ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS6

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS6 SCRIPTING GUIDE

 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Guide If this guide is distributed with software that includes an end user agreement, this guide, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. Except as permitted by any such license, no part of this guide may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Please note that the content in this guide is protected under copyright law even if it is not distributed with software that includes an end user license agreement. The content of this guide is furnished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Adobe Systems Incorporated. Adobe Systems Incorporated assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in the informational content contained in this guide. Please remember that existing artwork or images that you may want to include in your project may be protected under copyright law. The unauthorized incorporation of such material into your new work could be a violation of the rights of the copyright owner. Please be sure to obtain any permission required from the copyright owner. Any references to company names in sample templates are for demonstration purposes only and are not intended to refer to any actual organization. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Apple, Mac, Macintosh, and Mac OS are trademarks of Apple Computer, Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries. JavaScript and all Java-related marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Incorporated in the United States and other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Adobe Systems Incorporated, 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, California 95110, USA. Notice to U.S. Government End Users. The Software and Documentation are Commercial Items, as that term is defined at 48 C.F.R. 2.101, consisting of Commercial Computer Software and Commercial Computer Software Documentation, as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. 12.212 or 48 C.F.R. 227.7202, as applicable. Consistent with 48 C.F.R. 12.212 or 48 C.F.R. 227.7202-1 through 227.7202-4, as applicable, the Commercial Computer Software and Commercial Computer Software Documentation are being licensed to U.S. Government end users (a) only as Commercial Items and (b) with only those rights as are granted to all other end users pursuant to the terms and conditions herein. Unpublished-rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United States. Adobe Systems Incorporated, 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110-2704, USA. For U.S. Government End Users, Adobe agrees to comply with all applicable equal opportunity laws including, if appropriate, the provisions of Executive Order 11246, as amended, Section 402 of the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (38 USC 4212), and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the regulations at 41 CFR Parts 60-1 through 60-60, 60-250, and 60-741. The affirmative action clause and regulations contained in the preceding sentence shall be incorporated by reference.

Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
What is scripting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Why use scripting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 What about actions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Scripting language support in Adobe Illustrator CS6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Script file extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 JavaScript development options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Viewing sample scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Viewing the object model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Viewing the JavaScript object model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Viewing the AppleScript object model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Viewing the VBScript object model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Executing scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing scripts in the Scripts menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Executing scripts from the Other Scripts menu item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Startup scripts (.jsx scripts only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changes in CS6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enumeration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Data class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 10 11 11 12 12 12 12 12

Known issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

The Illustrator Scripting Object Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Object-naming conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Top-level (containing) objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 15 16 16

The artwork tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Art styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Color objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Text objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Text frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Objects that represent text content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Text styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 18 19 20

Dynamic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Contents

Scripting Illustrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Launching and quitting Illustrator from a script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Launching and activating Illustrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Quitting Illustrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Working with objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Getting the frontmost document or layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating new objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Collection objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selected objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Notes on renaming objects stored in the applications panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 23 23 24 25 25

Measurement units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Em space units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Page-item positioning and dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Art item bounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Paths and shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 User-interaction levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Printing Illustrator documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Scripting with AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

For more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Your first Illustrator script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Adding features to Hello World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Object references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Obtaining objects from documents and layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating new objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Working with selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 32 32 32

Working with text frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Threaded frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Creating paths and shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Working with the perspective grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Use perspective presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Show or hide the grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Set the active plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draw on a perspective grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bring objects into perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 37 37 38 38 39

Scripting with JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

For more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Your first Illustrator script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Adding features to Hello World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Working with methods in JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Accessing and referencing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Referencing the application object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Contents

Accessing objects in collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Creating new objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Working with selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Working with text frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Threaded frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Creating paths and shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Working with the perspective grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Use perspective presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Show or hide the grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Set the active plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draw on a perspective grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bring objects into perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 48 48 48 49 50

Scripting with VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

For more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Your first Illustrator script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Adding features to Hello World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Accessing and referencing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Obtaining objects from collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating new objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Working with selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 52 53 53

Working with text frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Threaded frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Creating paths and shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Working with enumeration values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Working with the perspective grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Use perspective presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Show or hide the grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Set the active plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Draw on a perspective grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bring objects into perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 58 58 59 59 60

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Introduction
This guide describes the scripting interface to Adobe Illustrator CS6. If you are new to scripting or want basic information about scripting and how to use the different scripting languages, see Adobe Introduction to Scripting.

What is scripting?
A script is a series of commands that tells Illustrator to perform one or more tasks. These tasks can be simple, affecting only one object in the current document, or complex, affecting objects in all your Illustrator documents. The tasks might even involve other applications, like word processors, spreadsheets, and database management programs. For the most part, the building blocks of scripting correspond to the Illustrator tools, menus, panels, and dialog boxes with which you are already an expert. If you know what you want Illustrator to do, you can write a script to do it.

Why use scripting?

Graphic design is a field characterized by creativity, but aspects of the work are anything but creative. In fact, you probably notice that the time you spend placing and replacing images, correcting errors in text, and preparing files for printing at an image-setting service provider often reduces the time you have available for doing creative work. With a small investment of time and effort, you can learn to write short, simple scripts that perform repetitive tasks for you. As your scripting skills grow, you can move on to more complex scripts. Scripting also can enhance your creativity, by quickly performing tasks you might not have time to try. For example, you could write a script to systematically create a series of objects, modifying the new objects position, stroke, and fill properties along the way. You also could write a script that accesses built-in transformation matrix functions to stretch, scale, and distort a series of objects. Without scripting, you would likely miss out on the creative potential of such labor-intensive techniques.

What about actions?

Both actions and scripts are ways of automating repetitive tasks, but they work very differently:

Actions use a programs user interface to do their work. As an action runs, menu choices are executed, objects are selected, and recorded paths are created. Scripts do not use a programs user interface to perform tasks, and scripts can execute faster than actions. Actions have very limited facilities for getting and responding to information. You cannot add conditional logic to an action; therefore, actions cannot make decisions based on the current situation, like changing the stroke type of rectangles but not ellipses. Scripts can get information and make decisions and calculations based on the information they receive from Illustrator. A script can execute an action, but actions cannot execute scripts.

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

Scripting language support in Adobe Illustrator CS6

Scripting language support in Adobe Illustrator CS6

Illustrator scripting supports VBScript and JavaScript scripts for Windows, and AppleScript and JavaScript scripts for Mac OS.

Script file extensions

For a file to be recognized by Adobe Illustrator CS6 as a valid script file, the file must have the correct file name extension: Script type AppleScript JavaScript or ExtendScript VBScript File type (extension) compiled script (.scpt) OSAS file (no extension) text (.js or.jsx) text (.vbs) Platforms Mac OS Windows Mac OS Windows

JavaScript development options

You can use the ExtendScript Toolkit to create JavaScript scripts explicitly for Illustrator, or you can use the Creative Suite Extension Builder and the Creative Suite SDK to develop CS extensions in ActionScript. CS extensions are Flash-based (SWF) and can potentially work in a variety of Creative Suite applications.

Developing a CS6 extension using ActionScript

In Creative Suite 6, the applications have an extensibility infrastructure that allows developers to extend the capabilities of the applications; the infrastructure is based on Flash/Flex technology, and each CS extension is delivered as compiled Flash (SWF) file. Creative Suite 6 includes the Extension Manager to enable installation of CS extensions. An example of a CS extension that ships with the point products is Adobe Kuler. Kuler has a consistent user interface across the different suite applications, but has different logic in each, adapted to the host application. The user interface for an extension is written in ActionScript, using the Flex framework. A CS extension is typically accessed through its own menu item in the applications Extensions menu. CS Extension Builder allows you to design the user interface interactively using the Design view of FlashBuilder. The Creative Suite SDK also allows you to develop all of the application logic for your CS extension in ActionScript; you can develop and debug your extension in the familiar FlashBuilder environment. To develop your application logic, we recommend using the Creative Suite ActionScript Wrapper Library (CSAWLib), which exposes the scripting DOM of each host application as an ActionScript library. This is tightly integrated with the CS Extension Builder environment, which includes wizards to help you build your extensions basic structure, and run and debug your code against suite applications such as Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. The methods, properties, and behavior of the scripting DOM is as described in the JavaScript Scripting Reference for the host application. For details of how to use CS Extension Builder and the wrapper libraries, see the Creative Suite SDK documentation, which is accessible from within Extension Builder.

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

Viewing sample scripts

Scripting plug-ins
The CS6 JavaScript scripting interface allows for limited scripting for plug-ins. A plug-in can define a command, with an event and notifier, and a handler that performs some action. A JavaScript script can then use the app.sendScriptMessage() method to send parameters to that plug-in-defined command, and receive a plug-in-defined response. For example, the Adobe Custom Workspace plug-in defines a command "Switch Workspace". A script can invoke this command with the following code:
result = app.sendScriptMessage("Adobe Custom Workspace" , "Switch Workspace", '<workspace="Essentials" >');

In this case, the value that the plug-in returns is the string "<error=errNo>".

ExtendScript features
If you write Illustrator-specific scripts that use the Illustrator JavaScript DOM directly, you will create ExtendScript files, which are distinguished by the .jsx extension. Giving your JavaScript files a .jsx extension (rather than the standard .js extension for a JavaScript file) allows you to take advantage of ExtendScript features and tools. ExtendScript offers all standard JavaScript features, plus a development and debugging environment, the ExtendScript Toolkit (ESTK). The ESTK is installed with all scriptable Adobe applications, and is the default editor for JSX files. The ESTK includes an Object Model Viewer that contains complete documentation of the methods and properties of JavaScript objects. For information on accessing the ESTK and the Object Model Viewer, see Viewing the JavaScript object model on page 9. ExtendScript also provides various tools and utilities, including the following:

A localization utility Tools that allow you to combine scripts and direct them to particular applications Platform-independent file and folder representation Tools for building user interfaces to your scripts A messaging framework that allows you to send and receive scripts and data among scripting-enabled Adobe applications

All of these features are available whether you use the DOM directly with a JSX file, or indirectly through the ActionScript wrapper library and Extension Builder. For details of these and other features, see JavaScript Tools Guide.

Viewing sample scripts

Adobe provides sample scripts for many objects, properties, and methods in the Illustrator CS6 DOM. You can view script samples in two locations:

In the /Scripting/Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator CS6 installation directory In the Adobe Illustrator CS6 scripting reference for your scripting language, which you can download from http://www.adobe.com/devnet/illustrator/scripting/

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

Viewing the object model 9

Viewing the object model

Each of the supported scripting languages provides a facility for viewing the scripting objects defined by Illustrator, with reference details.

Viewing the JavaScript object model

To view the JavaScript object model for Illustrator, follow these steps: 1. Start the ESTK. In a default Adobe installation, the ESTK is in the following location:

Windows:
system drive\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Utilities CS6\ExtendScript Toolkit CS6

Mac OS:
system drive:Applications:Utilities:Adobe Utilities CS6:ExtendScript Toolkit CS6

2. In the ESTK, choose Help > Object Model Viewer. 3. In the Object Model Viewer window, select Adobe Illustrator CS6 Type Library from the Browser drop-down list.

Several extended sample scripts are available in the /Scripting/Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator CS6 installation directory. You also can view script samples and information about individual classes, objects, properties, methods, and parameters in Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Reference: JavaScript, which you can download from http://www.adobe.com/devnet/illustrator/scripting/.

