Adobe 65010248 - Illustrator CS4 - PC User manual

ADOBE®ILLUSTRATOR®CS4
ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS4
SCRIPTING GUIDE

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Adobe Illustrator CS4 Scripting Guide
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3
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
What is scripting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Why use scripting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
What about actions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Script support in Adobe Illustrator CS4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ExtendScript features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ExtendScript tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Script file extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Viewing sample scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Viewing the object model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Viewing the JavaScript object model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Viewing the AppleScript object model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Viewing the VBScript object model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Executing scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Installing scripts in the Scripts menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Executing scripts from the Other Scripts menu item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Startup scripts (.jsx scripts only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Changes since CS3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Known issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2 The Illustrator Scripting Object Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Object-naming conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Top-level (containing) objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The artwork tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Art styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Color objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Text objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Text frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Objects that represent text content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Text styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Dynamic objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Contents 4
3 Scripting Illustrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Launching and quitting Illustrator from a script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Launching and activating Illustrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Quitting Illustrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Working with objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Getting the frontmost document or layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Creating new objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Collection objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Selected objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Notes on renaming objects stored in the application’s panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Measurement units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Em space units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Page-item positioning and dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Art item bounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Paths and shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
User-interaction levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Printing Illustrator documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4 Scripting with AppleScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
For more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Your first Illustrator script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Adding features to “Hello World” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Object references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Obtaining objects from documents and layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Creating new objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Working with selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Working with text frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Threaded frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Creating paths and shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5 Scripting with JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
For more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Your first Illustrator script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Adding features to “Hello World” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Working with methods in JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Accessing and referencing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Referencing the application object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Accessing objects in collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Creating new objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Working with selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Working with text frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Threaded frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Contents 5
Creating paths and shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
6 Scripting with VBScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
For more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Your first Illustrator script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Adding features to “Hello World” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Accessing and referencing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Obtaining objects from collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Creating new objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Working with selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Working with text frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Threaded frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Creating paths and shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Working with enumeration values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

6
1Introduction
This guide describes the scripting interface to Adobe® Illustrator® CS4.
If you are new to scripting or want basic information about scripting and how to use the different scripting
languages, see Adobe Introduction to Scripting.
What is scripting?
A script is a series of commands that tells Illustrator to perform one or more tasks. These tasks can be
simple, affecting only one object in the current document, or complex, affecting objects in all your
Illustrator documents. The tasks might even involve other applications, like word processors,
spreadsheets, and database management programs.
For the most part, the building blocks of scripting correspond to the Illustrator tools, menus, panels, and
dialog boxes with which you are already an expert. If you know what you want Illustrator to do, you can
write a script to do it.
Why use scripting?
Graphic design is a field characterized by creativity, but aspects of the work are anything but creative. In
fact, you probably notice that the time you spend placing and replacing images, correcting errors in text,
and preparing files for printing at an image-setting service provider often reduces the time you have
available for doing creative work.
With a small investment of time and effort, you can learn to write short, simple scripts that perform
repetitive tasks for you. As your scripting skills grow, you can move on to more complex scripts.
Scripting also can enhance your creativity, by quickly performing tasks you might not have time to try. For
example, you could write a script to systematically create a series of objects, modifying the new objects’
position, stroke, and fill properties along the way. You also could write a script that accesses built-in
transformation matrix functions to stretch, scale, and distort a series of objects. Without scripting, you
would likely miss out on the creative potential of such labor-intensive techniques.
What about actions?
Both actions and scripts are ways of automating repetitive tasks, but they work very differently:
➤Actions use a program’s user interface to do their work. As an action runs, menu choices are executed,
objects are selected, and recorded paths are created. Scripts do not use a program’s user interface to
perform tasks, and scripts can execute faster than actions.
➤Actions have very limited facilities for getting and responding to information. You cannot add
conditional logic to an action; therefore, actions cannot make decisions based on the current
situation, like changing the stroke type of rectangles but not ellipses. Scripts can get information and
make decisions and calculations based on the information they receive from Illustrator.
➤A script can execute an action, but actions cannot execute scripts.

