Script to align 2 objects vertical + horizontal with one click?

Question

I would like to be able to select two objects (usually a text frame and a shape) and align by BOTH vertical and horizontal centers with one click and/or keyboard shortcut. I letter comics which involves centering text over a speech balloon/text box repeatedly. Having to align twice each time a change is made to either one is really inefficient.

This user seemed to be looking for the same exact solution as me, and posted a solution, but InDesign doesn’t recognize the script when I save the text as a JSX file. It is from several years ago so I don’t know if my attempt to use the script is incorrect, or if it’s outdated somehow.

If someone knows a script that can do this, or can help me troubleshoot using the one above, that would be amazing!

CORCTON34033231 · Accepted Answer

Hi Emily 🙂You don't need that long script — a two-line script does exactly this (this is the short version suggested by an expert in the thread you linked):app.activeDocument.align(app.selection, AlignOptions.HORIZONTAL_CENTERS);app.activeDocument.align(app.selection, AlignOptions.VERTICAL_CENTERS);How to use it:1. Paste those two lines into a plain-text editor and save the file with a .jsx extension (for example CenterAlign.jsx). Plain text matters — if the file is saved as rich text, or ends up as .jsx.txt, InDesign won't recognize it, which is very likely what happened with the script you tried.2. In InDesign, open Window > Utilities > Scripts, right-click the User folder and choose Reveal in Explorer/Finder, and put the .jsx file in the Scripts Panel folder. It will then appear in the Scripts panel.3. Select your text frame and the balloon/shape, and double-click the script — both centers align in one go.4. For a keyboard shortcut: Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts, set Product Area to Scripts, select your script and assign the shortcut you want.Hope that speeds up the lettering!

emily15D5 · Answer

That works perfectly! Thanks for the tip on ensuring the script file was in plain text as well. This is exactly what I wanted to figure out, thank you so much :)

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