Trying to make a hyperlinking script

Hi @Eubhal okay I see, well I'll just remove the part that tries to re-used an existing page destination and it will create a new one each time (same as your manual way). I'll leave the other script up though, because it is a better approach. So using your workflow, just select text containing one or more numbers and it will create hyperlinks for them. So you could select just the "1" or Apple 1,3,5 or the whole line to create 3 hyperlinks at once.

- Mark

/**
 * @file Add Hyperlinks For Page Numbers 4.js
 *
 * Usage:
 *   1. Select the existing "index" text
 *      - can be a text frame or some selected
 *        text or a whole story
 *
 *   2. Run script
 *
 * @author m1b
 * @version 2025-05-09
 * @discussion https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/trying-to-make-a-hyperlinking-script/m-p/15288981
 */
function main() {

    var settings = {
        hyperlinkCharacterStyleName: 'Hyperlink',
    }

    var doc = app.activeDocument,
        target = doc.selection[0];

    if (
        undefined == target
        || 'function' !== typeof target.findGrep
    )
        return alert('Please select the index text and try again.');

    var characterStyle = getThing(doc.allCharacterStyles, 'name', settings.hyperlinkCharacterStyleName);

    if (!characterStyle)
        return alert('Could not find "' + settings.hyperlinkCharacterStyleName + '" character style.');

    // clear the find/change grep preferences
    app.findGrepPreferences = NothingEnum.nothing;
    // set the find options
    app.findChangeGrepOptions.includeFootnotes = false;
    app.findChangeGrepOptions.includeHiddenLayers = false;
    app.findChangeGrepOptions.includeLockedLayersForFind = false;
    app.findChangeGrepOptions.includeLockedStoriesForFind = false;
    app.findChangeGrepOptions.includeMasterPages = false;

    // set the grep to search for page numbers or ranges (~= is endash)
    app.findGrepPreferences.findWhat = '\\d+([~=-]\\d+)?';

    // perform the find
    var found = target.findGrep();

    for (var i = 0; i < found.length; i++) {

        var text = found[i],
            parts = text.contents.split(/[\u2013-]/g),
            entries = [];

        // add the first page number
        entries[0] = {
            text: text.characters.itemByRange(0, parts[0].length - 1),
            pageName: parts[0],
        };

        if (
            2 === parts.length
            && Number(parts[1]) < Number(parts[0])
        ) {

            var secondPageName = parts[0].slice(0, parts[0].length - parts[1].length) + parts[1];

            // expand the second page number, if present
            entries[1] = {
                text: text.characters.itemByRange(text.contents.length - secondPageName.length + 1, secondPageName.length + 1),
                pageName: secondPageName,
            };

        }

        for (var j = 0; j < entries.length; j++) {

            var page = getThing(doc.pages, 'name', entries[j].pageName);

            if (!page)
                continue;

            // remove existing hyperlink
            var existing = text.findHyperlinks();
            for (var k = existing.length - 1; k >= 0; k--)
                existing[k].remove();

            var source = doc.hyperlinkTextSources.add(entries[j].text.characters.itemByRange(0, entries[j].text.length - 1)),
                destination = doc.hyperlinkPageDestinations.add(page, { hidden: true });

            // give the hyperlink a useful name
            var name = entries[j].text.paragraphs[0].words[0].contents,
                n = 0;

            // a name that won't conflict
            while (doc.hyperlinks.itemByName(name + ' ' + (++n)).isValid);

            // create the hyperlink and name it
            doc.hyperlinks.add(source, destination).name = name + ' ' + n;

            // apply the character style
            entries[j].text.applyCharacterStyle(characterStyle, true);

        }

    }

};
app.doScript(main, ScriptLanguage.JAVASCRIPT, undefined, UndoModes.ENTIRE_SCRIPT, 'Add Index Hyperinks');

/**
 * Returns a thing with matching property.
 * If `key` is undefined, evaluate the object itself.
 * @author m1b
 * @version 2024-04-21
 * @param {Array|Collection} things - the things to look through.
 * @param {String} [key] - the property name (default: undefined).
 * @param {*} value - the value to match.
 * @returns {*?} - the thing, if found.
 */
function getThing(things, key, value) {

    for (var i = 0; i < things.length; i++)
        if ((undefined == key ? things[i] : things[i][key]) == value)
            return things[i];

};

Edit 2025-04-28: Added ability to correctly match page number ranges, eg. 34-6 and ignore the second part.

Edit 2025-04-29: Added handling of en dash or hyphen between page numbers

Edit 2025-05-09: Fixed bug due to using a javascript regex in find grep, oops! Fixed bug due to using wrong code for endash. I must have been asleep! Added logic for "expanding" second number in page range so that 12–3 will create hyperlinks to pages 12 and 13 respectively.