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T
tlumbis
Inspiring
July 10, 2013
Question

Script to activate the Color Separations Panel?

  • July 10, 2013
  • 1 reply
  • 1909 views

I've Frankensteined together a script (javascript) using bits and pieces that I've found here that deletes unused swatches, deletes unused character/paragraph styles, and deletes unused text boxes.

As the final function, I want the script to activate the separatations panel preview (with only the black separation visible). I haven't been able to find any scripts that "activate" a panel for me to manipulate.

Any help would be much appreciated.

------ Additional information that you probably don't need to know but maybe you'll have some clever solution for my problem that I haven't thought of. ------

If any graphic or text has InDesign [Black] applied to it, it doesn't output to our negative printer. This obviously causes problems if a designer fails to apply a colored swatch to a graphic or text and then fails to check the separation preview for [Black] items.

I first thought that it'd be fine just to have the script notify the designer if any items in the job had InDesign [Black] applied... but there are two layers on every one of our jobs that use InDesign [Black]... so the "alert" script would have to omit those two layers when searching for instances of InDesign [Black]... and this all seemed much more complicated than just having a script activate the the Separations Panel with Black selected.)

Again, thank you for your help.

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

Vamitul
Vamitul
Legend
July 11, 2013

You can open the separation panel, invoking it's menu item, but i don't think it's possible to select the separation you want etc.

see if the panel is already opened:

app.menuActions.itemByID(71937).checked

open/close the panel:

app.menuActions.itemByID(71937).invoke()

T
tlumbisAuthor
Inspiring
July 11, 2013

Thanks for your help Vamitul.

I'll either continue trying to figure out my original idea - a pop-up warning if indesign black is assigned to text, stroke, or graphic excepting certain layers - Failing that I'll just have a general pop-up reminding users to double check their separations... which will be ignored after the message becomes commonplace.

Much obliged.

Vamitul
Vamitul
Legend
July 11, 2013

actually the searching shouldn't be too difficult.

1) hide the two layers

2) app.findChangeObjectOption.includeHiddenLayers=false

3) app.findObjectPreferences.fillColor="[Black"]

4) if (doc.findObject().length) {alert ("Black filled objects detected!\nYou naughty naughty boy")}

repeat for strokeColor

rinse and repeat for text.

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