Macromedia Illustrator - CS6 User Guide

ADOBE® ILLUSTRATOR® CS6

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS6

SCRIPTING REFERENCE:

VBSCRIPT

© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Reference: VBScript

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
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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.

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Any references to company names in sample templates are for demonstration purposes only and are not intended to
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trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

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is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
JavaScript and all Java-related marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Incorporated in the
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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 Unpublished-rights reserved under the copyright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 VBScript Object Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Artboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Artboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

AutoCADFileOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

CharacterAttributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

CharacterStyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

CharacterStyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

CMYKColor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Color info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

CompoundPathItem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

CompoundPathItems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

DataSet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

DataSets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

DocumentPreset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

EPSSaveOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

ExportOptionsAutoCAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

ExportOptionsFlash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

ExportOptionsGIF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

ExportOptionsJPEG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

ExportOptionsPhotoshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

ExportOptionsPNG8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

ExportOptionsPNG24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

ExportOptionsSVG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

ExportOptionsTIFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

FreeHandFileOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

FXGSaveOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

GradientColor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

3

Contents 4

Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

GradientStop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

GradientStops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

GraphicStyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

GraphicStyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

GraphItem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

GraphItems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

GrayColor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

GroupItem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

GroupItems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

IllustratorSaveOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

ImageCaptureOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Ink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

InkInfo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

InsertionPoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

InsertionPoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

LabColor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

LegacyTextItem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

LegacyTextItems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

MeshItem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

MeshItems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

NoColor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

NonNativeItem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

NonNativeItems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

OpenOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

PageItem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

PageItems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

PaperInfo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

ParagraphAttributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Paragraphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

ParagraphStyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

ParagraphStyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

PathItem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Contents 5

PathItems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

PathPoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

PathPoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

PatternColor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

PDFFileOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

PDFSaveOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

PhotoshopFileOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

PlacedItem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

PlacedItems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

PluginItem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

PluginItems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

PPDFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

PPDFileInfo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

PrintColorManagementOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

PrintColorSeparationOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

PrintCoordinateOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

PrinterInfo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

PrintFlattenerOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

PrintFontOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

PrintJobOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

PrintOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

PrintPageMarksOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

PrintPaperOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

PrintPostScriptOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

RasterEffectOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

RasterItem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

RasterItems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

RasterizeOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

RGBColor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

ScreenInfo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

ScreenSpotFunction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Spot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

SpotColor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Contents 6

Spots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Swatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Swatches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

SwatchGroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

SwatchGroups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

SymbolItem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

SymbolItems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

TabStopInfo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

TextFont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

TextFonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

TextFrame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

TextFrames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

TextPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

TextRange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

TextRanges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

TracingObject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

TracingOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

2 Enumerations Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

1

VBScript Object Reference

This reference section describes the objects and methods in the Illustrator VBScript type library. All of the
classes in the type library are presented alphabetically. The chapter concludes with an enumerations
reference which lists all of the enumerations in the Illustrator type library.

Each class listing includes the following:

 Properties of the class — These include value type, read-only status, and an explanation.

 Methods for the class — Value types needed by the method are shown in bold face. Enumerated

values are linked to the Chapter 2, “Enumerations Reference
All items surrounded by brackets (

 Script examples — These example are intended to illustrate concepts, and do not necessarily

represent the best or most efficient way to construct a VBScript script. They contain little error
checking, and assume that the proper context exists for the scripts to execute in (for instance, that
there is a document open or items selected).

Each script contains a single subroutine that can be pasted into any event in a VBScript form if you are
using the VBScript development environment. A standard button click event is used for all examples. If
you are using a built-in VBScript editor in a VBA application, you can paste the script into a macro
routine. In either case, modify the

[ ]) are optional.

Sub statement in the example to work with your situation.

.” Required terms are shown in plain face.

For an overview of how the Illustrator object model is structured, see Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Guide.

7

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Application 8

Application

The Adobe Illustrator application object, which contains all other Illustrator objects.

Application properties

Property Value type What it is

ActionIsRunning Boolean

ActiveDocument Document

Application Application

BrowserAvailable Boolean

BuildNumber String

ColorSettingsList Variant

CoordinateSystem

DefaultColorSettings String

Documents Documents

FlattenerPresetsList Variant

FreeMemory Long

Locale String

AiCoordinateSystem

Read-only. If true, an action is still running.

The active (frontmost) document in Illustrator.

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. If true, a Web browser is available.

Read-only. The application’s build number.

Read-only. The list of color-settings files
currently available for use.

The coordinate system currently in use,
document or artboard.

Read-only. The default color-settings file for the
current application locale.

Read-only. The documents in the application.

Read-only. The list of flattener style names
currently available for use.

Read-only. The amount of unused memory (in
bytes) within the Illustrator partition.

Read-only. The application’s locale.

Name String

Path String

PDFPresetsList

PPDFileList

Preferences Preferences

PrinterList Variant

PrintPresetsList Variant

ScriptingVersion String

Variant Array of
String

Variant Array of
Strings

Read-only. The application’s name (not related to
the filename of the application file).

Read-only. The file path to the application.

Read-only. The list of preset PDF-options names
available for use.

Read-only. The list of PPD files currently available
for use.

Read-only. The application preferences.

Read-only. A list of available printers.

Read-only. The list of preset printing-options
names currently available for use.

Read-only. The version of the Scripting plug-in.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Application 9

Property Value type What it is

Selection

StartupPresetsList Variant

TextFonts TextFonts

TracingPresetList

UserInteractionLevel AiUserInteractionL

Version String

Visible Boolean

Application methods

Method Returns What it does

ConcatenateMatrix

(matrix as Matrix,

secondMatrix as Matrix)

Variant

objects

Variant
String

evel

Array of

Array of

All currently selected objects in the active
(frontmost) document.

Read-only. The list of presets available for
creating a new document.

Read-only. The installed fonts.

Read-only. The list of preset tracing-options
names available for use.

The allowed level of interaction with users in the
form of dialogs and message boxes.

Read-only. The version of the Illustrator
application.

Read-only. If true, the application is visible.

Matrix

Concatenates two
matrices.

ConcatenateRotationMatrix

(matrix as Matrix,

angle as Double)

ConcatenateScaleMatrix

(matrix as Matrix,

[, scaleX as Double]
[, scaleY as Double])

ConcatenateTranslationMatrix

(matrix as Matrix,

[, deltaX as Double]
[, deltaY as Double])

ConvertSampleColor

(SourceColorSpace as AiImageColorSpace

SourceColor as ColorComponents,
DestColorSpace as AiImageColorSpace
ColorConvertPurpose as AiColorConvertPurpose
[,SourceHasAlpha as Boolean]
[,DestHasAlpha as Boolean])

Copy

()

Cut

()

,

Matrix

Concatenates a rotation to
a transformation matrix.

Matrix

Concatenates a scale to a
transformation matrix.

Matrix

Concatenates a translation
to a transformation matrix.

,

array of
ColorCom
ponents

Converts a
sample-component color
from one color space to
another.

Nothing Copies the current

selection to the clipboard.

Nothing Cuts the current selection

to the clipboard.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Application 10

Method Returns What it does

DoJavaScript

(JavaScriptCode as String,

[, Arguments as Variant Array]
[, ExecutionMode as AiJavaScriptExecutionMode

DoJavaScriptFile

(JavaScriptFile as File,

[, Arguments as Variant Array]
[, ExecutionMode as AiJavaScriptExecutionMode

DoScript

(Action as String,

From as String
[, dialogs as Boolean])

GetIdentityMatrix

()

String

Executes the specified
JavaScript® code.

])

String

Executes the specified
JavaScript file.

])

Nothing Plays an action from the

Actions palette.

OTE: Use DoScript only if

N

you intend to run your
script from an application
external to Illustrator, such
as the Windows® Script
Host. Calling

DoScript

when running a script
from Illustrator’s File >
Scripts menu may yield
unexpected results.

Matrix

Returns an identity matrix.

GetPPDFileInfo

(Name as String)

GetPresetFileOfType

(PresetType as AiDocumentPresetType

GetPresetSettings

(Preset as String)

GetRotationMatrix

([Angle as Double])

PPDFileI
nfo

Gets detailed file
information for specified
PPD file.

String

)

Returns the full path to the
default document profile
for the specified preset
type.

Document
Preset

Retrieves the
tracing-option settings
from the template with a
given preset name.

Matrix

Returns a transformation
matrix containing a single
rotation.

OTE: Requires a value in

N

degrees. For example, 30
rotates the object 30
degrees counterclockwise;

-30 rotates the object 30
degrees clockwise.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Application 11

Method Returns What it does

GetScaleMatrix

([scaleX as Double]

[, scaleY as Double])

GetScriptableHelpGroup

()

GetTranslationMatrix

([deltaX as Double]

[, deltaY as Double])

Matrix

variant

Matrix

Returns a transformation
matrix containing a single
scale.

N

OTE: Requires a value in

percentage. For example,
60 scales the object to
60% of its original size; 200
doubles the object’s
bounds.

Gets the scriptable help
group object that
represents the search
widget in the app bar.

Returns a transformation
matrix containing a single
translation.

N

OTE: Requires a value in

points. For example,
{100,200} moves the
object 100 pt. to the right
and 200 pt. up; a minus
before each number
moves the object left and
down.

InvertMatrix

(matrix as Matrix)

IsEqualMatrix

(matrix as Matrix,

secondMatrix as Matrix)

IsSingularMatrix

(matrix as Matrix)

LoadColorSettings

(fileSpec as String)

Matrix

Boolean

Inverts a matrix.

Checks whether two
matrices are equal.

Boolean

Checks whether a matrix is
singular and cannot be
inverted.

Nothing Loads color settings from

specified file, or, if file is
empty, turns color
management off.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Application 12

Method Returns What it does

Open

(file as String,

[documentColorSpace as AiDocumentColorSpace
[options as Object])

Paste

()

Quit

Redo

()

Redraw

()

Document

Opens the specified file
document.

],

If called to open a
pre-Illustrator 9 document
that contains both RGB
and CMYK colors, supply

DocumentColorSpace in

order to convert all colors
to the specified color
space. If not supplied,
Illustrator displays a dialog
to the user.

Nothing Pastes the clipboard

content into the current
document.

Nothing Quits Illustrator.

Nothing Redoes the most recently

undone transaction.

Nothing Forces Illustrator to redraw

all its windows.

ShowPresets

(fileSpec as String)

TranslatePlaceholderText

(text as String)

Undo

()

Nothing Gets the presets from the

file.

Nothing Translates the placeholder

text to regular text; a way
to enter unicode points in
hex values.

Nothing Undoes the most recent

transaction.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Application 13

Opening a document

' Open a document and get the reference to it
Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set docRef = appRef.Open("C:\temp\aFile.ai")

Accessing the selection

In Illustrator, the application’s Selection can be accessed as well as modified. The selection will contain

Empty when there are no selected objects. To deselect all objects in the current document, set the

selection to

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
appRef.activeDocument.Selection = Empty

Empty, as the following example shows.

A reference to a text range is returned when there is an active insertion point in the contents of a

TextFrame. Similarly, a reference to a range of text is returned when characters are selected in the

contents of a

TextFrame.

Executing an action

You can run an action from the Action Palette from a script by using the DoScript method. When you do
this, the control returns to your script before the action has completed. Use the

ActionIsRunning

property to test for when the action has completed before executing any other VBScript methods (see the

Windows.DoAction example). You can also use the Sleep method defined on the WScript object to insert

a pause to test this property, as in the following example:

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
appRef.DoScript "Opacity 60 (selection)", "Default Actions"
WHILE(appRef.ActionIsRunning)

WScript.sleep 1000
WEND
msgbox "Done"

Invoking JavaScript

DoJavaScript and DoJavaScriptFile can be used to invoke scripts written in JavaScript for Illustrator.

The first argument to
example, the following script displays an alert using the JavaScript

appRef.DoJavaScript "alert( 'Number of open documents: ' + _documents.length);"

This example returns the number of open documents.

Set myNumberOfDocuments = appRef.DoJavaScript("documents.length;")
MsgBox myNumberOfDocuments

DoJavaScript is a string that must evaluate to a valid JavaScript expression. For

alert method.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Application 14

Copy and paste between documents

This script uses the application property ActiveDocument to copy the current document’s selection to the
clipboard before pasting it into our new document. This script also demonstrates how to create a new
document with a specific color space and dimensions.

'Duplicates the selected item in the current document to a new document

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

If Not IsEmpty(appRef.ActiveDocument.selection) Then

appRef.ActiveDocument.Copy
Set newDocument = appRef.Documents.Add(aiDocumentCMYKColor,250, 400)
newDocument.Paste

End If
End If

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Artboard 15

Artboard

An Artboard object represents a single artboard in a document. There can be between 1 to 100 artboards
in one document.

Artboard properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

ArtboardRect Rect

Name String

Parent Document

RulerOrigin Point

RulerPAR Double

ShowCenter Boolean

ShowCrossHairs Boolean

ShowSafeAreas Boolean

Artboard methods

Method Returns What it does

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Size and position of the artboard.

