InDesign Script ID Registration Question

[Jim Birkenseer]

Hi Folks,

Anyone here familiar with registering Script IDs on-line?

I'm registering some script IDs (using the on-line InDesign Script ID registration web page) for a plug-in I'm working on, and I have question...

Do I need to register the ID's I've used for script event properties? I know I need to register the ID and name for each of my script events/commands, but I'm wondering if I need to register the ID's for the parameter names I've used in my script commands--I'm thinking that I don't, but I just want to make sure.

Thanks!

-- Jim

[D¡rk Becker]

If I remember that correctly I asked this a few years ago. The outcome was it would be too complicated to explain which few kinds of IDs need no registration, so better register all. Sorry, can't find the actual messages.

Don't forget to register enum entries and object properties.

For arguments, I usually reuse existing IDs from InDesign's own method arguments, namely those special keywords of AppleScript, besides my registered object properties if they match. I think I also registered some generic argument IDs such as arg1 ... for a plugin that needed many, but can't check as that page is down.

Keep also in mind that there are object model viewers that actually display the names.

Dirk

[Jim Birkenseer]

Dirk,

Thanks for the information.

I too have registered IDs in the past, and I too couldn't see the ones that I registered via the site today. When I registered in the past, I seem to remember only having to register the IDs themselves; but in the latest incarnation of the registration page, one has to register the four character ID and a name. Apparently, if either is taken, then one cannot register it.

The reason that I ask about properties/parameters is that the property names that I was hoping to use were not available (I wanted to use the names "ID" and "description"); I believe that the four character IDs I chose were unique and OK, but the names associated with the IDs were not available.

In my very limited understanding of the scripting implementation, I was thinking that since property IDs were reusable between scripting events, that I wouldn't need to register them. Shrug.

Cheers!

-- Jim

[D¡rk Becker]

If a property is defined by InDesign rather than other plugins, you should be safe to reuse these same properties for your own object. In your ScriptElementInfo resource you need not even declare them in an own Property{}, just refer to them in the Provider {}.

ID ( p_ID / kIDPropertyScriptElement, kScriptInfoInt32Type ) is a special case as it is hard wired to the logics of the script providers, and inherited through most base object element classes so you need not even mention it in Provider{}. By default implementation in RepresentScriptProvider and in most cases it directly matches the UID. Some exceptions are in XML. See CScriptProvider.cpp for details.

description ( p_Description / kDescriptionPropertyScriptElement, kScriptInfoStringType ) is also declared by InDesign, and used in multiple places, metadata and interactive stuff comes to mind. Just add a matching AccesProperty to your own script provider.

Dirk

[Jim Birkenseer]

Great information! Thanks Dirk!

-- Jim