CHAPTER 1: Introduction Script support in Adobe Illustrator CS4 7
Script support in Adobe Illustrator CS4
Illustrator scripting supports VBScript and JavaScript scripts for Windows, and AppleScript and JavaScript
scripts for Mac OS.
NOTE: Also, Adobe scripting-enabled applications, including Illustrator, support ExtendScript, Adobe’s
extended implementation of ECMA JavaScript. ExtendScript files are distinguished by the .jsx extension.
Giving your JavaScript files a .jsx extension allows you to take advantage of ExtendScript features and
tools.
ExtendScript features
ExtendScript offers all standard JavaScript features, plus a development and debugging environment, the
ExtendScript Toolkit (ESTK). The ESTK is installed with all scriptable Adobe applications.
The ESTK includes an Object Model Viewer that contains complete documentation of the methods and
properties of JavaScript objects.
For information on accessing the ESTK and the Object Model Viewer, see “Viewing the JavaScript object
model” on page 8.
ExtendScript tools
ExtendScript also provides various tools and utilities, including the following:
➤A localization utility
➤Tools that allow you to combine scripts and direct them to particular applications
➤Platform-independent file and folder representation
➤Tools for building user interfaces to your scripts
➤A messaging framework that allows you to send and receive scripts and data among
scripting-enabled Adobe applications
For details of these and other features, see JavaScript Tools Guide.
Script file extensions
For a file to be recognized by Adobe Illustrator CS4 as a valid script file, the file must have the correct file
name extension:
Script type File type Extension Platforms
AppleScript compiled script
OSAS file
.scpt
(none)
Mac OS
JavaScript
ExtendScript
text .js
.jsx
Windows
Mac OS
VBScript text .vbs Windows

CHAPTER 1: Introduction Viewing sample scripts 8
Viewing sample scripts
Adobe provides sample scripts for many objects, properties, and methods in the Illustrator CS4 DOM. You
can view script samples in two locations:
➤In the /Scripting/Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator CS4 installation directory
➤In the Adobe Illustrator CS4 scripting reference for your scripting language, located in the
/Scripting/Documentation folder in your Illustrator CS4 installation directory
Viewing the object model
Each of the supported scripting languages provides a facility for viewing the scripting objects defined by
Illustrator, with reference details.
Viewing the JavaScript object model
To view the JavaScript object model for Illustrator, follow these steps:
1. Start the ESTK.
In a default Adobe installation, the ESTK is in the following location:
➣Windows:
system drive\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Utilities\ExtendScript Toolkit CS4
➣Mac OS:
system drive:Applications:Utilities:Adobe Utilities:ExtendScript Toolkit CS4
2. In the ESTK, choose Help > Object Model Viewer.
3. In the Object Model Viewer window, select Adobe Illustrator CS4 Type Library from the Browser
drop-down list.
Several extended sample scripts are available in the /Scripting/Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator
CS4 installation directory.
You also can view script samples and information about individual classes, objects, properties, methods,
and parameters in Adobe Illustrator CS4 Scripting Reference: JavaScript, located in the
/Scripting/Documentation folder in your Illustrator CS4 installation directory.
Viewing the AppleScript object model
Apple provides a Script Editor with all Mac OS systems. You can use Script Editor to view the AppleScript
dictionary that describes Illustrator objects and commands.
For details of how to use Script Editor, see Script Editor Help.
1. Start Script Editor.
NOTE: In a default Mac OS installation, Script Editor is in Applications:AppleScript:Script
Editor. If you cannot find the Script Editor application, you must reinstall it from your Mac OS system
CD.

