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A
Anonymous
September 15, 2011
Question

How to adjust a table imported from Word to InDesign

  • September 15, 2011
  • 1 reply
  • 852 views

Hi all,

I am new to InDesign scripting. The problem I have is that I have hundreds of Word 2003 files which I need to import into InDesign CS5. The basics are under control excepting the tables. They import OK but then I need to change the cell padding, the style and the alignment of each table. There are lots per file.

I found a script "TableStyle.js" which adjusts the cell padding for all tables in an InDesign file (extract from the file below). What I don't know is how to change the entire table (or perhaps it is the enclosing paragraph) to Normal style and centred alignment.

Can anybody help

// Processing of tables

function myTableMaker() {

      try{var myTablesCount = mySelect.tables.length;}

      catch(err){var myTablesCount = 1;}

      for (myCounter = 0; myCounter < myTablesCount; myCounter++) {

            try{

                  var myTable = mySelect.tables.item(myCounter);

            }

            catch(err){

                  var myTable = mySelect;

            }

            // Setting spaces above and below

            myTable.spaceBefore = mySpaceBeforeSave + myUnits;

            myTable.spaceAfter = mySpaceAfterSave + myUnits;

// Change table justification to Centre Justified

// Change table style to Normal

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1 reply

John Hawkinson
John Hawkinson
Inspiring
September 15, 2011

Hi Tony:

What I don't know is how to change the entire table (or perhaps it is the enclosing paragraph) to Normal style and centred alignment.

// Setting spaces above and below
myTable.spaceBefore = mySpaceBeforeSave + myUnits;
myTable.spaceAfter = mySpaceAfterSave + myUnits;
  
// Change table justification to Centre Justified
// Change table style to Normal

Assuming you in fact mean the paragraph styles of all the contents of all the cells, rather than a table style then:

myTable.cells.everyItem().texts.everyItem().appliedParagraphStyle="Normal";

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "centered alignment." Why not do that in the paragraph style? Anyhow:

myTable.cells.everyItem().texts.everyItem().justification=Justification.CENTER_JUSTIFIED;
A
Anonymous
September 19, 2011

Hi John,

Thanks for your answer. I am not talking about the content of the cells in the table.

I am talking about the entire table. When I do it manually I click the cursor to the left of the table and there is a flashing vertical bar, the full height of the table on the left edge of the table. Then when I click the centre justify button then the entire table moves to the centre of the page.

The same of the normal style - I want to apply the style to the table not the cells inside the table.

A
Anonymous
September 19, 2011

Use storyOffset to find the insertionpoint where the table is anchored. That's where you can make it centered or whatever.

myTable.storyOffset.appliedParagraphStyle = "Normal";
myTable.storyOffset.justification = Justification.CENTER_ALIGN;
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