Script to export any or all stories that use a certain swatch.

[Mean Kidney Dan]

Hey good afternoon!
So i'm trying to create a script that will export any and all stories where the text is colored with a swatch the user can pick. So for example, if I have some text that's black and some text that's colored with a global swatch called "Bright Orange" or a spot color swatch called "PMS 186", and I run the script, it will ask me what swatch, and I will fill in a field. The the script will export all the stories in that document that use that swatch to a text file.

I asked Chat GPT to do this rather than bother a human. Unfortunately, I keep getting an error.
I will provide the script, then the error.

I am not a coder, so I am very out of my depth here.
Any light that can be shed is welcome.

// Prompt the user to input the swatch name
var swatchName = prompt("Enter the name of the swatch for the exported text:", "French Translation");

// Set the default swatch name if no input provided
if (!swatchName) {
  swatchName = "French Translation";
}

// Get a reference to the active document
var doc = app.activeDocument;

// Get the CMYK spot color swatch by name
var colorSwatch = doc.colors.itemByName(swatchName);

// Check if the swatch exists
if (!colorSwatch.isValid) {
  alert('The color swatch "' + swatchName + '" does not exist in the document.');
  exit();
}

// Array to store the selected stories
var selectedStories = [];

// Loop through each story in the document
for (var i = 0; i < doc.stories.length; i++) {
  var story = doc.stories[i];

  // Loop through each text frame in the story
  for (var j = 0; j < story.textContainers.length; j++) {
    var textFrame = story.textContainers[j];

    // Check if the text frame contains the requested swatch color and the word "colored"
    if (hasSwatchColor(textFrame, colorSwatch) && textFrame.contents.toLowerCase().includes("colored")) {
      selectedStories.push(story);
      break;
    }
  }
}

// Create a new File object
var exportFile = new File("/Path/To/Export/Directory/output.txt"); // Set the desired output path and file name

// Open the file in write mode
exportFile.open("w");

// Loop through each selected story
for (var m = 0; m < selectedStories.length; m++) {
  var selectedStory = selectedStories[m];

  // Loop through each text frame in the story
  for (var n = 0; n < selectedStory.textContainers.length; n++) {
    var textFrame = selectedStory.textContainers[n];

    // Write the text content to the file
    exportFile.writeln(textFrame.contents);
  }
}

// Close the file
exportFile.close();

alert("Stories with the word 'colored' using the swatch '" + swatchName + "' exported to a text file!");

// Function to check if a text frame contains the specified swatch color
function hasSwatchColor(textFrame, swatch) {
  // Loop through each character in the text frame
  for (var i = 0; i < textFrame.characters.length; i++) {
    var character = textFrame.characters[i];

    // Check if the character's fill color matches the specified swatch
    if (character.fillColor === swatch) {
      return true;
    }
  }

  return false;
}

 and here the the error, on run, after it asks for the swatch:

JavaScript Error!
Error Number: 24
Error String: textFrame.contents.toLowerCase).includes is not a function
Engine: main
File: /Users/ myname/Library/Preferences / Adobe InDesign/Version
18.0/en US/Scripts/Scripts Panel/Export French.is
Line: 33
Source:
if (hasSwatchColor(textFrame, colorSwatch) &&
textFrame.contents.toLowerCase).includes("colored")) {

[Peter Kahrel · Accepted solution]

Change .includes("colored") to .indexOf("colored") and you should be ok. That's case-sensitive.

Impressive what ChatGPT comes up with, but at the same time it's very inefficient code in that it saves each story multiple times. But it works.

[Mean Kidney Dan]

Thanks Peter! Your change works! Very appreciated!

[Peter Kahrel]

Could you mark the answer as correct? That makes the forum more usable.

[rob day · Accepted solution]

Hi @Mean Kidney Dan , As Peter notes the code is inefficient, and for a long doc might take some time because it loops through every character. A text search should be faster. Something like this, which lets the user choose the color from a dropdown list and checks if the story has already been written:

makeDialog();
var cs;
function makeDialog(){
    var d = app.dialogs.add({name:"Choose a Swatch", canCancel:true});
    with(d){
            with(dialogColumns.add()){
                cs = dropdowns.add({stringList:getArrayNames(app.activeDocument.swatches.everyItem().getElements()), selectedIndex:2});
            } 
        if(d.show()){
            cs = app.activeDocument.swatches.everyItem().getElements()[cs.selectedIndex];
            exportStories();
            d.destroy();
        }
    }
    //gets a list of swatch names
    function getArrayNames(arr){
        var a = [];
        for(var i = 0; i < arr.length; i++){
            a.push(arr[i].name);
        }
        return a
    }
}

function exportStories(){
    //the chosen color
    var ft = getTextByColor(cs);
    var sid = [];
    var s = "Stories using " + cs.name + "swatch\r\r"
    if (ft.length > 0 ) {
        for (var i = 0; i < ft.length; i++){
            //checks if the story has already been exported
            if (!checkItem(sid, ft[i].parentStory.id)) {
                sid.push(ft[i].parentStory.id)
                s += ft[i].parentStory.contents + "\r\r"
            } 
        };   
        var exportFile = new File(Folder.desktop + "/output.txt");
        exportFile.open("w");
        exportFile.writeln(s);
    } 
}


//Gets results of a text color search, return search results as an array
function getTextByColor(fc){
    app.findTextPreferences = app.changeTextPreferences = app.findChangeTextOptions = null;
    app.findTextPreferences.fillColor = fc;
    return app.activeDocument.findText()
}


//Checks if an item is in an array, return true if the item is in the array 
function checkItem(a, obj) {
    for (var i = 0; i < a.length; i++) {
        if (a[i] === obj) {
            return true;
        }
    }
    return false;
}

[Mean Kidney Dan]

wow thanks! This one is fantastic too! Love the swatch choice dialog.