Trying, as a beginner, to put a script together to print, embed, center, save, and close.

[Blake0D45]

Opening multiple .ai documents and placing objects from a library.  I don't know what I'm doing, trying to make scripts, and this is what I'm trying to do:

Embed all placed objects,

Center the view of the artboard (ctrl+0)

Print

Save and Close.

I'm also trying to get all this to happen in either alphanumeric order (with respect to document name) or from left to right (with respect to document tabs).

I've been messing with other scripts trying to frankenstein something together, but I really don't know enough to even know where to start.

Thanks for any help or scripts that might come my way.

[femkeblanco]

var docs = app.documents;
var saveOptions = new IllustratorSaveOptions();
saveOptions.embedLinkedFiles = true;
for (var i = docs.length - 1; i > -1; i--) {
  var path1 = "/C/Users/.../Desktop/" + docs[i].name;
  var file1 = new File(path1)
  docs[i].saveAs(file1, saveOptions);
  docs[i].print();
  docs[i].close(SaveOptions.SAVECHANGES);
}

NB

1. Change "..." in the path in line 5 to your destination.
2. I have not tested the print function.
3. To centre your view (Ctrl+0), you can add

executeMenuCommand("fitin");​

but I suspect this is not what you want (it'll centre your view, not your objects).

[iconify]

The function below will center an "item" on the parent artboard. An "item" can be a PageItem or GroupItem. I'm not sure how to place library items in an AI document as I have never tried it before. I did a quick search of the Illustrator script guide but did not find anything. I'm sorry this is the only part I can be helpful with at the moment.

function centerItem(theItem) {
    try {
        var doc = app.activeDocument,
            artboard = doc.artboards[doc.artboards.getActiveArtboardIndex()];

        if (! artboard) {
            doc.artboards.setActiveArtboardIndex(0);
        }

        var left   = artboard.artboardRect[0],
            top    = artboard.artboardRect[1],
            right  = artboard.artboardRect[2],
            bottom = artboard.artboardRect[3];

        theItem.position = [
            Math.round((right - theItem.width)/2),
            Math.round((bottom + theItem.height)/2)
        ];
    }
    catch(ex) {
        try {
            theItem.position = [0, 0];
        }
        catch(ex) {/*Exit Gracefully*/}
    }
}

[Blake0D45]

Thank you so much.  I should have clarified, documents are existing, and I'm just needing to save changes (not new documents).

And you are correct about centering the view.  I do not want to move objects, just save the file to where the artboard is in full view.

[iconify]

I believe this repository should have everything you need. Look in ContactSheet.jsx. If you search for createFromFile that will show you how to import files such as SVG, PDF, AI, etc. You will need to follow through the logic to figure out the other pieces but I've fairly certain everything you've mentioned is in there. I am happy to try to answer any questions I can to explain the code.

What this script does is fairly simple : Select a folder of SVG files (or other formats), and enter paramters to import all of the files and place them in rows and columns creating a contact sheet. While this places all of the imports on the same artboard, it is fairly trivial to place each one on a separate artboard. I have an extension I am waiting to be approved that does this. It will be free as soon as it is published. These don't do exactly what you want but I think all of the concepts are covered by the code.

https://github.com/iconifyit/contact-sheet

[Blake0D45]

Ok, here's what I have so far.  It will center print and save a document that I've not made any changes to.  If I make any changes (including placing a linked file) it bugs out at d.print();.  So I'm not yet sure if the embed function works.  See what you think...

// JavaScript Document

#target illustrator

app.userInteractionLevel = UserInteractionLevel.DONTDISPLAYALERTS;

var closed = true;

var saveOptions = new IllustratorSaveOptions();

saveOptions.embedLinkedFiles = true;

executeMenuCommand("fitin");

function imprimtous(){

var i, d;

for(i = app.documents.length-1; i>-1; i--) {

d = app.documents[i];

d.print();

if (closed) {

if (!d.saved) d.close(SaveOptions.SAVECHANGES);

else d.close(SaveOptions.DONOTSAVECHANGES);

}

}

}

imprimtous();

[Blake0D45]

Weird, I didn't do anything different and now this will run without a bug when I make changes.  However, the embed code is not working yet.

[femkeblanco · Accepted solution]

embedLinkedFiles and IllustratorSaveOptions are used with the saveAs() function. You do not have a saveAs() function in your code.  Alternatively, you can go through your placedItems and embed them individually

for (var i = 0; i < app.activeDocument.placedItems.length; i ++) {
  app.activeDocument.placedItems[i].embed();
}

[Blake0D45]

Oh man!  That works amazing!  Thank you!

So there's 1 more thing, and I don't know if it's possible.  This code will complete all open documents, but it goes in the order of last active document, and it would be awesome to either get it to go from left to right (with respect to document tabs) or in alphanumeric order (with respect to document name).

I know that ctrl+tab will cycle through documents from left to right, I don't know if coding that would be the way to go, but that's really the last thing I need to figure out for this.

[Blake0D45]

A little more testing revealed that the embed and center script only works on the first document and not on all the rest.  Not sure how to fix that.

[iconify]

You need to set the activeDocument to the current iteration in the docs array.

var docs = [];
if (app.documents.length == 0) {
	docs = app.documents;
	docs.sort(function(a, b) {
		if (a.name > b.name) return -1;
		if (a.name < b.name) return 1;
		return 0;
	});
	// Loop through docs array and save each one
	
	for (var i = 0; i < docs.length; i++) {
	    app.activeDocument = docs[i];
	        for (var i = 0; i < app.activeDocument.placedItems.length; i ++) {
            app.activeDocument.placedItems[i].embed();
        }
	}
}

[Blake0D45 · Accepted solution]

So here is what I ended up with.  You must click on the first document tab to begin.

This code centers the artboard, embeds any linked/placed objects, prints, saves and closes each document from left to right (with respect to document tabs) until complete.

Thanks for everyone's help!

app.userInteractionLevel = UserInteractionLevel.DONTDISPLAYALERTS;

while (documents.length > 0) {

executeMenuCommand("fitin");

app.activeDocument.print()

for (var i = 0; i < app.activeDocument.placedItems.length; i
++) {
app.activeDocument.placedItems[i].embed();
}

app.activeDocument.save()

app.activeDocument.close()

if (app.documents.length > 0){

app.documents[app.documents.length-1].activate();}

}

[iconify]

You can list the open documents, sort them, then save them via your sorted list.

if (app.documents.length == 0) {
    var docs = app.documents;
    docs.sort(function(a, b) {
        if (a.name > b.name) return -1;
        if (a.name < b.name) return 1;
        return 0;
    });
    // Loop through docs array and save each one
}