How to encrypt a script using Floating Window & BridgeTalk in Illustrator?

[itskaabi]

Hi everyone,

I’m working on an advanced JavaScript (ExtendScript) file for Illustrator that includes a floating window UI and uses BridgeTalk for communication between UI and drawing logic.

I tried encrypting the script using Adobe ExtendScript Toolkit to convert it to .jsxbin, then wrapped it with eval("...") and renamed it back to .jsx. However, when I tried running it in Illustrator, it didn’t work at all—the script wouldn’t even open.

I suspect the issue might be related to the use of BridgeTalk or the floating window, but I’m not sure.

My goal is to protect/obfuscate this script before distribution, but I’m stuck at this point.

If anyone has experience with encrypting scripts that involve BridgeTalk and floating palettes—please guide me on the best way to do this.

Thanks in advance!

[sttk3]

It may be necessary to unify the targetengine setting between the file executing eval("...") and the code running in BridgeTalk. The original code's targetengine was removed during binary export, so please add it again.

//@targetengine "your_script_id"
eval("...") ;

[Andy Swift]

It might be simpler to build a CEP panel and dynamically load/decode the script.

It's just like building a web page and the tools are much simpler and more predictable.

You can validate the account before downloading the script, and store the script in localStorate if you want it to load faster in the future.

Feel free to ask for more details.

[itskaabi]

@Andy Swift 

Hi Andy,
Thanks a lot for the suggestion!

I actually tried converting anoter script into a CEP panel a while ago — but I didn’t have enough experience with CEP at the time, so I couldn’t get it to work properly.

Now I’ve managed to build it as a floating panel successfully.
However, I’m on macOS, and when I tried to run it in Illustrator, the panel didn’t appear under the Window menu at all.

I’m not sure if I’m missing something or if there’s a specific step I need to follow?

From my research, it seems that Adobe has deprecated CEP in favor of UXP. But apparently, UXP isn’t yet supported in Illustrator, so I’m kind of stuck in between.

If you know of a working setup or workaround I could use, I’d really appreciate your advice!

Thanks again!

[Andy Swift]

Have you enabled debug mode? See my repo for instructions:

https://github.com/svijasvg/panel/tree/beta

UXP is probably not coming any time soon to Illustrator, and CEP still works really well.

[itskaabi]

Hi again,
Thanks to your help, I was finally able to get my floating panel UI to appear in Illustrator after encrypting my script with .jsxbin and using //@targetengine above the eval("...") line.

However, I now have a new issue: the Generate button inside the panel doesn’t do anything when clicked.And there’s no console error either. It just seems unresponsive.

This button was working fine before encryption, so I’m wondering:
• Could the issue be related to how BridgeTalk is used in the script?
• Is there a known limitation when using eval() to execute scripts with event listeners or BridgeTalk calls?

Any tips on how I can debug or resolve this would be really appreciated.
Thanks again!

[itskaabi]

@sttk3 

Hi again,
Thanks to your help, I was finally able to get my floating panel UI to appear in Illustrator after encrypting my script with .jsxbin and using //@targetengine above the eval("...") line.

However, I now have a new issue: the Generate button inside the panel doesn’t do anything when clicked.And there’s no console error either. It just seems unresponsive.

This button was working fine before encryption, so I’m wondering:
• Could the issue be related to how BridgeTalk is used in the script?
• Is there a known limitation when using eval() to execute scripts with event listeners or BridgeTalk calls?

Any tips on how I can debug or resolve this would be really appreciated.
Thanks again!

[sttk3]

@itskaabi 

As I recall, even when an error occurred in the BridgeTalk process, there was no response. It is probably an error on the BridgeTalk side.

I 've experienced similar issues on the BridgeTalk side where comments being deleted caused problems, though I forget the details.

Also, I often tried to share references to the pageItem between the panel process and the Illustrator process, and errors occurred because that wasn't possible. Not sure if it applies to your case, but it might be helpful.

If you could show us a simplified version of your code, it would help us investigate the cause.

[itskaabi]

@sttk3 

Hi again!
Thanks a lot for your previous support. I've now prepared a simplified and anonymized version of my script, which reproduces the core issue I'm facing.
This stripped-down version still uses:
A floating palette UI
BridgeTalk for communication
A Generate button to trigger drawing logic

Here’s the simplified code. Could you please take a look and let me know what’s breaking the Generate functionality or how to fix this?

I’d be very grateful for your insights

/**

* myscript Minimal Repro - Protected Version (Partial)

* This is a simplified and obfuscated version of the original myscript script.

* Core drawing logic is hidden for protection, but the BridgeTalk flow remains intact.

