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
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“Commercial Computer Software” and “Commercial Computer Software Documentation,” as such terms are used in 48
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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
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