Script equivalent of Indesign Command

Hi @Bedazzled532, I have written a script that may help you. Let me know what you think. For instructions, read the script documentation below.

Note that it doesn't change "word spacing" per se, because that is a property of a *paragraph*, so instead this script targets the first space after a word boundary and sets its tracking value. To ensure that things don't get too messy, the script will set every word space to the same amount each time you click one of the buttons. I think this will work best.

In RTL text like Arabic, I think maybe the buttons should go RTL also, so I've put a setting in to set that. It is ON by default.

Let me know how it works.

- Mark

/**
 * @file Word Spacer.js
 *
 * Shows a modeless palette with 7 buttons.
 *
 * To use:
 * 1. Invoke this Script in the Scripts Panel, if palette is not already open.
 * 2. Select some text
 * 3. Click one of the buttons
 *    - the center button will reset the word spacing
 *    - the other buttons will increment or decrement the word spacing
 *
 * Notes:
 *    - if `settings.RTL` is true then the order of the buttons will
 *      be reversed, to work better with RTL text systems.
 *    - you can customize the `settings.spacings` to suit your preferences.
 *    - the center `settings.spacings` is the "reset" value.
 *
 * @author m1b
 * @version 2025-03-14
 * @discussion https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/script-equivalent-of-indesign-command/m-p/15209276
 */

//@targetengine "wordSpacer"

(function () {

    var settings = {

        /**
         * if true, will reverse the button spacings
         * to work better with RTL text systems
         */
        RTL: true,

        /**
         * the spacing values, smallest to largest,
         * in the font's em-units
         *   - the center value is the "reset" value
         *   - the number of spacings will also effect
         *     how many buttons appear in the UI, so if
         *     spacings are [-50, -10, -1, 0, 1, 10, 50]
         *     then only 7 buttons will appear
         */
        spacings: [-250, -50, -10, -1, 0, 1, 10, 50, 250],

        /**
         * the button labels in the UI
         */
        buttonLabels: ['<<<<', '<<<', '<<', '<', '0', '>', '>>', '>>>', '>>>>'],

    };

    if (settings.RTL)
        settings.spacings.reverse();

    // UI button sizes
    var buttonSizes = [[52, 46], [46, 46], [40, 40], [35, 35], [135, 35], [35, 35], [40, 40], [46, 46], [52, 46],];

    // make the buttonLabels and sizes match the spacings
    while (settings.buttonLabels.length > settings.spacings.length) {
        settings.buttonLabels.pop();
        settings.buttonLabels.shift();
        buttonSizes.pop();
        buttonSizes.shift();
    }

    var doc = app.activeDocument,
        len = settings.spacings.length,
        middle = Math.floor(len / 2);

    // make the palette
    var w = new Window("palette", "Word Spacer"),
        buttons = w.add("Group {orientation:'row', alignment:['center','top'], margins:[0,0,0,0]}");


    // make the buttons
    for (var i = 0; i < len; i++) {

        (buttons.add("Button {text:'" + settings.buttonLabels[i] + "',preferredSize:[" + buttonSizes[i] + "]}"))
            .onClick = (middle === i)
                ? resetter(settings.spacings[i])
                : incrementer(settings.spacings[i]);

    }

    var resetButton = buttons.children[middle];

    w.show();

    function incrementer(n) {
        return function () {
            resetButton.text = wordSpace({
                text: doc.selection[0],
                increment: n,
            })
        };
    };

    function resetter(n) {
        return function () {
            resetButton.text = wordSpace({
                text: doc.selection[0],
                base: n,
            })
        };
    };

    /**
     * Changes the tracking of spaces in the `text`.
     * @author m1b
     * @version 2025-03-14
     * @param {Object} options
     * @param {Text} options.text - the text to change.
     * @param {Number} [options.base] - the absolute value to apply to spaces tracking.
     * @param {Number} [options.increment] - the change to apply to spaces tracking.
     * @returns {Number} - the tracking value applied.
     */
    function wordSpace(options) {

        var base = options.base,
            increment = options.increment;

        if (
            0 === base
            && 0 === increment
        )
            return;

        var text = doc.selection[0];

        if ('function' !== typeof text.findGrep)
            return;

        app.findGrepPreferences = NothingEnum.NOTHING;
        app.changeGrepPreferences = NothingEnum.NOTHING;

        app.findGrepPreferences.findWhat = '\\s(?=\\b)';

        var spaces = text.findGrep();

        if (0 === spaces.length)
            return;

        if (undefined == base)
            base = spaces[0].insertionPoints[-1].kerningValue;

        var kerning = base + (increment || 0);

        app.doScript(function () {

            // do the word spacing
            for (var i = spaces.length - 1; i >= 0; i--)
                spaces[i].insertionPoints[-1].kerningValue = kerning;

        }, ScriptLanguage.JAVASCRIPT, undefined, UndoModes.ENTIRE_SCRIPT, 'Set Word Spacing');

        return kerning;

    };

})();

Edit 2025-03-14: improved script documentation.

Edit 2025-03-14: changed spacing method so that it is compatible with Indesign's method.
Edit 2025-03-15: added an extra increment button, both ways, added easier to edit button labels, and improved the script's interaction with undo.

Just a couple of questions for my edification...

Are the frames for each language discrete or do they thread? Is each one a complete paragraph? Which composer are you using?

I ask this because I wonder what's going to happen downstream as you adjust word spacing if this is flowing text.

This is not working. Says wordSpacing does not exist. I have taken a value of 200 just for testing purpose:

    var selection = app.selection;

    if (selection.length > 0 && selection[0] instanceof Text) {
        var textRange = selection[0];
        textRange.wordSpacing += 200;
    } else {
        alert("Please select some text first.");
    }