Viewing the AppleScript object model

Apple provides a Script Editor with all Mac OS systems. You can use Script Editor to view the AppleScript dictionary that describes Illustrator objects and commands. For details of how to use Script Editor, see Script Editor Help. 1. Start Script Editor. NOTE: In a default Mac OS installation, Script Editor is in Applications:AppleScript:Script Editor. If you cannot find the Script Editor application, you must reinstall it from your Mac OS system CD. 2. Choose File > Open Dictionary. Script Editor displays an Open Dictionary dialog. 3. In the Open Dictionary dialog, find and select Adobe Illustrator CS6, and click Open. Script Editor displays a list of the Illustrator objects and commands, which include the properties and elements associated with each object and the parameters for each command. Several extended sample scripts are in the :Scripting:Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator CS6 installation directory.

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

Executing scripts

10

You also can view script samples and information about individual classes, objects, properties, methods and parameters in Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Reference: AppleScript, which you can download from http://www.adobe.com/devnet/illustrator/scripting/.

Viewing the VBScript object model

VBScript provides a type library you can use to view Illustrator object properties and methods. This procedure explains how to view the type library through any Microsoft Office program. Your VBScript editor probably provides access to the library. For information see your editors Help. 1. In any Microsoft Office application, choose Tools > Macro > Visual Basic Editor. 2. 3. In the Visual Basic Editor, choose Tools > References. In the dialog that appears, select the check box for Adobe Illustrator CS6 Type Library, and click OK.

4. Choose View > Object Browser, to display the Object Browser window. 5. Choose Illustrator from the list of open libraries in the top-left pull-down menu of the Object Browser window.

Several extended sample scripts are in the /Scripting/Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator CS6 installation directory. You also can view script samples and information about individual classes, objects, properties, methods, and parameters in Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Reference: VBScript, which you can download from http://www.adobe.com/devnet/illustrator/scripting/.

Executing scripts
The Illustrator interface includes a Scripts menu (File > Scripts) that provides quick and easy access to your scripts. Scripts can be listed directly as menu items that run when you select them. See Installing scripts in the Scripts menu on page 10. You can navigate from the menu to any script in your file system and then run the script. See Executing scripts from the Other Scripts menu item on page 11. You also can have JavaScript scripts with a .jsx extension start automatically when you launch the application. For information, see Startup scripts (.jsx scripts only) on page 11.

Installing scripts in the Scripts menu

To include a script in the Scripts menu (File > Scripts), save the script in the Scripts folder, located in the /Illustrator CS6/Presets folder in your Illustrator CS6 installation directory. The scripts filename, minus the file extension, appears in the Scripts menu. Scripts that you add to the Scripts folder while Illustrator is running do not appear in the Scripts menu until the next time you launch Illustrator. Any number of scripts can be installed in the Scripts menu. If you have many scripts, use subfolders in the Scripts folder to help organize the scripts in the Scripts menu. Each subfolder is displayed as a separate submenu containing the scripts in that subfolder.

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

Executing scripts

11

Executing scripts from the Other Scripts menu item

The Other Scripts item at the end of the Scripts menu (File > Scripts > Other Scripts) allows you to execute scripts that are not installed in the Scripts folder. Selecting Other Scripts displays a Browse dialog, which you use to navigate to a script file. When you select the file, the script is executed. Only files that are of one of the supported file types are displayed in the browse dialog. For details, see Scripting language support in Adobe Illustrator CS6 on page 7.

Startup scripts (.jsx scripts only)

JavaScript scripts with a .jsx file extension can be installed in one of two folders, so the scripts run automatically when you launch Illustrator and each time you run a script. The folders are:

An application-specific startup scripts folder, which contains scripts for Illustrator CS6 A general startup scripts folder, which contains scripts that run automatically when you start any Creative Suite 5 application

Application-specific startup scripts folder

You must place application-specific startup scripts in a folder named Startup Scripts, which you create in the Illustrator installation directory. For example, when Illustrator CS6 is installed to its default location, you would create the
Startup Scripts folder at the following location:

Windows: Mac OS:

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator CS6\Startup Scripts\ /Applications/Adobe Illustrator CS6/Startup Scripts/

JavaScript scripts with a .jsx extension placed in the Startup Scripts folder run automatically when:

The application is launched. Any JavaScript file is selected from the Scripts menu (File > Scripts).

General startup scripts folder

The general startup scripts folder contains scripts that run automatically when you start any Creative Suite 5 application. You create the folder in the following location:

Windows: Mac OS:

Program Files/Common Files/Adobe/Startup Scripts CS6/Illustrator :Library:Application Support:Adobe:Startup Scripts CS6:Illustrator

If a script in the general startup folder is meant to be executed only by Illustrator, the script must include the ExtendScript #target directive (#target illustrator) or code like the following:
if( BridgeTalk.appName == "illustrator" ) { //continue executing script }

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

Changes in CS6

12

For details, see JavaScript Tools Guide.

Changes in CS6
This section lists changes made to the scripting object model to support features in Illustrator CS6.

Enumeration

A new enumeration value and new default for compatibility when saving an EPS or Illustrator file:

AppleScript compatibility is Illustrator 16 JavaScript Compatibility.ILLUSTRATOR16 VBScript AiCompatibility: aiIllustrator16

A new enumeration value for exporting to the TIFF file format:

AppleScript export to <file> as TIFF with options <TIFF export options object> JavaScript ExportType.TIFF VBScript AiExportType.AiTIFF

Class

New method/command in PlacedItem class for relinking placed art to a file:

AppleScript relink JavaScript PlacedItem.relink() VBScript PlacedItem.Relink()

Data class

New class for specifying export options for the TIFF format (and related constants):

AppleScript TIFF export options JavaScript ExportOptionsTIFF VBScript ExportOptionsTIFF

Methods

There is a new method in the JavaScript Application class, sendScriptMessage(), that allows you to send a script to a plug-in and receive the result. A new sample script, Send Script, in the Scripting/SampleScripts folder, illustrates the usage. See also Scripting plug-ins on page 8.

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

Known issues

13

Known issues

Scripts that create, save, and close many Illustrator files should periodically quit and relaunch Illustrator. The recommended maximum number of files to process before quitting and relaunching Illustrator is:

Windows Mac OS

500 files 1000 files

For more information on quitting and relaunching Illustrator, see Launching and activating Illustrator on page 22 and Quitting Illustrator on page 23.

The An Illustrator error occurred: 1346458189 (PARM) alert may be popped when badly written scripts are repeatedly run in Illustrator from the ESTK. Scripters need to be very careful about variable initialization and namespace conflict when pushing a batch of Illustrator scripts repeatedly for execution in Illustrator via the ESTK in one Illustrator session. Each script run is executed within the same persistent ExtendScript engine within Illustrator. The ESTK debugger uses BridgeTalk to communicate with Illustrator. A single global, persistent, ExtendScript engine inside Illustrator handles all BridgeTalk communications. The net effect is that the state of the ExtendScript engine is cumulative to all scripts that ran previously. Issues with script code that may cause this problem are:

Reading uninitialized variables. Global namespace conflicts, such as when two globals from different scripts are clobbering each other.

If you create more than one art object in AppleScript and assign each one to a variable, all the variables are set to the last item. This means that the previously created items are not accessible.

The Illustrator Scripting Object Model

A good understanding of the Illustrator object model will improve your scripting abilities. The following figure shows the containment hierarchy of the object model, starting with the application object. Note that the layer and group item classes can contain nested objects of the same class which can, in turn, contain additional nested objects.

In addition to this application-specific object model, JavaScript provides certain utility objects, such as the File and Folder objects, which give you operating-system-independent access to the file system. For details, see JavaScript Tools Guide.

14

CHAPTER 2: The Illustrator Scripting Object Model

Object-naming conventions

15

Object-naming conventions
There is one object model for the Illustrator scripting interface, but actual object names vary slightly in the different scripting languages:

AppleScript names are lower case, and individual words are separated by a space; for example:
graphic style

VBScript names are capitalized, and additional words in the name are indicated by uppercase initial letters; for example:
GraphicStyle

JavaScript names begin with lowercase letters, and additional words in the name are indicated by uppercase initial letters; for example:
graphicStyle

This chapter uses generic object and property names, but you can easily apply these conventions to determine the corresponding language-specific names. Throughout this document, names of properties, methods, and object are in a monospaced font.

Top-level (containing) objects

Use these objects to access global information about the Illustrator application or an individual document.

Application
The properties of the application object give your script access to global values, such as:

User preferences, which a user sets interactively in the Illustrator application by using the Preferences dialog (Edit > Preferences). System information like installed fonts (the text fonts property) and printers (the printer list property).

Also, there are properties that provide application-specific information and higher-level information about any open documents:

Application information like the installation path, version, and whether Illustrator is visible. The current active document; that is, the art canvas that is displayed and accepting user input. All open documents.

The application objects methods or commands allow your script to perform application-wide actions; for example:
Open files Undo and redo transactions Quit Illustrator

CHAPTER 2: The Illustrator Scripting Object Model

The artwork tree

16

Document
The document object, which your scripts can create or access through the application object, represents an art canvas or loaded Illustrator file. The document objects properties give you access to the documents content; for example:

The current selection, or art objects that the user selected in the document All contained art objects, called page items, that make up the artwork tree Art objects of particular types, like symbols and text frames All layers and the currently active layer

Document properties also tell you about the state of the document itself; for example:

User settings for the document, such as ruler units Whether the document was saved since the last alteration of content The path of the associated file

The document objects methods allow your scripts to act on the document; for example:
Save to an Illustrator file or save as the various supported file formats Activate or close a document Print the document. Your scripts can select a printer by referencing a print options object, or they can reference available printers through the application objects printer list property.

Layer
The layer object provides access to the contents, or artwork tree, of a specific layer. You access the layer object through the document object. The layer object properties provide access to, or information about, the layer, such as:

Whether the layer is visible or locked. The layers opacity (overall transparency) and z order position (position in the stacking order). Art-creation preferences for the layer, like artwork knockout and blending mode.

The artwork tree

The content of an Illustrator document is called the artwork tree. Artwork is represented by the following objects:
compound path item graph item group item legacy text item

CHAPTER 2: The Illustrator Scripting Object Model

The artwork tree

17

mesh item non native item path item placed item plugin item raster item symbol item (see Dynamic objects on page 21) text frame

Your scripts can access and manipulate art objects through collections in the document and layer objects. There are two types of art-object collections:

Collection objects that correspond to each individual artwork object type, such as the graph items object or the mesh items object. The page items object, which includes art objects of all types.

Also, you can use the group item object to reference a grouped set of art items. You can create new art objects using the make command (AppleScript) or add method of an artwork item collection object. For example, to create a new path item object: AppleScript JavaScript VBScript set myPathItem to make new path item in current document var myPathItem = activeDocument.pathItems.add(); Set myPathItem = appRef.ActiveDocument.PathItems.Add()

The following artwork collections do not allow the creation of new objects using the make command or add method:
graph items object mesh items object plugin items object legacy text items object

For details on creating objects of these types, see the Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Reference for your language.

Art styles
Your script can apply a graphic style to artwork using the graphic style object. To apply a graphic style, use the graphic styles property of the document object to access the apply to method of the graphic style object. Similarly, the brush object allows you to specify the brush to apply to artwork. You access any brush through the brushes collection object, which is a property of the document object.

CHAPTER 2: The Illustrator Scripting Object Model

Text objects

18

Color objects
Your script can apply a color, pattern or gradient to a path item object, using the fill color or stroke color properties:

Scripts can define new color swatches using the make command or add method of the swatches object. Your script also can create a new spot color, using the make command or add property of the spots object. You can define the attributes of an ink object using the ink info object, which is an ink object property. You access ink objects through the ink list property of the document object.

