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Calling JSX from ActionScript: Problems with Returning InDesign Objects Back to ActionScript

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 17:57:40 GMT

I have written an InDesign Extension using EB 2.1 for InDesign versions 5-6. That means Flex SDK 3.4. I need to call JSX from ActionScript, and for the JSX to return as a return value InDesign objects and regular (non-InDesign specific) Arrays as return variables.

I am calling JSX using the HostObject as follows:

public class AS2JSInDesign

{

[Embed(source="InDesign.jsx", mimeType= "application/octet-stream" )]

private static var _inDesignJsxProxyClass:Class;

private static var _inDesignJsxInterface:HostObject;

_inDesignJsxInterface = HostObject.getRoot(HostObject.extensions[0]);

_inDesignJsxInterface.eval(new _inDesignJsxProxyClass().toString());

function static doJSX():void

{

// Not passing the ActionScript InDesign.app

var result1:* = _inDesignJsxInterface.myJSXFunction();

// Passing the ActionScript InDesign.app as a parameter to JSX

var InDesignApp:Application = InDesign.app;

var result2:* = _inDesignJsxInterface.myJSXFunction(InDesignApp);

}

When JavaScript creates InDesign objects using paradigm app.<CollectionName>.add() (e.g.,”app.documents.add()”), then the created object cannot be successfully returned. For example, for
return app.documents.add()
the returned value is not a Document, but rather a HostObject which contains various properties not at all relevant to an InDesign Document.
However, if I pass the InDesign.app from ActionScript as a parameter (called "InDesignApp"), and the JavaScript uses that app object instead of its own default app object:
return InDesignApp.documents.add(),
then it works fine - a real InDesign Document object is returned.
On the other hand, there are instances in which it seems I must use the JSX native InDesign app object. If I want to define a new Color for the active Document with the InDesign.app (passed as a parameter called "InDesignApp") using
var color = InDesignApp.activeDocument.colors.add(),
then the attempt to assign
color.space = ColorSpace.CMYK
fails, as ColorSpace.CMYK is not recognized at run time.
If I use the JSX app object to do this (var color = app.activeDocument.colors.add()), I don’t get an error, but if I return the color object to ActionScript, an empty HostObject is received.
A native JSX Array ( var myArray = new Array(); ) cannot ever be returned to ActionScript – it appears in ActionScript as a HostObject. ActionScript doesn’t regard it as an Array. I came up with a hideous hack: I create an array using InDesignApp.documents.everyItem().getElements(), empty the array which is returned, and then use the empty area for whatever I need. Such an array, when returned to ActionsScript, is recognized as an Array.

Could someone please explain what I'm doing wrong?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Create a ZXP for CC, and for CS6->CC

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sun, 12 Oct 2014 12:00:58 GMT

Hi,

Up until now, I used the Extension Builder to create InDesign Extensions. I chose CS5-CS6 as the range, and the ZXP thus created worked on CS5, CS5,5 and CS6 without a hitch. I used the popup menu option Export-->Adobe Application Extension to create the ZXP.

Now, we have out first customer who uses CC. So we installed CC in house for testing, and I chose the range CS5-CC in the manifest editor.

My attempts to install the ZXP failed with the notice:

This extension can not be installed, it requires InDesign64 version in range of inclusively between 9.0 and 9.9.

I also get the same error if I choose exclusively CC (selecting CC to CC range in the manifest editor).

What am I doing wrong???

TIA,

mlavie

Single Dev Environment and Code Line for 6 and CC?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sun, 12 Oct 2014 15:26:34 GMT

Hi All,

Up until now, we were developing for customers who only used InDesign CS5.5 and CS6 - using Extension Builder 2.1.

The problem is that now a new customer only has CC 2014.1 (they just purchased it today). I found one hack how to create an Extension using 2.1 for CC 2014/2014.1. However, this hack doesn't support HostAdapters, which we require as we want to control the fly panel of the panel menu.

Also, I think CC 2014.1 supports only HTML5 panels. Does that mean a total re-write of all our code? And since CS6 does not support HTML5 panels - do we now have to maintain 2 parallel code lines until the last of our customers migrates to CC???

I'd appreciate any advice.

Regards,

mlavie

Do I Really Have to Rewrite All My Code to Support CC 2014.1?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 13 Oct 2014 15:58:27 GMT

Hi All,

Up until now, all my customers were using CS5.5 or CS6. My Extensions were written in ActionScript and developed in Extension Builder 2.1.

