insert a non printing character like xml tag character '['

Hi @alam_84 ,

what you described is what e.g. a plug-in like EasyCatalog is doing. It adds visble tags like an XML workflow would do, but the tags do not show in the tags tree of InDesign. So it can be done. However I do not know how it is done programmatically.

Regards,

Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

Hi @alam_84, as @Willi Adelberger mentions it's hard to know what you need at this stage, but perhaps this little script will give you something to build on. It simply inserts an invisible character at the insertion point. You can pick any invisible character you like. I chose a zero-width-non-joiner.

- Mark

var zeroWidthNonJoiner = '\u200C',
    sel = app.activeDocument.selection;

if (
    sel.length == 1
    && sel[0].constructor.name == 'InsertionPoint'
)
    sel[0].contents = zeroWidthNonJoiner;

Non printing characters are inserted when you use specific functions, like xml.

Others are shown with different spaces and breaks, when the user switches to show invisible characters.

What is the purpose and which one will you use?