CHAPTER 1: Introduction Executing scripts 9
2. Choose File > Open Dictionary. Script Editor displays an Open Dictionary dialog.
3. In the Open Dictionary dialog, find and select Adobe Illustrator CS4, and click Open.
Script Editor displays a list of the Illustrator objects and commands, which include the properties and
elements associated with each object and the parameters for each command.
Several extended sample scripts are in the :Scripting:Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator CS4
installation directory.
You also can view script samples and information about individual classes, objects, properties, methods
and parameters in Adobe Illustrator CS4 Scripting Reference: AppleScript, located in the
:Scripting:Documentation folder in your Illustrator CS4 installation directory.
Viewing the VBScript object model
VBScript provides a type library you can use to view Illustrator object properties and methods. This
procedure explains how to view the type library through any Microsoft Office program. Your VBScript
editor probably provides access to the library. For information see your editor’s Help.
1. In any Microsoft Office application, choose Tools > Macro > Visual Basic Editor.
2. In the Visual Basic Editor, choose Tools > References.
3. In the dialog that appears, select the check box for Adobe Illustrator CS4 Type Library, and click OK.
4. Choose View > Object Browser, to display the Object Browser window.
5. Choose “Illustrator” from the list of open libraries in the top-left pull-down menu of the Object
Browser window.
Several extended sample scripts are in the /Scripting/Sample Scripts folder in your Illustrator CS4
installation directory.
You also can view script samples and information about individual classes, objects, properties, methods,
and parameters in Adobe Illustrator CS4 Scripting Reference: VBScript, located in the
/Scripting/Documentation folder in your Illustrator CS4 installation directory.
Executing scripts
The Illustrator interface includes a Scripts menu (File > Scripts) that provides quick and easy access to your
scripts.
Scripts can be listed directly as menu items that run when you select them. See “Installing scripts in the
Scripts menu” on page 10.
You can navigate from the menu to any script in your file system and then run the script. See “Executing
scripts from the Other Scripts menu item” on page 10.
You also can have JavaScript scripts with a .jsx extension start automatically when you launch the
application. For information, see “Startup scripts (.jsx scripts only)” on page 10.

CHAPTER 1: Introduction Executing scripts 10
Installing scripts in the Scripts menu
To include a script in the Scripts menu (File > Scripts), save the script in the Scripts folder, located in the
/Illustrator CS4/Presets folder in your Illustrator CS4 installation directory. The script’s filename,
minus the file extension, appears in the Scripts menu.
Scripts that you add to the Scripts folder while Illustrator is running do not appear in the Scripts menu until
the next time you launch Illustrator.
Any number of scripts can be installed in the Scripts menu. If you have many scripts, use subfolders in the
Scripts folder to help organize the scripts in the Scripts menu. Each subfolder is displayed as a separate
submenu containing the scripts in that subfolder.
Executing scripts from the Other Scripts menu item
The Other Scripts item at the end of the Scripts menu (File > Scripts > Other Scripts) allows you to execute
scripts that are not installed in the Scripts folder.
Selecting Other Scripts displays a Browse dialog, which you use to navigate to a script file. When you select
the file, the script is executed.
Only files that are of one of the supported file types are displayed in the browse dialog. For details, see
“Script support in Adobe Illustrator CS4” on page 7.
Startup scripts (.jsx scripts only)
JavaScript scripts with a .jsx file extension can be installed in one of two folders, so the scripts run
automatically when you launch Illustrator and each time you run a script. The folders are:
➤An application-specific startup scripts folder, which contains scripts for Illustrator CS4
➤A general startup scripts folder, which contains scripts that run automatically when you start any
Creative Suite 4 application
Application-specific startup scripts folder
You must place application-specific startup scripts in a folder named Startup Scripts, which you create
in the Illustrator installation directory.
For example, when Illustrator CS4 is installed to its default location, you would create the
Startup Scripts folder at the following location:
➤Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator CS4\Startup Scripts\
➤Mac OS: /Applications/Adobe Illustrator CS4/Startup Scripts/
JavaScript scripts with a .jsx extension placed in the Startup Scripts folder run automatically when:
➤The application is launched.
➤Any JavaScript file is selected from the Scripts menu (File > Scripts).

