Adobe® InDesign® CS6 Scripting ReadMe
This document contains information about scripting in Adobe InDesign CS6, including:
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A summary of the InDesign scripting documentation (see “InDesign Scripting Documentation” on page 1). Directions for running a script (see “Running Scripts” on page 2). A list and brief description of InDesign sample scripts (see “Sample Scripts” on page 2). A list of known issues in InDesign scripting (see “Known Issues Related to InDesign Scripting” on page 9).

For more information on InDesign scripting, go to the InDesign developer documentation page, http://www.adobe.com/devnet/indesign/documentation.html, or visit the InDesign scripting User-to-User forum, http://forums.adobe.com/community/indesign/indesign_scripting. For late-breaking InDesign scripting news, see the latest version of this file on the InDesign developer documentation page.

InDesign Scripting Documentation
InDesign scripting documentation can be downloaded from the InDesign developer documentation page (listed above). The scripting documentation set for InDesign comprises the following:
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Adobe InDesign Scripting Tutorial — Shows how to get started with InDesign scripting. Covers AppleScript, JavaScript, and VBScript in one PDF document. The introductory scripts in this document are available as a single ZIP archive or can be copied from the PDF. Adobe InDesign Scripting Guide (AppleScript, JavaScript, and VBScript versions) — Discusses more advanced InDesign scripting topics. All tutorial scripts shown are included in a single ZIP archive, so there is no need to copy and paste scripts from the PDF. (Most scripts shown in the text are incomplete fragments demonstrating a specific property, method, or technique.) JavaScript Tools and Features — Covers using the ExtendScript Toolkit for JavaScript development, creating user interfaces with ScriptUI, using the File and Folder objects, and other features specific to the ExtendScript language (Adobe’s version of JavaScript).

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There is no Scripting Reference PDF for InDesign; instead, use the object-model viewer included with your script-editing application (as described in Adobe InDesign Scripting Tutorial). InDesign sample scripts are installed by default. They appear in the Scripts panel (Window > Utilities > Scripts).

Installing the scripting documentation scripts
In addition to the sample scripts, all scripts shown (in fragmentary form) in the scripting documentation are available for download from the InDesign developer documentation page.

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Adobe® InDesign® CS6 Scripting ReadMe

Running Scripts

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After downloading the script ZIP archive, follow the steps below to extract the scripts from the archive. After you extract the files, move the folder(s) for the language(s) you want to work with (AppleScript, JavaScript, and/or VBScript) to your Scripts Panel folder. (For more on installing scripts, see the Adobe InDesign Scripting Tutorial.)

Windows
With a standard Windows installation, you can extract the ZIP files using the Windows Extraction Wizard, as described below. If you installed a third-party ZIP application (like WinZip), you may have a customized menu instead of the menu items given here. 1. Copy the ZIP file to your hard drive. 2. Right-click the file, then choose Extract All.... 3. When presented with the Extraction Wizard dialog, click Next. 4. Choose a location for your files or use the default location (the current directory). 5. When the extraction is complete, click Finish.

Mac OS
1. Copy the ZIP file to your hard drive. 2. Double-click the ZIP file.

Running Scripts
To run a script, double-click the script name in the Scripts panel. On Windows, you can run VBScripts (file extension .vbs) or JavaScripts (file extension .jsx). On Mac OS, you can run AppleScripts (file extension .applescript) or JavaScripts.

Sample Scripts
Make sure you save your work before running a sample script for the first time.