Find/Change By List help

[creusche]

Hi all,

New to scripts here using InDesign CS6.

I need some help on how to set up the find/change by list script in InDesign. I searched the forums but I don't quite grasp if I need my list saved as a .txt file or something else and where to save the list.

I have a list of about 50 words (text only) (and growing) I'd like to simply find these words in my document, but not change them to anything as I need to rewrite the content to fit.

I'm hoping there is a find next of some sort with this script so I can search the entire set of terms in one shot. (I played with the Multi/Find change script (http://automatication.com/) but it looks like that requires me to "change all" rather than find all)

When I run the script in indesign it asks me to select a file to pull from. I currently have my list of text setup in a .txt file. (But not knowing code, I'm wondering if I need to save this text file differently or code it so the find/changebylist script can pull from this file)

Could someone point me in the right direction, or let me know if this is the correct script to use and how to use it?

I noticed in my script panel the find/change support folder (C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS6\Scripts\ mentioned on this site is missing from my folder.)
http://colecandoo.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/make-findchange-behave-more-like-a-word-macro/

Thanks for your help. Hopefully I get the hang of this soon.

[Jump_Over]

Hi,

You can go straight or try to modify 'MultiFind' script.

I suggest to use a text conditions and go straight with this code:

var 
          mDoc = app.activeDocument,
          mCond = mDoc.conditions.item("mFound"),
          mPath = "~/Documents/ID_words_to_find.txt",
          mDelimiter = ",",
          mSource = File(mPath),
          mOpen = mSource.open("r",undefined,undefined),
          len, len1, mWordsArr, mFound;
if (!mCond.isValid)
          mCond = mDoc.conditions.add({
                    name: "mFound",
                    indicatorColor: UIColors.LIGHT_BLUE,
                    indicatorMethod: ConditionIndicatorMethod.USE_HIGHLIGHT,
                    underlineIndicatorAppearance: ConditionUnderlineIndicatorAppearance.SOLID
                    });
if ( !mOpen) {alert ("Can't open a source file"; exit()};
mWordsArr = mSource.read().split(mDelimiter);
len = mWordsArr.length;
app.findTextPreferences = null;
while (len-->0) {
          app.findTextPreferences.findWhat = mWordsArr[len];
          mFound = mDoc.findText();
          len1 = mFound.length;
          while (len1-->0)
                    mFound[len1].appliedConditions = [mCond];
          }
app.findTextPreferences = null;

How it works (should)?

Assumed:

- a list of words to find is in a .txt file as comma-delimited (you could set other delimiter)

- this file is named 'ID_words_to_find'  and saved in user Documents folder (you can change mPath)

Script define a condition 'mFound' and apply it to every word from your list found in a document. They are highlighted. You can modify them.

Notice: to remove a condition (highlight) modify a word including a space before it.

Enjoy:)

Jarek

[Salah Fadlabi]

Also check:

A Major Job Gets Easier with GREP and FindChangeByList

http://indesignsecrets.com/a-major-job-gets-easier-with-grep-and-findchangebylist.php

[Pickory]

Some more reading here.

http://colecandoo.wordpress.com/category/grep/

P.

[creusche]

Thanks Jarek,

I'm still unable to get it to work, but am wondering if it is because the .txt fil I wish to pull from is from a shared location on our network? Once I get the script to work I'd like to share it with other members of the team. So would where I save my .txt file affect the script.

mPath = "~/Documents/ID_words_to_find.txt",

The file I'd like to pull from is on our shared drive:

M:/Resources/Scripts and GREP Queries/ID_words_to_find.txt

Thanks!

[Jump_Over]

Hi,

run this 1-liner in ESTK and watch console window. It will ask you for selecting a folder and its path will write in console. Just copy it and add a file name at the end.

mFolder = Folder.selectDialog();

Jarek

[camilo umana]

Jarek,

I was trying to use this script but it gives me an error 25 on line 18:

if ( !mOpen) {alert ("Can't open a source file"; exit()};

May be this used as a single script?

[Jump_Over]

Hi,

It was a typo:

if ( !mOpen) {alert ("Can't open a source file"); exit()};

sor

Jarek

[camilo umana]

Yes, it now runs but the output is found 0.

How to detect what is the problem?

If I delete the .txt file the script warns it.

It means the two requisites are accomplished.

Can you kindly make a remark?

Thank you.

[Jump_Over]

Hi,

Exam your ID_words_to_find.txt contents. Should be comma delimited.

Try to find manually one of its content. I mean if your .txt contents is:

somethingToFind1,somethingToFind2,somethingToFind3

try to find in UI one of them. Is the result empty?

Jarek

[camilo umana]

It is a beautiful script!

Thanks a lot.

(comma delimited the culprit...)

