreferences to 14 set baseline start of myGridPreferences to 70 set baseline grid shown of myGridPreferences to true

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Constructing a document 21

JavaScript

var myGridPreferences = myDocument.gridPreferences; myGridPreferences.baselineDivision = 14; myGridPreferences.baselineStart = 70; myGridPreferences.baselineGridShown = true;

VBScript

Set myGridPreferences = myDocument.GridPreferences

myGridPreferences.BaselineDivision = 14 myGridPreferences.BaselineStart = 70 myGridPreferences.BaselineGridShown = True

Adding master page items

Next, we add two text frames to the master pages. These frames will contain the auto-page-number special character and be positioned at the bottom of the page.

In the “Hello World” example, we created a text frame and specified its position and size using the geometric bounds property—an array containing the top, left, bottom, and right coordinates for the frame. The coordinates correspond to the corners of the frame, just as they would appear in the Control panel. The geometric bounds are as follows: top = 728, left = 70, bottom = 742, and right = 528, as shown in the following two figures (which show what it would look like in InDesign):

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Constructing a document 22

AppleScript

set myLeftPage to page 1 of myMasterSpread set myRightPage to page 2 of myMasterSpread tell myLeftPage set myLeftFooter to make text frame set geometric bounds of myLeftFooter to {728, 70, 742, 528} set first baseline offset of text frame preferences of myLeftFooter to leading offset set contents of myLeftFooter to auto page number set point size of character 1 of parent story of myLeftFooter to 11 set leading of character 1 of myLeftFooter to 14 end tell tell myRightPage set myRightFooter to make text frame set geometric bounds of myRightFooter to {728, 84, 742, 542} set first baseline offset of text frame preferences of myRightFooter to leading offset set contents of myRightFooter to auto page number set point size of character 1 of parent story of myRightFooter to 11 set leading of character 1 of myRightFooter to 14 set justification of character 1 of myRightFooter to right align end tell

JavaScript

var myMasterSpread = myDocument.masterSpreads.item(0); var myLeftPage = myMasterSpread.pages.item(0); var myRightPage = myMasterSpread.pages.item(1); var myLeftFooter = myLeftPage.textFrames.add(); myLeftFooter.geometricBounds = [728, 70, 742, 528]; myLeftFooter.textFramePreferences.firstBaselineOffset = FirstBaseline.leadingOffset; myLeftFooter.contents = SpecialCharacters.autoPageNumber; myLeftFooter.parentStory.characters.item(0).pointSize = 11; myLeftFooter.parentStory.characters.item(0).leading = 14; var myRightFooter = myRightPage.textFrames.add(); myRightFooter.geometricBounds = [728, 84, 742, 542]; myRightFooter.textFramePreferences.firstBaselineOffset = FirstBaseline.leadingOffset; myRightFooter.contents = SpecialCharacters.autoPageNumber; myRightFooter.parentStory.characters.item(0).pointSize = 11; myRightFooter.parentStory.characters.item(0).leading = 14; myRightFooter.parentStory.characters.item(0).justification =

Justification.rightAlign;

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Constructing a document 23

VBScript

Set myMasterSpread = myDocument.MasterSpreads.Item(1)

Set myLeftPage = myMasterSpread.Pages.Item(1)

Set myRightPage = myMasterSpread.Pages.Item(2)

Set myLeftFooter = myLeftPage.TextFrames.Add

myLeftFooter.GeometricBounds = Array(728, 70, 742, 528) myLeftFooter.TextFramePreferences.FirstBaselineOffset = idFirstBaseline.idLeadingOffset

myLeftFooter.Contents = idSpecialCharacters.idAutoPageNumber

myLeftFooter.ParentStory.Characters.Item(1).PointSize = 11 myLeftFooter.ParentStory.Characters.Item(1).Leading = 14

Set myRightFooter = myRightPage.TextFrames.Add() myRightFooter.GeometricBounds = Array(728, 84, 742, 542) myRightFooter.TextFramePreferences.FirstBaselineOffset = idFirstBaseline.idLeadingOffset

myRightFooter.Contents = idSpecialCharacters.idAutoPageNumber

myRightFooter.ParentStory.Characters.Item(1).PointSize = 11 myRightFooter.ParentStory.Characters.Item(1).Leading = 14 myRightFooter.ParentStory.Characters.Item(1).Justification = idJustification.idRightAlign

