How to use script to activate the document in the first place?

[aa54655517]

Please see the image as below, you can see 3 documents ("Document-1.indd", "Document-2.indd" and "Document-3.indd") are opened. "Document-3.indd" is now being activated. How to use script to activate the document in the first place (in this case, "Document-1.indd")?

Note: the name of the documents are changing.

[Trevor:]

Interesting question,

I highly doubt you can do that with extendScript. Remember also that a window can be detached from the dock.

[Laubender]

Trevorׅ  wrote

Interesting question,

I highly doubt you can do that with extendScript. Remember also that a window can be detached from the dock.

Hi Trevor,

hm. How did you interpreted the OP's question?
I cannot tell what's asked here.

Opening a document? => app.open(File("path"+"/"+"name.indd"))
Setting the active document? => app.activeDocument = app.documents.itemByName("Name")

Getting? or Setting the order of opened tabs according to the open documents names from left to right?

Regards,
Uwe

[Trevor:]

Hi Uwe

Getting the order of the tabs

Trevor

[Laubender]

Hi Trevor,

ah. Maybe something like the snippet below would help.
Did not test it very much.

var id = app.activeDocument.id;
var newDoc = app.documents.add();
var allOpenDocs = app.documents.everyItem().getElements();
app.activeDocument = newDoc;
for(var n=1;n<allOpenDocs.length;n++)
{
    $.writeln(n+"\t"+allOpenDocs.id+"\t"+allOpenDocs.name);
};
newDoc.close(SaveOptions.NO);
app.activeDocument = app.documents.itemByID(id);

Regards,
Uwe

[Laubender]

To activate the first tab if there are no floating tabs would be:

app.activeDocument = allOpenDocs[allOpenDocs.length-1];

Regards,
Uwe

[Laubender]

Tested a bit and I can see that my snippet is not working as expected, if you move some tabs around.
Also a problem, if there are some floating windows.

If you do closing and opening new documents, only, then it will do.

So Trevor is right:

One cannot predict the order of the tabs of open documents at any time during a session.

Regards,
Uwe

[aa54655517]

Please use JavaScript or VBScript to do so. And note that the initial activated document is also changing (the initial activated document can be "Document-1.indd", "Document-2.indd" or "Document-3.indd").

[aa54655517]

Please ignore the situation of a window being detached from the dock. Then in this case, there is no floating window. Please use JavaScript or VBScript to activate the first tab.

[Laubender · Accepted solution]

Hi aa,

did you try the solution in reply 5 and 6 ?

If there is no floating window and no-one moved tabs around, e.g. dragged a tab to a different position, the snippet in reply 5 should work. If that's not what you are after or if it is not working I see no way with ExtendScript (JavaScript) to solve this "problem".

If you already know the name of a document you want to make the active one or if you know, that the one you like to make the active one was opened as the n-th of all open documents, then you could get it by its name or by its ID-number (after sorting ID numbers).

Regards,
Uwe

[aa54655517]

Thank you for your message.

I have tested the solution in reply 5 and 6.

For the solution in reply 5, I found the ID of the open document is also changing.

For the solution in reply 6, it just activate the next tab.

[Laubender]

Hi,

the ID number of an open document should never change during a session.
Session is the period between a launch and a quit action with InDesign.

Every document you open or add (and close—not saving to disk) is getting a new ID number higher than the one before.
As long as the document is open, the ID will not change. If you close and reopen the document a new ID number is issued.

What constantly is changing is the index number if you change the active document in a row of open documents.

The active document's index number ( not the id number ! ) is always 0 .

My snippets in reply 5 and 6 ( in combination ) try to do a snapshot-in-time. Nothing more. Nothing less.
If you close and open documents after doing the snapshot you first have to redo a new snapshot before you can tell what the order of tabs is.

And no-one should have moved tabs around with the mouse or opened a free-floating window.

Regards,
Uwe