The unique identifying name of the artboard.

Read-only. The name of the object that is this Artboard object’s
parent.

Ruler origin of the artboard, relative to the left top corner of the
artboard.

Pixel aspect ratio, used in ruler visualization if the units are pixels.
Range: 0.1 to 10.0

Show center mark.

Show cross hairs.

Show title and action safe areas (for video).

Delete

()

Nothing Deletes this artboard object. You cannot remove the last

artboard in a document.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Artboards 16

Artboards

A collection of artboards.

Artboards properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Count Long

Parent Document

Artboards methods

Method Returns What it does

Add

(rect as ArtboardRect)

GetActiveArtboardIndex

()

GetByName

(artboardName as String)

Index

(item as DataSets)

Insert

(rect as ArtboardRect,

index as Long)

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. The number of objects in the collection.

Read-only. The document that contains this object.

Artboard

Long

Creates a new Artboard object.

Retrieves the index position of the active artboard in the
document's list. Returns the 0-based index.

Artboard

Retrieves an artboard object from the list by its unique
identifying name.

Long

Returns the index position of the object within the
collection.

Nothing Creates a new artboard object and inserts it at the given

index in the list.

Item

(itemKey)

Remove

(index as Long)

SetActiveArtboardIndex

(index as Long)

Artboard

Returns an object reference to the object identified by

itemKey (name or index).

Nothing Deletes an artboard object. You cannot remove the last

artboard in a document.

Nothing Makes a specific artboard active and makes it current in

the iteration order.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference AutoCADFileOptions 17

AutoCADFileOptions

Options for opening an AutoCAD drawing, used with the Open method.

AutoCADFileOptions properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

CenterArtwork Boolean

GlobalScaleOption AiAutoCADGlobalScaleOption

GlobalScalePercent Double

MergeLayers Boolean

Parent Document

ScaleLineweights Boolean

SelectedLayoutName String

Read-only. The Illustrator Application
object.

If true, center the artwork that is created
on the artboard. Default is

true.

How to scale the drawing on import.
Default is

1 ' aiFitArtboard

The value when globalScaleOption is

2 ' aiScaleByValue, expressed as a

percentage. Range: 0.0 to 100.0 Default is

100.0

If true, the layers of the artwork are
merged. Default:

false

Read-only. The document that contains
this object.

If true, scales line weights by the same
factor as the rest of the drawing. Default is

false.

Name of the layout in the drawing to
import.

Unit AiAutoCADUnit

UnitScaleRatio Double

The unit to map to. Default is

3 ' aiMillimeters.

The ratio by which to scale while mapping
units. Default is

1.0

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Brush 18

Brush

A brush in an Illustrator document. Illustrator brushes can be accessed, but not created or deleted, from a
script.

Brush properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Name String

Parent Object

Brush methods

Method Returns What it does

ApplyTo

(artItem as PageItem)

Applying a Brush

'Creates a new group, adds a duplicate of each selected item to the group
'then applies a brush to each item in the group

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

If Not IsEmpty(appRef.Selection) Then

selectedItems = appRef.Selection
startIndex = LBound(selectedItems)
endIndex = UBound(selectedItems)

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

The Brush name.

Read-only. The container object.

Nothing Applies the brush to a specific art item.

End If
End If

Set newGroup = appRef.ActiveDocument.GroupItems.Add
For i = startIndex To endIndex

Set artItem = selectedItems(i)
Set dupItem = artItem.Duplicate(newGroup, aiPlaceAtEnd)
appRef.ActiveDocument.Brushes(2).ApplyTo artItem

Next

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Brushes 19

Brushes

A collection of brushes in a document.

Brushes properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Count Long

Parent Object

Brushes methods

Method Returns What it does

Index

(item as Brush)

Item

(itemKey)

Get all brushes in a document

'Counts the number of brushes in the current document
'and stores in numBrushes

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

Long

Brush

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. Long. The number of objects in the collection.

Read-only. The document that contains this object.

Returns the index position of the object within the collection.

Returns an object reference to the object identified by itemKey

name or index).

(

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

numBrushes = appRef.ActiveDocument.Brushes.Count
End If

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CharacterAttributes 20

CharacterAttributes

Specifies the properties of a character contained in a text frame. A CharacterStyle object associates
attributes with a text range. See “

OTE: Character attributes do not have default values and are undefined until explicitly set.

N

CharacterAttributes properties

Property Value Type What it is

CharacterStyle” on page 26.

AkiLeft Double

AkiRight Double

Alignment AiStyleRunAlignmentType

AlternateGlyphs AiAlternateGlyphsForm

Application Application

AutoLeading Boolean

BaselineDirection AiBaselineDirectionType

BaselinePosition AiFontBaselineOption

BaselineShift Double

The amount of inter-glyph space
added to the left side of the
glyph in Japanese text (in
thousandths of an em).

The amount of inter-glyph
spacing added to the right side
of the glyph in Japanese text (in
thousandths of an em).

The character alignment type.

Specifies which kind of alternate
glyphs are used.

Read-only. The Illustrator

Application object.

If true, automatic leading is
used.

The Japanese text baseline
direction.

The baseline position of text.

The amount of shift (in points) of
the text baseline.

Capitalization AiFontCapsOption

ConnectionForms Boolean

ContextualLigature Boolean

DiscretionaryLigature Boolean

FigureStyle AiFigureStyleType

Specifies whether the text is
normal, all uppercase, all small
caps, or a mix of small caps and
lowercase.

If true, OpenType® connection
forms are used.

If true, contextual ligatures are
used.

If true, discretionary ligatures
are used.

The number style in an
OpenType font.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CharacterAttributes 21

Property Value Type What it is

FillColor

Fractions Boolean

HorizontalScale Double

Italics Boolean

KerningMethod AiAutoKernType

Language AiLanguageType

Leading Double

Ligature Boolean

NoBreak Boolean

OpenTypePosition AiFontOpenTypePositionOption

Ordinals Boolean

Ornaments Boolean

Object The color of the text fill.

If true, OpenType fractions are
used.

The horizontal scaling factor (as a
percentage).

If true, the Japanese font
supports italics.

The kerning method.

The language of the text.

The amount of space between
two lines of text, in points.

If true, ligatures are used.

If true, no break is allowed.

The OpenType baseline position.

If true, OpenType ordinals are
used.

If true, OpenType ornaments are
used.

OverprintFill Boolean

OverprintStroke Boolean

Parent

ProportionalMetrics Boolean

Rotation Double

Size Double

StrikeThrough Boolean

StrokeColor

StrokeWeight Double

StylisticAlternates Boolean

Swash Boolean

Object Read-only. The object’s container.

Object The color of the text stroke.

If true, overprint the fill of the
text.

If true, overprinting of the stroke
of the text is allowed.

If true, proportional metrics in
Japanese OpenType are used.

The character rotation angle.

The font size in points.

If true, characters are
struck-through by a line.

Line width of stroke.

If true, OpenType stylistic
alternates are used.

If true, OpenType swash
characters are used.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CharacterAttributes 22

Property Value Type What it is

TateChuYokoHorizontal Long

TateChuYokoVertical Long

TextFont TextFont

Titling Boolean

Tracking Long

Tsume Double

Underline Boolean

VerticalScale Double

WariChuCharactersAfter
Break

Long

The Tate-Chu-Yoko horizontal
adjustment in points.

The Tate-Chu-Yoko vertical
adjustment in points.

The font used for the character.

If true, OpenType titling
alternates are used.

The tracking or range kerning
amount in thousandths of an em.

The percentage of space
reduction around a Japanese
character.

If true, characters are
underlined.

Character vertical scaling factor.

Specifies how the characters in
Wari-Chu text (an inset note in
Japanese text) are divided into
two or more lines.

WariChuCharactersBeforeBr
eak

WariChuEnabled Boolean

WariChuJustification AiWariChuJustificationType

WariChuLineGap Long

WariChuLines Long

WariChuScale Double

Long

Specifies how the characters in
Wari-Chu text (an inset note in
Japanese text) are divided into
two or more lines.

If true, Wari-Chu is enabled.

The Wari-Chu justification.

The Wari-Chu line gap.

The number of Wari-Chu
(multiple text lines fit into a space
meant for one) lines.

The Wari-Chu scale.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CharacterAttributes 23

Setting character attributes

'Opens a document and adds a simple text frame, then
'uses the CharacterAttributes object to increment
'the horizontal and vertical scale of each character.

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

Set docRef = appRef.Documents.Add()
Set textRef = docRef.TextFrames.Add()
textRef.Contents = "I'd rather be scripting!"
textRef.Top = 500
textRef.Left = 40

dSize = 100
iCount = textRef.Characters.Count
i = 1
Dim charRef
Do While (i < (iCount + 1))

dSize = dSize * 1.1

textRef.TextRange.Characters(i).CharacterAttributes.HorizontalScale = dSize

textRef.TextRange.Characters(i).CharacterAttributes.VerticalScale = dSize

i = i + 1
Loop

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Characters 24

Characters

A collection of TextRange objects in which each represents a single character.

Characters properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Count Long

Parent

Object Read-only. The object’s container.

Characters methods

Method Returns What it does

Add

(contents as String

[, relativeObject as TextFrame]
[, insertionLocation as AiElementPlacement

AddBefore

(contents as String)

Read-only. Application that the collection belongs to.

Read-only. Number of elements in the collection.

TextRange

Adds a new character with
specified text contents at

])

the specified location in the
current document. If
location is not specified,
adds the new character to
the containing text frame
after the current text
selection or insertion point.

TextRange

Adds a character before the
current text selection or
insertion point.

Index

(itemPtr as TextRange)

RemoveAll

()

Long

Returns the index position
of the object within the
collection.

Nothing Deletes every element in

the collection.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Characters 25

Counting characters

'Counts the number of characters in the current document
'and stores the result in numChars

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

numChars = 0

For Each textArt In appRef.ActiveDocument.TextFrames

Set textArtRange = textArt.TextRange
numChars = numChars + textArtRange.length

Next
End If

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CharacterStyle 26

CharacterStyle

A named style that specifies character attributes. For an example, see CharacterStyles.

CharacterStyle properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

CharacterAttributes CharacterAttributes

Name String

Parent

Object Read-only. The object’s container.

CharacterStyle methods

Method Returns What it does

ApplyTo

(textItem as Object
[, clearingOverrides as Boolean])

Delete

()

Read-only. Application to which the collection
belongs.

Read-only. The character properties for the style.

The character style’s name.

Nothing Applies the character style to the text object or

objects.

Nothing Deletes the object.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CharacterStyles 27

CharacterStyles

A collection of character styles.

CharacterStyles properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Count Long

Parent

Object Read-only. The object’s container.

CharacterStyles methods

Method Returns What it does

Add

(Name as String)

Index

(itemPtr as CharacterStyle)

Item

(itemKey)

RemoveAll

()

Read-only. Application to which the collection belongs.

Read-only. Number of elements in the collection.

CharacterStyle

Long

Creates a named character style.

Returns the index position of the object
within the collection.

CharacterStyle

Returns an object reference to the object
identified by

itemKey (name or index).

Nothing Deletes all objects in this collection.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CharacterStyles 28

Create and apply character styles

'Opens a document, adds 3 text frames,
'creates a new character style and applies it to
'each of the text frames

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

'Create a new document add a 3 simple text items
Set docRef = appRef.Documents.Add()
Set textRef1 = docRef.TextFrames.Add()
textRef1.Contents = "Scripting is fun!"
textRef1.Top = 700
textRef1.Left = 50

Set textRef2 = docRef.TextFrames.Add()
textRef2.Contents = "Scripting is easy!"
textRef2.Top = 625
textRef2.Left = 100

Set textRef3 = docRef.TextFrames.Add()
textRef3.Contents = "Everyone should script!"
textRef3.Top = 550
textRef3.Left = 150
appRef.Redraw

'Create a new character style
Set charStyle = docRef.CharacterStyles.Add("BigRed")

'Create a red color
Set colorRed = CreateObject("Illustrator.RGBColor")
colorRed.Red = 255

'Set character attributes of the new style
With charStyle.CharacterAttributes

.Size = 40

.Tracking = -50

.Capitalization = 0 'aiNormalCaps

.FillColor = colorRed
End With

'Apply style to each textFrame in the document
charStyle.ApplyTo textRef1.TextRange
charStyle.ApplyTo textRef2.TextRange
charStyle.ApplyTo textRef3.TextRange

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CMYKColor 29

CMYKColor

A CMYK color specification, used to apply a CMYK color to a layer or art item.

If the color space of a document is RGB and you specify the color value for a page item in that document
using CMYK, Illustrator translates the CMYK color specification into an RGB color specification. The same
thing happens if the document’s color space is CMYK and you specify colors using RGB. Since this
translation can lose information, you should specify colors using the class that matches the document’s
actual color space.