*/

#target illustrator

#targetengine "SecureDemoEngine"

function secureTrigger(filePath) {

if (!filePath) return;

try {

var bt = new BridgeTalk();

bt.target = "illustrator";

var runnerCode = "var innerDraw = function(p) { try {\n" +

" // [ Drawing logic removed intentionally ]\n" +

" alert(\"Drawing started with config:\\n\" + p);\n" +

"} catch(e) { alert('Draw error: ' + e); } };\n" +

"var f = new File('" + filePath.replace(/\\/g, "\\\\") + "');\n" +

"if (f.exists) { f.open('r'); var content = f.read(); f.close(); innerDraw(content); } else { alert('Missing config'); }";

bt.body = runnerCode;

bt.send();

} catch (e) {

alert("BridgeTalk failed: " + e);

}

}

// UI trigger

(function() {

var w = new Window("palette", "\uD83C\uDF71 myscript Demo Panel");

var g = w.add("group");

var btn = g.add("button", undefined, "Generate");

btn.onClick = function() {

var tmp = new File(Folder.temp + "/temp_secure_cfg.json");

tmp.open("w");

tmp.write('{"rows":6,"cols":6}'); // demo dummy

tmp.close();

secureTrigger(tmp.fsName);

};

w.center();

w.show();

})();

[sttk3]

@itskaabi

Your code runs fine in my environment. However, there were a few areas for improvement, so I added them as comments.

/**
* myscript Minimal Repro - Protected Version (Partial)
* This is a simplified and obfuscated version of the original myscript script.
* Core drawing logic is hidden for protection, but the BridgeTalk flow remains intact.
*/

//@target 'illustrator'
//@targetengine 'SecureDemoEngine'

function secureTrigger(filePath) {
  if(!filePath) {return ;}

  try {
    var bt = new BridgeTalk() ;
    bt.target = 'illustrator' ;

    // Reduce escaping to prevent errors
    var lf = '\n' ;
    var runnerCode = """
      var innerDraw = function(p) {
        try {
          // [ Drawing logic removed intentionally ]
          alert('Drawing started with config:'""" + lf + """ + p) ;
        } catch(e) {
          alert('Draw error: ' + e) ;
        }
      } ;
      var f = new File('""" + filePath + """') ;
      if(f.exists) {
        f.open('r') ;
        var content = f.read() ;
        f.close() ;
        innerDraw(content) ;
      } else {
        alert('Missing config') ;
      }
    """ ;

    bt.body = runnerCode ;
    bt.send() ;
  } catch (e) {
    alert('BridgeTalk failed: ' + e) ;
  }
}

// UI trigger
var floatingPanel ; // Make the window reference global to ensure a single panel instance
(function() {
  floatingPanel = new Window('palette', '\uD83C\uDF71 myscript Demo Panel') ;
  var g = floatingPanel.add('group') ;
  var btn = g.add('button', undefined, 'Generate') ;

  btn.onClick = function() {
    var tmp = new File(Folder.temp + '/temp_secure_cfg.json') ;
    tmp.open('w') ;
    tmp.write('{"rows":6,"cols":6}') ; // demo dummy
    tmp.close() ;

    secureTrigger(tmp.fullName) ; // Change from fsName to fullName to avoid OS dependency
  } ;

  floatingPanel.center() ;
  floatingPanel.show() ;
})() ;

[itskaabi]

@sttk3 

Hi again,

I followed all the changes you suggested and applied them correctly to my original script. Then I did the following steps:
1. I opened the modified script in Adobe ExtendScript Toolkit.
2. Exported it as .jsxbin.
3. Wrapped the code inside eval("...") on a single line.
4. Added //@targetengine "YourScriptID" just above the eval line.
5. Saved the file as .jsx and ran it inside Adobe Illustrator.

* The floating panel now appears as expected — so far, so good.

* However, the problem is still there: when I click the “Generate” button inside the panel, nothing happens. There’s no error message, no response — just silence. It’s like the button doesn’t trigger anything at all.

So I’m stuck again and not sure what exactly is breaking it. 😕

Thank you again for your help so far — if you have any further ideas or tips, I’d really appreciate them!

[sttk3]

There's a high chance a mistake was made when escaping strings in runnerCode. Could there be too many or too few backslashes, or are the quotation marks not closed?

[itskaabi]

@sttk3 
Hi again,
I just wanted to follow up and let you know that I finally found a working solution.
I separated the original script lines using the + symbol, wrapped all of them inside an eval("..."), and then exported the file as .jsxbin.
After that, I added the line:
//@targetengine "your_script_id"
right above the eval("...") block, and saved the result as a .jsx file.
I ran it inside Illustrator — and everything worked perfectly, just like before!
The floating panel shows up, and the Generate button now responds as expected.
Thank you so much for your guidance and your time — I really appreciate your help throughout this process!