Macromedia Illustrator - CS6 Scripting Guide
ADOBE® ILLUSTRATOR® CS6
ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS6
SCRIPTING GUIDE
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Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Guide
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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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Installing scripts in the Scripts menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Executing scripts from the Other Scripts menu item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Startup scripts (.jsx scripts only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Changes in CS6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Enumeration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Data class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Known issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2 The Illustrator Scripting Object Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Object-naming conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Top-level (containing) objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
The artwork tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Art styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Color objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Text objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Text frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Objects that represent text content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Text styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Dynamic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3
Contents 4
3 Scripting Illustrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Launching and quitting Illustrator from a script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Launching and activating Illustrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Quitting Illustrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Working with objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Getting the frontmost document or layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Creating new objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Collection objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Selected objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Notes on renaming objects stored in the application’s panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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
4 Scripting with AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
For more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Your first Illustrator script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Adding features to “Hello World” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Object references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Obtaining objects from documents and layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Creating new objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Working with selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Working with text frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Threaded frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Creating paths and shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Working with the perspective grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Use perspective presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Show or hide the grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Set the active plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Draw on a perspective grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Bring objects into perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5 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 5
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Use perspective presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Show or hide the grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Set the active plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Draw on a perspective grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Bring objects into perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6 Scripting with VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
For more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Your first Illustrator script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Adding features to “Hello World” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Accessing and referencing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Obtaining objects from collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Creating new objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Working with selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Use perspective presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Show or hide the grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Set the active plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Draw on a perspective grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Bring objects into perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
1
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 program’s 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 program’s 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.
6
CHAPTER 1: Introduction Scripting language support in Adobe Illustrator CS6 7
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 File type (extension) Platforms
AppleScript compiled script (
OSAS file (no extension)
JavaScript or ExtendScript text (
VBScript text (
.js or.jsx) Windows
.vbs)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.
.scpt)
Mac OS
Mac OS
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 application’s 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 extension’s 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 8
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
extension (rather than the standard
.js extension for a JavaScript file) allows you to take advantage of
ExtendScript features and tools.
.jsx extension. Giving your JavaScript files a .jsx
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
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/
/Scripting/Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator
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.
OTE: In a default Mac OS installation, Script Editor is in Applications:AppleScript:Script
N
Editor
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.
. If you cannot find the Script Editor application, you must reinstall it from your Mac OS system
.
Several extended sample scripts are in the
installation directory.
:Scripting:Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator CS6
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 editor’s Help.
1. In any Microsoft Office application, choose Tools > Macro > Visual Basic Editor.
2. In the Visual Basic Editor, choose Tools > References.
3. 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
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 “
Scripts menu” on page 10.
You can navigate from the menu to any script in your file system and then run the script. See “
scripts from the Other Scripts menu item” on page 11.
You also can have JavaScript scripts with a
application. For information, see “
Installing scripts in the Scripts menu
Startup scripts (.jsx scripts only)” on page 11.
/Scripting/Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator CS6
.
Installing scripts in the
Executing
.jsx extension start automatically when you launch the
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 script’s 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: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator CS6\Startup Scripts\
Mac OS: /Applications/Adobe Illustrator CS6/Startup Scripts/
JavaScript scripts with a
The application is launched.
Any JavaScript file is selected from the Scripts menu (File > Scripts).
.jsx extension placed in the Startup Scripts folder run automatically when:
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: Program Files/Common Files/Adobe/Startup Scripts CS6/Illustrator
Mac OS: :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
if( BridgeTalk.appName == "illustrator" ) {
//continue executing script
}
#target directive (#target illustrator) or code like the following:
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
VBScript — PlacedItem.Relink()
Data class
New class for specifying export options for the TIFF format (and related constants):
AppleScript — TIFF export options
VBScript — ExportOptionsTIFF
Methods
JavaScript — PlacedItem.relink()
JavaScript — ExportOptionsTIFF
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,
Scripting/SampleScripts folder, illustrates the usage. See also “Scripting plug-ins” on page 8.
Send Script, in the
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 500 files
Mac OS 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.
2
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
that the
contain additional nested objects.
layer and group item classes can contain nested objects of the same class which can, in turn,
application object. Note
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
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.
monospaced font.
application object’s methods or commands allow your script to perform application-wide actions;
The
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
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
document object’s methods allow your scripts to act on the document; for example:
The
document object’s properties give you access to the document’s
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 object’s
Layer
The layer object provides access to the contents, or artwork tree, of a specific layer. You access the layer
object through the
the layer, such as:
Whether the layer is visible or locked.
The layer’s 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:
printer list property.
document object. The layer object properties provide access to, or information about,
compound path item
graph item
group item
legacy text item
CHAPTER 2: The Illustrator Scripting Object Model The artwork tree 17
mesh
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
item
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
The page items object, which includes art objects of all types.
Also, you can use the
You can create new art objects using the
collection object. For example, to create a new
mesh items object.
group item object to reference a grouped set of art items.
make command (AppleScript) or add method of an artwork item
path item object:
AppleScript set myPathItem to make new path item in current document
JavaScript var myPathItem = activeDocument.pathItems.add();
VBScript 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
style object.
graphic styles property of the document object to access the apply to method of the graphic
Similarly, the
through the
brush object allows you to specify the brush to apply to artwork. You access any brush
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
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.
make command or add property of the
Tex t objects
When you type content in an Illustrator document, the type automatically becomes a text frame object
and, at the same time, a
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
story object.
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
Threaded frames make a single
next frame or previous frame property of the text frame object.
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
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 object’s text path property. The text path defines the text frame’s position and
orientation (horizontal or vertical) on the artboard (while the
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.
text frame object’s properties. For example:
text frame object’s orientation
OTE: A text path is not the same as a path art item. Text paths are associated with path art items that can
N
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
line object is all the characters that fit on one line in a text frame or story object. All text-art items
A
have at least one line of text, defined as a
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
example,
textFrame("My Text Frame").paragraphs or story("My Story").paragraphs.
line object. Text art can have multiple text lines, if the text
text frame and story objects; for
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 object’s 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
OTE: A line object cannot be created in a script. Your script can create character, paragraph, and word
N
objects.
Tex t rang es
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
Tex t st yle s
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.
text range object by passing a string using the contents property.
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