CMYKColor properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Black Double

Cyan Double

Magenta Double

Yellow Double

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

The black color value. Range: 0.0 to 100.0

The cyan color value. Range: 0.0 to 100.0

The magenta color value. Range: 0.0 to 100.0

The yellow color value. Range: 0.0 to 100.0

Setting CMYK colors

'Creates a new CMYK color and applies it to the first path item

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set newCMYKColor = CreateObject("Illustrator.CMYKColor")

'Get a reference to the frontmost path in the document
Set frontPath = appRef.ActiveDocument.PathItems(1)

'Set color values for the CMYK objects

newCMYKColor.Black = 0
newCMYKColor.Cyan = 30.4
newCMYKColor.Magenta = 32
newCMYKColor.Yellow = 0

frontPath.Filled = True
frontPath.fillColor = newCMYKColor

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Color info 30

Color info

An abstract parent class for all color classes used in Illustrator. Subclasses are:

CMYKColor
GradientColor
GrayColor
LabColor
NoColor
PatternColor
RGBColor
SpotColor

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CompoundPathItem 31

CompoundPathItem

Compound paths are objects composed of multiple intersecting paths, resulting in transparent interior
spaces where the original paths overlapped. The
make up the compound path.

All paths in a compound path share property values. Therefore, if you set the value of a property of any one
of the paths in the compound path, all other paths’ matching property will be updated to the new value.

Paths contained within a compound path or group in a document are returned as individual paths when a
script asks for the paths contained in the document. However, paths contained in a compound path or
group are not returned when a script asks for the paths in a layer which contains the compound path or
group.

CompoundPathItem properties

Property Value type What it is

PathItems property provides access to the paths that

Application Application

ArtworkKnockout AiKnockoutState

BlendingMode AiBlendModes

ControlBounds

Editable Boolean

GeometricBounds

Height Double

Hidden Boolean

IsIsolated Boolean

Layer Layer

Left Double

Locked Boolean

Variant

4

Doubles

Variant

4

Doubles

Array of

Array of

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Is this object used to create a knockout? If so, what
kind of knockout?

The mode used when compositing an object.

Read-only. The bounds of the object including stroke
width and controls.

Read-only. If true, the object is editable.

Read-only. The bounds of the object excluding
stroke width.

The height of the object, excluding stroke width,
calculated from the

GeometricBounds.

If true, this object is hidden.

If true, this object is isolated.

Read-only. The layer to which this object belongs.

The position of the left side of the item (in points,
measured from the left side of the page).

If true, the object is locked.

Name String

Note String

Opacity Double

Parent Document

PathItems PathItems

The name of this object.

The note assigned to this object.

The opacity of the object. Range: 0.0 to 100.0

Read-only. The document that contains this object.

Read-only. The path art items in this compound
path.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CompoundPathItem 32

Property Value type What it is

Position

Selected Boolean

Sliced Boolean

Tags Tags

Top Double

URL String

VisibilityVariable Variable

VisibleBounds

Width Double

WrapInside Boolean

Variant

2

Doubles

Variant Array of

4

Doubles

Array of

The position (in points) of the top left corner of the
item, in the format [x, y]. Does not include stroke
weight.

If true, the object is selected.

If true, the CompoundPathItem is sliced. Default:

false

Read-only. The tags contained in this object.

The position of the top of the item (in points,
measured from the bottom of the page).

The value of the Adobe URL tag assigned to this
object.

The VisibilityVariable bound to this object.

Read-only. The visible bounds of the object
including stroke width.

The width of the object, excluding stroke width,
calculated from the

GeometricBounds.

If true, the text frame object are wrapped inside this
object.

WrapOffset Double

Wrapped Boolean

ZOrderPosition Long

CompoundPathItem methods

Method Returns What it does

Copy

()

Cut

()

The offset to use when wrapping text around this
object.

If true, wrap text frame objects around this object
(text frame must be above the object).

Read-only. The position of this art item within the
stacking order of the group or layer (

Parent) that

contains the art item.

Nothing Copies the compound path to the

clipboard. The associated
document must be the frontmost
document.

Nothing Cuts the compound path onto the

clipboard. The associated
document must be the frontmost
document.

Delete

()

Nothing Deletes the object.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CompoundPathItem 33

Method Returns What it does

Duplicate

([relativeObject as Object],

[insertionLocation as AiElementPlacement

Move

(relativeObject as Object,

insertionLocation as AiElementPlacement)

Resize

(scaleX as Double,

scaleY as Double,
[, changePositions as Boolean]
[, changeFillPatterns as Boolean]
[, changeFillGradients as Boolean]
[, changeStrokePattern as Boolean]
[, changeLineWidths as Double]
[, scaleAbout as AiTransformation

Rotate

(angle as Double,

[, changePositions as Boolean]
[, changeFillPatterns as Boolean]
[, changeFillGradients as Boolean]
[, changeStrokePattern as Boolean]
[, rotateAbout as AiTransformation

Transform

(transformationMatrix as Matrix,

[, changePositions as Boolean]
[, changeFillPatterns as Boolean]
[, changeFillGradients as Boolean]
[, changeStrokePattern as Boolean]
[, changeLineWidths as Double]
[, transformAbout as AiTransformation

])

])

])

Object Duplicates the compound path,

optionally specifying the location

])

and position for the copy.

Nothing Moves the object, specifying the

new location and position.

Nothing Scales the compound path where

scaleX is the horizontal scaling

factor (as a percentage) and

scaleY is the vertical scaling

factor; 100.0 = 100%

Nothing Rotates the art item relative to the

current rotation. The object is
rotated counter-clockwise if the

Angle value is positive, clockwise

if the value is negative.

Nothing Transforms the compound path by

applying the specified
transformation matrix.

Translate

([deltaX as Double]

[, deltaY as Double]
[, transformObjects as Boolean]
[, transformFillPatterns as Boolean]
[, transformFillGradients as Boolean]
[, transformStrokePatterns as Boolean])

ZOrder

(zOrderCmd as AiZOrderMethod

)

Nothing Repositions the compound path

relative to the current position,
where

deltaX is the horizontal

offset and

deltaY is the vertical

offset.

Nothing Arranges the compound path’s

position in the stacking order of
the group or layer (

Parent) that

contains the object.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CompoundPathItem 34

Selecting paths in a document

This example demonstrates how to select all of the paths in a document that are not part of a compound
path or a group by testing the type of the

'Selects path items in the current document that are not
'compound paths

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
counter = 0
If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

If appRef.ActiveDocument.PathItems.Count > 0 Then

For Each pathArt In appRef.ActiveDocument.PathItems

If (Not TypeName(pathArt.Parent) = "CompoundPathItem") Then

pathArt.Selected = True
counter = counter + 1

Else

pathArt.Selected = False

End If

Next

End If
End If

Parent property with a TypeName function.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CompoundPathItem 35

Creating a compound path

This example demonstrates how to create a new compound path containing three PathItems. The
example then modifies the stroke of the paths in the compound path. Note that when you modify the
properties of a
The example also shows how to access swatches in a document by name.

'Creates a new compound path item, adds 3 new
'path items, then sets the stroke of the compound path

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

Set frontDocument = appRef.ActiveDocument
Set activeLayer = frontDocument.activeLayer
Set newCompoundPath = activeLayer.CompoundPathItems.Add

'Create the path items
Set newPath = newCompoundPath.PathItems.Add
newPath.SetEntirePath Array(Array(30, 50), Array(30, 100))

Set newPath = newCompoundPath.PathItems.Add
newPath.SetEntirePath Array(Array(40, 100), Array(100, 100))

PathItem inside a compound path you affect all paths contained in the compound path.

Set newPath = newCompoundPath.PathItems.Add
newPath.SetEntirePath Array(Array(100, 110), Array(100, 300))

'Set the stroke of the compound path
newPath.Stroked = True
newPath.StrokeWidth = 3.5
newPath.StrokeColor = frontDocument.Swatches(8).Color

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference CompoundPathItems 36

CompoundPathItems

A collection of compound paths.

CompoundPathItems properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Count Long

Parent Document

CompoundPathItem methods

Method Returns What it does

Add

()

Index

(item as CompoundPathItem)

Item

(itemKey)

RemoveAll

()

Counting compound paths

CompoundPathItem

Long

CompoundPathItem

Nothing Deletes all objects in this collection.

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. The number of objects in the collection.

Read-only. The document that contains this object.

Creates a new CompoundPathItem object.

Returns the index position of the object
within the collection.

Returns an object reference to the object
identified by

itemKey (name or index).

'Counts the compound path items in the current document and
'stores in numCPaths

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

numCPaths = appRef.ActiveDocument.Layers(1).CompoundPathItems.Count
End If

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference DataSet 37

DataSet

A set of data used for dynamic publishing. A dataset allows you to collect a number of variables and their
dynamic data into one object. To create a
art item.

DataSet object, you must have at least one variable bound to an

For more information, see the Variable
Adobe Illustrator CS6 Scripting Guide.

For a sample script that uses a

DataSet properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Name String

Parent Document

DataSet methods

Method Returns What it does

Delete

()

Nothing Deletes the object.

class and the section on “Dynamic Objects and Symbols” in

DataSet object, see DataSets.

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

The name of the DataSet.

Read-only. The name of the object that is this DataSet object’s
parent.

Display

()

Update

()

Nothing Displays the DataSet.

Nothing Updates the DataSet.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference DataSets 38

DataSets

A collection of DataSet objects.

DataSets properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Count Long

Parent Document

DataSets methods

Method Returns What it does

Add

()

Index

(item as DataSets)

Item

(itemKey)

RemoveAll

()

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. The number of datasets in the collection.

Read-only. The name of the object that is this DataSet object’s
parent.

DataSet

Long

DataSet

Creates a new DataSet object.

Returns the index position of the object within the collection.

Returns an object reference to the object identified by itemKey
(name or index).

Nothing Deletes all objects in this collection.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference DataSets 39

Creating datasets

'Creates two variables (visibility and text),
'creates two datasets using different variable
'values then displays each dataset

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set docRef = appRef.Documents.Add()

'Create a visibility variable
Set itemRef = docRef.PathItems.Rectangle(600, 200, 150, 150)
Set colorRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.RGBColor")
colorRef.Red = 255
itemRef.FillColor = colorRef
Set visibilityVar = docRef.Variables.Add()
visibilityVar.Kind = 2 'aiVisibility
itemRef.VisibilityVariable = visibilityVar

'Create a text variable
Set textRef = docRef.TextFrames.Add
textRef.Contents = "Text Variable, dataset 1"
textRef.Top = 400
textRef.Left = 200
Set textVar = docRef.Variables.Add
textVar.Kind = 3 'aiTextual
textRef.ContentVariable = textVar

'Create dataset 1
Set ds1 = docRef.DataSets.Add()

'Change data and create dataset 2
itemRef.Hidden = True
textRef.Contents = "Text Variable, dataset 2"
Set ds2 = docRef.DataSets.Add()

'Display datasets
ds1.Display
ds2.Display

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Document 40

Document

An Illustrator document. Documents are contained in the Application object.

The default document settings—those properties starting with the word “Default”—are global settings
that affect the current document. Be sure to modify these default properties only when a document is
open. Note that if you set default properties to desired values before creating new objects, you can
streamline your scripts, eliminating the need to specify properties such as
have analogous default properties.

FillColor and Stroked that

A document’s

DocumentColorSpace, Height, and Width can be set only when the document is created.

Once a document is created, these properties cannot be changed.

The frontmost document can be referred to as either

Document properties

Property Value type What it is

ActiveDataSet DataSet

ActiveLayer Layer

ActiveView View

Application Application

Artboards Artboards

Brushes Brushes

CharacterStyles CharacterStyles

AppRef.ActiveDocument or AppRef.Documents(1).

The active DataSet object in the
document.

The active Layer in the document.

Read-only. The document’s current View.

Read-only. The Illustrator Application
object.

Read-only. All artboards in the document.

Read-only. The Brushes contained in the
document.

Read-only. The list of character styles in
this document.

CompoundPathItems CompoundPathItems

CropBox

Variant

4

CropStyle AiCropOptions

DataSets DataSet

DefaultFillColor Color info

DefaultFilled Boolean

Array of

Doubles

Read-only. The CompoundPathItems
contained in the document.

The boundary of the document’s cropping
box for output.

A document does not have a default

CropBox. In order to read this property you

have to set the

CropBox first.

The style of the document’s cropping box.

Read-only. A DataSets collection in the
document.

The Color to fill new paths if default filled
is

true.

If true, a new path are filled.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Document 41

Property Value type What it is

DefaultFillOverprint Boolean

DefaultStrokeCap AiStrokeCap

DefaultStrokeColor Color info

DefaultStroked Boolean

DefaultStrokeDashes

DefaultStrokeDashOffset Double

DefaultStrokeJoin AiStrokeJoin

DefaultStrokeMiterLimit Double

Variant
Doubles

Array of

If true, the art beneath a filled object are
overprinted by default.

Default type of line capping for paths
created.

The stroke color for new paths if default
stroked is

true.

If true, the new path are stroked.

The default lengths for dashes and gaps in
dashed lines, starting with the first dash
length, followed by the first gap length,
and so on.

The default distance into the dash pattern
at which the pattern are started for new
paths.