CHAPTER 1: Introduction Changes since CS3 11
General startup scripts folder
The general startup scripts folder contains scripts that run automatically when you start any Creative
Suite 4 application. You create the folder in the following location:
➤Windows: Program Files/Common Files/Adobe/Startup Scripts CS4/Illustrator
➤Mac OS: :Library:Application Support:Adobe:Startup Scripts CS4:Illustrator
If a script in the general startup folder is meant to be executed only by Illustrator, the script must include
the ExtendScript #target directive (#target illustrator) or code like the following:
if( BridgeTalk.appName == "illustrator" ) {
//continue executing script
}
For details, see JavaScript Tools Guide.
Changes since CS3
This section lists changes made to the scripting object model to support features in Illustrator CS4.
➤A new type, DocumentArtboardLayout, sets the layout of artboards in a document. It is used by the
DocumentPreset class and the Add method in the Document class. Possible layouts are GridByRow,
GridByCol, Row, Column, RLGridByRow, RLGridByCol, and RLRow; for example:
➣AppleScript — artboardLayout: grid by row
➣JavaScript — DocumentArtboardLayout.GridByRow
➣VBScript — AiDocumentArtboardLayout.aiGridByRow
➤Five new properties in the Add method of the Documents collection — NumArtboards,
ArtboardLayout, ArtboardSpacing, ArtboardRowsOrCols, and MaxCanvasSizeEnabled — support
the new, multiple-artboard feature.
➤Five new properties in the DocumentPreset class — NumArtboards, ArtboardLayout,
ArtboardSpacing, ArtboardRowsOrCols, and MaxCanvasSizeEnabled — support the new
multiple-artboard feature.
➤Two new properties — ArtboardRange and SaveMultipleArtboards — support the new
multiple-artboards feature. They apply to several classes: ExportOptionsFlash,
ExportOptionsPhotoshop, EPSSaveOptions, MXGSaveOptions, and PDFSaveOptions
(ArtboardRange only).
➤A new class, NonNativeItem, represents a non-native item in an Illustrator document. This is another
subclass of PageItem. Its parent can be a Document, Group, or Layer.
➣AppleScript — non native item
➣JavaScript — nonNativeItem
➣VBScript — NonNativeItem

CHAPTER 1: Introduction Changes since CS3 12
➤A new collection, NonNativeItems, contains a collection of NonNativeItem objects.
➣AppleScript — non native items of document 1
➣JavaScript — app.activeDocument.nonNativeItems
➣VBScript — App.ActiveDocument.NonNativeItems
➤A new FXG file format supports designer-developer workflow, by allowing an Illustrator document to
be saved as an FXG file containing XML-style descriptions of Illustrator graphical items, which can then
be used in other FXG/XML-based applications.
➣AppleScript — fxg
➣JavaScript — DocumentType.FXG
➣VBScript — AiDocumentType.aiFXG
➤Two new PDFX standards were added, PDFX32002 and PDFX42007.
➤A new type, FXGVersion, for setting the FXG file format version. There is only one option,
FXG version 1.0.
➣AppleScript — version: version 1.0
➣JavaScript — FXGVersion.VERSION1.0
➣VBScript — AiFXGVersion.aiVersion1.0
➤A new type, FiltersPreservePolicy, which defines whether to preserve appearance and editability
of filters when saving to FXG. Available options are ExpandFilters, RasterizeFilters, and
KeepFiltersEditable.
➣AppleScript — filters policy: keep filters editable
➣JavaScript — FiltersPreservePolicy.KEEPFILTERSEDITABLE
➣VBScript — AiFiltersPreservePolicy.aiKeepFiltersEditable
➤A new type, GradientsPreservePolicy, which defines whether to preserve appearance and
editability of gradients when saving to FXG. Available options are RasterizeGradients and
KeepGradientsEditable.
➣AppleScript — gradients policy: keep gradients editable
➣JavaScript — GradientsPreservePolicy.KEEPGRADIENTSEDITABLE
➣VBScript — AiGradientsPreservePolicy.aiKeepGradientsEditable
➤A new type, TextPreservePolicy, which defines whether to preserve appearance and editability of
text when saving to FXG. Available options are OutlineText, RasterizeText, and
KeepTextEditable.
➣AppleScript — text policy: keep text editable
➣JavaScript — TextPreservePolicy.KEEPTEXTEDITABLE
➣VBScript — AiTextPreservePolicy.aiKeepTextEditable