Am I to understand that in order for my Extensions to work in CC 2014.1, that I must rewrite my tens of thousands of lines of code in ExtendScript and HTML5???

TIA,

mlavie

CSXSInterface.instance.evalScript("alert('x', 'y', false)") Crashes IND When Debugging

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 08:22:30 GMT

IND 5.0, Actionscript

Hi All,

I have found that the command CSXSInterface.instance.evalScript("alert('x', 'y', false)") works fine in a normal run (i.e., displays the Alert dialog in InDesign), but causes InDesign to crash and close if the same code is run in the debugger.

Any ideas?

TYIA,

mlavie

InDesign ActionScript Extension as a LocalConnection Receiver

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:06:57 GMT

Hi,

I am trying to use LocalConnection to communicate between an AIR application and my InDesign Extension. I want to be able to activate a function in the InDesign Extension, just as I could activate a function in any other AIR application using LocalConnection.

Although I have no problem using LocalConnection between two AIR application, I can't get it to work when I try from my AIR app to call the LocalConnection receiver in the InDesign Extension. The attempts to make a call fails with satus level = "error".

Any ideas?

TIA

mlavie

Purchasing Extension Builder 2.1 After Trying the Trial Version: Must I Re-Install?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 06:50:09 GMT

A few months ago, I installed the trial version of Extension Builder 2.1. The trial has expired.

So i went to buy a license. I got back a serial number.

I assumed that the Extension Builder would include some activiation dialog in which I would enter the serial number and continue on my merry way. Couldn't find it.

From the wording on the site, it would appear that I need to re-download and re-install Extensino Builder 2.1. That take a long time and I've esperienced probelms installing it in the past.

Is there a way to enter the serial number instead of reinstalling?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Set the Extension Name Which Appears in the Extension Manager

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sun, 06 Oct 2013 11:21:04 GMT

I have written a large extension for InDesign usibng Flash 4.6 and Extension Builder 2.1. The name of the project in Flash 4.6 was "X", but the name i want to appear in Extension Manager is "Y". Changing the manifest's ExtensionBundleID doesn't seem to influence anything. I thought I remembered from EB 1.5 that that's the way to do it.

TIA,

mlavie

ZXP Not Created in Extension Builder 2.1 for an Extension Created in Extension Builder 1.5

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:16:14 GMT

Hi all,

We originally started creating InDesign extensions "manually" several years ago, as we did not yet want to pay for the original Extenson Builer 1.0. We produced our ZXP files from the contents of the bin-debug folder using Fabien Bizot's Java-based "ZXPPackager" utililty (http://www.lafabrick.com/),

When we finally installed Extension Builder 1.5, we had some problems creating ZXP with the built-in exporter for Abode Application Extension. Since the compiler put all the files into the bin-debug folder still, I could still use ZXPPackager.

We just upgraded to Extension Builder 2.1. For any legacy project, whether it was still "manually created" (i.e., without even Extenson Builder 1.5) and I copied the sources into a new Extension Builder project, or created in Extenson Builder 1.5 and converted to Extension Bulder 2.1, the Export to ZXP does not work. I see the compiler is creating a bin-release folder, then it disappears, and no ZXP is to be found. Since bin-debug no longer has all files in it like it used to, the ZXPPackager can't find what it's looking for and can't make a ZXP - so I am stuck.

Please - help!

mlavie

Flash 4.6 Spurting Out Error Log Messages

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sat, 20 Jul 2013 17:35:57 GMT

My Flash Builder 4.6 is spurting out Eclipse and other messages into its error log. Is this "normal" (I mean are other people experiencing it)?

In my previous post, I mentioned another mysterious problem. I'm wondering if it's connected.

I originally had Flash Builder 4,6 already installed via CS6 before installing Extebsion Builder 2.1, Should I have uninstalled Flash Bulder 4.6 and let Extension Builder install it?

I'd be happy to learn from others' experiences.

mlavie

Copying CS SDK InDesign Extensions to Another Workspace

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:01:25 GMT

For Win7, ActionScript

I built an InDesign extension in ActionScript using the Creative Suite Extension Builder.

I wanted to copy the Creative Suite Extension Builder project to another folder and import it to another workspace. The "Import Flex Project" from the new folder succeeded, but any attempt to build it produces the dreaded error message

""Could not find project's extension manifest file. Make sure the manifest exists at .staged-extension/CSXS/manifest.xml. <MyProjectName> line 1 Problem"

Needless to say, ".staged-extension/CSXS/manifest.xml." exists.

Any idea????