Default type of joints in new paths.

When a default stroke join is set to

mitered, this property specifies when the

join will be converted to beveled
(squared-off) by default. The default miter
limit of

4 means that when the length of

the point reaches four times the stroke
weight, the join switches from a miter join
to a bevel join. Range: 1 to 500; a value of 1
specifies a bevel join.

DefaultStrokeOverprint Boolean

DefaultStrokeWidth Double

DocumentColorSpace AiDocumentColorSpace

FullName String

GeometricBounds

Gradients Gradients

GraphicStyles GraphicStyles

GraphItems GraphItems

Variant Array of

4

Doubles

If true, the art items beneath a stroked
object are overprinted by default.

The default width of stroke for new paths.

Read-only. The color specification system
to use for this document’s color space.

Read-only. The file associated with the
document, which includes the complete
path to the file.

Read-only. The bounds of the illustration
excluding the stroke width of any objects
in the document.

Read-only. The Gradients collection
contained in the document.

Read-only. The GraphicStyles contained
in the document.

Read-only. The GraphItems collection
contained in the document.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Document 42

Property Value type What it is

GroupItems GroupItems

Height Double

InkList Variant Array

KinsokuSet Object

Layers Layers

LegacyTextItems LegacyTextItems

MeshItems MeshItems

MojikumiSet

Name String

Object Read-only. A list of predefined Mojikumi

Read-only. The GroupItems collection
contained in the document.

Read-only. The height of the document,
calculated from the

GeometricBounds.

Read-only. The list of inks in this document.

Read-only. The Kinsoku set of characters
that cannot begin or end a line of Japanese
text.

Read-only. The layers contained in the
document.

Read-only. The legacy text items in the
document.

Read-only. The mesh art items contained in
the document.

sets that specify the spacing for the layout
and composition of Japanese text.

Read-only. The document’s name (not the
complete file path to the document).

NonNativeItems NonNativeItems

OutputResolution Double

PageItems PageItems

PageOrigin

Variant

2

ParagraphStyles ParagraphStyles

Parent Application

Path String

PathItems PathItems

Patterns Patterns

Array of

Doubles

Read-only. The non-native art items in this
document.

Read-only. The current output resolution
for the document in dots per inch (dpi).

Read-only. The PageItems (contains all art
item classes) contained in the document.

The zero-point of the page in the
document without margins, relative to the
overall height and width.

Read-only. The list of paragraph styles in
this document.

Read-only. The application that contains
this document.

Read-only. The file associated with the
document, which includes the complete
path to the file.

Read-only. The PathItems contained in
this document.

Read-only. The patterns contained in this
document.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Document 43

Property Value type What it is

PlacedItems PlacedItems

PluginItems PluginItems

PrintTiles Boolean

RasterEffectSettings RasterEffectOptions

RasterItems RasterItems

RulerOrigin

Variant

2

RulerUnits AiRulerUnits

Saved Boolean

Selection

Variant

Array of

Doubles

Array of

objects

Read-only. The PlacedItems contained in
this document.

Read-only. The PluginItems contained in
this document.

Read-only. If true, this document is tiled
when printed.

The document’s raster effect settings.

Read-only. The raster items contained in
this document.

The zero-point of the rulers in the
document relative to the bottom left
corner.

Read-only. The default measurement units
for the rulers in the document.

If true, the document has not been
changed since the last time it was saved.

The array of references to the objects in
this document’s current selection.

ShowPlacedImages Boolean

SplitLongPaths Boolean

Spots Spots

Stationery Boolean

Stories Stories

Swatches Swatches

SwatchGroups SwatchGroups

SymbolItems SymbolItems

Symbols Symbols

Tags Tags

Read-only. If true, placed images are
displayed in the document.

Read-only. If true, long paths are split
when printing.

Read-only. The SpotColors contained in
this document.

Read-only. If true, the file is a stationery
file.

Read-only. The story items in this
document.

Read-only. The swatches in this document.

Read-only. The swatch groups in this
document.

Read-only. The symbol items in this
document.

Read-only. The symbols in this document.

Read-only. The tags in this document.

TextFrames TextFrames

Read-only. The text frames in this
document.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Document 44

Property Value type What it is

TileFullPages Boolean

UseDefaultScreen Boolean

Variables Variables

VariablesLocked Boolean

Views Views

VisibleBounds

Width Double

XMPString String

Document methods

Variant

4

Doubles

Array of

Read-only. If true, full pages are tiled
when printing this document.

Read-only. If true, the printer’s default
screen is used when printing this
document.

Read-only. The variables in this document.

If true, the Variables in this document
are locked.

Read-only. The views in this document.

Read-only. The visible bounds of the
document, including stroke width of any
objects in the illustration.

Read-only. The width of this document,
calculated from the

GeometricBounds.

The XMP metadata packet associated with
this document.

Method Returns What it does

Activate

()

Nothing Brings the first window

associated with the document to
the front.

Close

([Saving as AiSaveOptions

Capture

(ImageFile as File,

windowSize as Point)

ConvertCoordinate

(Coordinate as Point,

Source as AiCoordinateSystem
Destination as AiCoordinateSystem

Copy

()

])

,

)

Nothing Closes the document.

Nothing Captures the current document

window to the target TIFF image
file.

Nothing Converts the coordinate system

used for a single point between
artboard and document
coordinate systems.

Nothing Copies the current selection in

the document to the clipboard;
the associated document must
be the frontmost document.

Cut

()

Nothing Cuts the current selection in the

document to the clipboard; the
associated document must be
the frontmost document.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Document 45

Method Returns What it does

Export

(ExportFile as String,

ExportFormat as AiExportType
[Options as Object])

ExportPDFPreset

(File as String)

ExportPerspectiveGridPreset

(File as String)

ExportPrintPreset

(File as String)

ExportVariables

(Filename as String)

FitArtboardToSelectedArt

([Index as Long])

Nothing Exports the document to the

specified file using one of the

,

export file formats. Options for
various formats are collected in

ExportOptions

Format

objects.
The appropriate file extension is
automatically appended to the
file name, except for Photoshop®
documents. For these, you must
include the file extension (

.psd)

in the file specification.

Nothing Exports the current PDF preset

values to the file.

Nothing Exports the current perspective

grid preset values to the file.

Nothing Exports the current print preset

values to the file.

Nothing Exports the current variables

from this document to the file.

boolean

Resizes the artboard at the given
index to fit currently selected art.
Index default is 0. Returns

true

on success.

GetPerspectiveActivePlane

()

HidePerspectiveGrid

()

ImageCapture

(ImageFile as File,

[ClipBounds as Rect],
[Options as ImageCaptureOptions

ImportCharacterStyles

(FileSpec as String)

ImportParagraphStyles

(FileSpec as String)

])

AiPerspe
ctiveGri
dPlaneTy
pe

boolean

Retrieves the active plane of the
active perspective grid of the
document.

Hides the current active grid for
the document. If no grid is visible,
does nothing. Returns

true if a

grid is hidden.

Nothing Captures the artwork content

within the clipping boundaries in
this document as a raster image,
and writes the image data to a
specified file.

If the bounds parameter is
omitted, captures the entire
artwork.

Nothing Loads the character styles from

the Illustrator file.

Nothing Loads the paragraph styles from

the Illustrator file.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Document 46

Method Returns What it does

ImportPDFPreset

(FileSpec as String

[, ReplacingPreset as Boolean])

ImportPerspectiveGridPreset

(FileSpec as String

[, PerspectivePreset as String])

ImportPrintPreset

(PrintPreset as String

FileSpec as String)

ImportVariables

(Filename as String)

Paste

()

PrintOut

(Options as PrintOptions

Rasterize

(SourceArt as Variant,

[, ClipBounds as Rect,]
[,Options as RasterizeOptions

)

])

Nothing Loads all PDF presets from a file.

Nothing Loads a named perspective-grid

preset from a file, or, if no name is
given, all presets in the file.

Nothing Loads the named print preset

from the file.

Nothing Imports Variables from the

specified file into this document.

Nothing Pastes the contents of the

clipboard into the current layer of
the document; if the document is
the frontmost then all pasted
objects remain selected after the
paste.

Nothing Prints the document.

PageItem

Rasterizes the source art(s) within
the specified clip bounds. The
source art(s) is disposed of as a
result of the rasterization.

RearrangeArtboards

([ArtboardLayout as AiDocumentArtboardLayout

ArtboardRowsOrCols as Long,
ArtboardSpacing as Long,
ArtboardMoveArtwork as Boolean])

Save

()

boolean

,

Rearranges artboards in the
document. All arguments are
optional. Default layout style is

aiGridByRow.

The second argument specifies
the number of rows or columns,
as appropriate for the chosen
layout style, in the range

[1..DocNumArtboards-1], or 1

(the default) for single
row/column layouts.

Spacing is a number of pixels,
default 20.

When last argument is true (the
default), artwork is moved with
the artboards.

Nothing Saves the document in its current

location.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Document 47

Method Returns What it does

SaveAs

([SaveIn as String]

[, Options as:

EPSSaveOptions/
IllustratorSaveOptions/
PDFSaveOptions])

SelectObjectsOnActiveArtboard

()

SelectPerspectivePreset

(PresetPreset as String)

SetPerspectiveActivePlane

(PerspectiveGridPlane as

AiPerspectiveGridPlaneType)

ShowPerspectiveGrid

()

Nothing Saves the document in the

specified file as an Illustrator, EPS,
or PDF file.

boolean

Selects the objects on the
currently active artboard. Returns

true on success.

boolean

Selects a predefined preset to
define grid for the current
document. Returns

true on

success.

boolean

Sets the active plane of the active
perspective grid of the
document. Returns

true on

success.

boolean

Shows the current active grid for
the document, or if no grid is
active, shows the default grid.
Returns

true on success.

WindowCapture

(ImageFile as String,

WindowSize as Point)

Nothing Captures the current document

to the target TIFF image file.

Closing documents

If you close the document, you should set your document reference to Nothing to prevent your script
accidentally trying to access closed documents.

'Closes the frontmost document without saving

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set docRef = appRef.Documents(1)

docRef.Close 2' aiDoNotSaveChanges
Set docRef = Nothing

Creating a document with defaults

'Sets the default stroke and fill in the current document to false

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

If (appRef.Documents.Count = 0) Then

Set frontDocument = appRef.Documents.Add

Else

Set frontDocument = appRef.Documents(1)

End If

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Document 48

frontDocument.DefaultFilled = False
frontDocument.DefaultStroked = False

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Documents 49

Documents

A collection of documents.

Documents properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Count Long

Parent

Object Read-only. The parent of this object.

Documents methods

Method Returns What it does

Add

([documentColorSpace As AiDocumentColorSpace

[, width as Double]
[, height as Double]
[, numArtBoards as Long]
[, artboardLayout as AiDocumentArtboardLayout
[, artboardSpacing as Double]
[, artboardRowsOrCols as Long])

AddDocument

(startupPreset as String,

presetSettings as DocumentPreset)

Index

(item as Document)

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. The number of objects in the collection.

Document

]

Creates a new document
using optional parameters
and returns a reference to
the new document.

]

Document

Creates a document from
the preset, and returns a
reference to the new
document.

Long

Returns the index position
of the object within the
collection.

Item

(itemKey)

Creating a document with a color space

'Creates a new RGB document

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
appRef.Documents.Add 1 'aiDocumentRGBColor

Document

Returns an object reference
to the object identified by

itemKey (name or index).

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference DocumentPreset 50

DocumentPreset

A preset document template to use when creating a new document with AddDocument.

DocumentPreset properties

Property Value type What it is

ArtboardLayout AiDocumentArtboardLayout

ArtboardRowsOrCols Long

ArtboardSpacing Double

Application Application

DocumentColorSpace AiDocumentColorSpace

DocumentPreviewMode AiDocumentPreviewMode

DocumentRasterResolu
tion

DocumentTitle String

DocumentTransparency
Grid

DocumentUnits AiRulerUnits

AiDocumentRasterResolution

AiDocumentTransparencyGrid

The layout of artboards in the new
document. Default:

AiGridByRow

The number of rows (for rows layout) or
columns (for column layout) of artboards.
Range: 1 to (

NumArtboards - 1) or 1 for

single row or column layouts. Default: 1

The spacing between artboards in the
new document. Default: 20.0

Read-only. The Illustrator Application
object.

The color space for the new document.

The preview mode for the new document.

The raster resolution for the new
document.

The document title.

The transparency grid color for the new
document.

The ruler units for the new document.

Height Double

NumArtboards Long

Width Double

The height in points. Default is 792.0

The number of artboards for the new
document. Range: 1 to 100. Default: 1

The width in points. Default is 612.0

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference EPSSaveOptions 51

EPSSaveOptions

Options that may be supplied when saving a document as an Illustrator EPS file. EPSSaveOptions can be
supplied only in conjunction with the

EPSSaveOptions properties

Property Value type What it is

document SaveAs method. All properties are optional.

Application Application

ArtboardRange string

CMYKPostScript Boolean

Compatibility AiCompatibility

CompatibleGradientPrinting Boolean

EmbedAllFonts Boolean

EmbedLinkedFiles Boolean

Read-only. The Illustrator

Application object.