CHAPTER 1: Introduction Changes since CS3 13
➤A new AutoKernType, MetricsRomanOnly, specifies metrics-Roman-only kerning.
➣AppleScript — character: MetricsRomanOnly, character style: MetricsRomanOnly,
line: MetricsRomanOnly, paragraph: MetricsRomanOnly,
paragraph style: MetricsRomanOnly, word: MetricsRomanOnly
➣JavaScript — AutoKernType.METRICSROMANONLY
➣VBScript — AiAutoKernType.aiMetricsRomanOnly
➤A new FlashExportStyle, ArtBoardsToFiles, enables each artboard in a document to be exported
to a separate SWF file.
➣AppleScript — export style: Artboards to Files
➣JavaScript — FlashExportStyle.ARTBOARDSTOFILES
➣VBScript — AiFlashExportStyle.aiArtboardsToFiles
➤The CropBounds PrintingBounds constant has become obsolete, with the modification of artboards
to support the new, multiple-artboard feature.
➤Support for JIS90 and JIS04 glyph encoding/forms was added to AlternateGlyphsForm; for example:
➣AppleScript — alternate glyphs: jis90
➣JavaScript — AlternateGlyphsForm.JIS90
➣VBScript — AiAlternateGlyphsForm.aiJIS90Form
➤New properties were added to the Application class: build number and locale; for example:
➣AppleScript — build number of application
➣JavaScript — app.buildNumber
➣VBScript — App.BuildNumber
➤A new property in the Document class, RasterEffectSettings, contains a document’s raster effect
settings.
➣AppleScript — raster effect settings of document 1
➣JavaScript — app.activeDocument.rasterEffectSettings
➣VBScript — App.ActiveDocument.RasterEffectSettings
➤A new method was added to the Application class, ConvertSampleColors, which converts a color
from one color space to another.
➣AppleScript — Set cmykColor to convert sample color source color space RGB source color
rgbColor destination color space CMYK color conversion purpose default purpose
➣JavaScript — var cmykColor =app.convertSampleColor(ImageColorSpace.RGB,
new Array(93, 32, 10), ImageColorSpace.CMYK, ColorConvertPurpose.defaultpurpose);
➣VBScript — cmykColor =appRef.ConvertSampleColor(2, Array(93, 32, 10), 3, 0)

CHAPTER 1: Introduction Changes since CS3 14
➤Two new methods were added to the Document class. WindowCapture captures the current document
to a TIFF image. Rasterize rasterizes the source art within a specified clip bounds.
➣AppleScript — capture document 1, rasterize document 1
➣JavaScript — app.activeDocument.windowCapture, app.activeDocument.rasterize
➣VBScript — App.ActiveDocument.WindowCapture, App.ActiveDocument.Rasterize
➤A new method in the Swatches collection, GetSelected, returns a SwatchList of Swatch objects
currently selected.
➣AppleScript — get selected swatches of document 1
➣JavaScript — app.activeDocument.swatches.getSelected
➣VBScript — App.ActiveDocument.Swatches.GetSelected
➤A new class, SwatchGroup, contains a group of Swatch objects. It has two methods: GetAllSwatches
and AddSwatch.
➣AppleScript — swatch group 1of document 1
➣JavaScript — app.activeDocument.swatchGroups[0]
➣VBScript — App.ActiveDocument.SwatchGroups(1)
➤A new collection, SwatchGroups, contains all SwatchGroup objects in a document. It has two
methods: Remove and Add.
➣AppleScript — swatch groups in document 1
➣JavaScript — app.activeDocument.swatchGroups
➣VBScript — App.ActiveDocument.SwatchGroups
➤A new type, SwatchList, defines a collection of Swatch objects. It is used by the SwatchGroup object
and Swatches collection.
➤A new property in the GradientStop class, opacity, allows each stop to define its own degree of
transparency. Alpha blending occurs between stops.
➣AppleScript — stop opacity of gradient stop
➣JavaScript — gradientStop.opacity
➣VBScript — GradientStop.Opacity
➤A new property in the OpenOptionsAutoCAD class, MergeLayers, defines whether the layers in the
AutoCAD file being opened should be merged into a single layer in the Illustrator document.
➣AppleScript — merge layers: true
➣JavaScript — mergeLayers =true
➣VBScript — MergeLayers =true

