Indentz

Cleanup | Layout | Align | Fit | Scale | Proxy | File | Export | View | Miscellaneous | Install | About

This is a collection of InDesign scripts for various simple and repetitive tasks.

As an artworker, I often have to perform repeated, tedious, or time-consuming operations. Working from home during the Covid lockdown, I used the extra time to learn a bit of the (now ancient) Extendscript 'art'. 😉 These are simple scripts adapted to my current workflow, and I tried to make them as generic as possible (suggestions are welcome). I'm a big fan of shortcuts, so there are suggestions for Mac below (unfortunately they must be added manually from Edit ‣ Keyboard Shortcuts ‣ Product Area ‣ Scripts).

The code was developed and tested in Adobe InDesign CC 2020–2022 on Mac (but I mostly used InDesign ExtendScript API 8.0 for compatibility with CS6). I'm a graphic designer, not a programmer, so do expect oversights and bugs (please create an issue if you encounter one, though).

Usage

Cleanup

Defaults and cleanup.

DefaultPrefs

Sets some preferences for the active document.

DefaultLayers

Adds a set of layers defined in a TSV data file named layers.tsv (sample) saved locally (meaning the active document folder or its parent), or as a global default (on the desktop, next to the script, or in Indentz root); local files and those starting with _ take precedence:

Name: Layer name
Color: Layer color (defaults to Light Blue; see UIColors.txt for color names)
Visible: yes or no (defaults to yes)
Printable: yes or no (defaults to yes)
Order: above or below existing layers (defaults to above)
Variants: A list of layers that will be merged with the base layer; it's case insensitive and can take simple wildcards (? and *)

DefaultSwatches

Adds a set of swatches defined in a TSV data file named swatches.tsv (sample) saved locally (meaning the active document folder or its parent), or as a global default (on the desktop, next to the script, or in Indentz root); local files and those starting with _ take precedence:

Name: Swatch name
Color Model: process or spot (defaults to process)
Color Space: cmyk, rgb or lab (defaults to cmyk)
Values: a list of numbers separated by space ( ), comma (,), pipe (|) or slash (/):

• 3 values in 0–255 range for RGB
• 4 values in 0–100 range for CMYK
• 3 values in 0–100 (L), –128–127 (A and B) range for Lab

Variants: a list of swatches that will be replaced by the base swatch; it's case insensitive and can take simple wildcards (? and *)

You can use SwatchesSave to save a tab delimited list of swatches from any document.

ReplaceFonts

Replaces document fonts using a TSV data file named fonts.tsv (sample) saved locally (meaning the active document folder or its parent), or as a global default (on the desktop, next to the script, or in Indentz root); local files and those starting with _ take precedence:

You can use ShowFonts from Miscellaneous to get a tab delimited list of document fonts for copy-pasting.

ReplaceLinks ⌥F8

Replaces document links using a TSV data file named links.tsv (sample) saved locally (meaning the active document folder or its parent), or as a global default (on the desktop, next to the script, or in Indentz root); local files and those starting with _ take precedence:

Relink to (also see Additional features below):

• An absolute path of the form /absolute/path/to/img1.psd;
• A relative path which is:
  • relative by default to the document Links folder (img2.psd);
  • relative to reference/path defined by a previous @includepath statement (img3.psd and subfolder/img4.psd).

Document links:

• If empty, the name from the first column will be used (so that if it's in the document, it will be replaced);
• One or more document link names; it's case insensitive and can take simple wildcards (? and *).

Quoting the paths is not required.

ReplaceSnippets ⌥F6

Replaces a list of text snippets using a TSV data file named snippets.tsv (sample) saved locally (meaning the active document folder or its parent), or as a global default (on the desktop, next to the script, or in Indentz root); local files and those starting with _ take precedence:

Find what: Text to be replaced (you can use special characters)
Change to: The replacement text
Case sensitive: yes or no (defaults to yes)
Whole word: yes or no (defaults to yes)
Scope: Replacement will only be done if the document name matches the regular expression¹ (case sensitive)

BreakLinkToStyles

Unnaplies paragraph/character/object styles from the selected objects or all objects in the document if nothing is selected.

DocCleanup F2

It runs DefaultPrefs; deletes unused swatches, layers and spreads; unlocks all objects and resets their scaling to 100%; optionally deletes hidden objects; resets default transparency effects; converts empty text frames to generic frames and empty frames to graphic frames; sets tight pasteboard margins.

