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A
Anonymous
January 31, 2017
Answered

Applescript within Javascript

  • January 31, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 2012 views

Hi all, have a question that hopefully will be easy for someone but is beyond my reach at present.

Below is part of a script I am building and it "should" (but doesn't)

// Select the text within a frame labled "Odd Page Header" in the Layers Pallette, then run the Function

    app.documents.item(0).pageItems.itemByName("Odd Page Header").texts.everyItem().select();  app.doScript(reFlow)

// Select the text within a frame labled "Even Page Header" in the Layers Pallette, then run the Function

    app.documents.item(0).pageItems.itemByName("Even Page Header").texts.everyItem().select();  app.doScript(reFlow)

// The Function: Normally would run a keyboard shortcut to reflow the text but has been changed to just type an "r" for testing

    function reFlow () {app.doScript('tell application "System Events" to keystroke "r" ', ScriptLanguage.APPLESCRIPT_LANGUAGE)}

// Deselect

// app.select(null);

The problem is, instead it runs the function twice on the "Even Page Header" box (inserting "rr") and if I uncomment the "Deselect" command it doesn't work at all.

I can see that the app.doScript has to be last to work but have no idea why or how to get around it so it works for each text frame selected.

Have to thank Trevor for helping me on the original app.doScript to get a keystroke but expanding on it for this purpose I have hit a few problems.

Any help would be appreciated, Brendan

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Dirk Becker

Hi, my original script was without the function as below and it still worked the same as my latest one, as in it would run both doScripts on the last selected object instead of one in each box.

// Select the text within a frame labled "Odd Page Header" in the Layers Pallette, then run the doScript
    app.documents.item(0).pageItems.itemByName("Odd Page Header").texts.everyItem().select()
    app.doScript('tell application "System Events" to keystroke "r" ', ScriptLanguage.APPLESCRIPT_LANGUAGE)
// Select the text within a frame labled "Even Page Header" in the Layers Pallette, then run the doScript
    app.documents.item(0).pageItems.itemByName("Even Page Header").texts.everyItem().select()
    app.doScript('tell application "System Events" to keystroke "r" ', ScriptLanguage.APPLESCRIPT_LANGUAGE)
    
// Deselect
//~ app.select(null);

and if you put anything (even an alert) after it doesn't run the doScript at all.


Then the problem is that during script execution InDesign won't accept most user input, including those simulated keystrokes.

Only when the script is done, the event loop will see and apply them to the final selection - that would be your deselect.

You could work around by leaving script execution when you sent the key strokes.

To resume the script operation you could have an idle task waiting in background that would implement some reasonable delay, or checks for the result of the operation triggered by the keystroke.

Far too complicated and instable though as you already got the better solution by Uwe.

1 reply

L
Community Expert
LaubenderCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 31, 2017

Hi Brendan,

what is the menu command you like to invoke?

You are mentioning a keyboard shortcut for reflowing the text?

Could that be this one?

app.menuActions.itemByName("$ID/Recompose all stories").invoke();

Regards,
Uwe

//EDIT

L
Community Expert
LaubenderCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 31, 2017

After testing a bit I see that even using two AppleScripts in a row is a bit strange with selections. Maybe not only with selections. I did not test this. It is as if InDesign is waiting after all script code is executed and then is doing the AppleScript part all together on the last selection.

Even the code below will not work as I expected—the execution order is not in the order of the function execution, but only after the document is saved, closed, opened again and the second selection took place.

Before running the snippet:

The snippet that I ran from the ESTK with InDesign CC 2017 on Mac OSX 10.10.5:

// Two AppleScripts:
var scriptOne = 'tell application "System Events"\nkeystroke "scriptOne"\nend tell';
var scriptTwo = 'tell application "System Events"\nkeystroke "scriptTwo"\nend tell';
var InDesignFile = File(app.documents[0].fullName);
// Execute the first function:
one();
// Save and close the document:
app.documents[0].close(SaveOptions.YES);
// Open the document immediately after closing it:
app.open(InDesignFile);
// Execute the second function:
two();
function one()
{
    // Clearing the selection:
    app.documents[0].select(null);
    // Select the text in the text frame named "OddPageHeader":
    app.documents[0].pageItems.itemByName("OddPageHeader").texts.everyItem().select();
    app.doScript(scriptOne,ScriptLanguage.APPLESCRIPT_LANGUAGE);
};
function two()
{
    // Clearing the selection:
    app.documents[0].select(null);
   
    // Select the text in the text frame named "EvenPageHeader":
    app.documents[0].pageItems.itemByName("EvenPageHeader").texts.everyItem().select();
    app.doScript (scriptTwo,ScriptLanguage.APPLESCRIPT_LANGUAGE);
};

After executing the code above:

The text frame named "EvenPageHeader" now has the contents that is done by the two AppleScripts combined.

How can that be explained?

Regards,
Uwe

A
Anonymous
January 31, 2017

Uwe,

Thought it was just me going mad, on one side I'm glad it's not but on the other side I am more of a loss than you as to why .

Have been trying to work it out for hours and in the end had to raise it on here to check I wasn't just going around it totally the wrong way. Thanks for putting in the time to test it and I'm sorry if it gives you a few restless hours trying to wrap your head around it as it did with me. Will definitely be trying the invoke line as I said before but would be interesting to see if there are any answers to the above.

Thanks again, Brendan

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