Adding master text frames

Next, we add master text frames. The following block diagram shows the objects and properties with which we will work (the diagram uses the JavaScript form of the scripting terms): document masterSpreads.item(0) pages.item(0) textFrames.item(0) textFramePreferences firstBaselineOffset textColumnCount textColumnGutter geometricBounds label nextTextFrame

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Constructing a document 24

AppleScript

tell myLeftPage set myLeftTextFrame to make text frame set geometric bounds of myLeftTextFrame to {70, 70, 714, 528} set first baseline offset of text frame preferences of myLeftTextFrame to leading offset set text column count of text frame preferences of myLeftTextFrame to 3 set text column gutter of text frame preferences of myLeftTextFrame to 14

--Add a label to make the frame easier to find later on.

set label of myLeftTextFrame to "BodyTextFrame" end tell tell myRightPage set myRightTextFrame to make text frame set geometric bounds of myRightTextFrame to {70, 84, 714, 542} set first baseline offset of text frame preferences of myRightTextFrame to leading offset set text column count of text frame preferences of myRightTextFrame to 3 set text column gutter of text frame preferences of myRightTextFrame to 14

--Add a label to make the frame easier to find later on.

set label of myRightTextFrame to "BodyTextFrame" end tell

--Link the two frames using the next text frame property.

set next text frame of myLeftTextFrame to myRightTextFrame

JavaScript

var myLeftPage = myMasterSpread.pages.item(0); var myRightPage = myMasterSpread.pages.item(1); var myLeftTextFrame = myLeftPage.textFrames.add(); myLeftTextFrame.geometricBounds = [70, 70, 714, 528]; myLeftTextFrame.textFramePreferences.firstBaselineOffset =

FirstBaseline.leadingOffset; myLeftTextFrame.textFramePreferences.textColumnCount = 3; myLeftTextFrame.textFramePreferences.textColumnGutter = 14;

//Add a label to make the frame easier to find later on.

myLeftTextFrame.label = "BodyTextFrame"; var myRightTextFrame = myRightPage.textFrames.add(); myRightTextFrame.geometricBounds = [70, 84, 714, 542]; myRightTextFrame.textFramePreferences.firstBaselineOffset =

FirstBaseline.leadingOffset; myRightTextFrame.textFramePreferences.textColumnCount = 3; myRightTextFrame.textFramePreferences.textColumnGutter = 14;

//Add a label to make the frame easier to find later on.

myRightTextFrame.label = "BodyTextFrame";

//Link the two frames using the nextTextFrame property.

myLeftTextFrame.nextTextFrame = myRightTextFrame;

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Constructing a document 25

VBScript

Set myLeftTextFrame = myLeftPage.TextFrames.Add

myLeftTextFrame.GeometricBounds = Array(70, 70, 714, 528) myLeftTextFrame.TextFramePreferences.FirstBaselineOffset = idFirstBaseline.idLeadingOffset

myLeftTextFrame.TextFramePreferences.TextColumnCount = 3 myLeftTextFrame.TextFramePreferences.TextColumnGutter = 14

Rem Add a label to make the frame easier to find later on.

myLeftTextFrame.Label = "BodyTextFrame"

Set myRightTextFrame = myRightPage.TextFrames.Add

myRightTextFrame.GeometricBounds = Array(70, 84, 714, 542) myRightTextFrame.TextFramePreferences.FirstBaselineOffset = idFirstBaseline.idLeadingOffset

myRightTextFrame.TextFramePreferences.TextColumnCount = 3 myRightTextFrame.TextFramePreferences.TextColumnGutter = 14

Rem Add a label to make the frame easier to find later on.

myRightTextFrame.Label = "BodyTextFrame"

Rem Link the two frames using the nextTextFrame property.

myLeftTextFrame.NextTextFrame = myRightTextFrame

Overriding master page items and adding text

Next, we override one of the master text frames we created and add text to it. Again, add this script to the end of the script we have been working on.

