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douglasc50519187
douglasc50519187
Participating Frequently
June 25, 2020
Answered

What's the best book on scripting?

  • June 25, 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 696 views

After first using a script (yay) to convert 239 paragraph numbers to Hyperlink Text Anchors, I then had to manually go through and search out each referernce to those room numbers and create a hyperlink to one of said anchors. Probably 500 or more links, as there were 1-4 per paragraph.

 

Wow. I mean, "This looks like a job for . . . Scripting!" 

 

But while I can write out the flowchart for what I want to do, I can't code it. Time to learn.

 

What are some of the best resources for learning InDesign scripting out there? I have a second book that I  have to lay out and edit (well, in reverse order) and having this automated when it comes time to finalize that one would be brilliant.

 

 

(For what it's worth:

 

What I need it to do is to
1. Ask me how many paragraphs to look for
2. Start at the beginning of the book. Look for 001 in a certain style
3. If you find it and it's not already linked, look up 001 on the Text Anchor List, and put in that link (bascially link it back to the room number)
4. Keep going until the end of the book
5. Now look for 002 . . .
6. Repeat until last number
The list of text anchors already exists (that's the script I mentioned above: it works)

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    3 replies

    Keith_Gilbert
    Keith_GilbertCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    June 25, 2020

    See also <https://sites.fastspring.com/publishingsecrets/product/JSID2> and <https://www.linkedin.com/learning/indesign-scripting-made-easy/welcome?u=2125562>

      douglasc50519187
      douglasc50519187Author
      Participating Frequently
      June 25, 2020

      I've marked this "correct" because it's just what I want. A published book (and I picked up GREP for InDesign as well) that hits JavaScript AND its utility for InDesign specifically. The other resources above are ALSO correct . . . but this hits my sweet spot.

      M
      Community Expert
      Manan JoshiCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      June 25, 2020

      Have a look at the following discussion as well, where we touch upon some key resources helpful for scripting

      https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign/adobe-indesign-scripting-language-reference/td-p/11222430

       

      -Manan

      -Manan
        brian_p_dts
        Community Expert
        brian_p_dtsCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        June 25, 2020

        Short answer is there's no definitive book. I think most seasoned InDesign scripters will tell you they learned by reviewing the InDesign scripting reference, the InDesign DOM, and sample code, while also learning the fundamentals of JavaScript. 

         

        Peter Kahrel's ScriptUI for Dummies is good if you want to understand how user interfaces work. 

         

        It takes a lot of trial and error to learn. Sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you want to accomplish: the best way to learn is to try. It'll break a lot but it gets easier with time. 

         

        If you don't have the fundamentals of JavaScript down, I would start there: variables, conditions, loops. Then start with a Hello World. 

         

        alert("Hello document: " + app.activeDocument.name);

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