TIA,

mlavie

"CSAW version is not within the project range" - Whenever I Specify Any CS Version Range

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 12:59:01 GMT

I just installed Extension Builder 2.1.

I want my extensions to run on CS5, CS5.5 and CS6.

Therefore, when I created my very first new Extension Builder project via the wizard, I specified that I wanted it to run on CS5, as the text below the drop-down stated explicitly that CS5.5, CS6 and CC would all be supported as well. I chose defaults for the rest of the wizard and pressed <finish>,

So far, so good.

Then, I opened up the Bundle Manifest Editor.

Bad idea...

Upon opening, the Bundle Manifest Editor immediately displayed a yellow warning message at the top of the Bundle Manifest Editor dialog, stating "CSAW version is not within the project range". I find this strange, since the New Project wizard for the Extension Builder project most specifically stated that a project targeting CS5 would support all later versions. So I tried lowering the dialog's Max Version dropdpwn from CC to CS6. No joy. I tried lowering it to CS5.5. Still no joy. Only when I lowered the max version down to CS5 did the horrific yellow warning message go away.

I might add that the same holds true if I create a project for CS5.5, in which case my Min AND Max have to be CS5.5. If I specify Max=CS6, then I get the same yellow message,

Could someone please explain this to me? What am I doing wrong?

TIA,

mlavie

Calling URLLoader from AIR in Rapid Succession Causes Error 2032

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 20:01:14 GMT

Hi All,

Within AIR, I am issuing multiple POST calls with URLLoader in rapid succession to the same web service on the same server.

About half of them fail with error #2032. In the HTTPStatus handler, I get status=0.

I suspected keep-alive issues, so I added "Content: close" to the URLRequest header and made sure I called URLLoader.close() as soon as I got a succesful response from calls which succeeded- but no joy.

I would appreciate any ideas.

mlavie

Document.save() returns error "Failed to find any class definition for com.adobe.indesign::" in CS6

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 12:10:56 GMT

Hi all,

I am writing extensions in the InDesign 5 development environment (still) - Extension SDK 1.5, Flex 4.0, etc., using ActionScript.

The extension works fine on InDesign 5 and 5.5. However when used in CS6, on certain computers (I can't find the common denominatior), when I try to save an open document using the document.save() command, Adobe often throws the error "Failed to find any class definition for com.adobe.indesign::" I.e., the name of the missing class does not appear - just the namespace com.adobe.indesign.

I'd appreciate suggestions what to do.

TIA,

mlavie

How To Get an Image's Dimensions in Pixels

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 09:54:43 GMT

(For CS5, Actionscript)

Hi All,

I need to find an Image's native dimensions in pixels.

I assumed that the Image object's DOM would have included something like ".width" and ".height".

I assumed wrong...

HOw do I get ath this information?

TIA,

mlavie

Attempt to Install InDesign Extension Fails

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 20:54:58 GMT

I developed an Extenstion in InDesign 5, and I created the exptension manually (i.e., without the Extension Builder).

We have had no problem installing it in InDesign 5 and 5.5. In addition, we succeeded in installing it on InDesign 6 on a Windows PC.

We just tried installing it on a Mac running InDesign 6. The Extension Manager failed, with message:

"Failed to install the Creative Suite Extension <FileName.zxp>. Please make sure the manifest.xml of this extension is valid and the Extension Manager recognizes at least one product which the extension supports. The extension will not be installed."

I don't know if this is a Mac vs. PC issue, or not.

Any ideas what to do?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Set an Object's Color Without Creating a Color or Swatch Object

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 14:29:00 GMT

(CS5, Actionscript)

Hi All,

I have hundreds of Text objects whose fillColor I wish to determine on the fly when my Extension processes the document.

The problem is that Text.fillColor insists on having a Color or Swatch object assigned to it. The compoiler refuses to allow assigning an CMYK, like:

myText.fillColor = [c, m, y, k]

The issue is that I all the new Color and Swatch objects clog up the COlor dropdown in the InDesign UI and never go away, and more importantnly consume memory.

Is there any way to directly assign CMYK values to a Text.fillCOlor without contructing superfluous COlor or Swatch objects?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Append Formatted Text to a Text Object

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:16:08 GMT

CS5, Actionscript

Hi All,

After posting a very specific post about the text content in XMLElements, I realized that the problems was not at all specific to XMLElements. Therefore, I'd like to post this more general question:

For a given Text object, if I wish to append more content, which includes text properties such as "underline" and "strikeThru", how can I do it without the last property values being automatically applied to the next text to be appended.

