Can InDesign open websites in a tab or can it be scripted?

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
September 30, 2022
4 replies
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I am using TiddlyWiki with TiddlyMap for creating the drafts of my articles and I thought instead of writing in InCopy I could create my document in physical size directly in InDesign, from a draft in an InDesign panel created in TiddlyWiki / TiddlyMap.

Is there any way to open a website or run at least TiddlyWiki (requires JS) in a tab in InDesign?

How to

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Chris P. BaconAuthor

Inspiring

InDesign could open a website in a tab already back in 2010, here is an extension from that time (cannot download it, it's just adware left on the link):

Panel: tomaxxiBROWSE [panel based web browser for InDesign CS5] | IndiSnip [InDesign® Snippets] (wordpress.com)

In fact it's not a must to incorporate Node.js and the Chrome engine into an extension.

It's sufficient to make a tab that would launch the default system browser.

I know that JS has a "defaultbrowser" something, option.

Because TiddlyWiki would run for most people from the cloud like from OneDrive anyway, from the unpacked Node.js binaries, without install, which is convenient, from the localhost address.

That only needs to get the deafult browser launched in an InDesign tab or extansion, nothing more.

Anyone who knows how to launch the local browser window in an InDesign tab?

The extension linked above was done with flash, so I am sure it's possible with HTML 5, I just don't know how.

Many self publishers don't need to work in a team, so using InCopy is an overkill, and anyways that many window switching would drive me crazy, I think.

Anyways InCopy is nothing like TiddlyWiki, especially with TiddlyMap and FontAwesome installed.

I am not sure that launching the local browser in an indesign tab (preferably resizable tab) requires a CEP extension, or does it?

rob day

Community Expert

I am not sure that launching the local browser in an indesign tab (preferably resizable tab) requires a CEP extension, or does it?

I think so, the only object in ExtendScript API that lets you connect to a TCP/IP server is Socket:

https://www.indesignjs.de/extendscriptAPI/indesign-latest/#Socket.html

But even if you can get the data, you still have to construct the panel or dialog, which probably isn’t going to happen with ExtendScript.

Chris P. BaconAuthor

Inspiring

What you are saying is implementing a browser in InDesign (using their Chrome engine clone, right?)

But what I mean is embedding the local browser window only, that doesn't require any server or TCP/IP implementations, becasue the default browser would run there, as an iframe.