If SaveMultipleArtboards is true,
this is considered for multi-asset
extraction, which specifies the
artboard range. An empty string
extracts all the artboards.
Default: empty string

If true, CMYK PostScript® is used.

Illustrator version compatibility for the
EPS file format.
Default:

15 ' aiIllustrator15

If true, a raster item of the gradient or
gradient mesh are created so the
object can be printed on PostScript
level 2 printers. Default:

false

If true, fonts are included in the EPS
file.

If true, linked image files are included
in the saved document.

FlattenOuput AiOutputFlattening

IncludeDocumentThumbnails Boolean

Overprint AiPDFOverprint

PostScript AiEPSPostScriptLevel

Enum

Preview AiEPSPreview

SaveMultipleArtboards boolean

How should transparency be flattened
for file formats older than Illustrator 9
or greater.

If true, the thumbnail image of the
EPS artwork is included.

The style of overprinting. Default:

1 ' aiPreservePDFOverprint

Specifies the PostScript level to use
when saving the file.

Format for the EPS preview image.

If true, all artboards or range of
artboards are saved. Default:

false

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference EPSSaveOptions 52

Saving to EPS

'Saves the current document to dest in EPS format
'dest contains the full path and file name to save to

Sub exportFileAsEPS (dest)

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set newSaveOptions = CreateObject("Illustrator.EPSSaveOptions")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

newSaveOptions.CMYKPostScript = True
newSaveOptions.EmbedAllFonts = True
Set frontDocument = appRef.ActiveDocument
frontDocument.SaveAs dest, newSaveOptions

End If

End Sub

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsAutoCAD 53

ExportOptionsAutoCAD

Options for exporting a document as an AutoCAD file, used with the Document Export method. All
properties are optional.

When you export a document, the default file extension (DWG) is appended automatically. You should not
include a file extension in the file specification. To override the default AutoCAD export format, use the

ExportFileFormat

ExportOptionsAutoCAD properties

Property Value type What it is

property.

AlterPathsForAppearance Boolean

Application Application

Colors AiAutoCADColors

ConvertTextToOutlines Boolean

ExportFileFormat AiAutoCADExportFileFormat

ExportOption AiAutoCADExportOption

ExportSelectedArtOnly Boolean

RasterFormat AiAutoCADRasterFormat

ScaleLineweights Boolean

If true, paths are altered (if needed)
to maintain appearance.
Default:

false

Read-only. The Illustrator

Application object.

The number of colors to export into
the AutoCAD file.

If true, text is converted to outlines.
Default:

false

The file format to which to export.
Default:

1 'aiDWG

Whether to preserve appearance or
editability during export. Default:

1 ' aiMaximumEditability

If true, only selected artwork is
exported. Default:

false

The format in which to export raster
art.

If true, line weights are scaled by the
same scaling factor as the rest of the
drawing. Default:

false

Unit AiAutoCADUnit

UnitScaleRatio Double

Version AiAutoCADCompatibility

Measurement units from which to
map.

The ratio by which to scale output.

The release of AutoCAD to export to.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsFlash 54

ExportOptionsFlash

Specifies options that you can supply when exporting a document as Macromedia® Flash® (SWF) with the

Document Export method.

When you export a document, the appropriate file extension is appended automatically. You should not
include a file extension in the file specification.

Allproperties are optional.

ExportOptionsFlash properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

ArtboardRange string

ArtClipping AiArtClippingOption

BackgroundColor RGBColor

BackgroundLayers

BlendAnimation AiBlendAnimationType

Compressed Boolean

ConvertTextToOutlines Boolean

Variant

Array of Layer A list of layers to be included as the static

Read-only. The Illustrator Application
object.

If SaveMultipleArtboards is true, this
is considered for multi-asset extraction,
which specifies the artboard range. An
empty string extracts all the artboards.
Default: empyt string

How the art is clipped during the output.
Default:

1 ' aiOutputArtBounds

The background color of the exported
Flash frames.

background of the exported Flash frames.

How the blend art objects are animated
when exported to Flash frames.
Default:

0 ' aiNoBlendAnimation

If true, the exported file is compressed
when exported. Default:

false

If true, all text is converted to outlines.
Default:

false

CurveQuality Long

ExportAllSymbols Boolean

ExportStyle AiFlashExportStyle

ExportVersion AiFlashExportVersion

The amount of curve information that is
preserved. Range: 0 to 10, Default:

7

If true, all symbols defined in the palette
are exported. Default:

false

The style in which the exported data are
created in Flash.
Default:

2 ' aiAsFlashFile

The version of the exported SWF file.
Default:

9 ' aiFlashVersion9

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsFlash 55

Property Value type What it is

FrameRate Double

IgnoreTextKerning Boolean

ImageFormat AiFlashImageFormat

IncludeMetadata Boolean

JPEGMethod AiFlashJPEGMethod

JPEGQuality Long

LayerOrder AiLayerOrderType

Looping Boolean

PlaybackAccess AiFlashPlaybackSecurity

The display rate in frames per second.
Range: 0.01 to 120.0; Default:

12.0

If true, kerning information is ignored in
text objects. Default:

false

How the image in the exported Flash file
is compressed. Default:

1 ' aiLossless

If true, includes minimal XMP metadata
in the SWF file. Default:

false

The JPEG method to use.
Default:

1 ' aiJPEGStandard

Level of compression to use.
Range: 0 to 10. Default:

3

The order in which layers are exported to
Flash frames. Default:

1 ' aiBottomUp

If true, the Flash file are set to loop when
run. Default:

false

The access level for the exported SWF file.
Default:

1 ' aiPlaybackLocal

PreserveAppearance Boolean

ReadOnly Boolean

Replacing AiSaveOptions

Resolution Double

SaveMultipleArtboards boolean

If true, preserve appearance. If false,
preserve editability. Default:

false

If true, the file is exported as read-only.
Default:

false

If a file with the same name already exists,
should it be replaced.
Default:

1 ' aiPromptToSaveChanges

The resolution in pixels per inch. Range:
72 to 2400. Default:

72

If true, all artboards or range of
artboards are saved. Default:

false

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsGIF 56

ExportOptionsGIF

Options that may be supplied when exporting a document as a GIF file. See the Document Export method
for additional details.

When you export a document, the appropriate file extension is appended automatically. You should not
include a file extension in the file specification.

ExportOptionsGIF properties

Property Value type What it is

AntiAliasing Boolean

Application Application

ArtBoardClipping Boolean

ColorCount Long

ColorDither AiColorDitherMethod

ColorReduction AiColorReductionMethod

DitherPercent Long

HorizontalScale Double

InfoLossPercent Long

If true, the exported image is anti-aliased.
Default:

true

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

If true, the exported image is clipped to the art
board. Default:

false

The number of colors in the exported image’s
color table. Range: 2 to 256. Default:

128

The method used to dither colors in the exported
image. Default:

&H4466736E ' aiDiffusion

The method used to reduce the number of colors
in the exported image.
Default:

&H536C7476 ' aiSelective

The amount that the colors of the exported
image are dithered, where 100.0 is 100%

The horizontal scaling factor applied to the
exported image, where 100.0 is 100%. Default:

100.0

The level of information loss allowed during
compression, where 100.0 is 100%. Default:

0

Interlaced Boolean

Matte Boolean

MatteColor RGBColor

SaveAsHTML Boolean

Transparency Boolean

If true, the exported image is interlaced. Default:

false

If true, the art board is matted with a color.
Default:

true

The color to use when matting the art board.
Default:

white

If true, the exported image is saved with an
accompanying HTML file. Default:

false

If true, the exported image uses transparency.
Default:

true

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsGIF 57

Property Value type What it is

VerticalScale Double

The vertical scaling factor applied to the
exported image, where 100.0 is 100%. Default:

100.0

WebSnap Long

How much should the color table be changed to
match the web palette, where 100 is maximum.
Default:

0

Exporting as GIF

'Exports the current document as GIF to dest
'dest contains the full path and file name to save to

Sub exportFileAsGIF (dest)

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set gifExportOptions = CreateObject("Illustrator.ExportOptionsGIF")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

gifExportOptions.AntiAliasing = False
gifExportOptions.ColorCount = 64
gifExportOptions.ColorDither = 1147564910'aiDiffusion
Set docRef = appRef.ActiveDocument
Call docRef.Export (dest, 6, gifEportOptions)' 6 = aiGIF

End If

End Sub

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsJPEG 58

ExportOptionsJPEG

Options that may be supplied when exporting a document as a JPEG file. See the Document Export
method for additional details.

When you export a document, the appropriate file extension is appended automatically. You should not
include a file extension in the file specification.

ExportOptionsJPEG

Property Value type What it is

AntiAliasing Boolean

Application Application

ArtBoardClipping Boolean

BlurAmount Double

HorizontalScale Double

Matte Boolean

MatteColor RGBColor

Optimization Boolean

QualitySetting Long

SaveAsHTML Boolean

VerticalScale Double

If true, the exported image is anti-aliased. Default: true

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

If true, the exported image is clipped to the art board.
Default:

false

The amount of blur to apply to the exported image. Range: 0.0
to 2.0. Default:

0.0

The horizontal scaling factor applied to the exported image,
where 100.0 is 100%. Default:

100.0

If true, the art board is matted with a color. Default: true

The color to use when matting the art board. Default: white

If true, the exported image is optimized for web viewing.
Default:

true

The quality of the exported image. Range: 0 to 100. Default: 30

If true, the exported image is saved with an accompanying
HTML file. Default:

false

The vertical scaling factor applied to the exported image,
where 100.0 is 100%. Default:

100.0

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsJPEG 59

Exporting to JPEG

'Exports the current document as JPEG to dest
'dest contains the full path and file name to save to

Sub exportFileAsJPEG (dest)

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set jpegExportOptions = CreateObject("Illustrator.ExportOptionsJPEG")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

jpegExportOptions.AntiAliasing = False
jpegExportOptions.QualitySetting = 70
Set docRef = appRef.ActiveDocument
Call docRef.Export (dest, 1, jpegExportOptions) ' 1 = aiJPEG

End If

End Sub

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsPhotoshop 60

ExportOptionsPhotoshop

Options that may be supplied when exporting a document as an Adobe Photoshop® file. See the

Document Export method for additional details.

When you export a document, the appropriate file extension is appended automatically. You should not
include a file extension in the file specification.

All properties are optional.

ExportOptionsPhotoshop properties

Property Value type What it is

AntiAliasing Boolean

Application Application

ArtboardRange string

EditableText Boolean

EmbedICCProfile Boolean

ImageColorSpace AiImageColorSpace

MaximumEditability Boolean

Resolution Double

SaveMultipleArtboards boolean

If true, the exported image is anti-aliased. Default:

true

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

If SaveMultipleArtboards is true, this is
considered for multi-asset extraction, which
specifies the artboard range. An empty string
extracts all the artboards. Default: empty string

If true, text objects are exported as editable text
layers. Default:

true

If true, an ICC profile are embedded in the
exported file. Default:

false

The color space of the exported file.
Default:

aiImageRGB ' 2

If true, preserve as much of the original
document’s structure as possible when exporting.
Default:

true

The resolution of the exported file in dots per inch.
Range: 72 to 2400. Default:

150

If true, all artboards or range of artboards are
saved. Default:

false

Warnings Boolean

WriteLayers Boolean

If true, a warning dialog are displayed because of
conflicts in the export settings. Default:

true

If true, the document layers are preserved in the
exported file. Default:

true

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsPhotoshop 61

Exporting to Photoshop

This example exports the current document as a Photoshop 5 file with layers.

'Exports the current document as PSD (Photoshop) to dest
'dest contains the full path and file name to save to

Sub exportFileAsPSD (dest)

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set psdExportOptions = CreateObject("Illustrator.ExportOptionsPhotoshop")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

psdExportOptions.Resolution = 150
Set docRef = appRef.ActiveDocument
Call docRef.Export (dest, 2, psdExportOptions) ' 2 = aiPhotoshop

End If

End Sub

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsPNG8 62

ExportOptionsPNG8

Options that may be supplied when exporting a document as an 8-bit PNG file. See the Document Export
method for additional details.

When you export a document, the appropriate file extension is appended automatically. You should not
include a file extension in the file specification.