For example, I found that if I wrote something like this:

<code>

insertionPoint = text.insertionPoints.item(-1);

insertionPoint.contents = "Cat";

insertionPoint.underline = true;

insertionPoint = text.insertionPoints.item(-1);

insertionPoint.contents = "Dog";

</code>

then the words "Cat" and "Dog" are underlined, although only Cat is marked for underlined.

How can I make only "Cat" underlined, and "Dog" not underlined?

TIA,

mlavie

CharacterStyle Contains Properties Whose Getters Fail at Runtime

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 10:04:26 GMT

For CS5, Actionscript:

I have created some CharacterStyles in a document, and whoch to itterate over them in my Actionscript code, and work with the properties' values.

The problem is that in may of the cases, the properties which interest me, when accessed, throw "Error: Failed to find any class definition for com.adobe.indesign::Enumerator", and the debugger shows for them "<exception thrown by getter>".

I tried accessing them by myCharacterStyle["propertyX"] and testing for null, but that fails, too.

I also tried myCharacterStyle.hasOwnProperty("propertyX"), but that fails because the proxy class doesn't support that method.

Any ideas, aside from the ugly workaround of catching the error?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Append Formatted Text to an XMLElement's Contents

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:04:19 GMT

For CS5, Actionscript

Hi All,

I need to fill an XMLElement's contents property sequentially with several texts, each of which has its own different formatting (i.e., strikethrough, textDecoation, etc.).

I tried sequential calls of:

var myText:Text = myXmlElement.insertTextAsContent(contentString, XMLElementPosition.ELEMENT_END);

The content from my variable contentString is successfully appened to the XMLElement's content (its single Text element in XMLElement.texts). However once I set a style property, such as strikeThrough, it continues to affect every additional content added via succesive calss to myXmlElement.insertTextAsContent(contentString, XMLElementPosition.ELEMENT_END);.

My question: how do I make sure that styles such as myText.strikeThru will affect only the ext being appended for the current myText, and not any content added in successive calls?

TIA,

mlavie

myText.strikeThru = myStrikethrough;

How Can I Load HTML Text into a TextFrame (CS5)

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:49:50 GMT

(CS5, ActionScript)

Hi All,

I have some very simple HTML markup text which I would like to be able to display in a TextFrame.

For example:

<html><body>Hello <b>World!</b></body></html>

I want to load this into a TextFrame (or vetter yet, a Tag Element's content), and have it properly displayed.

How is that done?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Get RGB Values from a CMYK Color in the DOM (CS5)

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 12:02:16 GMT

(CS5, Actionscript)

Hi all,

I have an InDesign document containing TextFrames whose border colors are specified as a CMYK array.

I would like to be able to get its color specification as its closest RGB equivalent.

Does the InDesign DOM contain a method for doing this for me automatically? If not, what workarounds are there?

TIA,

mlavie

CS5 Export to RTF Option Producing Invalid RTF

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 12:54:03 GMT

(For CS5 on Windows)

I have tried exporting the text contents of aTextFrame using the Export to RTF option..

Although MS-Word and MS-WordPad successfully read the file so produced, every 3rd party library I tried to convert RTF to HTML (both open source and propietary) failed to read the file. The 3rd party products either return an empty HTML or complain about duplicate font defintions.

Interestingly, if I take the RTF produced byInDesign and save it in MS-Word, the saved file can then be read succesfully by all other 3rd party libraries.

Any ideas? The file produced by MS-Word after the re-save is so radically different from the RTF originally produced by InDesign that there's no point attempting to compare the files visually.

TIA,

mlavie

CS5 exportFile() Method Producing Invalid RTF

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 12:48:54 GMT

(For CS5, Actionscript, Windows)

I have tried using the exportFile() method to create an RTF file which contains the text contents of a TextFrame.

Although MS-Word and MS-WordPad successfully read the file, every 3rd party library I tried to convert RTF to HTML (both open source and the leading propietary solutions) failed to read the file. The 3rd party products either return an empty HTML or complain about duplicate font defintions.

Interestingly, if I take the RTF produced by exportFile() and save it in MS-Word, the file can then be read succesfully by all other 3rd party libraries.

Any ideas? The file produced by MS-Word after the re-save is so radically different from the RTF originally produced by InDesign that there's no point attempting to compare the files visually.