AppleScript

tell text frame 1 of page 2 of master spread 1 of myDocument set myTextFrame to override destination page page 1 of myDocument end tell

--Add text by setting the contents of an insertion point to a string.

--In AppleScript, "return" is a return character.

set contents of insertion point 1 of myTextFrame to "Headline!" & return

JavaScript

var myTextFrame = myDocument.masterSpreads.item(0).pages.item(1).textFrames.item(0).override(myDocument

.pages.item(0));

//Add text by setting the contents of an insertion point to a string.

//In JavaScript, "\r" is a return character.

myTextFrame.insertionPoints.item(0).contents = "Headline!\r";

VBScript

Set myTextFrame = myDocument.MasterSpreads.Item(1).Pages.Item(2).TextFrames.Item(1).Override(myDocument

.Pages.Item(1))

Rem Add text by setting the contents of an insertion point to a string.

Rem In VBScript, vbCr is a return character.

myTextFrame.InsertionPoints.Item(1).Contents = "Headline!" & vbCr

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Constructing a document 26

Adding and applying a paragraph style

Our headline looks plain, so we format it using a paragraph style. First, we must create the paragraph style.

The following diagram shows the objects and properties we will work with (again, the text in this diagram uses the JavaScript form of the scripting terms): document paragraphStyles paragraphStyle appliedFont fontStyle pointSize spaceBefore spaceAfter fillColor

AppleScript

--First, check to see if the paragraph style already exists.

try set myParagraphStyle to paragraph style "Heading 1" of myDocument on error

--The paragraph style did not exist, so create it.

tell myDocument set myParagraphStyle to make paragraph style with properties {name:"Heading 1"} end tell end try

--We'll need to create a color. Check to see if the color already exists.

try set myColor to color "Red" on error

--The color did not exist, so create it.

set myColor to make color with properties {name:"Red", model:process, color value:{0, 100, 100, 0}} end try

--Now set the formatting of the paragraph style.

set applied font of myParagraphStyle to "Arial" set font style of myParagraphStyle to "Bold" set point size of myParagraphStyle to 24 set space after of myParagraphStyle to 24 set space before of myParagraphStyle to 24 set fill color of myParagraphStyle to color "Red" of myDocument

--Apply the style to the paragraph.

tell paragraph 1 of myTextFrame to apply paragraph style using myParagraphStyle with clearing overrides

--You could also use:

--set applied paragraph style of paragraph 1 of myTextFrame to myParagraphStyle

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Constructing a document 27

JavaScript

var myParagraphStyle = myDocument.paragraphStyles.item("Heading 1"); try { var myName = myParagraphStyle.name;

} catch (myError){

//The paragraph style did not exist, so create it.

myParagraphStyle = myDocument.paragraphStyles.add({name:"Heading 1"});

}

//We'll need to create a color. Check to see if the color already exists.

var myColor = myDocument.colors.item("Red"); try { myName = myColor.name;

} catch (myError){

//The color did not exist, so create it.

myColor = myDocument.colors.add({name:"Red", model:ColorModel.process, colorValue:[0,100,100,0]});

}

//Now set the formatting of the paragraph style.

myParagraphStyle.appliedFont = "Arial"; myParagraphStyle.fontStyle = "Bold"; myParagraphStyle.pointSize = 24; myParagraphStyle.spaceAfter = 24; myParagraphStyle.spaceBefore = 24; myParagraphStyle.fillColor = myDocument.colors.item("Red");

//Apply the style to the paragraph.

myDocument.pages.item(0).textFrames.item(0).paragraphs.item(0).applyParagraphStyle( myParagraphStyle, true);

//You could also use:

//myDocument.pages.item(0).textFrames.item(0).paragraphs.item(0).appliedParagraphStyl

e = myParagraphStyle;

VBScript

Rem First, check to see if the paragraph style already exists.

Rem to do this, we disable error checking:

On Error Resume Next

Set myParagraphStyle = myDocument.ParagraphStyles.Item("Heading 1")

Rem if an error occurred on the previous line, then the paragraph

Rem style did not exist.

