Clean up InDesign project folders

I haven’t test mine very much—not sure if this is a problem, but if you run the script multiple times on the same document, the links are going to get renamed and appended with _1. It would be possible to add a dialog that asks you to name the new folder.

There is the doScript method that lets you undo a script, but I don’t think it will let you undo Finder/Explorer operations—Manan might know more about that. An alert is easy:

app.doScript(cleanLinks,ScriptLanguage.JAVASCRIPT,[],UndoModes.ENTIRE_SCRIPT,'cleanLinks');

/**
* Moves the document links to a folder named UsedLinks  
*/
function cleanLinks(){
    var fn = "UsedLinks"
    var doc = app.activeDocument;
    var dp = doc.filePath
    var dl = doc.links.everyItem().getElements()
    var nlf = new Folder(dp + "/" + fn);
    nlf.create();
    var lp
    for (var i = 0; i < dl.length; i++){
        lp = dl[i].filePath
        dl[i].copyLink(nlf);
        File(lp).remove();
    }; 
    alert("Links Have Been Moved to " + fn)  
}

Hi @Mike Witherell,

The script checks in the folder where the asset of the first link it finds in the document resides. This is set as the folder that is to be cleaned up. Then it searches every filename in this folder in the filename collection of the links placed in the indesign file. If the filname is found in the collection the file is skipped, if the name is not found that means the file is not placed in InDesign and henc it is deleted.

So yes the script does delete files. Give it a try with a sample document.

-Manan

If script is something that you are after. The following InDesign script should work. Prerequisties for the script to run are

• The document should be open
• The script will search for link files in the folder where the first link it finds in the document is present. Ideally this means that all the placed files should be present in the same folder

var linksNames = app.documents[0].links.everyItem().name
var linksFldr = File(app.documents[0].links[0].filePath).parent
var flCol = linksFldr.getFiles()
for(var i = 0; i < flCol.length; i++){
	var fn = File(flCol[i]).displayName
	var rg = new RegExp("\\b" + fn + "\\b")
	if(!rg.test(linksNames))
        File(flCol[i]).remove()
}

-Manan

Clever! 

I kinda wish Bridge had the answer. In Bridge, you can right-click the INDD file and have it show all links.

I sorta want the opposite of that, too.

Hi Scott,

This is more a matter of files that were planned to be used, got put in the Links folder, but then either never got used, or were later deleted from the layout. Now the Links subfolder has extra stuff. I want to hunt for all files not being used in the InDesign file.

I suppose I could check links, package, then get rid of old folders, but I thought someone might have a clever script or method.

I hope you are well!