ExportOptionsPNG8 properties

Property Value type What it is

AntiAliasing Boolean

Application Application

ArtBoardClipping Boolean

ColorCount Long

ColorDither AiColorDitherMethod

ColorReduction AiColorReductionMethod

DitherPercent Long

HorizontalScale Double

Interlaced Boolean

If true, the exported image is anti-aliased.
Default:

true

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

If true, the exported image is clipped to the art
board. Default:

false

The number of colors in the exported image’s
color table. Range: 2 to 256. Default:

128

The method used to dither colors in the exported
image. Default:

&H4466736E ' aiDiffusion

The method used to reduce the number of colors
in the exported image.
Default:

&H536C7476 ' aiSelective

Specifies how much the colors of the exported
image are dithered, where 100.0 is 100%

The horizontal scaling factor applied to the
exported image, where 100.0 is 100%. Default:

100.0

If true, the exported image are interlaced.
Default:

false

Matte Boolean

MatteColor RGBColor

SaveAsHTML Boolean

Transparency Boolean

If true, the art board is matted with a color.
Default:

true

The color to use when matting the art board.
Default:

white

If true, the exported image is saved with an
accompanying HTML file. Default:

false

If true, the exported image uses transparency.
Default:

true

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsPNG8 63

Property Value type What it is

VerticalScale Double

The vertical scaling factor applied to the exported
image, where 100.0 is 100%. Default:

WebSnap Long

Specifies how much the color table are changed
to match the Web palette, where 100 is
maximum. Default:

0

Exporting to PNG8

This example exports the current document as a PNG8 file.

'Exports the current document as PNG8 to dest
'dest contains the full path and file name to save to

Sub exportFileAsPNG (dest)

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set png8ExportOptions = CreateObject("Illustrator.ExportOptionsPNG8")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

png8ExportOptions.AntiAliasing = False
png8ExportOptions.Interlaced = True
Set docRef = appRef.ActiveDocument
Call docRef.Export (dest, 4, png8ExportOptions) ' 4 = aiPNG8

End If

End Sub

100.0

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsPNG24 64

ExportOptionsPNG24

Options that may be supplied when exporting a document as a 24-bit PNG file. See the Document Export
method for additional details.

When you export a document, the appropriate file extension is appended automatically. You should not
include a file extension in the file specification.

ExportOptionsPNG24 properties

Property Value type What it is

AntiAliasing Boolean

Application Application

ArtBoardClipping Boolean

HorizontalScale Double

Matte Boolean

MatteColor RGBColor

SaveAsHTML Boolean

Transparency Boolean

VerticalScale Double

If true, the exported image is anti-aliased. Default: true

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

If true, the exported image is clipped to the art board.
Default:

false

The horizontal scaling factor applied to the exported image,
where 100.0 is 100%. Default:

100.0

If true, the art board is matted with a color. Default: true

The color to use when matting the art board. Default: white

If true, the exported image is saved with an accompanying
HTML file. Default:

false

If true, the exported image uses transparency. Default: true

The vertical scaling factor applied to the exported image,
where 100.0 is 100%. Default:

100.0

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsPNG24 65

Exporting to PNG24

This example exports the current document as a PNG24 file with specific options.

'Exports current document as PNG24 to dest
'dest contains the full path and file name to save to

Sub exportFileAsPNG (dest)

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set png24ExportOptions = CreateObject("Illustrator.ExportOptionsPNG24")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

png24ExportOptions.AntiAliasing = False
png24ExportOptions.Transparency = False
Set docRef = appRef.ActiveDocument
Call docRef.Export (dest, 5, png24ExportOptions) ' 5 = aiPNG24

End If

End Sub

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsSVG 66

ExportOptionsSVG

Options that may be supplied when exporting a document as a SVG file. See the Document Export method
for additional details.

When you export a document, the appropriate file extension is appended automatically. You should not
include a file extension in the file specification.

ExportOptionsSVG properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Compressed Boolean

CoordinatePrecision Long

CSSProperties AiSVGCSSPropertyLocation

DocumentEncoding AiSVGDocumentEncoding

DTD AiSVGDTDVersion

EmbedRasterImages Boolean

Read-only. The Illustrator

Application object.

If true, the exported file is
compressed. Default:

false

The decimal precision for
element coordinate values.
Range: 1 to 7. Default:

3

Specifies how the CSS
properties of the document are
included in the exported file

Specifies how the text in the
do cu me nt is e nc od ed . D e fa ul t:

' aiASCII

1

The SVG version to which the file
should conform.
Default:

2 ' aiSVG1_1

If true, all raster images
contained in the document are
embedded in the saved file.

FontSubsetting AiSVGFontSubsetting

FontType AiSVGFontType

IncludeFileInfo Boolean

IncludeVariablesAndDatasets Boolean

The font glyphs included in the
export file.

The type of font included in the
exported file. Default:

aiCEFFont

1 '

If true, the XMP (Extensible
Metadata Platform) metadata
are included in the output file.
Default:

false

If true, Variables and

Datasets are included. Default:
false

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsSVG 67

Property Value type What it is

OptimizeForSVGViewer Boolean

PreserveEditability Boolean

Slices Boolean

SVGAutoKerning Boolean

SVGTextOnPath Boolean

Exporting to SVG

'Exports the current document as SVG to dest
'dest contains the full path and file name to save to

If true, the Adobe namespace is
included. Default:

false

If true, preserve Illustrator
editing capability when
exporting the document.
Default:

false

If true, preserve slice data in
exported document. Default:

false

If true, SVG automatic kerning
is allowed in the file. Default:

false

If true, the SVG text-on-path
construct is allowed in the file.
Default:

false

Sub exportFileAsSVG (dest)

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set svgExportOptions = CreateObject("Illustrator.ExportOptionsSVG")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

svgExportOptions.EmbedRasterImages = True
svgExportOptions.FontSubsetting = 7 'aiAllGlyphs
Set docRef = appRef.ActiveDocument
Call docRef.Export (dest, 3, svgExportOptions) ' 3 = aiSVG

End If

End Sub

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ExportOptionsTIFF 68

ExportOptionsTIFF

Options that may be supplied when exporting a document as a TIFF file. See the Document Export method
for additional details.

When you export a document, the appropriate file extension is appended automatically. You should not
include a file extension in the file specification.

All properties are optional.

ExportOptionsTIFF properties

Property Value type What it is

AntiAliasing boolean

If true, the exported image should be anti-aliased.
Default:

ArtboardRange string

If SaveMultipleArtboards is true, this is
considered for multi-asset extraction, which
specifies the artboard range. An empty string
extracts all the artboards. Default: empty string

ByteOrder AiTIFFByteOrder

ImageColorSpace AiImageColorSpace

The byte order to use in the new file.

The color space of the exported file.
Default:

IZWCompression boolean

Resolution number (double)

If true, use IZW compression in the new file.

Resolution of the exported file in dots per inch
(dpi). Range: 72.0 to 2400.0. Default: 150.0

SaveMultipleArtboards boolean

If true, all artboards or range of artboards are
saved. Default:

Exporting to TIFF format

'Exports the current document as TIFF to dest
'dest contains the full path and file name to save to

true

aiImageRGB ' 2

false

Sub exportFileAsTIFF (dest)

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set tiffExportOptions = CreateObject("Illustrator.ExportOptionsTIFF")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

tiffExportOptions.imageColorSpace = 2 'aiImageRGB
tiffExportOptions.resolution = 150
tiffExportOptions.lZWCompression = true

Set docRef = appRef.ActiveDocument
Call docRef.Export (dest, 9, tiffExportOptions) ' 9 = aiTIFF

End If

End Sub

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference FreeHandFileOptions 69

FreeHandFileOptions

Options for opening a FreeHand file.

FreeHandFileOptions properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Applicatio

n

ConvertTextToOutlines Boolean

ImportSinglePage Boolean

PageToOpen Long

Parent Document

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

If true, converts all text to outlines. Default: false

If true, imports only the page specified in the

PageToOpen property. Default: true

The number of the page to import when opening a
multipage document. Valid only when

ImportSinglePage is true.

Read-only. The document that contains this object.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference FXGSaveOptions 70

FXGSaveOptions

Specifies options which may be supplied when saving a document as an FXG file. All properties are
optional.

FXGSaveOptions properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

ArtboardRange string

BlendsPolicy AiBlendsExpandPolicy

DownsampleLinkedImages boolean

FiltersPolicy AiFiltersPreservePolicy

GradientsPolicy AiGradientsPreservePolicy

Read-only. The Illustrator

Application object.

If SaveMultipleArtboards is

true, this is considered for

multi-asset extraction, which
specifies the artboard range. An
empty string extracts all the
artboards. Default: empty string

The policy used by FXG to expand
blends. Default:

AiAutomaticallyConvertBlends

If true, linked images are
downsampled (at 72 dpi).
Default:

false

The policy used by FXG to preserve
filters. Default:

3'aiKeepFiltersEditable

The policy used by FXG to preserve
gradients. Default:

4'aiAutomaticallyConvertGrad
ients

IncludeUnusedSymbols boolean

PreserveEditingCapabilities boolean

SaveMultipleArtboards boolean

TextPolicy AiTextPreservePolicy

Version AiFXGVersion

If true, unused symbols are
included. Default:

false

If true, the editing capabilities of
FXG are preserved. Default:

true

If true, all artboards or range of
artboards are saved. Default:

false

The policy used by FXG to preserve
text. Default:

4'aiAutomaticallyConvertText

The version of the FXG file format
to create.
Default:

2'aiVersion2Pt0

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Gradient 71

Gradient

A gradient definition contained in a document. A script can create new gradients.

Gradient properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

GradientStops GradientStops

Name String

Parent Document

Type AiGradientType

Gradient methods

Method Returns What it does

Delete

()

Creating and applying a gradient

'Creates a new gradient in the current document with 2
'gradient stops, then applies the gradient to the front­'most path item

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set frontDocument = appRef.ActiveDocument

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. The gradient stops contained in this gradient.

The gradient’s name.

Read-only. The document that contains this gradient.

The kind of the gradient, either radial or linear.

Nothing Deletes the object.

'Create a color for both ends of the gradient
Set startColor = CreateObject("Illustrator.RGBColor")
Set endColor = CreateObject("Illustrator.RGBColor")

startColor.Red = 0
startColor.Green = 100
startColor.Blue = 255
endColor.Red = 220
endColor.Green = 0
endColor.Blue = 100

'Create a new gradient
'new gradients always have 2 stops
Set newGradient = frontDocument.Gradients.Add
newGradient.Name = "Gradient created from script"
newGradient.Type = 1 'aiLinearGradient

'Modify the first gradient stop.
Set locationSpecification = newGradient.GradientStops(1)

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Gradient 72

locationSpecification.RampPoint = 30
locationSpecification.MidPoint = 60
locationSpecification.Color = startColor

'Modify the last gradient stop.
'The MidPoint for the last gradient stop is ignored
Set locationSpecification = newGradient.GradientStops(2)
locationSpecification.RampPoint = 80
locationSpecification.Color = endColor

'construct an Illustrator.GradientColor object referring to the
'newly created gradient
Set ColorOfGradient = CreateObject("Illustrator.GradientColor")
ColorOfGradient.Gradient = newGradient

'now get the frontmost path item and
'apply the new gradient as its fill
Set topPath = frontDocument.PathItems(1)
topPath.Filled = True
topPath.fillColor = ColorOfGradient

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GradientColor 73

GradientColor

A gradient color specification, used in conjunction with the Gradient property of the Color specification.

A script can create a

GradientColor using a reference to an existing gradient in the application. If no

existing gradient object is referenced, a default gradient is supplied. An origin is used to specify the center
point of the gradient in this specific gradient color. Single values are used to specify the gradient vector
angles and lengths. A matrix may be specified to further transform the gradient color.

GradientColor properties

Property Value type What it is

Angle Double

Application Application

Gradient Gradient

HiliteAngle Double

HiliteLength Double

Length Double

Matrix Matrix

Origin

Variant Array of

2

Doubles

The gradient vector angle in degrees.

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Reference to the object defining the gradient.

The gradient hilite vector angle in degrees.

The gradient hilite vector length.

The gradient vector length.

An additional transformation matrix to manipulate the
gradient path.

The gradient vector origin.

Changing a gradient color

'Creates a new RGB color then applies it as the color
'at the first gradient stop of the first gradient

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

Set frontDocument = appRef.Documents.Add(1) ' aiDocumentRGBColor

'Get a reference to the gradient that you want to change
Set firstGradient = frontDocument.Gradients(1)

'Create the new color
Set startColor = CreateObject("Illustrator.RGBColor")
startColor.Red = 0
startColor.Green = 255
startColor.Blue = 0

firstGradient.GradientStops(1).Color = startColor

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Gradients 74

Gradients

A collection of Gradient objects in a document.

Gradients properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Count Long

Parent Document

Gradients methods

Method Returns What it does

Add

()

Index

(item as Gradient)

Item

(itemKey)

RemoveAll

()

Removing a gradient

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. The number of objects in the collection.

Read-only. The parent document of this object.

Gradient

Long

Gradient

Creates a new object

Returns the index position of the object within the collection.

Returns an object reference to the object identified by itemKey
(name or index).

Nothing Deletes all objects in this collection.

'Deletes the first gradient in the current document

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set frontDocument = appRef.ActiveDocument

'Get a reference to the gradient that you want to delete
Set gradientToDelete = frontDocument.Gradients(1)

'Now delete the gradient using the collection
frontDocument.Gradients.Remove gradientToDelete

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GradientStop 75

GradientStop

A gradient stop definition contained in a specific gradient. Represents a point on a gradient that specifies a
color change. For an example, see GradientColor

GradientStop properties

Property Value type What it is

.