If Error.Number <> 0 Then

Set myParagraphStyle = myDocument.ParagraphStyles.Add

myParagraphStyle.Name = "Heading 1"

Error.Clear

End If

Rem We'll need to create a color. Check to see if the color already exists.

Set myColor = myDocument.Colors.Item("Red")

If Error.Number <> 0 Then

Set myColor = myDocument.Colors.Add

myColor.Name = "Red" myColor.Model = idColorModel.idProcess

myColor.colorValue = Array(0, 100, 100, 0)

Error.Clear

End If

Rem Resume normal error handling.

On Error GoTo 0

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Constructing a document 28

Rem Now set the formatting of the paragraph style.

myParagraphStyle.AppliedFont = "Arial" myParagraphStyle.FontStyle = "Bold" myParagraphStyle.PointSize = 24 myParagraphStyle.SpaceAfter = 24 myParagraphStyle.SpaceBefore = 24 myParagraphStyle.FillColor = myDocument.Colors.Item("Red")

Rem Apply the style to the paragraph.

myDocument.Pages.Item(1).TextFrames.Item(1).Paragraphs.Item(1).ApplyParagraphStyle myParagraphStyle, True

Rem You could also use:

Rem myDocument.pages.item(1).textFrames.item(1).paragraphs.item(1).appliedParagraphStyle

= myParagraphStyle

Placing a text file

Next, we import a text file. We add the text after the headline in the first text frame on the first page. The script displays a dialog box you can use to select the text file you want to import. Again, add this script to the end of the script we have been working on.

AppleScript

--Display a standard open file dialog box to select a text file.

set myTextFile to choose file ("Choose a text file")

--If a text file was selected, and if you didn't press Cancel,

--place the text file at the first insertion point after the headline.

if myTextFile is not "" then tell insertion point -1 of myTextFrame to place myTextFile end if

JavaScript

//Display a standard open file dialog box to select a text file.

var myTextFile = File.openDialog("Choose a text file");

//If a text file was selected, and if you didn't press Cancel,

//place the text file at the first insertion point after the headline.

if((myTextFile != "")&&(myTextFile != null)){ myTextFrame.insertionPoints.item(-1).place(myTextFile);

}

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Constructing a document 29

VBScript

Rem Display a standard open file dialog box to select a text file.

Rem VBScript does not have the ability to do this, so we'll use

Rem a JavaScript to get a file name. We'll run the JavaScript using

Rem InDesign's DoScript feature.

Rem Disable normal error handling.

On Error Resume Next

Rem Create a JavaScript as a string.

myJavaScriptString = "var myTextFile = File.openDialog(""Choose a text file"");myTextFile.fsName;"

Rem Run the JavaScript using DoScript.

myFileName = myInDesign.DoScript(myJavaScriptString, idScriptLanguage.idJavascript)

If Error.Number = 0 Then

Rem Place the text file at the end of the text frame.

myTextFrame.InsertionPoints.Item(-1).Place myFileName

Error.Clear

End If

Rem Restore normal error handling.

On Error GoTo 0

Placing a graphic

Placing a graphic is like importing a text file. Again, the script displays a dialog box you can use to select the graphic you want to place. When we place the graphic, InDesign Server returns a reference to the graphic itself, rather than to the frame containing the graphic. To get a reference to the frame, use the parent

property of the graphic. Once we have that reference, we can apply an object style to the frame.

Again, add this script to the end of the script we have been working on.

AppleScript

--Display a standard open file dialog box to select a graphic file.

set myGraphicFile to choose file "Choose graphic file."

--If a graphic file was selected, and if you didn't press Cancel,

--place the graphic file on the page.

if myGraphicFile is not "" then set myGraphic to place myGraphicFile on page 1 of myDocument

--Since you can place multiple graphics at once, the place method

--returns an array. To get the graphic you placed, get the first

--item in the array.

set myGraphic to item 1 of myGraphic

--Create an object style to apply to the graphic frame.

try set myObjectStyle to object style "GraphicFrame" of myDocument on error

--The object style did not exist, so create it.

tell myDocument set myObjectStyle to make object style with properties

{name:"GraphicFrame"} end tell end try set enable stroke of myObjectStyle to true set stroke weight of myObjectStyle to 3 set stroke type of myObjectStyle to stroke style "Solid" of myDocument set stroke color of myObjectStyle to color "Red" of myDocument

