Indesign Macros (when a script is a sledge hammer)

[ClaytonKing]

I know scripting is very powerful. But for folks like me who don't understand it, I'm wondering if there's a way to create a simple macro - either in Indesign or with a third-party app - that would perform simple actions.

I am laying out a book where imported text has codes for formatting. Text is coming from multiple authors and sometimes comes in Word, notepad and even html (that's another whole conversation). For example,

<fleuron>

John, having been to the store, and having already forgotten to pick up eggs, decided on cheese instead.

The decision, once made, had him settled in to his chair at the table for the next three hours, pouring over the manuscript Susan just delivered.

These are three separate paragraphs. I have paragraph styles set up named "fleuron," "Body Section First," and "Body Justified."

The fleuron style uses bullets and hidden text to "hide" the word "<fleuron>" and use a glyph for a bullet (which creates a section mark in the manuscript).

The Body Section First style keeps the next paragraph at the left margin, uses smallcaps for the first five words.

Body Justified is my main body copy style.

In terms of the macro, I'd like to place my cursor in the first paragraph, and upon execution, have the macro tag the first paragraph as Fleuron, go the next next paragraph and tag it as Body Section First.

Any thoughts? And thanks for any advice!

[BobLevine · Accepted solution]

If you set up your paragraph styles with a next style you could select the text and from the paragraph panel right click the first style and select apply that style and next.

You could also create an object style for the text frame that would automatically apply those attributes to the text.

[ClaytonKing]

Thanks for the reply, Bob. In my fleuron style, I do have next set to Body Section First, and in that style, I have Body Justified as the next.

You l me on the paragraph panel, though. If my cursor is in the fleuron paragraph and I right-click in the paragraph style panel, the only appropriate choice I see is "Apply Fleuron." Am I missing something?

[ClaytonKing]

OK - I'm thickheaded.... I select the first paragraph and 'in to' the next, and "apply and next" shows up.

Thanks so much!

Now I'm wondering if a Grep search would let me do this globally. In for a penny....

[ClaytonKing]

So you saved my life with this simple suggestion.

I do notice, however, that when the fleuron is at the bottom of one page and the First Section is at the top of the next, it doesn't apply the "next" style. Perhaps a bug in ID?

[BobLevine]

Use the story editor.