TIA,

mlavie

Changing a Line's Content If it Contains the "Anchored Object Marker"

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:05:16 GMT

[CS5.0, ActionScript]

There are instances in which I want to change a Line's content, but the current content contains an "Anchored Object Marker" (the Unicode "Object Recplacement Character" - 65532). In the debugger, that char is displayed as the tiny letters "obj" between two lines.

For example, if a TextFrame contains an anchored TextFrame, then when I retrieve OuterTextFrame.lines.item(0).contents, I recieve the Anchored Object Marker char together with the text of the first line, because the Anchored Object Marker marks the placement of the anchored TextFrame.

The problem is, that if I perform any change on the OuterTextFrame.lines.item(0).contents, the anchored textFrame dissapears - even if I make sure that I put an Anchored Object Marker at the start of the new contents.

Even OuterTextFrame.lines.item(0).contents = OuterTextFrame.lines.item(0).contents causes the anchored TextFrame to dissapear.

My question - how can I change the text in the first line in the TextFrame, without it making the anchored TextFrame dissapear.

TIA,

mlavie

How to Get Dynamic Content for Texts via the Internet

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 15:29:09 GMT

(For InDesign 5.0)

Hi All,

I would like to have an InDesign document which is exported as a Flash SWF for use on the web, containing a text frame whose content is filled dynamically at display time from some internet source (web service, AJAX, etc.).

For example, the InDesign document exported to a Flash SWF flipping book might have a permanent list of countries, and the popultion for each country would change in real-time when displayed in a browser.

How could this be done?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Combine Two SubPaths into a Single SubPath

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 30 May 2012 13:31:26 GMT

For CS 5, ActionScript:

I have a Path which contains two subpaths, which may or may not overlap.

How do I combine them into a single SubPath (i.e., union) via scripting?

I know that in the GUI, I can select both SubPaths and then press the "combine" button - this is the effect I want.

TIA,

mlavie

How to Add a Linefeed to the Very End of a TextFrame's Contents

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:44:16 GMT

(IND 5.0, Actionscript)

Hi all,

I need to be able to add a linefeed ("\n") to the very end of a TextFrame's contents, which may include any combination of tagged and untagged texts, and tagged and untagged image frames.

There seems to be an endless variation of circumstances, each of which require a specific solution.

For example:

If the last run of the Text is tagged, then I need to append the "\n" to the that last tag's contents.
If there are no Tags in the Text, then I can append the "\n" to the TextFrame's contents.
If the TextFrame is Tagged, but the last letter(s) in the Text are untagged - I don't know what to do.
If the last object in the TextFrame is an Image Frame, then I don't know what to do (you can't add the "\n" to an image's contents).

In short, is there some catch-all solution for adding a "\n" at the very end of a TextFrame's contents, without the Tags on the Text being removed and without causing a failure due to trying to add "\n" to an Image's contents?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Make a Tagged XMLElement's Content Longer

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:17:26 GMT

For IND 5.0, Actionscript

Hi All,

I have a situation in which I need to change the contents of a Tagged XMLElement. Then, I need to move the enclosing Text object to another frame.

myXmlElement.contents = "Lorem ipsum" works fine if the new contents is no longer than the original contents. However, if the new contents is longer than the original contents, then the contents for the enclosing Text element only shows the last n characters of the contents, where "n" is the length of the original content.

For example:

if myXmlElement.contents equals "ABC", and I perform myXmlElement.contents = "12345678", then the Text contents becomes "678" (i.e., the last 3 characters, because the length of the original content was 3 characters).

What am i doing wrong?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Get a List of All XMLElements (Follow up to previous posting)

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:11:04 GMT

(CS5, Win7, 64Bit)

I need a collection (or array, etc.) of all the XMLElement objects in a given document in flat form (just like the "Structure Tree"'s hierarchichal view - only flatened).

I could not find any "normal" way (i.e., built-in property or method) to get at the information. Instead, I found that I had to recurse through the entire XMLElement tree, starting with the Root Element. For a large document, this can take close to a ten minutes, and sometimes I have to do this for an InDesgin Book containing over ten enormous INDD files.

After "கற்பனை Imagine" responded to my previous post about how to get all the XMLTags, I assumed that myDocument.xmlElements would return a collection of all the XMLElements in the Document. Unfortunately, it does not - it returns only the Root XMLElement. Thus, I have to recurse therough the hierarchy of XMLElements under the Root XMLElement - which takes a very long time.

There HAS to be a better way, right?

Would it be better were I to recurse through all PageItems in the document and then recurse through each PageItem's XMLElement tree? I assume that wouldn't make a big difference either way.

I'm open to suggestions...

