getFiles() not acting like an array

[Ben Ross - KP]

I am having an odd issue with the getFiles() function: It is returning the list of folders I want, but won't let me interact with them as an array.

Here is my code:

const basePath = "C:/Users/O146962/OneDrive - Kaiser Permanente/Documents/GitHub/kp_pd_xml_automation";
const mainFolder = basePath + "/Indesign Automation POC";
const templateFolder = Folder(mainFolder + "/Templates");
const rgnTemplateFolders = templateFolder.getFiles("*_inddTemplates");
alert(rgnTemplateFolders.length());

Note that the const templateFolder is declared as a Folder object.

If I set the alert to

alert(rgnTemplateFolders);

 The script produces the following:

If I set the alert to:

alert(rgnTemplateFolders[1]);

I get:

BUT, if I set the alert to:

alert(rgnTemplateFolders.length());

I get:

I have been hunting through these forums and found the following posts, but none of them seem to specifically deal with this issue.

• looping-thru-getfiles-array 
• Use getFiles() in an array
• Problem with getFiles()

What am I missing here?

[Ben Ross - KP]

@Peter Kahrel @m1b @Loic.Aigon  @Robert at ID-Tasker 

[Ben Ross - KP · Accepted solution]

Well now I feel a bit stupid. A colleague pointed out that I needed to use 

alert(rgnTemplateFolders.length);

since length is a property and not a method. 🤦‍

[Dirk Becker]

That error is understandable as you are at the same time learning Extendscript's XML, where almost everything – including "length()" – is a function rather than a property.

[Peter Kahrel]

Seems to me that all's well, you get what you asked for. The list of folders shown by

alert(rgnTemplateFolders);

is an array. And

alert(rgnTemplateFolders[1]);

shows the first element in the array.

When you run this:

alert(rgnTemplateFolders).join('\r');

the files are printed as a list, as you'd expect, using the array function ,join().

alert(rgnTemplateFolders.length());

returns an error because .length is a property, not a function, as your error message tells you.

Why do you think that alert(rgnTemplateFolders); does not return an array?

(In the meantime Ben Ross figured it out.)

[Ben Ross - KP]

Thanks @Peter Kahrel ! Since the results of getFiles() IS an array, why does using array.forEach() say that forEach is not a function?

https://www.w3schools.com/jsref/jsref_foreach.asp

[TᴀW · Accepted solution]

InDesign scripting is based on ECMAScript 3. foreach didn't exist back then...

[Ben Ross - KP · Accepted solution]

Thanks @TᴀW .

For anyone else that comes across this, here is a reference for ECMA Script 3:

https://www-archive.mozilla.org/js/language/E262-3.pdf