"InDesign CS5 Automation Using JavaScript" takes the readers' InDesign productivity to a whole new level. Many designers and other users of InDesign are daunted by the idea of automating the program, since it requires the creation of scripts and the learning a programming language. In this book, author Grant Gamble shows readers how to use the powerful JavaScript language to create time-saving scripting solutions, even if they are new to programming.
Here are some of the skills you will learn from this book.
The core fundamentals of the JavaScript language as well as the extra features offered by ExtendScript, Adobe's extended version of JavaScript.
How to use ExtendScript to manipulate and control key elements of the InDesign object model such as documents, preferences, master spreads, pages, page items, text frames, text, graphics, styles and tables.
How to create interactive interfaces for your scripts which allow the user to make choices that control what the script does, making solutions more flexible and powerful.
How JavaScript can generate documents automatically based on content stored in text files, XML documents and metadata embedded in graphic files.
The use of scripts to create interactive documents containing page transitions and navigation buttons, which are then exported as interactive PDFs.
How to make your scripts more robust by incorporating error-handling features; and how to fix errors by using the debugging features built into the ExtendScript Toolkit.
The core concepts and features of XML: the rules governing the structure and content of XML documents and techniques for generating XML using popular programs.
The fundamentals of XSLT: key elements and techniques which are especially important for InDesign workflows, such as converting attributes to elements, changing the order, name and content of elements, as well as the interactive use of parameter values for filtering XML import.