Skip to main content
dublove
Legend
October 15, 2026
Question

miss the old version of InDesign API. Can I still find it?

Today, I wanted to horizontally move an object, and I thought of using item.move()
I am on the new version of https://www.indesignjs.de/indesignapi/indesign
I've been looking for a long time, but I can't figure out which one it is.

I still feel more comfortable with the old version.


Later, I found item.move(undefined, [-x, 0]); in someone else's example. I'm curious about the purpose of undefined.

    16 replies

    grefel
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 16, 2026

    I do maintain https://www.indesignjs.de/indesignapi/ and updated the ExtendScript API for various reasons. The old one was generated in 2014 with a toolchain I can't keep running. And its underlying website technology is outdated. I won't be maintaining two sites, sorry.

    I did try to make the transition painless; it has the same information presentation and a ton of new features and goodies. 

    What's new:

     

    • No frames. One static page per object, so deep links, back button, Ctrl+F all work.
    • Ctrl+K searches all 28.000+ members. O filters the object list, P/E/M shortcuts jump to properties, events, methods.
    • Cleaner data — mashed-up types like boundsKind:BoundingBoxLimits resolved, value ranges and measurement units shown as such, optional parameters marked consistently.
    • Hierarchy on every page: what contains this object, what it contains, which preferences hang off it.
    • ExtendScript / UXP switch.
    • TypeScript declarations for VS Code autocomplete, plus a ScriptUI variant.
       

    If you still need InDesign CS6 docs and the old layout these are still online https://www.indesignjs.de/indesignapi/indesign8/ Historical reference only — frozen at CS6, For a currently shipping InDesign it may be a decade out of date.

    Translate
    Community Expert
    October 16, 2026

    Thanks for your efforts ​@grefel I have a question the old version had I suppose a feature to download the whole site locally. Does the new one also have that?

    Translate
    -Manan
    grefel
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 16, 2026
    rob day
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 15, 2026

     Later, I found item.move(undefined, [-x, 0]); in someone else's example. I'm curious about the purpose of undefined.

     

    Hi ​@dublove , I think the new API is better once you get used to it. If you go to PageItem you can scroll down to the move(to, by) method. The available properties are listed first, followed by the methods 

     

    https://www.indesignjs.de/indesignapi/indesign/PageItem.html

     

    So with a page item selected:

     

    //a selected object
    var s = app.activeDocument.selection[0]
    //the top layer
    var tl = app.activeDocument.layers.firstItem()

    //Moves to -— move to the [1,1] x,y position
    s.move([1,1])

    //Moves by -— move by [1,1] from the starting position
    s.move(undefined, [1,1])

    //Move to a different layer, the top layer in this case
    s.move(tl)

     

    Translate
    dublove
    dubloveAuthor
    Legend
    October 15, 2026

    Hi rob day.

    Yes, the new version is more scientific. But it relies more on understanding the "key fields"
    However, I am not very familiar with the structure of extendScript, so I often rely on searching for content to find what I need.

    Translate
    Community Expert
    October 15, 2026

    There is search feature on this site as well. See the top and the left drawer

     

    Translate
    -Manan
    Community Expert
    October 15, 2026

    Works for me just fine. What do you mean by incorrect?

    Translate
    -Manan
    Community Expert
    October 15, 2026

    The new version is better, move method used two args “to” and “by” only one is used at a time. See https://www.indesignjs.de/indesignapi/indesign/PageItem.html#m-move

    For old version you could check the internet archive.

    Translate
    -Manan
    dublove
    dubloveAuthor
    Legend
    October 15, 2026

    Hi Manan Joshi.

    internet archive?

    What do you mean? When I click on the old link, it always takes me to the new version.
    Perhaps my English is still too poor, and the mistakes are just not obvious to me.

    Translate
    Community Expert
    October 15, 2026

    There is a project that maintains old version of websites on the internet. https://web.archive.org/web/20260813113143/https://www.indesignjs.de:/extendscriptAPI/indesign-latest/#about.html

    Translate
    -Manan