a quick question, how to call from a script "force redraw"?

[Vamitul]

For "debuging" purposes, i want to call from a script a "force redraw" of the current layout window (default keyboard shortcut Shift+F5). I can't find anything like that in the DOM, and i was thinking of invoking a menu.. but can't find the menu item for it either..

anyone?

[Peter Kahrel]

Maybe recompose something (a text frame or something like that). Does that work?

Or juggle with the screen mode:

app.windows[0].screenMode = ScreenModeOptions.PREVIEW_OFF

app.windows[0].screenMode = ScreenModeOptions.PREVIEW_TO_BLEED

Never done this: I usually try to prevent screen redraws!

Peter

[Laubender · Accepted solution]

Or maybe minimizing, maximizing the specific layoutWindow of the document?

"Force Redraw" should be available by its ID value 318:

//Invoke the menu "Force Redraw":
try{app.scriptMenuActions.itemByID(318).invoke()}catch(e){$.writeln(e.message)};

Uwe

[Vamitul]

Thanks Uwe.

@Peter: I don't dare recompose anything, as this script is basicly a helper tool for a last visual inspection of the document, before signing it off. The screenmode toogleing creates a huge visual flicker, that mostly defeats the purpose of fast previewing the document, and if the document is large enough will give you a headache at least (at most it will make you spill your lunch).

[Peter Kahrel]

Absolutely. I didn't know Force Redraw existed. Where in the menus is it (just curious)?

[Vamitul]

good question.. i only know (and use extensivly) the keyboard shortcut (shift+F5). probably it's hidden by default.

[Laubender]

@Vamitul & Peter – "Force Redraw" ("Aktualisierung erzwingen" in my German version of InDesign) is a very old feature that dates back at least to InDesign CS3.

You can guess that from its relative low ID value of 318.

I don't know if it ever got an individual UI component like a menu command visible to the user, but it resides in the [Standard] set of keyboard shortcuts.

I just opened my German InDesign CS3 and it  is available there:

"Ansichten, Navigation" in German.
Maybe "Views, Navigation" in English?

Uwe

[Laubender]

And there are several others in the same section:

ID	Menu Command

318		Force redraw
319		New default document
324		Activate last-used field in panel
325		Close all
326		Save all
327		Close document
328		Open context menu
329		Next window
330		Previous window

Uwe

[Laubender]

Laubender  wrote
Or maybe minimizing, maximizing the specific layoutWindow of the document?
"Force Redraw" should be available by its ID value 318:
//Invoke the menu "Force Redraw": try{app.scriptMenuActions.itemByID(318).invoke()}catch(e){$.writeln(e.message)};

Uwe

FWIW:

it seems that itemByID(318) is working, but itemByName() is not working with "Force Redraw":

// Looking in vain for a working string with "Force Redraw":
// I would expect that with my German version of InDesign:
app.scriptMenuActions.itemByName("Force Redraw").isValid; // returns false
// Let's see if the found string "$ID/Force Redraw" will work. Apparently not:
var resultsArray = app.findKeyStrings( app.scriptMenuActions.itemByID(318).title );
app.scriptMenuActions.itemByName( resultsArray[0] ).isValid; // returns false
// Here a variant of the same result:
var resultsArray = app.findKeyStrings( app.scriptMenuActions.itemByID(318).name );
app.scriptMenuActions.itemByName(resultsArray[0]).isValid; // returns false
// Also this will not work using my German version of the string in my German InDesign:
app.scriptMenuActions.itemByName( app.scriptMenuActions.itemByID(318).name ).isValid; // returns false
app.scriptMenuActions.itemByName( app.scriptMenuActions.itemByID(318).title ).isValid; // returns false
// However using itemByID() instead of itemByName() would work.
// Just tested with my German InDesign CC 2019 on Windows 10:
app.scriptMenuActions.itemByID(318).isValid; // returns true

Regards,
Uwe

[Pickory]

Hello Uwe,

This worked very well for me, thanks.

It would be nice if there was a more subtle way. I really just want to redraw a story, even better a selection.

P.

[Laubender]

Hi Pickory ,

"Recompose All Stories" could be an alternative perhaps.

But it's also not that subtle:

app.menuActions.itemByName("$ID/Recompose all stories").invoke();

See also this:

Updating a document's layout

Also consider method recompose() that is available for all text objects, tables, rows and columns or individual table cells.

Regards,
Uwe

[iamwickedtall]

I'm trying to add a page refresh to a script of mine, and it doesn't seem to be working in a loop:

for(i = 0;i<5;i++){
app.activeWindow.activePage = app.activeDocument.pages[i];
$.sleep(2000);
try{app.scriptMenuActions.itemByID(318).invoke()}catch(e){$.writeln(e.message)};
}

Are there any methods that would allow the document to refresh after navigating to each page and pausing for a few seconds? Just a nice to have in the script.