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Constructing a document 30

--The frame containing the graphic is the parent of the graphic.

set myFrame to parent of myGraphic tell myFrame to apply object style using myObjectStyle

--Resize the frame to a specific size.

set geometric bounds of myFrame to {0, 0, 144, 144}

--Fit the graphic to the frame proportionally.

fit myFrame given proportionally

--Next, fit frame to the resized graphic.

fit myFrame given frame to content set myBounds to geometric bounds of myFrame set myGraphicWidth to (item 4 of myBounds) - (item 2 of myBounds)

--Move the graphic frame.

set myPageWidth to page width of document preferences of myDocument set myMarginPreferences to margin preferences of page 1 of myDocument set myTopMargin to top of myMarginPreferences move myFrame to {myPageWidth - myGraphicWidth, myTopMargin}

--Apply a text wrap to the graphic frame.

set text wrap type of text wrap preferences of myFrame to bounding box text wrap set text wrap offset of text wrap preferences of myFrame to {24, 12, 24, 12} end if end tell

JavaScript

//Display a standard open file dialog box to select a graphic file.

var myGraphicFile = File.openDialog("Choose a graphic file");

//If a graphic file was selected, and if you didn't press Cancel,

//place the graphic file on the page.

if((myGraphicFile != "")&&(myGraphicFile != null)){ var myGraphic = myDocument.pages.item(0).place(myGraphicFile);

//Since you can place multiple graphics at once, the place method

//returns an array. To get the graphic you placed, get the first

//item in the array (JavaScript arrays start with item 0).

myGraphic = myGraphic[0];

//Create an object style to apply to the graphic frame.

var myObjectStyle = myDocument.objectStyles.item("GraphicFrame"); try { var myName = myObjectStyle.name;

} catch (myError){

//The object style did not exist, so create it.

myObjectStyle = myDocument.objectStyles.add({name:"GraphicFrame"});

} myObjectStyle.enableStroke = true; myObjectStyle.strokeWeight = 3; myObjectStyle.strokeType = myDocument.strokeStyles.item("Solid"); myObjectStyle.strokeColor = myDocument.colors.item("Red");

//The frame containing the graphic is the parent of the graphic.

var myFrame = myGraphic.parent; myFrame.applyObjectStyle(myObjectStyle, true);

//Resize the frame to a specific size.

myFrame.geometricBounds = [0,0,144,144];

//Fit the graphic to the frame proportionally.

myFrame.fit(FitOptions.proportionally);

//Next, fit frame to the resized graphic.

myFrame.fit(FitOptions.frameToContent); var myBounds = myFrame.geometricBounds; var myGraphicWidth = myBounds[3]-myBounds[1];

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Constructing a document 31

}

//Move the graphic frame.

var myPageWidth = myDocument.documentPreferences.pageWidth; var myTopMargin = myDocument.pages.item(0).marginPreferences.top; myFrame.move([myPageWidth-myGraphicWidth, myTopMargin]);

//Apply a text wrap to the graphic frame.

myFrame.textWrapPreferences.textWrapType = TextWrapTypes.boundingBoxTextWrap; myFrame.textWrapPreferences.textWrapOffset = [24, 12, 24, 12];

VBScript

Rem create an object style

On Error Resume Next

Set myObjectStyle = myDocument.ObjectStyles.Item("GraphicFrame")

If Error.Number <> 0 Then

Set myObjectStyle = myDocument.ObjectStyles.Add

myObjectStyle.Name = "GraphicFrame"

Error.Clear

End If

On Error GoTo 0 myObjectStyle.EnableStroke = True myObjectStyle.StrokeWeight = 3 myObjectStyle.StrokeType = myDocument.StrokeStyles.Item("Solid") myObjectStyle.StrokeColor = myDocument.Colors.Item("Red")

Rem Again, we'll use a JavaScript to get a file name.

Rem Disable normal error handling.