The following objects allow you to create colors within defined color spaces:

The RGB color object, using the range 0.0 to 255.0 for the each of the three individual color values. The CMYK color object, using the percentage values 0.0 through 100.0 for each of the four individual color values. The grayscale color or LAB color objects, using the same range and number of values that you use in the Illustrator application.

Text objects
When you type content in an Illustrator document, the type automatically becomes a text frame object and, at the same time, a story object. To observe this, open a new document in Illustrator and use the horizontal text tool to type some text, then use the vertical text tool to type more text. Finally, create a rectangle and type some text inside it. Now run the following JavaScript script:
var myDoc = app.activeDocument alert("There are " + myDoc.textFrames.length + " text frames.") alert("There are " + myDoc.stories.length + " stories.")

Text frames
There are three types of text frames:

point area path

CHAPTER 2: The Illustrator Scripting Object Model

Text objects

19

To create a specific kind of text frame, use the kind property of the text frames object in AppleScript. The JavaScript and VBScript text frames objects contain specific methods for creating area text frames and path text frames. As in the Illustrator application, you can thread area or path text frames. To thread existing text frames, use the next frame or previous frame property of the text frame object. Threaded frames make a single story object. For information on creating or threading text frames, see the chapter in this manual for your scripting language.

Text geometry
While the three kinds of text frames have common characteristics, like orientation, each has type-specific qualities, as reflected in the text frame objects properties. For example:

An area text frame can have rows and columns, which you access through the row count and column count properties. Path text has start T value and end T value properties that indicate where on the path the text begins and ends. Area and path text frames are associated with a text path object, which is specified using the text frame objects text path property. The text path defines the text frames position and orientation (horizontal or vertical) on the artboard (while the text frame objects orientation property defines the orientation of text within the text frame). The text path property is not valid for point text, because point-text position and orientation are defined completely by the properties of the text frame itself.

NOTE: A text path is not the same as a path art item. Text paths are associated with path art items that can be accessed and manipulated to modify the appearance of the associated text frame.

Objects that represent text content

Within a text frame or story, the actual text content can be accessed as any of the following objects:
characters words paragraphs lines

A line object is all the characters that fit on one line in a text frame or story object. All text-art items have at least one line of text, defined as a line object. Text art can have multiple text lines, if the text contains hard line breaks or its characters flow to a new line because they do not fit in the width of the text art. Text objects are accessed and identified by collections within the text frame and story objects; for example, textFrame("My Text Frame").paragraphs or story("My Story").paragraphs.

CHAPTER 2: The Illustrator Scripting Object Model

Text objects

20

Both text frame and story objects have insertion point and text selection properties. The text frame objects properties also include the defining features of the text frame, such as:

The frame width, height, and position Whether the frame is hidden or locked Whether the text is editable

NOTE: A line object cannot be created in a script. Your script can create character, paragraph, and word objects.

Text ranges
The various text objects within a text frame or story also are represented collectively by the text range object. For example, a character is a text range with a length of 1, and a word is a text range that has a space before it. You can set the content of a text range object by passing a string using the contents property.

Text styles
Text-style elements, like font, capitalization, and justification, are represented by paragraph attribute and character attribute objects. These attribute objects are properties of the paragraph style and character style objects. The paragraph style and character style objects have apply to and remove methods that allow your script to assign or remove attributes in a specific paragraph, character, or text range. You can change the display properties of a text range by applying an appropriate style or providing local overrides of attributes at the text or paragraph levels:
character style objects apply to sets of one or more characters. They control character features like font, alignment, leading, language, and capitalization, which are properties of the character attribute object. paragraph style objects apply to paragraphs. They control paragraph features like first line indent, left indent, and right indent, which are properties of the paragraph attribute object.

CHAPTER 2: The Illustrator Scripting Object Model

Dynamic objects

21

Dynamic objects
By creating dynamic objects, you can create data-driven graphics. In the Illustrator application, you use the Variables panel to create or edit variables like graph data, linked file, text string, and visibility, or variables whose type is not specified. In scripting, you use the variable object to represent this type of variable. The variable objects kind property indicates the type of dynamic data that a variable object holds. variable objects are document-level objects; you create them in a document object. NOTE: Do not confuse variable objects with scripting variables. For details on Illustrator variables, dynamic objects, and data-driven graphics, see Illustrator Help. Datasets, which collect variables and their associated dynamic data into one object, are represented in scripting by the dataset object. The dataset object provides methods to update and delete dataset objects in your scripts.

Symbols
In Illustrator, symbols are art items that are stored in the Symbols panel. Your scripts can create, delete, and duplicate symbol objects. When you create symbol objects in your script, Illustrator adds them to the Symbols panel for the target document. A symbol item is an instance of a symbol object in a document. Each symbol item is linked to its symbol definition, so changing the definition of a symbol updates all instances of the symbol. Your script can create, delete, and duplicate symbol items. Symbol items are Illustrator art items; therefore, they can be treated in the same way as other art items or page items. You can rotate, resize, select, lock, hide, and perform other operations on symbol items.

Transformations
The matrix object provides access to the power of geometric-transformation matrices. Transformation matrices in Illustrator store the settings of an operation that scales, rotates, or moves (translates) an object on a page. There are advantages to using matrices:

By storing transformation values in a matrix object, you can use the values repeatedly on different objects in your script. By concatenating rotation, translation, and/or scaling matrices and applying the resulting matrix, you can perform many geometric transformations with only one script statement. You can invert matrix values. You can compare the values of two matrices.

The application object. has commands or methods to create, get, invert, compare, or concatenate matrices. The command or method used to apply a matrix is the transform command, which belongs to any type of object on which transformations can be performed.

Scripting Illustrator
This chapter is an overview of how to use scripting objects to program Illustrator CS6. Specific examples for the supported scripting languages are in succeeding chapters.

Launching and quitting Illustrator from a script

Your scripts can control the activation and termination of Illustrator.

Launching and activating Illustrator

AppleScript
In AppleScript, you use a tell statement to target Illustrator. The activate command activates Illustrator if it is not already active.
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" activate end tell

JavaScript
Typically, you run JavaScript scripts from the applications Scripts menu (File > Scripts) or start-up folder, so there is no need to launch Illustrator from your script. Information on launching Illustrator in JavaScript is beyond the scope of this guide. For details, search for interapplication messaging or JavaScript messaging framework in JavaScript Tools Guide.

VBScript
In VBScript, there are several ways to create an instance of Illustrator:
CreateObject launches Illustrator as an invisible application if it is not already running. If Illustrator is

launched as an invisible application you must manually activate the application to make it visible:
Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

If you have multiple versions of Illustrator installed on the same machine and use the CreateObject method to obtain an application reference, using "Illustrator.Application" creates a reference to the latest Illustrator version. To specifically target an earlier version, use a version identifier at the end of the string: For Illustrator 10, use "Illustrator.Application.1" For Illustrator CS, use "Illustrator.Application.2" For Illustrator CS2, use "Illustrator.Application.3" For Illustrator CS3, use "Illustrator.Application.4" For Illustrator CS4, use "Illustrator.Application.CS4"

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For Illustrator CS5, use "Illustrator.Application.CS5" For Illustrator CS6, use "Illustrator.Application.CS6"

Use the New operator if you added a reference to the Illustrator type library to the project. For example, the following line creates a new reference to the Application object:
Set appRef = New Illustrator.Application

Quitting Illustrator
AppleScript
Use the quit command:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" quit end tell

JavaScript
Use the app.quit() method:
app.quit()

VBScript
Use the Application objects Quit method:
Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application") appRef.Quit

Working with objects

Getting the frontmost document or layer
To refer to the selected document, use the application objects current document property in AppleScript or the active document property in JavaScript or VBScript. Similarly, you can use the document objects current layer or active layer property to refer to the selected layer. There are other types of active or current object properties, like active dataset or active view. For details, see the Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Reference for your language.

Creating new objects

Several objects (besides the application object itself ) cannot be obtained from containers or parent objects. Your script must create these objects directly.

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The following objects must be created explicitly:

CMYK color document preset EPS save options export options AutoCAD export options Flash export options GIF export options JPEG export options Photoshop export options PNG8 export options PNG24 export options SVG export options TIFF file folder gradient color gray color Illustrator save options ink ink info lab color matrix MXG save options no color open options open options AutoCAD open options FreeHand open options PDF open options Photoshop paper info Pattern color PDF save options PPD file PPD file info print color management options print color separation options print coordinate options printer printer info print flattener options print font options print job options print options print page marks options print paper options print postscript options raster effect options rasterize options screen screen spot function RGB color spot color tracing options

The file and folder objects are Adobe ExtendScript devices designed to provide platform-independent access to the underlying file system. For information on using these objects, see JavaScript Tools Guide. For information on creating an object explicitly, see the chapter for your scripting language.

Collection objects
Most collection objects must be obtained from a container. For example, a path items collection object can be contained by a document object or a layer object; to obtain an object in a path items collection, refer to either containing of these objects. For example, see the language-specific sections below.

AppleScript
To refer to a path items object in a document:
path item 1 in document 1

To refer to a path items object in a layer:

path item 1 in layer 1 in document 1

JavaScript
To refer to a path items object in a document:
documents[0].pathItems[1]

To refer to a path items object in a layer:

documents[0].layers[0].pathItems[0]

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VBScript
To refer to a path items object in a document:
Documents(1).PathItems(1)

To refer to a path items object in a layer:

Documents(1).Layers(1).PathItems(1)

For more examples of collection-item containers, see the document object Elements table in Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Reference: AppleScript or the Properties table in Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Reference: JavaScript or Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Reference: VBScript. A diagram of the Illustrator CS6 object model is in The Illustrator Scripting Object Model on page 14.

Selected objects
Sometimes, you want to write scripts that act on the currently selected object or objects. For example, you might want to apply formatting to selected text or change a selected paths shape.

Selecting text
To select text, use the select command or method of the text range object.

Selecting art items

You can select an art object (like graph items, mesh items, raster items, and symbol items) by setting its selected property to true. (In AppleScript, selected is a property of the page items object.)

Referring to selected art items

To refer to all currently selected objects in a document, use the document objects selection property. To work with the objects in the selection array, you must determine their type, so you will know which properties and methods or commands you can use with them. In JavaScript and VBScript, each artwork object type has a read-only typename property that you can use to determine the objects type. In AppleScript, use the class property.

Notes on renaming objects stored in the applications panels

Several objects can be renamed; that is, their name property is writeable. The following types of objects can be sorted alphabetically in the corresponding Illustrator panel. If a script modifies the name of such an object, references to that object by index can become invalid.
Brush Gradient Graphic Style Pattern Swatch Symbol Variable

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Measurement units
Illustrator uses points as the unit of measurement for almost all distances. One inch equals 72 points. The exception is values for properties like kerning, tracking, and the aki properties (used for Japanese text composition), which use em units. (See Em space units on page 26.) Illustrator uses points when communicating with your scripts regardless of the current ruler units. If your script depends on adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing specific measurement values for units other than points, it must perform any unit conversions needed to represent your measurements as points. For example, to use inches for coordinates or measurement units, you must multiply all inch values by 72 when entering the values in your script. The following table shows conversion formulas for various units of measurement: Unit centimeters inches millimeters picas Qs Conversion formula 28.346 points = 1 centimeter 72 points = 1 inch 2.834645 points = 1 millimeter 12 points = 1 pica 0.709 point = 1 Q (1 Q equals 0.23 millimeter)

JavaScript provides the UnitValue object type, which offers unit-conversion utilities. For details, see JavaScript Tools Guide.

