Indiscripts

In this episode we seriously improve the relationship between user settings and user interface. As a result, we get a smart InDesign script that both remembers the choices the user made within the session and adapts to the context, that is, whether the script should target the selection or a larger scope…

In this episode, you will learn how to arrange your code so that it fits into IdExtenso's “modular space.” Modularity is a key term when it comes to maintaining a large-scale project. Even if our sample script is not in itself of pharaonic complexity, we will transform it, as an exercise, into a pure module…

So, you have the root idea and a basic code for your next InDesign script. All is fine. It works so well that you're now planning to release it, which opens additional questions: Will it work everywhere? How do I trace risky functions? What if I need to integrate new features later on? How do I deal with persistent user settings? How to add a basic interface? How will I localize the dialog in other languages? Can I make my script available in a dedicated menu? Will it work in a JSXBIN package as well? Can I obfuscate my code?…

Computing Bézier curves that really look like sine waves is an exciting challenge for script developers. One needs to deal with both optimizing control points, transforming coordinate spaces and splitting curves. Here is a function that solves it all in ExtendScript for InDesign…

When you invoke myString.replace(...) in pure JavaScript, the “string being examined” is and remains myString during the whole operation. ExtendScript offers a slightly different mechanism that may unexpectedly alter the output string…

The Japanese scripter あるふぁ found a bug affecting any ExtendScript code based on ...==null. This is not a critical issue (because experienced developers never use such condition!) but the case provides the opportunity to summarize important rules regarding falsey values and the equality operator…

While version 2.1 of JsxBlind library has just been released, I'd like to focus on a technical issue you may have encountered. If the script to be obfuscated contains eval(…) or app.doScript(…) blocks, there is a good chance that abysmal errors arise. Here is the solution to this enigma…

ScriptUI provides a set of usual mouse events (mouseover, mousedown, mouseup, click…) which are of primary interest in responsive user interfaces (UI). Developers can add event listeners to any UI component that needs to respond accordingly when the mouse enters the scene. But handling such events requires carefulness if your script has to support both CS and CC environments.

Hey scripters, are you familiar with InDesign events, event listeners, menu actions, idle tasks? That's the hot focus of the 12th ISFR. Plus a fine selection of threads and snippets involving GREP, text, CMYK swatches, IDML, transformations… Enjoy the ride!