Application Application

Color Color info

Midpoint Double

Opacity Double

Parent Document

RampPoint Double

GradientStop methods

Method Returns What it does

Delete

()

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

The color linked to this gradient stop.

The distance between two GradientStops, in percentage.
Range: 13.0 to 87.0

The opacity value for the gradient stop. Range: 0.0 to 100.0

Read-only. The document that contains this gradient stop.

The location of the color in the blend. Range: 0.0 to 100.0,
where 100.0 is 100%

Nothing Deletes the object.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GradientStops 76

GradientStops

A collection of GradientStop objects in a specific gradient.

GradientStops properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Count Long

Parent Document

GradientStops methods

Method Returns What it does

Add

()

Index

(item as GradientStop)

Item

(itemKey)

RemoveAll

()

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. The number of objects in the collection.

Read-only. The document that contains this object.

GradientStop

Long

Creates a new object

Returns the index position of the object within the
collection.

GradientStop

Returns an object reference to the object identified by

itemKey (name or index).

Nothing Deletes all objects in this collection.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GradientStops 77

Adding a new gradient stop

'Adds a new gray gradient stop to an existing gradient

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set frontDocument = appRef.ActiveDocument

'Get a reference to the gradient that you want to change
Set changeGradient = frontDocument.Gradients(1)

'Get a reference to the gradient stop that is the last one
'before you add a new gradient stop
originalCount = changeGradient.GradientStops.Count
Set lastStop = changeGradient.GradientStops(originalCount)

'add the new gradient stop
Set newStop = changeGradient.GradientStops.Add

'Set the values of the new gradient stop. move the original
'last gradient stop a bit to the left, and
'insert the new gradient stop at the old gradient stop's position
newStop.RampPoint = lastStop.RampPoint
lastStop.RampPoint = lastStop.RampPoint - 10

'Create a new color to apply to the newly created gradient stop
'choose a Gray tint value of 70%
Set newStopColor = CreateObject("Illustrator.GrayColor")
newStopColor.Gray = 70
newStop.Color = newStopColor

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GraphicStyle 78

GraphicStyle

Each graphic style defines a set of appearance attributes that you can apply to PageItem objects. Graphic
styles are contained in documents. Scripts cannot create new graphic styles.

GraphicStyle properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Name String

Parent Document

GraphicStyle methods

Method Returns What it does

ApplyTo

(artItem as PageItem)

MergeTo

(artItem as PageItem)

Delete

()

Applying a graphic style

This example duplicates and groups the current selection, applying the second graphic style in the
document to the items in the group.

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

The GraphicStyle name.

Read-only. The document that contains this object.

Nothing Applies the GraphicStyle to a specific art item.

Nothing Merges this style into the current styles of a specified art item.

Nothing Deletes the object.

'Creates a new group item, adds a duplicate of each
'selected item to the group then applies a graphic style
'to the group

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

If Not IsEmpty(appRef.Selection) Then

mySelection = appRef.Selection
endIndex = UBound(mySelection)
startIndex = LBound(mySelection)
Set newGroup = appRef.ActiveDocument.GroupItems.Add
For i = startIndex To endIndex

Set artItem = mySelection(i)
Set dupItem = artItem.Duplicate(newGroup, aiPlaceAtEnd)
appRef.ActiveDocument.GraphicStyles(2).ApplyTo dupItem

Next

End If

End If

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GraphicStyles 79

GraphicStyles

A collection of graphic styles in a document.

GraphicStyles properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Count Long

Parent Document

GraphicStyles methods

Method Returns What it does

Index

(item as GraphicStyle)

Item

(itemKey)

RemoveAll

()

Counting graphic styles

'Counts the number of graphic styles in the current document
'and stores in numStyles

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. The number of objects in the collection.

Read-only. The document that contains this object.

Long

GraphicStyle

Nothing

Returns the index position of the object within the
collection.

Returns an object reference to the object identified by

itemKey (name or index).

Deletes all objects in this collection.

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

If appRef.Documents.Count > 0 Then

numStyles = appRef.ActiveDocument.GraphicStyles.Count

End If

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GraphItem 80

GraphItem

A graph artwork item. Scripts cannot create new graph items.

GraphItem properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

ArtworkKnockout AiKnockoutState

BlendingMode AiBlendModes

ContentVariable Variable

ControlBounds

Variant

4

Editable Boolean

GeometricBounds

Variant Array of

4

Height Double

Hidden Boolean

IsIsolated Boolean

Array of

Doubles

Doubles

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Is this GraphItem used to create a knockout, and if
so, what kind.

The mode used when compositing an object.

The content variable bound to this GraphItem.

It is not necessary to set the type of the

ContentVariable before binding. Illustrator

automatically sets the type to

AiGraph.

Read-only. The bounds of the object including stroke
width and controls.

Read-only. If true, the GraphItem is editable.

Read-only. The bounds of the

GraphItem excluding

stroke width.

The height of the GraphItem, calculated on the

GeometricBounds.

If true, this GraphItem is hidden.

If true, this GraphItem is isolated.

Layer Layer

Left Double

Locked Boolean

Name String

Note String

Opacity Double

Parent Layer or

GroupItem

Position

Variant

2

Selected Boolean

Array of

Doubles

Read-only. The Layer to which this GraphItem
belongs.

The position of the left side of the GraphItem (in
points, measured from the left side of the page).

If true, this GraphItem is locked.

The name of this GraphItem.

The note assigned to this GraphItem.

The opacity of the GraphItem. Range: 0.0 to 100.0

Read-only. The parent of this GraphItem.

The position (in points) of the top left corner of the
item in the format [x, y]. Does not include stroke
weight.

If true, this GraphItem is selected.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GraphItem 81

Property Value type What it is

Sliced Boolean

Tags Tags

Top Double

URL String

VisibilityVariable Variable

VisibleBounds

Width Double

WrapInside Boolean

WrapOffset Double

Variant

4

Doubles

Array of

If true, this GraphItem is sliced. Default: false

Read-only. The collection of Tags contained in this

GraphItem.

The position of the top of the item (in points,
measured from the bottom of the page).

The value of the Adobe URL tag assigned to this

GraphItem.

The visibility variable bound to this GraphItem.

It is not necessary to set the type of the

VisibilityVariable before binding. Illustrator

automatically sets the type to

Read-only. The visible bounds of the

AiVisibility.

GraphItem

including stroke width.

The width of the GraphItem, based on the

GeometricBounds.

If true, the text frame object is wrapped inside this
object.

The offset to use when wrapping text around this
object.

Wrapped Boolean

ZOrderPosition Long

GraphItem methods

Method Returns What it does

Copy

()

Cut

()

Delete

()

If true, wrap text frame objects around this object
(text frame must be above the object).

Read-only. The position of this GraphItem within the
stacking order of the
that contains the

GroupItem or Layer (Parent)

GraphItem.

Nothing Copies the GraphItem to the

clipboard; the associated document
must be the frontmost document.

Nothing Cuts the GraphItem to the clipboard;

the associated document must be
the frontmost document.

Nothing Deletes the object.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GraphItem 82

Method Returns What it does

Duplicate

([relativeObject as Object],

[insertionLocation as

AiElementPlacement

Move

(relativeObject as Object,

insertionLocation as

AiElementPlacement

Resize

(scaleX as Double,

scaleY as Double,
[, changePositions as Boolean]
[, changeFillPatterns as Boolean]
[, changeFillGradients as Boolean]
[, changeStrokePattern as Boolean]
[, changeLineWidths as Double]
[,scaleAbout as AiTransformation

Rotate

(angle as Double,

[, changePositions as Boolean]

[, changeFillPatterns as Boolean]

[, changeFillGradients as Boolean]
[, changeStrokePattern as Boolean]
[, rotateAbout as AiTransformation

])

)

])

])

Object Duplicates the art item, optionally

specifying the location and position
for the copy.

Nothing Moves the art item, specifying the

new location and position.

Nothing Scales the GraphItem where scaleX

is the horizontal scaling factor and

scaleY is the vertical scaling factor.

100.0 = 100%

Nothing Rotates the GraphItem relative to the

current rotation; counter-clockwise if
the

Angle value is positive, clockwise

if the value is negative.

Transform

(transformationMatrix as Matrix,

[, changePositions as Boolean]
[, changeFillPatterns as Boolean]
[, changeFillGradients as Boolean]
[, changeStrokePattern as Boolean]
[, changeLineWidths as Double]
[, transformAbout as AiTransformation

Translate

([deltaX as Double]

[, deltaY as Double]
[, transformObjects as Boolean]
[, transformFillPatterns as Boolean]
[, transformFillGradients as Boolean]
[, transformStrokePatterns as Boolean])

ZOrder

(zOrderCmd as AiZOrderMethod

)

Nothing Transforms the GraphItem by

applying a transformation matrix.

])

Nothing Repositions the GraphItem relative

to the current position, where

deltaX is the horizontal offset and
deltaY is the vertical offset.

Nothing Arranges the GraphItem’s positi o n in

the stacking order of the group or
layer (

Parent) of this object.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GraphItem 83

Rotating graph items

'Rotates each graph item in the current document 90 degrees.

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

'Rotate each graph item 90 degrees
For Each graphRef In appRef.ActiveDocument.GraphItems

graphRef.Rotate 90
Next
appRef.Redraw

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GraphItems 84

GraphItems

A collection of GraphItem objects.

GraphItems properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Count Long

Parent Document

GraphItems methods

Method Returns What it does

Index

(item as GraphItem)

Item

(itemKey)

RemoveAll

()

Long

GraphItem

Nothing

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. The number of objects in the collection.

Read-only. The document that contains this object.

Returns the index position of the object within the collection.

Returns an object reference to the object identified by

itemKey (name or index).

Deletes all objects in this collection.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GrayColor 85

GrayColor

A grayscale color specification used to apply a gray color to a layer or art item.

GrayColor properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Gray Double

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

The tint of the gray. Range: 0.0 to 100.0, where 0.0 is black and

100.0 is white.

Changing word color to gray

'Sets the fill color of the first word in the document to gray

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set textColor = CreateObject("Illustrator.GrayColor")

'Get a reference to the first word in the active document
Set text = appRef.ActiveDocument.TextFrames(1).TextRange
Set firstWord = text.Words(1)

'Create the new color
textColor.Gray = 45

firstWord.CharacterAttributes.fillColor = textColor

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GroupItem 86

GroupItem

A grouped set of art items. Group items can contain all of the same page items that a layer can contain,
including other nested groups.

Paths contained within a group or compound path in a document are returned as individual paths when a
script asks for the paths contained in the document. However, paths contained in a group or compound
path are not returned when a script asks for the paths in a layer which contains the group or compound
path.

GroupItem properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

ArtworkKnockout AiKnockoutState

BlendingMode AiBlendModes

Clipped Boolean

CompoundPathItems CompoundPathItems

ControlBounds

Editable Boolean

GeometricBounds

GraphItems GraphItems

GroupItems GroupItems

Variant Array of

4

Doubles

Variant

4

Array of

Doubles

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Is this object used to create a knockout, and if so,
what kind.

The mode used when compositing an object.

If true, the GroupItem is clipped to the clipping
mask.

Read-only. The CompoundPathItems contained in

GroupItem.

this

Read-only. The bounds of the object including
stroke width and controls.

Read-only. If true, this GroupItem is editable.

Read-only. The bounds of the object excluding
stroke width.

Read-only. The raster items contained in this

GroupItem.

Read-only. The GroupItems contained in this

GroupItem.

Height Double

Hidden Boolean

IsIsolated Boolean

Layer Layer

Left Double

LegacyTextItems LegacyTextItems

Locked Boolean

The height of the GroupItem, based on the

GeometricBounds.

If true, this GroupItem is hidden.

If true, this object is isolated.

Read-only. The layer to which this GroupItem
belongs.

The position of the left side of the GroupItem (in
points, measured from the left side of the page).

Read-only. The legacy text items in the group.

If true, this GroupItem is locked.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GroupItem 87

Property Value type What it is

MeshItems MeshItems

Name String

NonNativeItems NonNativeItems

Note String

Opacity Double

PageItems PageItems

Parent Document

PathItems PathItems

PlacedItems PlacedItems

PluginItems PluginItems

Position

Variant

2

Array of

Doubles

Read-only. The MeshItems contained in this

GroupItem.

The name of this GroupItem.

Read-only. The non-native art items in this group.

The note assigned to this GroupItem.

The opacity of the object. Range: 0.0 to 100.0

Read-only. The PageItems contained in this

GroupItem.

Read-only. The document that contains this

GroupItem.

Read-only. The PathItems contained in this

GroupItem.

Read-only. The PlacedItems contained in this

GroupItem.

Read-only. The PluginItems contained in this

GroupItem.

The position (in points) of the top left corner of the
item in the format [x, y]. Does not include stroke
weight.

RasterItems RasterItems

Selected Boolean

Sliced Boolean

SymbolItems SymbolItems

Tags Tags

TextFrames TextFrames

Top Double

URL String

VisibilityVariable Variable

VisibleBounds

Variant

4

Width Double

Array of

Doubles

Read-only. The RasterItems contained in this

GroupItem.