SwatchesCleanup ⇧F2

Converts process RGB swatches to CMYK and renames them to 'C= M= Y= K=' format. It also deletes unused swatches and removes duplicates. Spot colors are not changed.

DumpLayers

Saves a TSV file (compatible with DefaultLayers) containing the names and properties of the active document layers.

DumpSwatches

Saves a TSV file (compatible with DefaultSwatches) containing the names and properties of the active document swatches.

Layout

Document setup – page size, margins & columns, guides.

PageSizeFromFilename F3

Sets the size of the page and the margins/visible area, getting dimensions from the document name. It looks for pairs of numbers like 000x000 (where 000 means a group of at least one digit, followed or not by decimals, and optionally by mm or cm). If only one pair is found, it sets the size of the page. If two are found (e.g., 000x000_000x000), the larger pair sets the page size, the smaller pair the visible area. If a one- or two-digit sequence follows, it sets the bleed. Example:

PageSizeFromMargins

Resizes the current page to its margins.

PageSizeFromSelection ⇧F3

Resizes the page to the selected objects.

PageMarginsFromSelection ⌥F3

Sets the page margins from the selected objects.

GuidesAdd

If any page objects are selected, it adds guides around them. If nothing is selected, it adds guids on page edges and in the middle of margins; a second run deletes them.

GuidesDelete

Deletes all guides from the document.

Align

Align page objects with ease using the numeric keypad.

ToggleAlignTo Num0

Toggles Align To between selection, margins, page or spread (just run it repeatedly):

ResetAlignTo ⌃Num0

Resets Align To to default (Align to Selection).

AlignTo...

Use the numeric keypad to instantly align the selected object to the Align To selection, with a single keystroke.

Fit

FitToPage... / FitToSpread...

These scripts reframe the selected objects to the page/spread or their margins/bleed by reducing the edges of objects or clipping frames that cross the target and extending ones that touch it or are very close (in a 1% snap zone).

Rectangular frames and orthogonal lines are simply resized; rotated objects, ovals, groups, etc. are inserted into a clipping frame that is resized.

FitTo...Forced bluntly reframes an object to the target.

TextAutosize F6

Auto-sizes the selected text frames to their content. It's designed to be run repeatedly.

The level is increased from None to Height Only and from Height Only to Height and Width (single lines are always set Height and Width). The reference point is set by the first paragraph alignment and the text frame vertical justification:

Paragraph Alignment → ↓ Vertical Justification

Note: A second run will preserve the current auto-sizing if only the alignment is different.

Scale

ScaleToPageSize / ScaleToPageMargins / ScaleToSpreadBleed

Scales the selected objects to the page size, page margins, or spread bleed. All objects are scaled together, as a group.

The ScaleTo...H and ScaleTo...W variants scale to the height or width of their target.

Proxy

SetRefPoint...

Use the numeric keypad to set the reference point used for transformations (similar to clicking the little proxy squares in the Control palette):

File

FilesToSpreads

Combines the open documents, sorted alphabetically.

SpreadsToFiles

Saves each spread of the active document to a separate file.

If the document name ends with a separator (space/dot/underline/hyphen) followed by a sequence of digits or letters equal to the number of spreads, each saved spread will have the letter corresponding to its index appended to its name – e.g., a document with three spreads named Document_ABC.indd will be split into Document_A.indd / Document_B.indd / Document_C.indd. If not autodetected, the script will prompt the user for the list.

By default, the index will be appended at the end, but you can put a # in the document name to place the index at that particular position.

LayersToSpreads

Moves all layers of the active document to separate spreads (the document must have a single spread).

You can use SpreadsToFiles to save them in separate documents.

Export

QuickExport ⌃E

Exports to PDF all opened documents or, with nothing opened, all documents from a folder.

For convenience, some export options can be easily changed from the preset settings: resolution, export as pages/spreads, include crop marks, page information, slug area, and you can set a custom bleed.

There are two export presets that can be used simultaneously or one at a time:

The text from the Suffix field will be appended to the name of the exported file (everything in the preset name after the last _ will be autodetected as suffix).

If Sort files by suffix into subfolders is checked, subfolders will be created from the suffix (the text after + is ignored²).

It can also run a JavaScript or AppleScript before exporting, e.g., one of the following:

MarkVisibleArea

Creates a frame the size of the page margins on the visible area layer. It will use the Visible area swatch, which will be created with the values R=255 G=180 B=0 if it doesn't exist.

PrepareForExport

Hides covered areas, visible area, safety margins, safe area, segmentation, guides, and all layers starting with either a dot or a hyphen; moves all page objects from varnish, uv, foil, silver and white to separate spreads.

