Should I write a script or make a plugin?

[Chris Stehm CRG]

Hello,

I have been poking around at extending some of the functionality of illustrator to help me make some of my products, and I am not sure if I can get by with making a script to do it or if I have to go full ham and make a plugin.

Basically I need something that will be able to take in some user input, and a separate "template" file, and be able to generate a frame of sorts around an artboard of the users choosing. It would have to be able to read the template file and find assigned placeholders for text and images that would be filled in by what the user inputs (ie an address, client logo, and some other noodly bits). I am sorry if these seems vague, but i have just now realized i have never tried to explain it to people outside of our company that already have a mental image of what I am trying to accomplish. I guess i need a frame that can be redesigned via template that has placeholders that can be dynamically changed by a user that snaps to the outside edges of an artboard.

I have been good knowledge of javascript so I initially went to scripting, but I wasn't certain if I would be able to make an illustrator script that took in user input. It seems that I would be able to do all this and more with a plugin, but my knowledge of C++ is limited at best so it would take me longer to get off the ground with that.

So is scripting powerful enough to do something like this?

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me on the subject as i am new to writing for Illustrator.

[CarlosCanto]

scripting can do what your described. You can probably also do it with a plug in.

[Silly-V · Accepted solution]

Yes, with scripting you can use ScriptUI to create a 'more complex' user interface than simple prompts, and you wouldn't have to worry about the steep amount of things to worry about compared to plugin-creation work. For one, your scripts are cross-platform and are less likely to be affected by Illustrator version changes.

[Chris Stehm CRG]

Excellent. That is good to know, and I will look into that now that i know it exists. It was probably hiding right in plain sight too...but now I can dig in further without worrying that I am digging down the wrong rabbit hole.