TIA,

mlavie

How to Get a List of All XMLElement Tags

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:25:13 GMT

(CS5, Win7, 64Bit)

I need a list of all the unique XML Tag names in a given document (just like the Tags Panel in InDesign itself).

I could not find any "normal" way (i.e., builtin-in property or method) to get at the information. Instead, I found that I had to recurse through the entire XMLElement tree, starting with the Root Element. For a large document, this can take close to a quarter of an hour, and sometimes I have to do this for an InDesgin Book containing over ten enormous INDD files.

There HAS to be a better way, right?

Would it be better were I to recurse through all PageItems in the document and then recurse through each PageItem's XMLElement tree? I assume that wouldn't make a big difference wither way.

I'm open to suggestions...

TIA,

mlavie

Can a Layer be Selected Using document.select()?

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:52:49 GMT

For CS5, Windows 7, ActionScript:

Hi all,

I very innocently assumed that I could use myDocument.select(myLayer) to select a Layer. However this explodes at runtime with a parameter exception saying that the function select() expected to recieve either an object or an array of objects, but instead recieved a Layer. Is a Layer not an object? Is this a known limitation?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Select an Entire Document and Create a WorkPath from the Selection

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:59:53 GMT

For PS Extended 64 bit on Windows 7, using ActionScript

I am trying to create a WorkPath which encompasses an entire Document. Piece of cake, right? WRONG!

I have the following code in ActionScript (ActionScript is close enough to JavaScript that I assume the JS experts here can help).

activeDocument.selection.selectAll();

activeDocument.selection.makeWorkPath(2.0);

After the selectAll, I see in the debugger what looks to me like valid boundaries in the Selection object. However, the makeWorkPath() call fails with "The document does not contain a selection". However, after the code chokes, when I look at the Photoshop screen I see that the document has indeed been selected and if from the Paths window I press the "Make path from selection" icon in the status bar, a Work Path is indeed correctly created. Also, thinking that perhapas the intial backgroundLayer was a special case, i tried copying the layer, making the new layer active and then doing selectAll - but no joy.

TIA,

mlavie

Nested Menus Not Appearing in a Custom Panel Fly-out Menu

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:36:54 GMT

I tried to create a menu for a custom panel, using the example which David Clark graciously pointed out to me:

http://cssdk.host.adobe.com/sdk/1.0/docs/WebHelp/programmers_guide/cus tomizing_the_ui.htm

However, the nested menu items do not appear. I only see Item 1 and Item 2 (and the separator and Item 3), but not Item 2-1. I was expecting to see Item 2-1 nested under Item 2.

I used the menu structure provided in the example (note that there is an error in the example - one of the closing tags is incorrectly specified as "<MenuItem/>" instead of "</MenuItem>"). Below is the corrected XML and my code:

protected function createMenu():void

{

   var xmlMenu:XML =
    <Menu>
      <MenuItem Id="item_1" Label="Item 1"/>
      <MenuItem Label="Item 2">
        <MenuItem Label="Item 2-1"/>
      </MenuItem>
      <MenuItem Label="---"/>
      <MenuItem Label="Item 3"/>
     </Menu>;

    CSXSInterface.instance.addEventListener(MenuClickEvent.FLYOUT_MENU_CLICK, menuClickHandler);
    var menuAdded:SyncRequestResult = CSXSInterface.getInstance().setPanelMenu(xmlMenu);
    if (SyncRequestResult.COMPLETE != menuAdded.status)
    {
     trace("Unable to add menu");
    }

}

   public function menuClickHandler(event:MenuClickEvent):void
   {
       switch (event.menuName) //you can also use the menuId
    {
    case "Item 1":
    trace("Item 1 has been clicked");
    break;
    default:
    trace("clicked " + event.menuName);
    }
   }

I'd appreciate it if somebody could tell me what I'm doing wrong.

TIA,

mlavie

Debugger and InDesign Freeze During Debugging

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:57:42 GMT

Hi All,

For CS5 and ActionScript on WIin7:

I have written a large extension for InDesign.

There is a certain class which very often caused InDeisgn and/or the FB Debugger to freeze, and I have to kill them with the Windows task manager. It happens sometimes if my cursor even passes over an Expression in the Debugger's Expression window. Sometimes it just freezes even if there are no break points in that class or expressions at all. Occasionally, the debugger complains about a "synchonization error". All my other classes and all my other extesnions are free of this problem.

I don't see anything unusual or exceptional in the code for the problematic classes.

I couldn't fins anything abouth this in the Forum or in Google.