Em space units
Values that use em units instead of points are measured in thousandths of an em. An em is proportional to the current font size. For example, in a 6-point font, 1 em equals 6 points; in a 10-point font, 1 em equals 10 points. In a 10-point font, a kerning value of 20 em units is equivalent to:
(20 units x 10 points) / 1000 units/em = 0.2 points

Page-item positioning and dimensions

Illustrator uses simple, two-dimensional geometry in the form of points to record the position of page item objects in a document. Every page item object in a document has a position property that defines a fixed point as a pair of page coordinates in the format [x, y]. The fixed point is the top-left corner of the objects bounding box. For information on the types of objects that comprise the page items collection, see The artwork tree on page 16. A point is designated by a pair of coordinates:

The horizontal position, x The vertical position, y

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You can see these coordinates in the Info panel when you select or create an object in Illustrator. For the artboard, the default coordinate origin, (0,0), is the top-left corner, reflected in the ruler origin property of the artboard object. X coordinate values increase from left to right, and Y values increase from top to bottom. This changed in the CS5 release; to maintain script compatability, a document created by a script still uses the older system, with the origin at the bottom left of the artboard, and the Y value increasing from bottom to top. The page origin property of a document object defines the bottom-left corner of the printable region of the document as a fixed point. Each page item object has width and height properties. The maximum value allowed for the width or height of a page item is 16348 points.

Art item bounds

Every page item object has three properties that use fixed rectangles to describe the objects overall extent:

The geometric bounds of a page item are the rectangular dimensions of the objects bounding box, excluding stroke width. The visible bounds of a page item are the dimensions of the object, including any stroke widths. The control bounds define the rectangular dimensions of the object, including in and out control points.

The following figure illustrates these properties, using JavaScript naming conventions.

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Paths and shapes

Paths are represented in the Illustrator DOM by the path item object. Path items include all artwork that contains paths, such as rectangles, ellipses, and polygons, as well as freeform paths. A freeform path consists of a series of path points. A path point can be specified in two ways:

As an array of x and y page coordinates. As a path point object, which defines an anchor point and two direction points or handles that define the path segments curve:

For details, samples, and information on creating shapes, see the chapter for your scripting language.

User-interaction levels
When user feedback is required, an application typically presents a dialog. This is called user interaction. It is useful and expected when you are directly interacting with the application; however, when a script is interacting with an application, a dialog brings the execution of the script to a halt until the dialog is dismissed. This can be a serious problem in an automation environment, where there is no one present to deal with dialogs. The application object contains a user interaction level property that allows you to control the level of interaction allowed during script execution. You can suppress interaction in an automation environment or allow some interaction where scripts are being used in a more interactive fashion.

AppleScript
Using AppleScript, it is possible to send commands from one machine to another, so additional types of interaction are possible. In AppleScript:, there are four possible values for the user interaction level property: Property Value
never interact interact with self interact with local interact with all

Result No interaction is allowed. Interact only with scripts executed from the Scripts menu (File > Scripts). Interact with scripts executed on the local machine (including self). Interact with all scripts.

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The four values allow you to control interaction based on the source of the script commands. For example, if the application is acting as a server for remote users, it would be difficult for a remote user to dismiss a dialog, but it would be no problem for someone sitting in front of the machine. In this case, an interaction level of interact with local would prevent dialogs from halting remote scripts but would allow dialogs to be presented for local scripts.

JavaScript
In JavaScript, there are two possible values for the app.userInteractionLevel property: Property Value
DISPLAYALERTS DONTDISPLAYALERTS

Result Interaction is allowed. No interaction is allowed.

VBScript
In VBScript, there are two possible values for the UserInteractionLevel property of the Application object: Property Value
aiDisplayAlerts aiDontDisplayAlerts

Result Interaction is allowed. No interaction is allowed.

Printing Illustrator documents

Using the print options scripting feature, you can capture and automate parts of your print workflow. Scripting exposes the full capabilities of Illustrator printing, some of which may not be accessible through the applications user interface. Illustrator supports at most one print session at a time, because of limits in the current printing architecture. The document objects print command or method takes one optional parameter, which allows you to specify a print options object. The print options object allows you to define print settings like PPD, PostScript options, paper options, and color-management options. The print options object also has a print preset property, which allows you to specify a preset to define your print job. When defining the properties of a print options object, you can find out which printers, PPDs, print presets, and other items are available by using the application objects read-only list properties, such as the printer list, PPD file list, and print presets list properties.

Scripting with AppleScript

This chapter uses script examples and explanations to help you to become familiar with Illustrator scripting using AppleScript.

For more information

Several extended sample scripts are in the :Scripting:Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator CS6 installation directory. For information about individual classes, objects, properties, commands, and parameters, as well as script samples that demonstrate how to use many of these items, see Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Reference: AppleScript, in the :Scripting:Documentation folder in your Illustrator CS6 installation directory. You also can view the Illustrator CS6 dictionary from the Script Editor application;see Viewing the AppleScript object model on page 9. If you do not understand the concepts and terms used in this chapter, read Adobe Introduction to Scripting.

Your first Illustrator script

The traditional first project in any programming language is displaying the message Hello World! In this example, you create a new Illustrator document, then add a text frame containing this message. Follow these steps: 1. Open Script Editor. In a default Mac OS installation, Script Editor is in Applications:AppleScript:Script Editor. If you cannot find the Script Editor application, you must reinstall it from your Mac OS system CD. 2. Enter the following script.
--Send the following commands to Illustrator tell application "Adobe Illustrator" --Create a new document set docRef to make new document --Create a new text frame with the string "Hello World" set textRef to make new text frame in docRef ? with properties {contents: "Hello World!", position:{200, 200}} end tell

3.

In the Script Editor toolbar, click Run.

TIP: To add the script to the Illustrator Scripts menu (File > Scripts), save the script in the Scripts folder. The script will appear on the menu the next time you start Illustrator. For details, see Installing scripts in the Scripts menu on page 10.

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Adding features to Hello World

Next, we create a new script that makes changes to the Illustrator document you created with your first script. Our second script demonstrates how to:

Get the active document. Get the width of the active document. Resize the text frame to match the documents width.

If you already closed the Illustrator document, run your first script again to create a new document. Follow these steps: 1. In Script Editor, choose File > New to create a new script. 2. Enter the following code:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" -- current document is always the active document set docRef to the current document set docWidth to the width of docRef -- resize the text frame to match the page width set width of text frame 1 of docRef to docWidth -- alternatively, one can reference the item directly, as follows: set width of text frame 1 of current document to docWidth end tell

3.

Run the script.

Object references
In AppleScript, Illustrator returns object references by index position or name. For example, this is a reference to the first path in layer 2:
path item 1 of layer 2 of document 1

An objects index position may change when other objects are created or deleted. For example, when a new path item is created on layer 2, the new path item becomes path item 1 of layer 2 of document 1. This new object displaces the original path item, forcing the original to index position 2; therefore, any references made to path item 1 of layer 2 of document 1 refer to the new object. This method of applying index numbers assures that lowest index number refers to the object that was worked on most recently. Consider the following sample script:
-- Make 2 new objects and try to select both tell application "Adobe Illustrator" set newDocument to make new document set rectPath to make new rectangle in newDocument set starPath to make new star in newDocument

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set selection of newDocument to {rectPath, starPath} end tell

This script does not select both the rectangle and the star, as intended; instead, it selects only the star. Try running the script with the Event Log window open, to observe the references returned from Illustrator for each consecutive make command. (Choose Event Log at the bottom of the Script Editor window.) Notice that both commands return the same object reference: path item 1 of layer 1 of document 1; therefore, the last line resolves to:
set selection of document 1 to {path item 1 of layer 1 of document 1, ? path item 1 of layer 1 of document 1}

A better approach is to reference the objects by name:

tell application "Adobe Illustrator" set newDocument to make new document make new rectangle in newDocument with properties {name:"rectangle"} make new star in newDocument with properties {name:"star"} set selection of newDocument to ? {path item "rectangle" of newDocument, ? path item "star" of newDocument} end tell

This example illustrates the need to uniquely identify objects in AppleScript scripts. We recommend that you assign names or variables to objects you need to access at a later time, as there is no guarantee you are accessing the objects you expect when accessing them by index.

Obtaining objects from documents and layers

This script references an object as part of a document:
-- Get reference for first page item of document 1 tell application "Adobe Illustrator" set pageItemRef to page item 1 of document 1 end tell

In the following script, the pageItemRef variable does not necessarily refer to the same object as in the previous script, because this script includes a reference to a layer:
-- Get reference for first page item of layer 1 of document 1 tell application "Adobe Illustrator" set pageItemRef to page item 1 of layer 1 of document 1 end tell

Creating new objects

To create a new object in AppleScript, use the make command.

Working with selections

When the user makes a selection in a document, the selected objects are stored in the documents selection property. To access all selected objects in the active document:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" set myDoc to current document

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set selectedObjects to selection of myDoc end tell

Depending on what is selected, the selection property value can be an array of any type of art objects. To get or manipulate the properties of the selected art items, you must retrieve the individual items in the array. To find out an objects type, use the class property. The following sample gets the first object in the array, then displays the objects type:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" set myDoc to current document set selectedObjects to selection of myDoc set topObject to item 1 of selectedObjects display dialog (class of topObject) end tell

The first object in a selection array is the selected object that was last added to the page, not the last object selected.

Selecting artwork objects

To select an art object, the objects selected property.

Working with text frames

To create a text frame of a specific type in AppleScript, use the kind property of the text frame object:
set myRect to make new rectangle in current document with properties ? {position:{100, 700}, height:100, width:100} set myAreaText to make new text frame in current document with properties ? {kind:point text,contents:"Text Frame 1"}

Threaded frames
As in the Illustrator application, you can thread area text frames or path text frames. To thread existing text frames, use the next frame or previous frame property of the text frame object. When copying the following script to your script editor, place the value of the contents property on one line. The long-line character () is not valid within a string value.
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" make new document make new rectangle in current document with properties ? {position:{100, 500}, height:100, width:100} make new text frame in current document with properties ? {kind:area text, text path:the result, name:"tf1", ? contents:"This is two text frames linked together as one story, with? text flowing from the first to the last. First frame content. "} make new rectangle in current document with properties ? {position:{300, 700}, height:100, width:100} make new text frame in current document with properties ? {kind:area text, text path:the result, name:"tf2", ? contents:"Second frame content." } --use the next frame property to thread the frames set next frame of text frame "tf1" of current document to ?

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text frame "tf2" of current document redraw end tell

Threaded frames make one story object

Threaded frames make a single story object. To observe this, run the following AppleScript after running the script in Threaded frames on page 33.
display dialog ("There are " & (count(text frames of current document)) & " text frames.") display dialog("There are " & (count(stories of current document)) & " stories.")

Creating paths and shapes

This section explains how to create items that contain paths.

Paths
To create line or a freeform path, specify a series of path points, as a series of x-y coordinates or path point objects. Using x-y coordinates limits the path to straight segments. To created a curved path, you must create
path point objects. A path can comprise a combination of page coordinates and path point objects.

Specifying a series of x-y coordinates

To specify a path using page-coordinate pairs, use the entire path property of the path items object. The following script specifies three pairs of x-y coordinates, to create a path with three points:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" set docRef to make new document -- set stroked to true so we can see the path set lineRef to make new path item in docRef with properties {stroked:true} set entire path of lineRef to {{220, 475},{200, 300},{375, 300}} end tell

Using path point objects

To create a path point object, you must define three values for the point.

A fixed anchor point, which is the point on the path. A pair of direction pointsleft direction and right directionwhich allow you to control the path segments curve.

