The “Big Guns” of InDesign Scripts
September 29, 2012 3 Comments
Those following this blog will know what a fan I am of javascripts within InDesign. I have mentioned some very useful ones in the past, but this list represents the more “Heavy Duty” scripts which should be included with InDesign by default.
Startup Scripts
These scripts reside in a slightly different location to most other javascripts and their benefits are not necessarily seen exclusively from the scripts panel.
controlbackgroundexport by Marijan Tompa (Tomaxxi)
Enables/disables the ability to export PDFs in the foreground, an ability which was unavailable from CS5 onward.
swapplaces by Gerald Singelmann
Adds options to the control click when two items are selected allowing objects positions or contents to be swapped.
tomaxxilayers by Marijan Tompa (Tomaxxi)
Prompts users to choose from a dropdown menu which layer set to use during the creation of a new InDesign file.
General Purpose Scripts
These scripts are ones that I use regularly and happy to sing their praises. For those unfamiliar, the acronym UI stands for “User Interface”.
A UI that allows blank masters to be inserted after every current page.
AdvancedCropMarks by Loic Texieira
A UI that draws corner cropmarks on selected objects.
Converts all tables in a document to text.
A UI to create ISBN barcodes for Books. Paid and Trial versions available.
CalendarWizard by Scott Selberg
A UI that creates calendars.
ConvertVariable2Text by Marijan Tompa (Tomaxxi)
A UI to convert Variable text to regular text.
CoverBuilder_CS5 by Bruno Herfst
A UI to create covers for burst/case bound books.
A UI to export single pages of an InDesign file to various formats.
Exportinforeground by Uwe Laubender
(CS5 onwards) Exports a PDF without exporting in the background. Somewhat superceded by Marijan Tompa’s start-up script.
Extrude by Theunis de Jong (Jongware)
Replicates the extrude effect from “Wordart”. Okay so I may not use this one so much, but it was a noteworthy mention.
A UI to create covers for burst/case bound books, but with more options and better UI than Bruno Herfst’s.
identify by Theunis de Jong (Jongware)
Determines which version of Adobe InDesign was used to prepare in InDesign file.
ID_RulerGuide by pictrix
A UI to add ruler guides.
imagestoCSVthenChoose by Loic Aigon
Creates a DataMerge file based on pictures in a folder.
index_from_colour by Thomas Silkjær
Creates index entries from text in a specific swatch colour.
indexfromcharacterstyle by Martin Fischer
Creates index entries from text in a specific character style.
indyfont by Theunis de Jong (Jongware)
Allows creation of an indesign object as a font. Full version can create an entire character set, similar to Fontographer. Full (paid) and one-glyph only (free) versions available.
IndysNumberGenerator by Stanislav Antos
A UI to create arrays for Data Merges.
line-mazes-everywhere by Theunis de Jong (Jongware)
Fills an object with a maze pattern.
Make Imposition by Sergey Anosov
A UI to create N-up grids for impositions.
MultiPageImporter2.5-CS5 by Scott Zanelli
A UI to import PDFs with many adjustable settings.
mysticrose (author not known)
A UI which creates spirograph-like effects.
NINAscriptWithDialog by Ole Kvern
A UI to make spirograph-like effects.
Overflow by Pawel Swiecicki
A dialog box report of how and where text overflows are in an InDesign file.
A UI to Apply/Remove a page border on artwork for proofing purposes.
PageExporterUtility5.0.1 by Scott Zanelli
A UI to export single pages of an InDesign file to various formats.
piegraphs by Theunis de Jong (Jongware)
A UI to separate an object into segments similar to but not limited to piegraphs.
RecordFindChange_CS3-CS5 by Kasyan Servetsky
Exports a text-file for use with the FindChangeByList script based on settings within the Find/Replace dialog box.
NEW! QRcode by Theunis de Jong (Jongware)
A UI to create QR codes within InDesign. Creates a raster file embedded into InDesign which can be unembedded via Photoshop if need be.
A UI to scale and reposition all graphics within a file.
Creates “speech bubble” graphics based on settings in the script.
spirograph by Theunis de Jong (Jongware)
A UI which creates spirograph-like effects.
StorySplitter_3.0 by Adi Ravid
A UI which splits a threaded story from a certain point.
Changes the case of highlighted text through various cases (best when assigned to a keyboard shortcut).
A UI which creates a wordle-style image from sampled text. Paid and trial versions available.
worldmap by Theunis de Jong (Jongware)
A UI that creates a map of the globe based on lat/long coordinates.