ShowDNPLayers / HideDNPLayers

Shows or hides the following do-not-print layers: covered areas, visible area, *vi?ib*, vis?*, safety margins, safe area, segmentation, rahmen and sicht*, and all layers starting with either a dot or a hyphen.

View

TileAll ⇧F4

Invokes Window ‣ Arrange ‣ Tile All Vertically or Tile All Horizontally, depending on the current spread orientation.

ZoomToSelection F4

It resembles Fit Selection in Window (⌥⌘=), but with some changes:

• Brings the selection a little closer³;
• If the cursor is in a text frame, zooms on the whole frame;
• Without anything selected zooms on the current spread.

ZoomToSpreads ⌥F4

Zooms on the first 3 spreads.

Miscellaneous

Clip Num*

To handle some objects it is sometimes useful to temporarily insert them into a container (clipping frame). The script inserts the selected objects into a clipping frame or restores them if they are already clipped.

Note: It uses the clipboard, so make sure you don't lose anything important.

ClipUndo ⌃Num*

Releases one or several objects from their clipping frames (you can select any objects, it will only release the clipped ones). If nothing is selected, it will release all clipped objects.

EAN ⌥F9

This script is inspired by EAN Barcode Generator by Konstantin Smorodsky, modified to embed the code in a selected rectangle: if we have a page object (ideally a rectangle) selected, the script embeds an EAN code in it, scaled to width. If nothing is selected, it puts it in a new document.

Enter 8 or 13 digits for the code itself; if you have an add-on, add a hyphen and another 2 or 5 digits.

LabelPage

Adds a custom label on the current page slug, on the info layer (with Helvetica Regular 6 pt, Registration swatch):

LabelPageRatios

Adds a label with the page aspect ratio, on the slug of each page, on the info layer.

LabelsCleanup

Sometimes objects that have a script label attached are reused, which may create problems later. The script deletes the labels of the selected objects or all objects in the document if nothing is selected.

Offset Paths

This is a slightly modified version of OffsetPath by Olav Martin Kvern, that creates paths around selected objects at a custom offset distance:

When you apply a Contour-type text wrap to an object, you’re creating a path around that object—and you can specify an offset distance. The text wrap path is accessible via scripting. That means that we could apply a text wrap with a given offset, then capture the path and path points of that path, turn off text wrap, and then create the a new path from those geometric coordinates.

QR F9

Adds a QR code on each spread of the active document (outside visible area, if possible) or to separate PDF files⁴:

On document	On file

If the document name ends with a separator (space/dot/underline/hyphen) followed by a sequence of digits or letters equal to the number of spreads, the letter corresponding to the spread index will be appended to each code/file – e.g., for a document with three spreads named Document_ABC.indd, the script will generate Document_A_QR.pdf, Document_B_QR.pdf and Document_C_QR.pdf.

You can insert | for manually splitting the label into several lines.

QRBatch ⇧F9

Does the same thing as QR but in a non-interactive way: retrieves a list of codes from a TSV data file named qr.tsv (sample) and adds them to existing documents or creates separate files (the suffix thing applies here as well):

Filename: document name
Code: any string
On doc: any string: on existing document; empty or missing: on separate file

The TSV file must be saved locally (in the active document folder); files starting with _ take precedence. Blank lines and those starting with # are ignored (this will confuse Excel).

You can insert | for manually splitting the label into several lines.

ShowFonts

Shows all fonts used in the active document.

ShowProfiles

Shows all color profiles available to InDesign.

ShowProperties F1

Shows properties and methods of a selected object.

Install

1. Clone or download from Code ‣ Download ZIP. The repository uses dynamically linked libraries from lib/, so the folder structure should be preserved; if you prefer stand-alone scripts, download the latest release, where they are statically linked.
2. Open Window ‣ Utilities ‣ Scripts.
3. Right-click on folder User and select Reveal in Finder/Explorer.
4. Copy Indentz to this folder.

About

All scripts are created by me unless otherwise noted.

© 2020-2022 Paul Chiorean <jpeg AT basement.ro>.
The code is released under the MIT License (see LICENSE.txt).

The code in this project would not have been possible without the InDesign ExtendScript API by Theunis de Jong and Gregor Fellenz, Mozilla's MDN Web Docs, and also blog posts, forum posts, tutorials or code by Marc Autret, Dave Saunders, Peter Kahrel, Gregor Fellenz, Marijan Tompa, Richard Harrington and many others.

Last updated: November 10, 2022