You define each property as an array of page coordinates in the format [x, y]:

If all three properties of a path point object have the same coordinates, and the properties of the next path point in the line are equal to each other, you create a straight-line segment. If two or more properties in a path point object have different values, the segment connected to the point is curved.

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To create a path or add points to an existing path using path point objects, create a path item object, then add the path points as child objects in the path item:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" set docRef to make new document -- set stroked to true so we can see the path set lineRef to make new path item in docRef with properties {stroked:true} --giving the direction points the same value as the --anchor point creates a straight line segment set newPoint to make new path point of lineRef with properties ? {anchor:{220, 475},left direction:{220, 475},right direction:{220, 475}, point type:corner} set newPoint2 to make new path point of lineRef with properties ? {anchor:{375, 300},left direction:{375, 300},right direction:{375, 300}, point type:corner} --giving the direction points the different values --creates a curve set newPoint3 to make new path point of lineRef with properties ? {anchor:{220, 300},left direction:{180, 260},right direction:{240, 320}, point type:corner} end tell

Combining path point types

The following script sample creates a path with three points, by combining the entire path property with a path point object:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" set docRef to make new document -- set stroked to true so we can see the path set lineRef to make new path item in docRef with properties {stroked:true} set entire path of lineRef to {{220, 475},{375, 300}} set newPoint to make new path point of lineRef with properties ? {anchor:{220, 300},left direction:{180, 260},right direction:{240, 320}, point type:corner} end tell

Shapes
To create a shape, you use the object that corresponds to the shapes name (like ellipse, rectangle, or polygon), and use the objects properties to specify the shapes position, size, and other information like the number of sides in a polygon. Remember:

The scripting engine processes all measurements and page coordinates as points. For details, see Measurement units on page 26. x and y coordinates are measured from the bottom-left corner of the document, as indicated in the Info panel in the Illustrator application. For details, see Page-item positioning and dimensions on page 26.

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Write-once access
Properties for path-item shapes use the write-once access status, which indicates that the property is writeable only when the object is created. For existing path-item objects, the properties are read-only properties whose values cannot be changed.

Creating a rectangle
Consider the following sample:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" set docRef to make new document set rectRef to make new rectangle in docRef with properties ? {bounds:{288, 360, 72, 144}} end tell

The sample creates a rectangle with these properties:

The top-right corner of the of the rectangle is inset 4 inches (288 points) from the bottom of the page and 5 inches (360 points) from the left edge of the page. The lower-left corner of the rectangle is inset 1 inch (72 points) from the left edge of the page and 2 inches (144 points) from the bottom of the page.

Creating a polygon
Consider the following sample:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" set docRef to make new document set pathRef to make new polygon in docRef with properties ? {center point:{144, 288},sides:7,radius:72.0} end tell

The sample creates a polygon with these properties:

The center point of the object is inset is 2 inches (144 points) on the horizontal axis and 4 inches (288 points) on the vertical axis. The polygon has 7 sides. The length of the radius from the center point to each corner is 1 inch (72 points).

Working with the perspective grid

The Perspective Grid is a new feature in Illustrator CS6 that enables you to create and manipulate art in a spatial environment using established laws of perspective. Enable Perspective Grid using the View > Perspective Grid menu or the perspective tools in the toolbar. The SDK provides an API for working with the perspective grid programmatically, and your scripts have some access to this API. A script can:

Set a the default grid parameters using preset values.

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Show or hide the grid. Set the active plane. Draw an object in perspective on the active plane. Bring an object into perspective.

Use perspective presets

Illustrator provides default grid-parameter presets for one-point, two-point, and three-point perspectives. The presets are named "[1P-NormalView]", "[2P-NormalView]", and "[3P-NormalView]". The script shows how to select the two-point perspective preset programmatically:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" --Create a new document set docRef to make new document tell docRef --Select the default two-point perspective preset select perspective preset perspective preset "[2P-Normal View]" end tell end tell

You can create new perspective presets, export presets to files, and import presets from files. These scripts shows how to export and import presets:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" set docRef to make new document set filePath to "Macintosh HD:scripting:PGPresetsExported" export perspective grid preset of docRef to file filePath end tell tell application "Adobe Illustrator" set docRef to make new document set filePath to "Macintosh HD:scripting:PGPresets" import perspective grid preset of docRef from file filePath end tell

Show or hide the grid

This script shows or hides the Perspective Grid programmatically:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" --Create a new document set docRef to make new document tell docRef --Display the perspective grid defined in the document show perspective grid --Hide the perspective grid defined in the document hide perspective grid end tell end tell

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Set the active plane

The perspective grid plane types are: Left plane Right plane Floor plane Invalid plane
perspective grid plane leftplane perspective grid plane rightplane perspective grid plane floorplane perspective grid plane noplane

For a one-point perspective grid, only the left and floor plane are valid. This script sets the active perspective plane to the left plane:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" --Create a new document set docRef to make new document tell docRef --Set the active plane to the left plane set perspective active plane perspective grid plane leftplane end tell end tell

Draw on a perspective grid

When the Perspective Grid is on, drawing methods allow you to draw or operate on objects in perspective. This script creates a new document, shows a two-point perspective grid, and draws art objects on the left plane:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" --Create a new document set docRef to make new document tell docRef --Select the default two-point perspective preset select perspective preset perspective preset "[2P-Normal View]" --Display the perspective grid defined in the document show perspective grid --Check if active plane is set to left, otherwise set it to left if (get perspective active plane) is not leftplane then set perspective active plane perspective grid plane leftplane end if --Draw rectangle in perspective, then resize to 200% and move set rectRef to make new rectangle with properties {bounds:{0, 0, 30, 30}, reversed:false} scale rectRef horizontal scale 200 vertical scale 200 about top left with transforming objects translate rectRef delta x -420 delta y 480 --Draw ellipse in perspective set ellipseRef to make new ellipse with properties {bounds:{60, -60, 90, -30}, reversed:false, inscribed:true}

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--Draw rounded rectangle in perspective set rrectRef to make new rounded rectangle with properties {bounds:{90, -90, 30, 30}, horizontal radius:10, vertical radius:10, reversed:false} --Draw polygon in perspective set polyRef to make new polygon with properties {center point:{105, 105}, radius:15, sides:7, reversed:false} --Draw star in perspective set starRef to make new star with properties {center point:{135, 135}, radius:15, inner radius:10, point count:6, reversed:false} --Draw path in perspective set newPath to make new path item with properties {entire path:{{anchor:{0, 0}}, {anchor:{60, 0}}, {anchor:{30, 45}}, {anchor:{90, 110}}}} end tell end tell

Bring objects into perspective

If an art object is not in perspective, use the bringInPerspective() method to bring it into perspective and place it on a plane. This script creates a new document, draws an art object, and brings it into perspective on a three-point perspective grid:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator" --Create a new document set docRef to make new document tell docRef --Draw star set starRef to make new star with properties {center point:{135, 135}, radius:15, inner radius:10, point count:6, reversed:false} --Select the default three-point perspective preset select perspective preset perspective preset "[3P-Normal View]" --Display the perspective grid defined in the document show perspective grid --Check if active plane is set to left, otherwise set it to left if (get perspective active plane) is not leftplane then set perspective active plane perspective grid plane leftplane end if --Bring star to floor plane bring in perspective starRef position x 100 position y 100 perspective grid plane floorplane end tell end tell

Scripting with JavaScript

This chapter uses script examples and explanations to help you to become familiar with Illustrator scripting using JavaScript.

For more information

Several extended sample scripts are in the /Scripting/Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator CS6 installation directory. For information about individual classes, objects, properties, methods, and parameters, as well as script samples that demonstrate how to use many of these items, see Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Reference: JavaScript, in the /Scripting/Documentation folder in your Illustrator CS6 installation directory. You also can use the Illustrator dictionary, which you access from the Object Model Viewer in the ESTK. For information on using the ExtendScript Toolkit and the Object Model Viewer, see Viewing the JavaScript object model on page 9 or JavaScript Tools Guide. If you do not understand the concepts and terms used in this chapter, read Adobe Introduction to Scripting.

Your first Illustrator script

The traditional first project in any programming language is displaying the message Hello World! In this example, you create a new Illustrator document, then add a text frame containing this message. Follow these steps: 1. Using any text editor (including Adobe InDesign or the ESTK), enter the following text:
//Hello World! var myDocument = app.documents.add(); //Create a new text frame and assign it to the variable "myTextFrame" var myTextFrame = myDocument.textFrames.add(); // Set the contents and position of the text frame myTextFrame.position = [200,200]; myTextFrame.contents = "Hello World!"

For information on locating the ExtendScript Toolkit, see Viewing the JavaScript object model on page 9. 2.

To test the script, do either of the following: If you are using the ESTK, select Adobe Illustrator CS6 from the drop-down list in the upper-left corner, select Yes to start Illustrator, then choose Debug > Run in the ESTK to run the script. If you are using a different text editor than the ESTK, save the file as text-only in a folder of your choice, using the file extension .jsx, then start Illustrator. In Illustrator, choose File > Scripts > Other Scripts, and navigate to and run your script file.

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TIP: To add the script to the Illustrator Scripts menu (File > Scripts), save the script in the Scripts folder. The script will appear on the menu the next time you start Illustrator. For details, see Installing scripts in the Scripts menu on page 10.

Adding features to Hello World

Next, we create a new script that makes changes to the Illustrator document you created with your first script. Our second script demonstrates how to:

Get the active document. Get the width of the active document. Resize the text frame to match the documents width.

If you already closed the Illustrator document, run your first script again to create a new document, before proceeding with this exercise. Follow these steps: 1. Choose File > New in your text editor, to create a new script. 2. Enter the following code:
var docRef = app.activeDocument; var docWidth = docRef.width var frameRef = docRef.textFrames[0] frameRef.width = docWidth

3.

Run the script.

Working with methods in JavaScript

When you work with methods that have multiple parameters, you may omit optional parameters at the end of the parameter list, but you may not omit parameters in the middle of the list. If you do not want to specify a particular parameter in the middle of the list, you must insert the value undefined to use the parameters default value. For example, the following definition describes the rotate() method for an art object.
rotate (angle [,changePositions] [,changeFillPatterns] [,changeFillGradients] [,changeStrokePattern] [,rotateAbout])

In the definition, taken from Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Reference: JavaScript, optional parameters are enclosed in square brackets ([]). To rotate the object 30 degrees and change the fillGradients, you would use the following script statement:

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myObject.rotate(30, undefined, undefined, true);

You need to specify undefined for the changePositions and changeFillPatterns parameters. You do not have to specify anything for the two optional parameters following changeFillGradients, since they are at the end of the parameter list.

Accessing and referencing objects

When you write a script, you must first decide which file, or document, the script should act on. Through the application object, the script can create a new document, open an existing document, or act on a document that is already open. The script can create new objects in the document, operate on objects that the user selected, or operate on objects in one of the object collections. The following sections illustrate various techniques for accessing, referencing, and manipulating Illustrator objects.

Referencing the application object

To obtain a reference to a specific object, you need to navigate the containment hierarchy. Because all JavaScript scripts are executed from within the Illustrator application, however, a specific reference to the application object is not required. For example, to assign the active document in Illustrator to the variable frontMostDocument, you could reference the activeDocument property of the application object, as follows:
var frontMostDocument = activeDocument;

It is permissible to use the application object in a reference. To reference the application object, use the app global variable. The following two statements appear identical to the JavaScript engine:
var frontMostDocument = activeDocument; var frontMostDocument = app.activeDocument;

Accessing objects in collections

All open documents, as well as the objects in a document, are collected into collection objects for the object type. A collection object contains an array of the objects that you can access by index or name. The collection object takes the plural form of the object name. For example, the collection object for the document object is documents. The following script sample gets all graphic style objects in the graphic styles collection; that is, it gets all graphic styles available to the active document:
var myStyles = app.activeDocument.graphicStyles;

All numeric collection references in JavaScript are zero-based: the first object in the collection has the index [0]. As a rule, JavaScript index numbers do not shift when you add an object to a collection. There is one exception: documents[0] is always the active or frontmost document.