CHAPTER 1: Introduction Changes since CS3 15
➤A new class, Artboard, defines an artboard object or artboard in a CS4 document. It has the following
properties: ArtboardRect, RulerPAR, ShowRulers, ShowCenter, ShowCrossHairs, ShowSafeAreas,
and ShowScreenEdge.
➣JavaScript — app.activeDocument.artboards[0]
➣AppleScript — artboard 1of document 1
➣VBScript — App.ActiveDocument.Artboards(1)
➤A new collection, Artboards, contains all Artboard objects in a document. It has the following
methods: Remove, Add, GetActiveArtboardIndex, and SetActiveArtboardIndex.
➣AppleScript — artboards of document 1
➣JavaScript — app.activeDocument.artboards
➣VBScript — App.ActiveDocument.Artboards
➤Two new properties in the PrintJobOptions class, PrintAllArtboards and ArtboardRange,
support printing of multiple artboards.
➤A new type, RasterizationColorModel, enables the color model to be specified as default,
grayscale, or bitmap; for example:
➣AppleScript — color model: grayscale rasterization
➣JavaScript — RasterizationColorModel.GRAYSCALE
➣VBScript — AiRasterizationColorModel.aiGrayscale
➤A new type, AntiAliasingMethod, controls the type of rasterization method used in the rasterization:
none, art optimized, and type optimized; for example:
➣AppleScript — antialiasing method: art optimized
➣JavaScript — AntiAliasingMethod.ARTOPTIMIZED
➣VBScript — AiAntiAliasingMethod.aiArtOptimized
➤A new class, RasterEffectOptions, specifies a document’s raster-effect settings. Its properties are
ColorModel, Resolution, Transparency, AntiAliasing, ClippingMask, ConvertSpotColors, and
Padding.
➣AppleScript — raster effect settings of document 1
➣JavaScript — app.activeDocument.rasterEffectSettings
➣VBScript — App.ActiveDocument.RasterEffectSettings
➤A new class, RasterizeOptions, specifies options that may be used when rasterizing artwork. Its
properties are ColorModel, Resolution, Transparency, AntiAliasing, ClippingMask,
ConvertSpotColors, ConvertTextToOutlines, IncludeLayers, BackgroundBlack, and Padding.
➣AppleScript — rasterize document 1uses rasterize options
➣JavaScript — app.activeDocument.rasterize uses rasterizeOptions
➣VBScript — App.ActiveDocument.Rasterize uses RasterizeOptions

CHAPTER 1: Introduction Known issues 16
Known issues
➤Scripts that create, save, and close many Illustrator files should periodically quit and relaunch
Illustrator. The recommended maximum number of files to process before quitting and relaunching
Illustrator is:
➣Windows 500 files
➣Mac OS 1000 files
For more information on quitting and relaunching Illustrator, see “Launching and activating
Illustrator” on page 25 and “Quitting Illustrator” on page 26.
➤The “An Illustrator error occurred: 1346458189 (“PARM”)” alert may be popped when badly written
scripts are repeatedly run in Illustrator from the ESTK.
Scripters need to be very careful about variable initialization and namespace conflict when pushing a
batch of Illustrator scripts repeatedly for execution in Illustrator via the ESTK in one Illustrator session.
Each script run is executed within the same persistent ExtendScript engine within Illustrator.
The ESTK debugger uses BridgeTalk to communicate with Illustrator. A single global, persistent,
ExtendScript engine inside Illustrator handles all BridgeTalk communications. The net effect is that the
state of the ExtendScript engine is cumulative to all scripts that ran previously. Issues with script code
that may cause this problem are:
➣Reading uninitialized variables.
➣Global namespace conflicts, such as when two globals from different scripts are clobbering each
other.

17
2The Illustrator Scripting Object Model
A good understanding of the Illustrator object model will improve your scripting abilities. The following
figure shows the containment hierarchy of the object model, starting with the application object. Note
that the layer and group item classes can contain nested objects of the same class which can, in turn,
contain additional nested objects.
In addition to this application-specific object model, JavaScript provides certain utility objects, such as the
File and Folder objects, which give you operating-system-independent access to the file system. For
details, see JavaScript Tools Guide.