[camilo umana]

Dear Jarek,

Trying to use this script you wrote I founded that some single words in the list (ai, for example), that are sometimes part of a whole word (aimara), get highlighted.

Do you think it is a something that could be revised? Also, accented letters get unseen (anamú). Thanks for your time.

?

[Jongware]

To change the Find Text options to "Whole Word", add after the first occurrence of this line

app.findTextPreferences = null;

(the one directly above Jarek's loop) this line

app.findChangeTextOptions.wholeWord = true;

About the accented characters: are they accented as well in your text file? This should work exactly as it does in the interface: "Find text" without accents will find text without the accents.

GREP is able to find 'any' kind of accent for common characters with this notation:

anam[[==u==]]

but that requires a re-write of the script.

[camilo umana]

@Jong

Thanks a lot (as always) for this fix.

(It was very  that some phonemes were at the same time words in this language and the sample got contaminated..)

The script is now working perfectly.

Accented letters... also!: Theory and you were right.

Have a nice day.

@Jarek

Thanks again for this script.

Is a must in some jobs.

[camilo umana]

Good morning, Karek

I have been using this perfect script with the last addition to catch the «whole word» as suggested by Jongware.

But now some words get also tagged like the R. in this example:

Eque P. Brigard molluptatio mi, ius assundam apicili quiscil igenisquia sime ium essitaur minus dit re et aut que pro ma nus voluptam esequi con rehenet, Theodore Richter assectotatio um fugiam, cones Gerald Ireland dolo mil et autatis qui ut fugis ut dolumquo eatiusd R. Tanco. Que dolorist lam voluptas dolest, tem accum eos Th. Preuss nobitam, et, nis remod quiae consedi diae rem nus dolum quis et offictas R. H. Blanch

It is possible to script, in this kind of words arrange condition, only and exactly those occurrences in the list?

Just to avoid something like the mark of this R. in the last line, that is not part of the list?

Thanks

List (comma delimited)

Gerald Ireland

P. Brigard
R. Tanco
Theodore Richter
Th. Preuss

[Jump_Over]

Hi,

Seems to work correctly on my side. (does not highlights "R.")

Are you sure there is not "R.," on your list?

Jarek

[camilo umana]

Hi Jarek,

The idea is to know if this script can be adapted to match exactly the group of words in the list (the list comprises both names and surnames at the same time).

In this case, the script only may detect R. Tanco and never R. H. Blanch, (this R. in Blanche is a coincidence that must be ignored)

The idea is to mark only exactly the words in the list, in the same order. R. Tanco or nothing. Never Louise Tanco R., for example.

Never R. H. Blanch, as this item is not in the list.

The doubt is if this is scriptable or if in a list this is not possible.

Pipe does not work, either.

Thanks for your time.

[Jump_Over]

Hi,

As far as I can do tests with my examples - it works.

But no matter what...

...you could add an "if" before setting appliedConditions.

I mean lines:

//...
while (len1-->0) 
    if (mFound[len1].contents == mWordsArr[len])
          mFound[len1].appliedConditions = [mCond];
//...

Jarek

[camilo umana]

Jarek, THANKS. It is working now.

The yellow words show repeated words, not in the compound list (below), that were not happily tagged, as the condition was settled.

Happy week-end:

[camilo umana]

Jarek,

Good afternoon. This script catches the same word both in uppercase and lowercase.

It is possible to refine it in order to differentiate between them, just to avoid that some identical words with double meaning and different case get tagged as in acronyms?

Thanks.

[camilo umana]

Hi Jarek,

Your scripts worked very fine (in posdata is another one) but there are some problems when the entries are similar. I remember thta use of pipe in grep shows similar disturbances.

Do you think it is possible to review your script?

Here you may see how the comma delimited list of words (.txt) is not finely read to cacht all of them.

Thanks for your time,

best regards,  Camilo

Pd: this is another script used :

var

          mDoc = app.activeDocument,

          mCond = mDoc.conditions.item("mFound"),

          mPath = "~/Desktop/L1.txt",

          mDelimiter = ",",

          mSource = File(mPath),

          mOpen = mSource.open("r",undefined,undefined),

          len, len1, mWordsArr, mFound;

if ( !mOpen) {alert ("Can't open a source file"); exit()};

mWordsArr = mSource.read().split(mDelimiter);

len = mWordsArr.length;

app.findTextPreferences = null;

app.findChangeTextOptions.wholeWord = true; 

while (len-->0) {

          app.findTextPreferences.findWhat = mWordsArr[len];

          mFound = mDoc.findText();

          len1 = mFound.length;

          while (len1-->0)

mFound[len1].appliedCharacterStyle = "ITAL1";

          }

app.findTextPreferences = null;