On Error Resume Next

Rem Create a JavaScript as a string.

myJavaScriptString = "var myTextFile = File.openDialog(""Choose a graphic file"");myTextFile.fsName;"

Rem Run the JavaScript using DoScript.

myGraphicFileName = myInDesign.DoScript(myJavaScriptString, idScriptLanguage.idJavascript)

If Error.Number = 0 Then

On Error GoTo 0

Set myGraphic = myDocument.Pages.Item(1).Place(myGraphicFileName)

Rem Since you can place multiple graphics at once, the place method

Rem returns an object collection. To get the graphic you placed, get the first

Rem item in the collection.

Set myGraphic = myGraphic.Item(1)

Rem Create an object style to apply to the graphic frame.

Rem The frame containing the graphic is the parent of the graphic.

Set myFrame = myGraphic.Parent

myFrame.ApplyObjectStyle myObjectStyle, True

Rem Resize the frame to a specific size.

myFrame.GeometricBounds = Array(0, 0, 144, 144)

Rem Fit the graphic to the frame proportionally.

myFrame.Fit idFitOptions.idProportionally

Rem Next, fit frame to the resized graphic.

myFrame.Fit idFitOptions.idFrameToContent

myBounds = myFrame.GeometricBounds

myGraphicWidth = myBounds(3) - myBounds(1)

Rem Move the graphic frame.

myPageWidth = myDocument.DocumentPreferences.PageWidth

myTopMargin = myDocument.Pages.Item(1).MarginPreferences.Top

myFrame.Move Array(myPageWidth - myGraphicWidth, myTopMargin)

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Converting an InDesign script to InDesign Server 32

Rem Apply a text wrap to the graphic frame.

myFrame.TextWrapPreferences.TextWrapType = idTextWrapTypes.idBoundingBoxTextWrap

myFrame.TextWrapPreferences.TextWrapOffset = Array(24, 12, 24, 12)

End If

Converting an InDesign script to InDesign Server

InDesign CS5 comes with a variety of sample scripts, some of which might be useful in an InDesign Server production environment. The FindChangeByList script is a good example; it performs a series of find/change operations defined by a tab-delimited text file. The functions in this script could be very useful if your use of InDesign server involves many find/change operations.

The following steps show how to convert FindChangeByList to an InDesign Server script (see

FindChangeByList for the complete script).

AppleScript

1.

Replace the main

handler with the following: on main() tell application "InDesign Server" if (count documents) is greater than 0 then end if end tell end main

--Provide a story object or a document object my myFindChangeByList(document 1, false)

2.

Delete the myDisplayDialog

handler.

3.

Change the line: set myFindChangeFile to my myFindFile("FindChangeSupport:FindChangeList.txt") to (you will have to fill in a valid file path for your system): set myFindChangeFile to "yukino:FindChangeSupport:FindChangeList.txt"

Delete the "myFindChangeFile" handler

4.

Delete the myGetScriptPath

handler.

JavaScript

1.

Replace the main

function with the following: function main(){ if(app.documents.length > 0){

//Provide a story object or a document object.

myFindChangeByList(app.documents.item(0), false);

}

}

2.

Delete the myDisplayDialog

function.

3.

Change the line: var myFindChangeFile = "/c/FindChangeSupport/FindChangeList.txt";

Adobe InDesign CS5 Server Scripting Guide

Converting an InDesign script to InDesign Server 33 to (you will have to fill in a valid file path for your system): set myFindChangeFile to "yukino:FindChangeSupport:FindChangeList.txt"

4.

Delete the myFindChangeFile

function.

5.

Delete the myGetScriptPath

function.

VBScript

1.

Replace the main

function with the following:

Function main()

Set myInDesign = CreateObject("InDesignServer.Application")

If myInDesign.Documents.Count > 0 then

Rem Provide a story object or a document object.

myFindChangeByList myInDesign.Documents.Item(1), False

End If

End Function

Delete the "myDisplayDialog" handler.

2.

Change the line: myFindChangeFile = "\FindChangeSupport\FindChangeList.txt" to (you will have to fill in a valid file path for your system): myFindChangeFile = "c:\FindChangeSupport\FindChangeList.txt"

3.

Delete the myFindChangeFile

function.

4.

Delete the myGetScriptPath

function.