tell application "Adobe InDesign CS5.5"
tell active document
make graphic line with properties {geometric bounds:{Watch2, Watch3, Watch4, Watch1}, flip:vertical, applied object style:"Crossout"}
end tell
end tell
Hi,
i need to write a script which draws a line before a selected text. So far, i have the x1/y1 + x2/y2 coordinates narrowed down (left it out in the code to keep the question simple), and this works fine by now.
But:
I need to draw the line just onto the selected text, e.g. the active textbox. When i do it this way (because im not so talented at scripting), the line gets created on page 1, but should alway land over the current textbox.
Can someone help me out?
While you guys are on it:
• A next question if this works out would be, how to "group" the line together with that textbox behind?
• And: The textbox could contain more items than one that get "crossed out", so all lines should group together. (Not that if I want to break a textbox with 5 lines, that i have 5 "housed" groups of lines)
Heres a picture for what I need theses lines:
1 Correct answer
Good morning,
here we go further 
at the start having a group selected -> create a new page item -> using UI-Scripting to ungroup the group -> creating a new group storing all involved page items
...
tell application "Adobe InDesign CS5.5"
tell active document
--get selection = group
set currGroup to item 1 of selection
--get page of currGroup
set currPage to parent page of currGroup
--get Bounds ...
set currBounds to geometric bounds of currGroup
--c
15
Replies
Its a pity and im ashamed, but as a designer my only knowledge in scripting is based on disassembling samplescripts. I learned this and that, working with variables and a bit of the structure in AS. but the most errors i stumble upon i cant solve myself and have to ask for help. based on help like from you i conclude and learn a bit more.
I worked with the AppleScriptLanguageGuide.pdf, but i dont understand the deep structure and have a rocky road ahead, if things dont function as i exspect. i achieved a lot, but the most still is try and error.
And now you throw some JS in the ring and my chances of erroring to an running script tend to zero. 
im sorry, but working with these JS snippets is too complicated for me now.
I apreciate your kind help, but i have to wait until you are on a mac – i cant work this out alone anymore.
Good morning,
here we go further
at the start having a group selected -> create a new page item -> using UI-Scripting to ungroup the group -> creating a new group storing all involved page items
tell application "Adobe InDesign CS5.5"
tell active document
--get selection = group
set currGroup to item 1 of selection
--get page of currGroup
set currPage to parent page of currGroup
--get Bounds ...
set currBounds to geometric bounds of currGroup
--create line
set theLine to make graphic line at currPage
set anchor of path point 1 of path 1 of theLine to {item 2 of currBounds, item 3 of currBounds}
set anchor of path point 2 of path 1 of theLine to {item 4 of currBounds, item 1 of currBounds}
--invoking the ungroup command has to be outside the document tellblock...
my unGroupCommand(currGroup)
--page items still selected, store them in a array
set currSel to selection
--add theLine to currSell
set end of currSel to theLine
--make new group
make group with properties {group items:currSel}
end tell
end tell
on unGroupCommand(aGroup)
tell application "Adobe InDesign CS5.5"
set ungroupMenuAction to menu action id 118845
invoke ungroupMenuAction
end tell
end unGroupCommand
How to get parent page of textselection:
tell application "Adobe InDesign CS5.5"
tell active document
--some text selected
set currSel to object reference of item 1 of selection --class of selection is always list
set parentTextFrame to item 1 of (parent text frames of currSel) --class of parent text frames is always list
set parentPage to parent page of parentTextFrame
end tell
end tell
stay strong, keep working on it!
Hans-Gerd Claßen
I found out, that when I select text in a box, i cant set currGroup to item 1 of selection, because the result will be a text like "19,99".
correct, that's why the line in the example was:
set currSel to object reference of item 1 of selection --class of selection is always list
As you may see, the functionality of a script requires exact known conditions ... sounds overly didactic, but shouldn't!
One last tipp: www.hilfdirselbst.ch -> we speak german
Hey Hans,
now im nearly happy.
But i found out that to adress the group the object reference had to be deeper down, coming from the texttool, you have to use the select-tool, and click beside the box, then on it, to have the group activated.
so i did…with menu-calls
i took the script on the website and generated my menu action ids, then i made more subroutines like yours.
i ended up with this, which works fine now:
-- this is my line, its fine…except when the textbox is off the page it doesnt work…but maybe you can help me out
set theLine to make graphic line at parentPage with properties {geometric bounds:{Watch2, Watch3, Watch4, Watch1}, flip:vertical, stroke color:"Strichfarbe", stroke weight:1}
-- now i called the tools
my tool() -- get the selection tool
try
my Container() -- if youve selected a box in a group, the Container-command selects the group outside. lets try this, in case its the first line for the box and theres no group yet
my unGroupCommand() -- now ungroup, everything inside that group is selected now
end try
set mystuff to object reference of selection as list -- save the objects to group them later
copy theLine to the beginning of mystuff -- add theline to the group
make group with properties {group items:mystuff} -- group it together
try
my Container() -- while after grouping the whole group is selected, i want to select the textbox again to save doubleclicks for further line-crossing
my texttool() -- set the tool to the last used after editing
end try
what do you think?
its a workaround, but it works…around 🙂
only thing to do is to draw the line while the textbox is somewhere else except on the page.
i would like to use hilfdirselbst.ch because im german (too?), but out brilliant IT dont want us designers to 'waste' time in the internet.
next time ill call them up "jürgen, kannst du mir das mal eben in applescript schreiben?"… they have no clue, at all!
Panic!
While working with Ind and my (our) new script, I accidentailly did something in my doc (maybe by pressing a wrong shortcut), that causes the position of the line to drop!
On fresh documents its fine as usual. But everywhere in my current project, new textbox or old ones, the line is shifted below 😞
Do you have any clou? Maybe some baseline-grid stuff, i dont know and we dont use it.
Panic!
(Here the code for my positioning)
-- P1X
set X1 to horizontal offset of character 1 of selection
-- P1Y
set Y1 to baseline of first character in selection
-- P2Xoffset
set baselineSave to baseline of first character of selection
repeat with y from 1 to (count of characters in selection)
if baseline of character y of selection = baselineSave then
set CharsLineOne to CharsLineOne + 1
end if
end repeat
set X2 to end horizontal offset of character CharsLineOne of selection
-- P2Y
set Y2 to (baseline of character CharsLineOne of selection) - ((((point size of last character in line 1 of selection) * 0.35275) / 100) * 50)
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