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To access the first style in a graphic styles collection, you can use the variable declared in the previous script sample, or you can use the containment hierarchy to refer to the collection:

Using the myStyles variable:

var firstStyle = myStyles[0];

Using the containment hierarchy:

var firstStyle = app.activeDocument.graphicStyles[0];

The following statements assign the name of the first graphic style in the collection to a variable. You can use these statements interchangeably.
var styleName = myStyles[0].name var styleName = firstStyle.name var styleName = app.activeDocument.graphicStyles[0].name

To get the total number of objects in a collection, use the length property:
alert ( myStyles.length );

The index of the last graphic style in the collection is myStyles.length-1 (-1 because the collection starts the index count at 0 and the length property counts from 1):
var lastStyle = myStyles[ myStyles.length - 1 ];

Note that an expression representing the index value is enclosed in square brackets ([]) as well as quotes. If you know the name of an object, you can access the object in the collections using the name surrounded by square brackets; for example:
var getStyle = myStyles[?Ice Type?];

Each element in the collection is an object of the desired type, and you can access its properties through the collection. For example, to get an objects name, use the name property:
var styleName = app.activeDocument.graphicStyles[0].name;

To apply lastStyle to the first pageItem in the document, use its applyTo() method:
lastStyle.applyTo( app.activeDocument.pageItems[0] );

Creating new objects

You can use a script to create new objects. To create objects that are available from collection objects, or containers, use the container objects add() method:
var myDoc = app.documents.add() var myLayer = myDoc.layers.add()

Some object types are not available from containers. To create an object of this type, define a variable, then use the new operator with an object constructor to assign an object as the value. For example, to create a new CMYKColor object using the variable name myColor:
var myColor = new CMYKColor()

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Working with selections

When the user makes a selection in a document, the selected objects are stored in the documents selection property. To access all selected objects in the active document:
var selectedObjects = app.activeDocument.selection;

The selection property value can be an array of any type of art objects, depending on what types of objects are selected. To get or manipulate the properties of the selected art items, you must retrieve the individual items in the array. To find out an objects type, use the typename property. The following sample gets the first object in the array, then displays the objects type:
var topObject = app.activeDocument.selection[0]; alert(topObject.typename)

The first object in a selection array is the selected object that was last added to the page, not the last object selected.

Selecting artwork objects

To select an art object, use the objects selected property.

Working with text frames

To create a text frame of a specific type in JavaScript, use the textFrames method whose name corresponds to the text frames type; for example:
var rectRef = docRef.pathItems.rectangle(700, 50, 100, 100); //use the areaText method to create the text frame var areaTextRef = docRef.textFrames.areaText(rectRef);

Threaded frames
As in the Illustrator application, you can thread area text frames or path text frames. To thread existing text frames, use the nextFrame or previousFrame property of the text frame object. When copying the following script to the ESTK, place the value of the contents property on one line.
var var var var var myDoc = documents.add(); myPathItem1 = myDoc.pathItems.rectangle(244, 64, 82, 76); myTextFrame1 = myDoc.textFrames.areaText(myPathItem1); myPathItem2 = myDoc.pathItems.rectangle(144, 144, 42, 116); myTextFrame2 = myDoc.textFrames.areaText(myPathItem2);

// use the nextFrame property to thread the text frames myTextFrame1.nextFrame = myTextFrame2; var sText = "This is two text frames linked together as one story, with text flowing from the first to the last. This is two text frames linked together as one story, with text flowing from the first to the last. This is two text frames linked together as one story. "; myTextFrame1.contents = sText; redraw();

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Threaded frames make a single story object

Threaded frames make a single story object. To observe this, run the following JavaScript after running the script in Threaded frames on page 44.
var myDoc = app.activeDocument alert("There are " + myDoc.textFrames.length + " text frames.") alert("There are " + myDoc.stories.length + " stories.")

Creating paths and shapes

This section explains how to create items that contain paths.

Paths
To create a freeform path, specify a series of path points, as a series of x-y coordinates or pathPoint objects. Using x-y coordinates limits the path to straight segments. To created a curved path, you must create pathPoint objects. Your path can comprise a combination of page coordinates and pathPoint objects.

Specifying a series of x-y coordinates

To specify a path using page coordinate pairs, use the setEntirePath() method of the pathItems object. The following script specifies three pairs of x-y coordinates, to create a path with three points:
var myDoc = app.activeDocument; var myLine = myDoc.pathItems.add(); //set stroked to true so we can see the path myLine.stroked = true; myLine.setEntirePath([[220, 475], [375, 300], [200, 300]]);

Using pathPoint objects

When you create a pathPoint object, you define three values for the point:

A fixed anchor point, which is the point on the path. A pair of direction pointsleft direction and right directionwhich allow you to control the path segments curve.

You define each property as an array of page coordinates in the format [x, y].

If all three properties of a pathPoint object have the same coordinates, and the properties of the next pathPoint in the line are equal to each other, you create a straight-line segment. If two or more properties in a pathPoint object hold different values, the segment connected to the point is curved.

To create a path or add points to an existing path using pathPoint objects, create a pathItem object, then add the path points as child objects in the pathItem:
var myDoc = app.activeDocument; var myLine = myDoc.pathItems.add();

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//set stroked to true so we can see the path myLine.stroked = true; var newPoint = myLine.pathPoints.add(); newPoint.anchor = [220, 475]; //giving the direction points the same value as the //anchor point creates a straight line segment newPoint.leftDirection = newPoint.anchor; newPoint.rightDirection = newPoint.anchor; newPoint.pointType = PointType.CORNER; var newPoint1 = myLine.pathPoints.add(); newPoint1.anchor = [375, 300]; newPoint1.leftDirection = newPoint1.anchor; newPoint1.rightDirection = newPoint1.anchor; newPoint1.pointType = PointType.CORNER; var newPoint2 = myLine.pathPoints.add(); newPoint2.anchor = [220, 300]; //giving the direction points different values //than the anchor point creates a curve newPoint2.leftDirection =[180, 260]; newPoint2.rightDirection = [240, 320]; newPoint2.pointType = PointType.CORNER;

Combining path point types

The following script sample creates a path with three points:
var myDoc = app.activeDocument; var myLine = myDoc.pathItems.add(); myLine.stroked = true; myLine.setEntirePath( [[220, 475], [375, 300]]); // Append another point to the line var newPoint = myDoc.myLine.pathPoints.add(); newPoint.anchor = [220, 300]; newPoint.leftDirection = newPoint.anchor; newPoint.rightDirection = newPoint.anchor; newPoint.pointType = PointType.CORNER;

Shapes
To create a shape, use the pathItems method that corresponds to the shapes name (like ellipse, rectangle, or polygon), and use the parameters to specify shapes position, size, and other information like the number of sides in a polygon. Remember:

All measurements and page coordinates are processed as points by the scripting engine. For details, see Measurement units on page 26. x and y coordinates are measured from the bottom-left corner of the document, as indicated in the Info panel in the Illustrator application. For details, see Page-item positioning and dimensions on page 26.

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Creating a rectangle
Consider the following sample
var myDocument = app.documents.add() var artLayer = myDocument.layers.add() var rect = artLayer.pathItems.rectangle( 144, 144, 72, 216 );

The sample uses the pathItems objects rectangle() method to create a rectangle with these properties:

The top of the rectangle is 2 inches (144 points) from the bottom edge of the page. The left edge is 2 inches (144 points) from the left edge of the page. The rectangle is 1 inch (72 points) wide and 3 inches (216 points) long.

Creating a polygon
Consider the following sample:
var myDocument = app.documents.add() var artLayer = myDocument.layers.add() var poly = artLayer.pathItems.polygon( 144, 288, 72.0, 7 );

The sample uses the polygon() method to create a polygon with these properties:

The center point of the object is inset is 2 inches (144 points) on the horizontal axis and 4 inches (288 points) on the vertical axis. The length of the radius from the center point to each corner is 1 inch (72 points). The polygon has 7 sides.

Working with the perspective grid

The Perspective Grid is a new feature in Illustrator CS6 that enables you to create and manipulate art in a spatial environment using established laws of perspective. Enable the Perspective Grid using the View > Perspective Grid menu or the perspective tools in the toolbar. The SDK provides an API for working with the perspective grid programmatically, and your scripts have some access to this API. A script can:

Set a the default grid parameters using preset values. Show or hide the grid. Set the active plane. Draw an object in perspective on the active plane. Bring an object into perspective.

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Use perspective presets

Illustrator provides default grid-parameter presets for one-point, two-point, and three-point perspectives. The presets are named "[1P-NormalView]", "[2P-NormalView]", and "[3P-NormalView]". This script shows how to select a preset programmatically:
//Set the default one-point perspective preset app.activeDocument.selectPerspectivePreset("[1P-Normal View]"); //Set the default two-point perspective preset app.activeDocument.selectPerspectivePreset("[2P-Normal View]"); //Set the default three-point perspective preset app.activeDocument.selectPerspectivePreset("[3P-Normal View]");

You can create new perspective presets, export presets to files, and import presets from files. These scripts shows how to export and import presets:
//Create a new document var mydoc = app.documents.add(); //Export perspective presets to a file var exportPresetFile = new File("C:/scripting/PGPresetsExported") mydoc.exportPerspectiveGridPreset(exportPresetFile); //Create a new document var mydoc = app.documents.add(); //Import perspective presets from a file var importPresetFile = new File("C:/scripting/PGPresets") mydoc.importPerspectiveGridPreset(importPresetFile);

Show or hide the grid

This script shows or hides the Perspective Grid programmatically:
//Show the Perspective Grid defined in the document app.activeDocument.showPerspectiveGrid(); //Hide the Perspective Grid defined in the document mydoc.hidePerspectiveGrid();

Set the active plane

The perspective grid plane types are: Left plane Right plane Floor plane Invalid plane
PerspectiveGridPlaneType.LEFTPLANE PerspectiveGridPlaneType.RIGHTPLANE PerspectiveGridPlaneType.FLOORPLANE PerspectiveGridPlaneType.NOPLANE

For a one-point perspective grid, only the left and floor plane are valid. This script sets the active perspective plane:

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//Set left plane as the active plane app.activeDocument.setPerspectiveActivePlane(PerspectiveGridPlaneType.LEFTPLANE); //Set right plane as the active plane app.activeDocument.setPerspectiveActivePlane(PerspectiveGridPlaneType.RIGHTPLANE); //Set floor plane as the active plane app.activeDocument.setPerspectiveActivePlane(PerspectiveGridPlaneType.FLOORPLANE);