CHAPTER 2: The Illustrator Scripting Object Model Object-naming conventions 18
Object-naming conventions
There is one object model for the Illustrator scripting interface, but actual object names vary slightly in the
different scripting languages:
➤AppleScript names are lower case, and individual words are separated by a space; for example:
graphic style
➤VBScript names are capitalized, and additional words in the name are indicated by uppercase initial
letters; for example:
GraphicStyle
➤JavaScript names begin with lowercase letters, and additional words in the name are indicated by
uppercase initial letters; for example:
graphicStyle
This chapter uses generic object and property names, but you can easily apply these conventions to
determine the corresponding language-specific names.
Throughout this document, names of properties, methods, and object are in a monospaced font.
Top-level (containing) objects
Use these objects to access global information about the Illustrator application or an individual document.
Application
The properties of the application object give your script access to global values, such as:
➤User preferences, which a user sets interactively in the Illustrator application by using the
Preferences dialog (Edit > Preferences).
➤System information like installed fonts (the text fonts property) and printers (the printer list
property).
Also, there are properties that provide application-specific information and higher-level information
about any open documents:
➤Application information like the installation path, version, and whether Illustrator is visible.
➤The current active document; that is, the art canvas that is displayed and accepting user input.
➤All open documents.
The application object’s methods or commands allow your script to perform application-wide actions;
for example:
➤Open files
➤Undo and redo transactions
➤Quit Illustrator

CHAPTER 2: The Illustrator Scripting Object Model The artwork tree 19
Document
The document object, which your scripts can create or access through the application object, represents
an art canvas or loaded Illustrator file. The document object’s properties give you access to the document’s
content; for example:
➤The current selection, or art objects that the user selected in the document
➤All contained art objects, called page items, that make up the artwork tree
➤Art objects of particular types, like symbols and text frames
➤All layers and the currently active layer
Document properties also tell you about the state of the document itself; for example:
➤User settings for the document, such as ruler units
➤Whether the document was saved since the last alteration of content
➤The path of the associated file
The document object’s methods allow your scripts to act on the document; for example:
➤Save to an Illustrator file or save as the various supported file formats
➤Activate or close a document
➤Print the document. Your scripts can select a printer by referencing a print options object, or they
can reference available printers through the application object’s printer list property.
Layer
The layer object provides access to the contents, or artwork tree, of a specific layer. You access the layer
object through the document object. The layer object properties provide access to, or information about,
the layer, such as:
➤Whether the layer is visible or locked.
➤The layer’s opacity (overall transparency) and zorder position (position in the stacking order).
➤Art-creation preferences for the layer, like artwork knockout and blending mode.
The artwork tree
The content of an Illustrator document is called the artwork tree. Artwork is represented by the following
objects:
➤compound path item
➤graph item
➤group item
➤legacy text item

CHAPTER 2: The Illustrator Scripting Object Model The artwork tree 20
➤mesh item
➤non native item
➤path item
➤placed item
➤plugin item
➤raster item
➤symbol item (see “Dynamic objects” on page 24)
➤text frame
Your scripts can access and manipulate art objects through collections in the document and layer objects.
There are two types of art-object collections:
➤Collection objects that correspond to each individual artwork object type, such as the graph items
object or the mesh items object.
➤The page items object, which includes art objects of all types.
Also, you can use the group item object to reference a grouped set of art items.
You can create new art objects using the make command (AppleScript) or add method of an artwork item
collection object. For example, to create a new path item object:
AppleScript set myPathItem to make new path item in current document
JavaScript var myPathItem = activeDocument.pathItems.add();
VBScript Set myPathItem = appRef.ActiveDocument.PathItems.Add()
The following artwork collections do not allow the creation of new objects using the make command or
add method:
➤graph items object
➤mesh items object
➤plugin items object
➤legacy text items object
For details on creating objects of these types, see the Adobe Illustrator CS4 Scripting Reference for your
language.
Art styles
Your script can apply a graphic style to artwork using the graphic style object. To apply a graphic style,
use the graphic styles property of the document object to access the apply to method of the graphic
style object.
Similarly, the brush object allows you to specify the brush to apply to artwork. You access any brush
through the brushes collection object, which is a property of the document object.