How to load any PageItem into a placeGun or a contentPlacer?

[arthurdapaz]

Hello, I'm creating a ScriptUI dialog which retrieves text from a webserver.

When the user clicks the "OK" button, I'd like to get this text loaded into a placeGun, or something like that.

I mean, the user most choose the page position, by the mouse cursor, to place the retrieved text.

It should behave the same way or similar to "File/Place" tool.

Can someone point me a direction?

There is a similar working proof of concept made by Laubender​ here. But it's not what I want.

^Atualizado

My main ideia, on my tests were to check if this was possible:

var txtFrame = app.selection[0];

app.activeDocument.placeGuns.load(txtFrame);

but it doesn't work.

[Ronald63]

Hi,

loadPlaceGun() accept only file or files array.

https://www.indesignjs.de/extendscriptAPI/indesign-latest/#PlaceGun.html#d1e30402__d1e30890

var myFile = File('/Users/username/Pictures/18212468800800.jpg')
app.activeDocument.placeGuns.loadPlaceGun(myFile);

Regards

[BarlaeDC · Accepted solution]

Hi,

You could just create a file and then use that file for the placeGun.

Something like

// I have it hard coded, but this is the text you get from your webserver
var myText = "Some Text from somewhere else";
// create a new file
var myFile = new File ( Folder.desktop + "/myFile.txt")
// check it doesn't exist
if (! myFile.exists)
{   
    // open for writing
    myFile.open ( 'w');
    // write the text from webserver
    myFile.write ( myText);
    //close
    myFile.close();
     // place the newly created file
     app.activeDocument.placeGuns.loadPlaceGun(myFile);
     // delete the file
     myFile.remove();
}

Hope this helps

Malcolm

[Laubender]

Hi Malcom,

or you could use an idms file exported from of a formatted text frame you are preparing with InDesign.

I think, that will be the solution our OP is thinking of.

Regards,
Uwe

[arthurdapaz]

Thank you. I will write the code considering the idms, since I can pre-format the textFrame. Today or tomorrow I'll post my code here, just in case someone needs to reach the same goal!

Thank you all! I was hopping for a more "native" way, instead of exporting a idms or writting an external file. But that will do it!

[Laubender]

Hi Arthur,

if you are on InDesign CC 2018 look into this here:

Selection export without groupping

Regards,
Uwe