If true, this GroupItem is selected.

If true, this GroupItem is sliced. Default: false

Read-only. The SymbolItems contained in this

GroupItem.

Read-only. The tags contained in this GroupItem.

Read-only. The TextFrame objects contained in this

GroupItem.

The position of the top of the item (in points,
measured from the bottom of the page).

The value of the Adobe URL tag assigned to this

GroupItem.

The Variable bound to this GroupItem.

Read-only. The visible bounds of the

GroupItem

including stroke width.

The width of the GroupItem, based on the

GeometricBounds.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GroupItem 88

Property Value type What it is

WrapInside Boolean

WrapOffset Double

Wrapped Boolean

ZOrderPosition Long

GroupItem methods

Method Returns What it does

Copy

()

Cut

()

If true, the text frame object are wrapped inside
this object.

The offset to use when wrapping text around this
object.

If true, wrap text frame objects around this object
(text frame must be above the object).

Read-only. The position of this group item within
the stacking order of the group or layer (

Parent)

that contains this group item.

Nothing Copies the GroupItem to the

clipboard; the associated
document must be the frontmost
document.

Nothing Cuts the GroupItem to the

clipboard; the associated
document must be the frontmost
document.

Delete

()

Duplicate

([relativeObject as Object],

[insertionLocation as AiElementPlacement])

Move

(relativeObject as Object,

insertionLocation as AiElementPlacement

Paste

()

Resize

(scaleX as Double,

scaleY as Double,
[, changePositions as Boolean]
[, changeFillPatterns as Boolean]
[, changeFillGradients as Boolean]
[, changeStrokePattern as Boolean]
[, changeLineWidths as Double]
[, scaleAbout as AiTransformation

Nothing Deletes the object.

Object Duplicates the art item, optionally

specifying the location and
position for the copy.

Nothing Moves the art item, specifying the

new location and position.

)

Nothing Inserts the contents of the

clipboard at the beginning of the

GroupItem. You may only paste

into a group that is contained in
the active document.

Nothing Scales the art item where scaleX

is the horizontal scaling factor and

scaleY is the vertical scaling

factor; 100.0 = 100%

])

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GroupItem 89

Method Returns What it does

Rotate

(angle as Double,

[, changePositions as Boolean]
[, changeFillPatterns as Boolean]
[, changeFillGradients as Boolean]
[, changeStrokePattern as Boolean]
[, rotateAbout as AiTransformation

Transform

(transformationMatrix as Matrix

[, changePositions as Boolean]
[, changeFillPatterns as Boolean]
[, changeFillGradients as Boolean]
[, changeStrokePattern as Boolean]
[, changeLineWidths as Double]
[, transformAbout as AiTransformation

Translate

([deltaX as Double]

[, deltaY as Double]
[, transformObjects as Boolean]
[, transformFillPatterns as Boolean]
[, transformFillGradients as Boolean]
[, transformStrokePatterns as Boolean])

ZOrder

(zOrderCmd as AiZOrderMethod

)

])

])

Nothing Rotates the art item relative to the

current rotation. The object is
rotated counter-clockwise if the

Angle value is positive, clockwise

if the value is negative.

Nothing Transforms the art item by

applying a transformation matrix.

Nothing Repositions the art item relative to

the current position, where

deltaX is the horizontal offset and
deltaY is the vertical offset.

Nothing Arranges the art item’s position in

the stacking order of the group or
layer (

Parent) of this object.

Creating a group

It is easy to modify all of the objects contained in a group. This example demonstrates how to simplify your
operations on multiple objects by creating a group to contain them.

'Creates a new group in the current document, containing
'a path item, and a text item

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

'Create a new group in the active document.
'This will be the group that holds the new triangle art
Set triangleGroup = appRef.ActiveDocument.GroupItems.Add

'Create a triangle and add text inside the group
Set trianglePath = triangleGroup.PathItems.Add
trianglePath.SetEntirePath Array(Array(100, 100), Array(300, 100), Array(200,
Tan(1.0471975) * 100 + 100))

Set captionText = triangleGroup.TextFrames.Add
captionText.Position = Array(100, 100)
captionText.Contents = "A triangle"

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference GroupItems 90

GroupItems

A collection of GroupItem objects.

GroupItems properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Count Long

Parent Document

GroupItems methods

Method Returns What it does

Add

()

CreateFromFile

(imagefile as String)

Index

(item as GroupItem)

Item

(itemkey)

RemoveAll

()

GroupItem

GroupItem

Long

GroupItem

Nothing

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. The number of objects in the collection.

Read-only. The document that contains this object.

Creates a new object.

Creates a GroupItem from a vector graphics file.

Returns the index position of the object within the
collection.

Returns an object reference to the object identified by

itemkey (name or index).

Deletes all objects in this collection.

Importing a file using GroupItems

The following script shows how you can import a JPEG document using the CreateFromFile function.
Before running this script you have to create a one-page PDF file and put it in the location.

C:\temp\AiExport.jpg.

'Adds a new group item to the document from a file (dest)
'dest contains the full path and file name of the file

Sub embedPDF (dest)

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

Set importedGroup = appRef.ActiveDocument.GroupItems.CreateFromFile (dest)
End Sub

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference IllustratorSaveOptions 91

IllustratorSaveOptions

Options that can be supplied when saving a document as an Illustrator file with the document SaveAs
method.

IllustratorSaveOptions properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

ArtboardRange string

Compatibility AiCompatibility

Compressed Boolean

EmbedICCProfile Boolean

EmbedLinkedFiles Boolean

FlattenOutput AiOutputFlattening

FontSubsetThreshold Double

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

If SaveMultipleArtboards is true (which is valid
only for Illustrator 13 or earlier), the document is
considered for multi-asset extraction, which
specifies an artboard range. An empty string
extracts all artboards. Default: empty string

Version of the Illustrator file format to create.
Default:

15 ’ aiIllustrator15

(Illustrator version 10 or later) If true, the saved file
is compressed. Default:

true

If true, an ICC profile is embedded in the saved file.

If true, linked image files are included in the saved
document (only valid for

SaveOptions that specify

an Illustrator compatibility of version 7 or later).

Specifies how transparency is flattened for file
formats older than Illustrator 9.

Include a subset of fonts when less than this
percentage of characters is used in the document
(valid for Illustrator 9 or newer file format).

PDFCompatible Boolean

SaveMultipleArtboards boolean

If true, save as a PDF compatible file (version 10 or
later). Default:

true

If true, all artboards or range of the artboards are
saved. Valid for Illustrator 13 or earlier.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference IllustratorSaveOptions 92

Saving to Illustrator 8 format

This example illustrates how to save the frontmost document as Illustrator 8 format. Because the
document is saved as a version earlier than 9, the example specifies how to convert opacity by breaking
paths up in to sub-paths to preserve the appearance of the illustration.

'Saves current document in Illustrator format to dest with certain options
'specified in the script, dest contains the full path and file name to save to

Sub exportfileToAi (dest)

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

Set saveOptions = CreateObject("Illustrator.IllustratorSaveOptions")

saveOptions.Compatibility = 8'aiIllustrator8

saveOptions.FlattenOutput = 1'aiPreserveAppearance

appRef.Documents(1).SaveAs dest, saveOptions
End Sub

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference ImageCaptureOptions 93

ImageCaptureOptions

Options for image capture, used with the ImageCapture method. All properties are optional.

ImageCaptureOptions properties

Property Value type What it is

AntiAliasing Boolean

Application Application

Matte Boolean

MatteColor RGBColor

Resolution Double

Transparency Boolean

If true, the image result is anti-aliased. Default: false

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

If true, the artboard is matted with a color. Default: false

The color to use for the artboard matte. Default: white

The resolution of the captured image file in points-per-inch (PPI),
in the range 72.0 to 2400.0. Default:

If true, the image result is transparent. Default: false

150

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Ink 94

Ink

Provides information about the ink name and related information.

Ink properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

InkInfo InkInfo

Name String

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

The ink information.

The ink’s name.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference InkInfo 95

InkInfo

Specifies ink properties.

InkInfo properties

Property Value type What it is

Angle Double

Application Application

CustomColor

Density Double

DotShape String

Frequency Double

Kind AiInkType

PrintingStatus AiInkPrintStatus

Trapping AiTrappingType

TrappingOrder Long

Object The color of the custom ink.

The ink’s screen angle in degrees. Range: -360 to 360

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

The neutral density. Minimum: 0.0

The dot shape name.

The ink’s frequency. Range: 0.0 to 1000.0

The ink type.

The ink printing status.

The trapping type.

The order of trapping for the ink. Range: 1 to 4 for CMYK

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference InkInfo 96

List inks in a document

'Gets the details of each ink in this document
'and displays them in a text frame

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

'create a new document and simple text frame
Set docRef = appRef.Documents.Add()
Set textRef = docRef.TextFrames.Add()
textRef.Top = docRef.Height - 100
textRef.Left = 100

'collect data from each Ink and InkInfo object
For Each inkRef In appRef.ActiveDocument.InkList

sInks = sInks & inkRef.Name

sInks = sInks & vbCrLf & vbTab

sInks = sInks & "Frequency = " & inkRef.InkInfo.Frequency

sInks = sInks & vbCrLf & vbTab

sInks = sInks & "Density = " & inkRef.InkInfo.Density

sInks = sInks & vbCrLf
Next
textRef.Contents = sInks
appRef.Redraw

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference InsertionPoint 97

InsertionPoint

A location between characters, used to insert new text objects. An insertion point is contained in an

InsertionPoints collection.

InsertionPoint properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Characters Characters

Lines Lines

Paragraphs Paragraphs

Parent

Story Story

TextRanges TextRanges

Words Words

Object Read-only. The object’s container.

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. All of the characters in the text
range.

Read-only. All the lines in this text range.

Read-only. All of the paragraphs in this text
range.

Read-only. The story of the text range.

Read-only. All of the text in this text range.

Read-only. All of the words in this text range.

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference InsertionPoints 98

InsertionPoints

A collection of InsertionPoint objects.

InsertionPoints properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

Count Long

Parent TextFrame

InsertionPoints methods

Method Returns What it does

Index

(itemPtr as TextRange)

Item

(itemKey)

Using insertion point to add spaces

'Creates a new document, adds a text frame then
'uses insertion points to add a space between all characters

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Read-only. Number of elements in the collection.

Read-only. The object’s container.

Long

InsertionPoint

Returns the index position of the object within the
collection.

Gets an element from the collection by itemKey
(name or index).

'create a new document and text frame
Set docRef = appRef.Documents.Add()
Set textRef = docRef.TextFrames.Add()
textRef.Contents = "Wouldn't you rather be scripting?"
textRef.Top = 400
textRef.Left = 100
textRef.TextRange.CharacterAttributes.Size = 20
appRef.Redraw

i = 2
Do While (i < textRef.InsertionPoints.Count)

textRef.InsertionPoints(i).Characters.Add (" ")

i = i + 2
Loop

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference LabColor 99

LabColor

A color specification in the CIE Lab color space, used where a color info object is required.

LabColor properties

Property Value type What it is

Application Application

A Double

B Double

L Double

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

The a (red-green) color value. Range -128.0–128.0. Default: 0.0

The b (yellow-blue) color value. Range -128.0–128.0. Default: 0.0

The l (lightness) color value. Range -128.0–128.0. Default: 0.0

CHAPTER 1: VBScript Object Reference Layer 100

Layer

A layer in an Illustrator document. Layers may contain nested layers, which are called sublayers in the user
interface.

Layer object contains all of the page items in the layer as elements. Your script can access PageItems as

elements of either the
layer can be accessed through the
the document.

Layer properties

Property Value type What it is

Layer object or as elements of the Document object. Only those page items in that

Layer object. To see page items in different layers, access them through

Application Application

ArtworkKnockout AiKnockoutState

BlendingMode AiBlendModes

Color RGBColor

CompoundPathItems CompoundPathItems

DimPlacedImages Boolean

GraphItems GraphItems

GroupItems GroupItems

HasSelectedArtwork Boolean

IsIsolated Boolean

Layers Layers

Read-only. The Illustrator Application object.

Is this Layer used to create a knockout, and if so,
what kind.

The mode used when compositing an object.

The Layer’s selection mark color.

Read-only. The CompoundPathItems contained in
this layer.

If true, placed images are rendered as dimmed in
this layer.

Read-only. The GraphItems collection contained in
this layer.

Read-only. The GroupItems contained in this layer.

If true, an object in this Layer has been selected;
setting this property to

false deselects all objects in

the layer.

If true, this Layer is isolated.

Read-only. The Layers contained in this layer.

LegacyTextItems LegacyTextItems

Locked Boolean

MeshItems MeshItems

Name String

NonNativeItems NonNativeItems

Opacity Double

PageItems PageItems

Read-only. The legacy text items contained in this
layer.

If true, this layer is editable.

Read-only. The MeshItems contained in this layer.

The name of this layer.

The non-native art items in this layer.

The opacity of the layer. Range: 0.0 to 100.0

Read-only. The PageItems contained in this layer.