Action to remove all unused swatches nearly works...

[garisimola]

I've been using the default Action to remove fluff (unused swatches, symbols, brushes, etc.) but it has a funny quirk. I have a spot black color (named black) that always escapes the purge, even if it not used in the document. It is not set as the default stroke/fill, and there are no styles that use this swatch. Even if I run the Action twice the swatch remains. Even if I rename the swatch to something other than black it remains. Even if I rename the swatch and give it a different CMYK mix it remains. As a kludge, I've been using a combo of the default action and John Wundes' Delete Fluff script to get everything, but it is not an ideal solution. Wundes' script, which is unable to delete used brushes, roots out the offending swatch. It is unable to delete unused brushes, so following up with the default action clears those out. Also, Wundes' script is very slow and will often beach-ball the application, requiring a force-quit occasionally.

Two questions:

============

Can anyone think of other places that might harbor this rogue spot color and make the default action not find/delete it?

Is there a simple script that could check specifically for the use of this color in the document and delete it?

Cheers and thanks!!

-G-

[garisimola]

Looks like I found the answer to my first question as to why the default Action won't delete the 'unused' swatch. Even though the unused Brushes are selected and deleted prior to the unused Swatches there's still a 'ghost' of the swatch resident because of the Brush. If I save the document, close it, re-open it, and then run the Action again the offending swatch is excised. I'm still hoping there might be a simple script to check for the Swatch's use and delete it if not in use.

-g-

[Larry G. Schneider]

You would be best served by renaming the swatch to Spot Black to avoid confusion with the native Black swatch.

[garisimola]

Larry, thanks for the response. In regards to this problem, the name of the swatch is not relevant. I can change it to anything and the Delete Fluff action will not get rid of it. In regards to the greater good, why do you recommend the swatch be renamed? I have specific production reasons to have a spot color named 'black' (which is a different animal from 'Black' or 'BLACK' or 'blACk'). I've been running with scissors like this for a while and would like to know the unintended consequences. Cheers!

-g-

[Larry G. Schneider]

Have you modified the order of the removal in any way? It needs to be Symbols, Graphic Styles, Brushes and then Swatches.

[garisimola]

The reason I feel like it is a remnant of a deleted brush is because:

-- I can run the Action the first time and the unwanted swatch is still there.

-- I can run the Action again (or ten times), and it is still there.

-- If, however, I save, close, and then open the document, and run the Action again then it will result in getting rid of the unwanted swatch.

I don't know what magic exists in John's script, but it has no problem getting rid of the unused swatch right off the bat...

-g-

[Larry G. Schneider]

Does your action have the stops in it like mine does in CS6? One of the main reasons I still use CS5 for my work.

[garisimola]

No, I'm still using CS5, too... too busy get new-fangled.

-g-

[Larry G. Schneider]

Does it work the same if you run a Object>Path>Cleanup before you do the Delete All Unused?

[garisimola]

Yes, I just tried it... It said No cleanup was necessary. I then ran the Action again, and no love.

-g-

[Larry G. Schneider]

I was thinking there was an semi-hidden object but that doesn't seem to be the case.

[garisimola]

I'm pretty sure is is the vestigial remains of a specific brush that uses that swatch. If I delete that brush from the template, create a new document based on the revised template, and then run the Action that swatch gets deleted. Only if the document starts with the brush will the problem arise... small annoying bug... as a workaround I'm using the Action in combination with Wundes' script. I run the Action first, which gets rid of almost everything. Then, Wundes' script comes behind and takes care of the rest. Not sure why that script sometimes hangs up, but I'm no script writer.... too much voo-doo... Thanks, Larry, for spending some time with this problem. If I get a better solution I'll be sure to post it here.

-g-

[garisimola]

Gah -- just want people to know that the word "voo-doo" in a reply makes Adobe think you are sending spam (without the hyphen) and prevents you from posting a message.

-g-

[Egor Chistyakov]

Now logged as a bug report here at UserVoice