I'd really appreciate advice.

TIA,

mlavie

TransformationMatrix Ignoring its Methods

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:57:11 GMT

For CS5, ActionScript, Win7

Hi all,

I am encounteruing very strange behavior with the TransofrmationMatrix object.

If I initiate the TransformationMatrix object with all its values when I create it with app.transformationMatrices.add(2,2,0,0,0,0), then it does exactly what I expect (i.e., double the size of the PageItem). However, if I do not supply any parameters and then call myTransformationMatrix.scaleMatrix(2,2), then nothing happens. And yes, I did verify that the rectangle I'm working with exists and is valid, etc.

i.e., this works

var app:Application = InDesign.app;

var selectedRectangle:Rectangle = ((app.selection as Array)[0] as Rectangle);

var scaleMatrix:TransformationMatrix = app.transformationMatrices.add(2,2,0,0,0,0);

selectedRectangle.transform(CoordinateSpaces.PASTEBOARD_COORDINATES, AnchorPoint.CENTER_ANCHOR, scaleMatrix );

But this doesn't work:

var app:Application = InDesign.app;

var selectedRectangle:Rectangle = ((app.selection as Array)[0] as Rectangle);

var scaleMatrix:TransformationMatrix = app.transformationMatrices.add();

scaleMatrix.scaleMatrix(2, 2);

selectedRectangle.transform(CoordinateSpaces.PASTEBOARD_COORDINATES, AnchorPoint.CENTER_ANCHOR, scaleMatrix );

Anyone else encounter this or have any ideas?

TIA,

mlavie

Extension Builder Creates mx:Application, and not csxs:CSXSWindowedApplication

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 14:42:19 GMT

I had been creating InDesign Extensions manually (i.e., without the ExtensionBuilder) up until now. I remember being told to use csxs:CSXSWindowedApplication for the panel.

We just recently got ExtensionBuilder, and I noticed that it creates mx:Application. Is this what it is supposed to be creating? Aside from the theoretical issue, there is the practical problem that I can't use the close() method which csxs:CSXSWindowedApplication has in order to close the panel.

I'd be greatful for an explanation.

TIA,

mlavie

Inter-extension Data Sharing Between Extensions

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:04:37 GMT

For CS 5, WIndows, ActionScript

Hi all,

Is there any way to communicate data between CS 5 Extensions written in ActionScript? I mean, short of a WebService/Client connection between them... ):

TIA,

mlavie

How to Cure Large Memory Consumption

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:22:34 GMT

For CS5, Windows 7 64 Bit, ActionScript

I have written an Extension which analyzes a data feed and build from it a large dicument consisting of tens of pages - each page with perhaps 100 PageItems.

When I try to produce the whole document at one time, it usually fails after about 15-20 pages, depending on the number of PageItems on each page. I also notice that the InDesign.exe process consumes about 1.9 GB when the explosion occurs. The "explosion" is "stupid" error messages, such as a null exception error, when in fact the data in question clearly has a value, and other strange things.

I have noticed that Tables are paricularly troublesome - tables with many rows - and particularly many columns seem to aggravate the situation.

Closing the Extension itself releases about 160 MB.

In addition, a tremendous amount of memory seems to be taken by each page in the Document. When I close the document, it frees up about 30 MB per page. Since I have well over 30 pages in many documents, this is obviously an issue.

I have taken the following precautions:

1) I perform a save of the document after every page

2) I force Garbage Collection after every page

3) To the best of my knowledge, I set all my objects (including DOM objects such as TextFrame, etc.) to null as soon as I am done with them.

There are some things which are not clear to me. For example, if I defined an Array of Table Columns, do I need to set each entry in the Array to null when I'm done, even if i nullifed the Table object from which they were taken?

I would be gratefull for any advice.

TIA,

mlavie

ScriptLabel for a Column

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 08:50:08 GMT

Hi all,

In the InDesign UI, I can select a Tbale Column, and enter a vlaue for its ScriptLabel in the ScriptLabel panel. However, in the scripting DOM, ther Column object does not contain a Laebl property. So how is the InDesign UI doeing this, and how can I read/change the value for a Column ScriptLabel using scripting?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Get the Host Name of the Computer Running an AIR Application

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:44:03 GMT

I am writing an AIR desktop application which needs to know the host name of the compute on which it is running.

How do I get the host name?

TIA,

mlavie

AIR 2 Support in CS5 Extensions

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:22:31 GMT

Is there any way to use the AIR 2 runtime in CS5 Extensions? I need the ServerSocket class real bad...

