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M
Matěj5CD8
Known Participant
March 18, 2021
Answered

Position of object

  • March 18, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 602 views

I have two basic rectangles.

How can I (with jsx) compare their coordinates and determine which one is more to the left (has a lower X coordinate value)? and put the message in alert

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer m1b

You can access the left and top properties of PageItem. So...

 

var item1 = selection[0];
var item2 = selection[1];
var leftmost;
if (item1.left < item2.left) {
    leftmost = 'item1';
} else {
    leftmost = 'item2';
}
alert(leftmost + ' is leftmost\nitem1.left = ' + item1.left + '\nitem2.left = ' + item2.left);

 

Also of interest might be: position and geometricBounds.

2 replies

Charu Rajput
Community Expert
Charu RajputCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 18, 2021

You can position position[0] to fetch X coordinates value and comapare X values

 

var _pageItems = app.activeDocument.pageItems;
for (var i = 0; i < _pageItems.length; i++) {
    alert("X : " + _pageItems[i].position[0] + "--- Y : " + _pageItems[i].position[1])
}

 

Best regards
    m1b
    Community Expert
    m1bCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    March 18, 2021

    You can access the left and top properties of PageItem. So...

     

    var item1 = selection[0];
var item2 = selection[1];
var leftmost;
if (item1.left < item2.left) {
    leftmost = 'item1';
} else {
    leftmost = 'item2';
}
alert(leftmost + ' is leftmost\nitem1.left = ' + item1.left + '\nitem2.left = ' + item2.left);

     

    Also of interest might be: position and geometricBounds.

      Disposition_Dev
      Disposition_Dev
      Legend
      March 20, 2021

      also visibleBounds

      sometimes your measurements could be polluted by sharp mitre points or stroke weights. visible bounds (in theory) gives you the dimensions of the visible object including the stroke.

       

      HOWEVER.. do not be deceived into thinking that it always gives the appropriate dimensions. Clipping masks can and will give you unexpected results because, for some reason, Illustrator consideres all of the "clipped artwork" (the art that is not visible because it extends beyond the clipping path) when giving you the dimensions.

      To be clear, this issue is not specific to visibleBounds. any native method of getting the bounds of an object (left, top, width, height, visibleBounds,geometricBounds, and position) will have the same issue because ilustrator doesn't care whether art is invisible/clipped. it still counts. =(

       

      just something to be aware of.. It's possible to write some logic to dig through the object and find the largest clipping path so that you can use that for your dimensions instead (since that will match the actual visual appearance of the shape)... However, depending on the artwork you're processing, this can get very expensive (in terms of time) because it would require a recursive loop to inspect all of the items inside the group.

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