Writing an InDesign script to identify users

[kellewisphoto]

Our office has multiple users who often work on the same InDesign files at various times.  We are trying to figure out a way to create a footer, variable text box, or something that we can place in our InDesign documents, that will identify the Mac user/ InDesign username of the person who last saved the file.  I've played around with various scripts and finally found one that will at least add a variable text option (which we then added to a text box) for the InDesign username.... however, the username did not automatically update when the file was opened by another user, even when he had the same script installed on his computer.

Please note:  I am very new to scripting, and have only attempted to learn it to resolve this specific issue.  (I have, however, spent the last few days researching this and trying to find a solution.)

[Mike Bro]

Hello Kellewisphoto,

Can you please post the script your testing\modifying, also what OS are all the users on....Mac based?.....PC based?

Regards,

Mike

[kellewisphoto]

Mike,

I haven't even found a script that I'm able to modify yet.  (Very much a beginner in scripting.) I'm tinkering with Applescript and all of the ones I've downloaded so far are... well, not Apple.  We're all using Macs here.

This is vastly out of my realm of expertise, but I'm trying to creatively problem-solve, and maybe learn something new while I'm at it.

[Jongware]

Mike means the script that you are using now – the one that doesn't work. Maybe we can figure out why it doesn't if you show it.

[kellewisphoto]

Sorry if this is a lot of unnecessary stuff, but below is the first script we had tried (the one that doesn't update when my colleague opens the file from his Mac).  It's also from 2012 so I'm aware that could be part of the problem.

//This function adds static text variables in InDesign

//They won't be dynamically updated though.

//That's why we need the updating function below

function addVariables(openEvent){

    var doc = openEvent.parent;

    while ( doc.constructor.name != "Document" )

    {

   if ( doc.constructor.name == "Application" ){ return; }

  doc = doc.parent;

}

//Adding User name to text variables

createTextVariable(doc, "User name", (Folder.myDocuments).parent.displayName );

//Adding Computer name to text variables

createTextVariable(doc, "HD Name", (Folder.system).parent.displayName );

//Adding Computer name to text variables

createTextVariable(doc, "Computer Name", getComputerName() );

//Adding a link to my website 😉

createTextVariable(doc, "_About Loic Aigon", "Feel free to visit my website: http://www.loicaigon.com !" );

//Adding User name to text variables

createTextVariable(doc, "InDesign User name", app.userName, false );

//Adding XMP serverURL to text variables

createTextVariable(doc, "Next Month", getNextMonth(), true );

//Adding XMP Author to text variables

createTextVariable(doc, "XMP Author", doc.metadataPreferences.author, true );

//Adding XMP Description to text variables

createTextVariable(doc, "XMP Description", doc.metadataPreferences.description, true );

//Adding XMP copyrightInfoURL to text variables

createTextVariable(doc, "XMP Copyright Info URL", doc.metadataPreferences.copyrightInfoURL, true );

//Adding XMP copyrightNotice to text variables

createTextVariable(doc, "XMP Copyright Notice", doc.metadataPreferences.copyrightNotice, true );

//Adding XMP copyrightNotice to text variables

createTextVariable(doc, "XMP Document Title", doc.metadataPreferences.documentTitle, true );

//Adding XMP creator to text variables

createTextVariable(doc, "XMP Creator", doc.metadataPreferences.creator, true );

//Adding XMP keywords to text variables

createTextVariable(doc, "XMP Keywords", doc.metadataPreferences.keywords, true );

//Adding XMP serverURL to text variables

createTextVariable(doc, "XMP Server URL", String(doc.metadataPreferences.serverURL), true );

}

function getNextMonth() {

var date = new Date();

var month = date.getMonth();

var Months = ["January",

"February",

"March",

"April",

"May",

"June",

"July",

"August",

"September",

"October",

"November",

"December"];

return Months[month+1];

}

//Generic function to add static custom text variables

function createTextVariable(target, variableName, variableContents, bRewrite){

var usernameVariable = target.textVariables.itemByName(variableName);

if(!usernameVariable.isValid){ 

usernameVariable = target.textVariables.add();

usernameVariable.variableType = VariableTypes.CUSTOM_TEXT_TYPE;

usernameVariable.name = variableName;

usernameVariable.variableOptions.contents = variableContents;

}

bRewrite!==false && usernameVariable.variableOptions.contents = variableContents;

}

//Snippet for grabbing the  deep name of the computer

function getComputerName(){

var APLScript = "get computer name of (system info)";

var VBScript = "Dim wshShell\

Set wshShell = CreateObject( \"WScript.Shell\" )\

strComputerName = wshShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings( \"%COMPUTERNAME%\" )\

app.scriptArgs.SetValue \"computerName\", strComputerName";

var scpt = (File.fs=="Windows")? VBscript : APLScript;

var language = (File.fs=="Windows")? ScriptLanguage.visualBasic : ScriptLanguage.APPLESCRIPT_LANGUAGE;

var scriptResult = app.doScript(scpt, language);

var computerName = (File.fs=="Windows")? app.scriptArgs.getValue("computerName") : scriptResult;

return computerName;

}

//Add listeners to update file when opened.

app.addEventListener('afterOpen', addVariables);

app.addEventListener('beforeSave', addVariables);

//app.addEventListener('afterSelectionChanged', addVariables);

app.addEventListener('afterNew', addVariables);

[Laubender]

Hi Kellewisphoto,

by default, after installing InDesign, app.userName is a string like that ( from my German InDesign ) :

"Unbekannter Benutzername"

This is equal to: "$ID/Unknown User Name".

This user name usually is not equal to the user name a user is logged-in to the computer.

I cannot see that InDesign is storing the computer's user name to a document.

So you cannot trace an InDesign document back to its creator, the logged-in user.

Did every of your InDesign users define the InDesign user name?

Menu: File > User…

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[Laubender · Accepted solution]

Hi Kellewisphoto,

you can get the name of the logged-in user with:

// On Windows:
$.getenv("USERNAME")

//On Mac OS X:
$.getenv("USER")

and then, if you like, set InDesign's app.userName value to its result.

Note: If you trash InDesign's preferences or cache ( I did not try this ) the value of userName is set back to its default string "$ID/Unknown User Name".

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[Kasyan Servetsky · Accepted solution]

You can do this using this startup script:

#targetengine "Kasyan"

var eventListener = app.addEventListener("beforeSave", rememberLastUser, false);     

function rememberLastUser(event) {
	try {
		var doc = event.parent;
		doc.metadataPreferences.author = app.userName;
	}
	catch(err) {}
}

It inserts the user's name into the author field before the document is saved.

User name

File info dialog box

Also, the name goes to an exported PDF file

Of course, you can use another field in metadata.

Hope it helps.

— Kas

[AS Scripter]

Hi. I know you've found a solution, but another route would be to have an intermediary check-in/check-out system for users based in, say, a Filemaker or other database. Filemaker is quite scriptable and comes with networking built-in. The meta info could be inserted from Filemaker, and/or Filemaker could also keep the info so that anyone on the network could see who worked on which documents at what time, keep statistics, time worked, etc.

[kellewisphoto]

I appreciate this advice.  However, this is a small company and I think they prefer we don't purchase additional software unless it's completely necessary.  I will definitely do some research on Filemaker and keep it in mind for the future, in case our scripting endeavors don't fix the issues.

Everyone's help is very much appreciated.