Draw on a perspective grid

When the Perspective Grid is on, drawing methods allow you to draw or operate on objects in perspective. This script creates a new document, shows a two-point perspective grid, and draws art objects on the left plane:
//Create a new document var mydoc = app.documents.add(); //Select the default two-point perspective preset mydoc.selectPerspectivePreset("[2P-Normal View]"); //Display the perspective grid defined in the document mydoc.showPerspectiveGrid(); //Check if active plane is set to left; if not, set it to left if (mydoc.getPerspectiveActivePlane() != PerspectiveGridPlaneType.LEFTPLANE) { mydoc.setPerspectiveActivePlane(PerspectiveGridPlaneType.LEFTPLANE); } //Draw rectangle in perspective, then resize to 200% and move var myrect = mydoc.pathItems.rectangle(30, -30, 30, 30, false); myrect.resize(200, 200, true, false, false, false, 100, Transformation.TOPLEFT); myrect.translate (-420, 480); //Draw ellipse in perspective var myellipse = mydoc.pathItems.ellipse(60, -60, 30, 30, false, true); //Draw rounded rectangle in perspective var myrrect = mydoc.pathItems.roundedRectangle(90, -90, 30, 30, 10, 10, false); //Draw polygon in perspective var mypoly = mydoc.pathItems.polygon(-105, 105, 15, 7, false); //Draw star in perspective var mystar = mydoc.pathItems.star(-135, 135, 15, 10, 6, false); //Draw path in perspective var newPath = mydoc.pathItems.add(); var lineList = new Array(4); lineList[0] = new Array(0,0); lineList[1] = new Array(60,0); lineList[2] = new Array(30,45); lineList[3] = new Array(90,110); newPath.setEntirePath(lineList);

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Bring objects into perspective

If an art object is not in perspective, use the bringInPerspective() method to bring it into perspective and place it on a plane. This script creates a new document, draws art objects, and brings them into perspective on a three-point perspective grid:
//Create a new document var mydoc = app.documents.add(); //Draw ellipse var myellipse = mydoc.pathItems.ellipse(60, -60, 30, 30, false, true); //Draw polygon var mypoly = mydoc.pathItems.polygon(-105, 105, 15, 7, false); //Draw star var mystar = mydoc.pathItems.star(-135, 135, 15, 10, 6, false); //Select the default three-point perspective preset mydoc.selectPerspectivePreset("[3P-Normal View]"); //Display the perspective grid defined in the document mydoc.showPerspectiveGrid(); //Check if active plane is set to left; if not, set it to left if (mydoc.getPerspectiveActivePlane() != PerspectiveGridPlaneType.LEFTPLANE) { mydoc.setPerspectiveActivePlane(PerspectiveGridPlaneType.LEFTPLANE); } //Bring the ellipse to the active plane (left plane) myellipse.bringInPerspective(-100,-100, PerspectiveGridPlaneType.LEFTPLANE); //Bring the polygon to the right plane mypoly.bringInPerspective(100,-100,PerspectiveGridPlaneType.RIGHTPLANE); //Bring the star to the floor plane mystar.bringInPerspective(100,100,PerspectiveGridPlaneType.FLOORPLANE);

Scripting with VBScript

This chapter uses script examples and explanations to help you to become familiar with Illustrator scripting using VBScript.

For more information

Several extended sample scripts are in the /Scripting/Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator CS6 installation directory. For information about individual classes, objects, properties, methods, and parameters, as well as script samples that demonstrate how to use many of these items, see Adobe Illustrator CS Scripting Reference: VBScript, in the /Scripting/Documentation folder in your Illustrator CS6 installation directory. You also can view the Illustrator CS6 type library from most VBScript editors or any Microsoft Office application; see Viewing the VBScript object model on page 10. If you do not understand the concepts and terms used in this chapter, read Adobe Introduction to Scripting.

Your first Illustrator script

The traditional first project in any programming language is displaying the message Hello World! Follow these steps: 1. 2. Start any text editor (for example, Notepad). Type the following code:

Rem Hello World Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application") Rem Create a new document and assign it to a variable Set documentRef = appRef.Documents.Add Rem Create a new text frame item and assign it to a variable Set sampleText = documentRef.TextFrames.Add Rem Set the contents and position of the TextFrame sampleText.Position = Array(200, 200) sampleText.Contents = "Hello World!"

3. Save the file as text-only in a folder of your choice, using the file extension .vbs. 4.

To test the script, do one of the following: Double-click the file. Start Illustrator, choose File > Scripts > Other Scripts, and navigate to and run your script file.

TIP: To add the script to the Illustrator Scripts menu (File > Scripts), save the script in the Scripts folder. The script will appear on the menu the next time you start Illustrator. For details, see Installing scripts in the Scripts menu on page 10. In general, when you launch a VBScript script from the Scripts menu, any msgBox dialogs will not display correctly.

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Adding features to Hello World

Next, we create a new script that makes changes to the Illustrator document you created with your first script. The second script demonstrates how to:

Get the active document. Get the width of the active document. Resize the text frame item to match the documents width.

If you closed the Illustrator document without saving it, run your first script again to create a new document. Follow these steps: 1. Copy the following script into your text editor, and save the file.
Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application") 'Get the active document Set documentRef = appRef.ActiveDocument Set sampleText = documentRef.TextFrames(1) ' Resize the TextFrame item to match the document width sampleText.Width = documentRef.Width sampleText.Left = 0

2.

Run the script.

Accessing and referencing objects

When you write a script, you must first decide which file, or Document, the script should act on. Through the Application object, the script can create a new document, open an existing document, or act on a document that is already open. The script can create new objects in the document, operate on objects that the user selected, or operate on objects in one of the object collections. The following sections illustrate techniques for accessing, referencing, and manipulating Illustrator objects.

Obtaining objects from collections

Generally, to obtain a reference to a specific object, you can navigate the containment hierarchy. For example, to use the myPath variable to store a reference to the first PathItem in the second layer of the active document:
Set myPath = appRef.ActiveDocument.Layers(2).PathItems(1)

The following scripts demonstrate how to reference an object as part of a document:

Set documentRef = appRef.ActiveDocument Set pageItemRef = documentRef.PageItems(1)

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In the script below, the variable pageItemRef will not necessarily refer to the same object as the above script, since this script includes a reference to a layer:
Set documentRef = appRef.ActiveDocument Set pageItemRef = documentRef.Layers(1).PageItems(1)

VBScript indexes start at 1 for object collections; however, VBScript allows you to specify whether array indexes start at 1 or 0. For information on specifying the index start number for arrays, see any VBScript textbook or tutorial.

Creating new objects

You can use a script to create new objects. To create objects that are available from collection objects, use the collection objects Add method:
Set myDoc = appRef.Documents.Add() Set myLayer = myDoc.Layers.Add()

Some collection objects do not have an Add method. To create an object of this type, define a variable and use the CreateObject method. For example, the following code creates a new CMYKColor object using the variable name newColor:
Set newColor = CreateObject ("Illustrator.CMYKColor")

Working with selections

When the user makes a selection in a document, the selected objects are stored in the documents selection property. To access all selected objects in the active document:
Set appRef = CreateObject ("Illustrator.Application") Set documentRef = appRef.ActiveDocument selectedObjects = documentRef.Selection

Depending on what is selected, the selection property value can be an array of any type of art objects. To get or manipulate the properties of the selected art items, you must retrieve the individual items in the array. To find out an objects type, use the typename property. The following sample gets the first object in the array, then displays the objects type:
Set appRef = CreateObject ("Illustrator.Application") Set documentRef = appRef.ActiveDocument selectedObjects = documentRef.Selection Set topObject = selectedObjects(0) MsgBox(topObject.Typename)

The MsgBox method does not display a dialog when the script is run from the Illustrator Scripts menu (File > Scripts). The first object in a selection array is the selected object that was last added to the page, not the last object selected.

Selecting artwork objects

To select an artwork object, use the objects Selected property.

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Working with text frames

To create a text frame of a specific type in VBScript, use the TextFrames method that corresponds to the type of frame you want to create:
Set rectRef = docRef.PathItems.Rectangle(700, 50, 100, 100) ' Use the AreaText method to create the text frame Set areaTextRef = docRef.TextFrames.AreaText(rectRef)

Threaded frames
As in the Illustrator application, you can thread area path frames or path text frames. To thread existing text frames, use the NextFrame or PreviousFrame property of the TextFrames object. When copying the following script to a script or text editor, place the value of the Contents property on one line. The long-line continuation character (_) is not valid when enclosed in a string.
Set Set Set Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application") myDoc = appRef.Documents.Add myPathItem1 = myDoc.PathItems.Rectangle(244, 64, 82, 76) myTextFrame1 = myDoc.TextFrames.AreaText(myPathItem1) myTextFrame1.Contents = "This is two text frames linked together as one story, with text flowing from the first to the last." Set myPathItem2 = myDoc.PathItems.Rectangle(144, 144, 42, 116) Set myTextFrame2 = myDoc.TextFrames.AreaText(myPathItem2) 'Use the NextFrame property to thread the frames myTextFrame1.NextFrame = myTextFrame2 appRef.Redraw()

Threaded frames make a single story object

Threaded frames make a single story object. To observe this, run the following VBScript after running the script in Threaded frames on page 54.
Set myDoc = appRef.ActiveDocument myMsg = "alert(""There are " & CStr(myDoc.TextFrames.Count) & " text frames. "")" appRef.DoJavaScript myMsg myMsg = "alert(""There are " & CStr(myDoc.Stories.Count) & " storiess. "")" appRef.DoJavaScript myMsg

Creating paths and shapes

This section explains how to create items that contain paths.

Paths
To create a freeform path, specify a series of path points, as a series of either x-y coordinates or PathPoint objects.

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Using x-y coordinates limits the path to straight segments. To created a curved path, you must create PathPoint objects. Your path can comprise a combination of page coordinates and PathPoint objects.

Specifying a series of x-y coordinates

To specify a path using page-coordinate pairs, use the SetEntirePath() method of the PathItems object. The following script specifies three pairs of x-y coordinates, to create a path with three points:
Set appRef = CreateObject ("Illustrator.Application") Set firstPath = appRef.ActiveDocument.PathItems.Add firstPath.Stroked = True firstPath.SetEntirePath(Array(Array(220, 475),Array(375, 300),Array(200, 300)))

Using path point objects

To create a PathPoint object, you must define three values for the point:

A fixed anchor point, which is the point on the path. A pair of direction pointsleft direction and right directionwhich allow you to control the path segments curve.

You define each property as an array of page coordinates in the format (Array (x,y)).

If all three properties of a PathPoint object have the same coordinates, and the properties of the next PathPoint in the line are equal to each other, you create a straight-line segment. If two or more properties in a PathPoint object hold different values, the segment connected to the point is curved.

To create a path or add points to an existing path using PathPoint objects, create a PathItem object, then add the path points as child objects in the PathItem:
Set appRef = CreateObject ("Illustrator.Application") Set firstPath = appRef.ActiveDocument.PathItems.Add firstPath.Stroked = true Set newPoint = firstPath.PathPoints.Add 'Using identical coordinates creates a straight segment newPoint.Anchor = Array(75, 300) newPoint.LeftDirection = Array(75, 300) newPoint.RightDirection = Array(75, 300) Set newPoint2 = firstPath.PathPoints.Add newPoint2.Anchor = Array(175, 250) newPoint2.LeftDirection = Array(175, 250) newPoint2.RightDirection = Array(175, 250) Set newPoint3 = firstPath.PathPoints.Add 'Using different coordinates creates a curve newPoint3.Anchor = Array(275, 290) newPoint3.LeftDirection = Array(135, 150) newPoint3.RightDirection = Array(155, 150)

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Combining path-point types

The following script sample creates a path with three points:
Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application") Set myDoc = appRef.ActiveDocument Set myLine = myDoc.PathItems.Add myLine.Stroked = True myLine.SetEntirePath( Array( Array(320, 475), Array(375, 300))) ' Append another point to the line Set newPoint = myLine.PathPoints.Add 'Using identical coordinates creates a straight segment newPoint.Anchor = Array(220, 300) newPoint.LeftDirection = Array(220, 300) newPoint.RightDirection = Array(220, 300)

Shapes
To create a shape, use the PathItems method that corresponds to the shapes name (like ellipse, rectangle, or polygon), and use parameters to specify the shapes position, size, and other characteristics like the number of sides in a polygon. Remember:

The scripting engine processes all measurements and page coordinates as points. For details, see Measurement units on page 26. x and y coordinates are measured from the bottom-left corner of the document, as indicated in the Info panel in the Illustrator application. For details, see Page-item positioning and dimensions on page 26.