TIA,

mlavie

HTML or Other Markup Possibilities within TextFrame.contents

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:43:09 GMT

For CS5/ActionScript,

Hi all,

I have received HTML-formatted text (<em /> <strong /> etc., from a customer, that I need to enter into a TeftFrame. I want to preserve Bold, Underline, Superscript, etc when I load the text into TextFrame.contents, without having to manually parse the text, identify tags, and create InDesign text style runs.

Is their any elegant way to accomplish this?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Hide Objects From a User

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:45:41 GMT

For CS 5,

I need to define certain objects in an InDesign document (primarily Layers), which the user should not be able to see and should not be listed in the Layers panel.

How do I do that?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Stop an ActionScript Extension's Execution

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:42:05 GMT

For CS5:

Hi all,

I have an ActionScript Extension which produces a number of InDesign pages, and takes some time to process. As is the case for ActionScript Extensions, InDesign freezes during the Extension's execution, and the processing can't be stopped in the middle - even if it taking a long time and the cutomer wants to give up.

Is there a way to stop an ActionScript Extension's script in the middle? I need an elegant, customer-acceptable solution I already thought of the ActionScript periodically searching for the existence of a file, such as "c:\allowCOntinue.txt", and if it no longer exists (i.e., deleted by the user) then exit the extension. But that is mega-ugly.

TIA,

mlavie

How to Set the Colow for a Watermark

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:22:47 GMT

Foe CS5/ActionScript:

Hi all,

I want to change the default color of a watermark. So I tried:

[code]

m_workingDocument.watermarkPreferences.watermarkFontColor = myIndesignApp.colors.add({name:"WatermarkColor", model:ColorModel.PROCESS, colorValue:[0,100,100,0]});

[/code]

and

[code]

m_workingDocument.watermarkPreferences.watermarkFontColor = myIndesignDocument.colors.add({name:"WatermarkColor", model:ColorModel.PROCESS, colorValue:[0,100,100,0]});

[/code]

Both throw a null exception at run time.

What am I doing wrong?

Also, is there any way to create a color on the fly which does NOT appear in the swatches panel? (I don't want customers to be able to change the defintion of the color to white, so that the watermark becomes invisible...).

TIA,

mlavie

/CreativeSuiteSDK/docs/csawlib/index.html Documentation Doesn't Work in InternetExplorer 8 on Win7

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 10:26:47 GMT

For CS5 SDK v1.5 on Win7 with InternetExplorer 8

Hi all,

If I try to view the CS5 v1.5 documentation file /CreativeSuiteSDK/docs/csawlib/index.html, I get a blank screen with a frame divider (between what should have been the left-hand Packages List and the right-hand class details panel). Firefox works fine. Also, the \CreativeSuiteSDK\docs\csxslib\index.html file works perfectly well in Internet Explorer.

Anyone else suffering from this?

TIA,

mlavie

How to Mark an InDesign Document with an "Indelible Watermark"

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:50:54 GMT

For CS5 and ActionScript:

I want to mark an InDesign document I've creating via scripting in such a way that an end user can not get rid of the marking (e.g., when distributing my extension as a trial version). Ideally, I'd want "Trial Version" splashed across each page "indelibly".

How can this be done?

TIA,

mlavie

Alert.show in ActionScript: Which value to pass as "Parent"

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:43:33 GMT

For CS5 and ActionScript:

When debugging my InDesign Extension, I occaionally get random exceptions thrown without an indication of where on the stack it was thrown. I suspect that this is being caused by Alert.show, and I further suspect that it is due to the value I pass for "parent", I have tried "this" and "Sprite(mx.core.Application.application)".

E.g.,

Alert.show("Place Block succeeded","",Alert.OK, Sprite(mx.core.Application.application));

What should I be using?

TIA

mlavie

ServerSocket in Photoshop: Allowing only one client to access the server at a time (ATTN BOB STUCKY)

forums_noreply@adobe.com — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:46:21 GMT

I have used Bob Stucky's excellent example of inter-process communication via SocketServer in a Photoshop Extension (written in ActionScript), in order to receive requests from another Adobe products for picture processing.

The problem is that since there is only one Photoshop session openable at a time, I want to make sure that one client call doesn't interfere with the processing already in progress for a previous request. I.e., I want only one request to be processed at a time. How can I prevent other requests from interfering with the request already in progress? Can I accept a socket CONNECT event, but prevent it from actually doing anything until the previous request is done?

Does someone have a better idea?