Creating a rectangle
Consider the following sample:
Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application") Set frontDocument = appRef.ActiveDocument ' Create a new rectangle with ' top = 144, left side = 144, width = 72, height = 144 Set newRectangle = frontDocument.PathItems.Rectangle(144,144,72,144)

The sample creates a rectangle with these properties:

The top of the rectangle is 2 inches (144 points) from the bottom edge of the page. The left edge is 2 inches (144 points) from the left edge of the page. The rectangle is 1 inch (72 points) wide and 2 inches (144 points) long.

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Creating a polygon
Consider the following sample:
Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application") Set frontDocument = appRef.ActiveDocument ' Create a new polygon with ' top = 144, left side = 288, width = 72, height = 144 Set newPolygon = frontDocument.PathItems.Polygon(144,288,72,7)

The sample creates a polygon with these properties:

The center point of the object is inset 2 inches (144 points) on the horizontal axis and 4 inches (288 points) on the vertical axis. The length of the radius from the center point to each corner is 1 inch (72 points). The polygon has 7 sides.

Working with enumeration values

Properties that use enumeration values in VBScript use a numeral rather than a text value. For example, the Orientation property of the TextFrame object specifies whether text content in the text frame is horizontal or vertical. The property uses the aiTextOrientation enumeration, which has two possible values, aiHorizontal and aiVertical. To find the numeral values of enumerations, use either of the following:

The object browser in your scripting editor environment. See Viewing the VBScript object model on page 10. The Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Reference: VBScript, which lists the numeral values directly after the constant value in the Enumerations chapter at the end of the book. The following example is from that table: Enumeration type
AiTextOrientation

Values
aiHorizontal = 0 aiVertical = 1

What it means The orientation of text in a text frame

The following sample specifies vertical text orientation:

Set appRef = CreateObject ("Illustrator.Application") Set docRef = appRef.Documents.Add Set textRef = docRef.TextFrames.Add textRef.Contents = "This is some text content." textRef.Left = 50 textRef.Top = 700 textRef.Orientation = 1

Generally, it is considered good scripting practice to place the text value in a comment following the numeral value, as in the following sample statement:
textRef.Orientation = 1 ' aiVertical

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Working with the perspective grid

58

Working with the perspective grid

The Perspective Grid is a new feature in Illustrator CS6 that enables you to create and manipulate art in a spatial environment using established laws of perspective. Enable the Perspective Grid using the View > Perspective Grid menu or the perspective tools in the toolbar. The SDK provides an API for working with the perspective grid programmatically, and your scripts have some access to this API. A script can:

Set a the default grid parameters using preset values. Show or hide the grid. Set the active plane. Draw an object in perspective on the active plane. Bring an object into perspective.

Use perspective presets

Illustrator provides default grid-parameter presets for one-point, two-point, and three-point perspectives. The presets are named "[1P-NormalView]", "[2P-NormalView]", and "[3P-NormalView]". The script shows how to select the two-point perspective preset programmatically:
Set appRef = CreateObject ("Illustrator.Application") Rem Create a new document Set docRef = appRef.Documents.Add() Rem Select the default two-point perspective preset docRef.SelectPerspectivePreset("[2P-Normal View]")

You can create new perspective presets, export presets to files, and import presets from files. These scripts shows how to export and import presets:
Set appRef = CreateObject ("Illustrator.Application") Rem Create a new document Set docRef = appRef.Documents.Add() Rem Export perspective presets to a file docRef.ExportPerspectiveGridPreset("C:/scripting/PGPresetsExported")

Set appRef = CreateObject ("Illustrator.Application") Rem Create a new document Set docRef = appRef.Documents.Add() Rem Import perspective presets from a file docRef.ImportPerspectiveGridPreset("C:/scripting/PGPresets")

Show or hide the grid

This script shows or hides the Perspective Grid programmatically:
Set appRef = CreateObject ("Illustrator.Application") Rem Create a new document

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Set docRef = appRef.Documents.Add() Rem Show the Perspective Grid defined in the document docRef.ShowPerspectiveGrid(); Rem Hide the Perspective Grid defined in the document docRef.HidePerspectiveGrid();

Set the active plane

The perspective grid plane types are: Left plane Right plane Floor plane Invalid plane
aiLEFTPLANE (1) aiRIGHTPLANE (2) aiFLOORPLANE (3) aiNOPLANE (4)

For a one-point perspective grid, only the left and floor plane are valid. This script sets the active perspective plane to the left plane:
Set appRef = CreateObject ("Illustrator.Application") Rem Create a new document Set docRef = appRef.Documents.Add() Rem Set left plane as the active plane docRef.SetPerspectiveActivePlane(1) 'aiLEFTPLANE

Draw on a perspective grid

When the Perspective Grid is on, drawing methods allow you to draw or operate on objects in perspective. This script creates a new document, shows a two-point perspective grid, and draws art objects on the left plane:
Set appRef = CreateObject ("Illustrator.Application") Rem Create a new document Set docRef = appRef.Documents.Add() Rem Select the default two point perspective preset docRef.SelectPerspectivePreset("[2P-Normal View]") Rem Display the perspective grid defined in the document docRef.ShowPerspectiveGrid() Rem Check if active plane is set to left, otherwise set it to left If docRef.GetPerspectiveActivePlane() <> 1 Then docRef.SetPerspectiveActivePlane(1) 'aiLEFTPLANE End If Rem Draw rectangle in perspective, then resize to 200% and move Set pathItemRect = docRef.PathItems.Rectangle(30, -30, 30, 30, False)

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call pathItemRect.Resize(200, 200, True, False, False, False, 100, 2) call pathItemRect.Translate(-420, 480) Rem Draw ellipse in perspective Set pathItemEllipse = docRef.PathItems.Ellipse(60, -60, 30, 30, False, True) Rem Draw rounded rectangle in perspective Set pathItemRRect = docRef.PathItems.RoundedRectangle(90, -90, 30, 30, 10, 10, False) Rem Draw polygon in perspective Set pathItemPoly = docRef.PathItems.Polygon(-105, 105, 15, 7, False) Rem Draw star in perspective Set pathItemStar = docRef.PathItems.Star(-135, 135, 15, 10, 6, False) Rem Draw path in perspective Set newPath = docRef.PathItems.Add() newPath.SetEntirePath(Array(Array(0,0),Array(60,0),Array(30,45),Array(90,110)))

Bring objects into perspective

If an art object is not in perspective, use the bringInPerspective() method to bring it into perspective and place it on a plane. This script creates a new document, draws art objects, and brings them into perspective on a three-point perspective grid:
Set appRef = CreateObject ("Illustrator.Application") Rem Create a new document Set docRef = appRef.Documents.Add() Rem Draw ellipse Set pathItemEllipse = docRef.PathItems.Ellipse(60, -60, 30, 30, False, True) Rem Draw polygon Set pathItemPoly = docRef.PathItems.Polygon(-105, 105, 15, 7, False) Rem Draw star Set pathItemStar = docRef.PathItems.Star(-135, 135, 15, 10, 6, False) Rem Select the default three-point perspective preset docRef.SelectPerspectivePreset("[3P-Normal View]") Rem Display the perspective grid defined in the document docRef.ShowPerspectiveGrid() Rem Check if active plane is set to left, otherwise set it to left If docRef.GetPerspectiveActivePlane() <> 1 Then docRef.SetPerspectiveActivePlane(1) 'aiLEFTPLANE End If Rem Bring the ellipse to the active plane (left plane) Call pathItemEllipse.BringInPerspective(100,100, 1) 'aiLEFTPLANE Rem Bring the polygon to the right plane Call pathItemPoly.BringInPerspective(100,-100,2) 'aiRIGHTPLANE

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Rem Bring the star to the floor plane Call pathItemStar.BringInPerspective(100,100,3) 'aiFLOORPLANE

Index
A
actions, about, 6 Adobe Illustrator Plug-in Software Development Kit Function Reference, 28 aki properties, 26 anchor points, 28 AppleScript dictionary, 9 file extensions, 7 naming conventions, 15 application version, 22 applying styles, about, 20 attributes, about, 20 fixed points, 26 fixed rectangles, 27 fonts See also character styles em space units, 26 frames, text, 18

G
geometric bounds, 27

H
height, maximum value allowed, 26 Hello World script creating, 30, 40, 51 improving, 31, 41, 52

C
centimeters, conversion, 26 character styles See also fonts about, 20 clipboard, clearing before quitting, 22 control bounds, 27 coordinates, about, 26 CS2 version changes, 13

I
Illustrator launching, 22 quitting, 22 specifying a version, 22 Illustrator, See Adobe Illustrator inches, conversion of measurements, 26 installing scripts, 10

D
datasets, using, 21 dialogs enabling, 28 suppressing, 28 dimensions, page items, 26 documents page item positioning, 26 printing, 29

J
JavaScript changes in Illustrator CS2, 13 file extension, 7 naming conventions, 15 object model viewer, 9

L
launching Illustrator, 22 left direction, 28 lines, creating, 19 local attributes, 20

E
em space units, 26 enumeration values, 57 executing scripts, 10, 11 ExtendScript file extension, 7

M
matrices, about, 21 matrix class, 21

F
file extensions for valid scripts, 7

62

Index

63

measurement values, 26 methods, using, 41 millimeters, conversion, 26

right direction, 28

S
script examples creating a curved path, 34, 45, 55 creating a path, 34, 45, 55 creating a polygon, 36, 47, 57 creating a rectangle, 36, 47 creating objects, 43 selections, 53 scripting about, 6 using, 6 scripting samples creating a rectangle, 56 creating new objects, 53 scripts executing, 10, 11 file extensions, 7 installing, 10 menu, 7 support in Illustrator, 7 SDK, 28 selecting objects, 53 selections determining content, 32, 44, 53 using, 32, 44, 53 Software Development Kit, 28 stories, about, 18 symbols about, 21 items, 21

O
object model changes in Illustrator CS2, 13 diagram, 14 text, 18 object references about, 23 AppleScript, 31 objects cannot be created by a script, 24, 25 creating in AppleScript, 32 creating in JavaScript, 23 creating in Visual Basic, 52 dimensions, 26 direct creation required, 23 hierarchy, 14 selecting, 53

P
page items bounds, 27 positioning, 26 positioning and dimensions, 26 parameters, omitting, 41 paths about, 28 creating, 54 picas, conversion, 26 points conversion, 26 fixed, 26 zero, 26 printing about, 18 settings options, 29

T
text art items, 18 frame types, 18 ranges. See text ranges text ranges content, 20 using text art, 18 transformation matrices, about, 21

Q
Qs (unit), conversion, 26 quitting Illustrator, 22

U
units of measurement, 26 user interaction levels, 28

R
rectangles creating, 56 fixed, 27 references, object. See object references

V
variables

Index

64

deleting, 21 using, 21 VBScript enumeration values, 57 file extension, 7 naming conventions, 15 type library, 10 versions of Illustrator, specifying, 22 visible bounds, 27

W
width, maximum value allowed, 26 write-once, 36

X
X axis, 26

Y
Y axis, 26

Z
zero point, 26