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Illustrator (Desktop) SDK/Scripting Issues

137 results found

  1. Duplicating a group with a script does not change/update groupItems.length

    When you duplicate a group via script (check the video and screenshots) activeDocument.groupItems.length is not reflecting that. It stays the same. app.redraw() is not helping. Only when you set the new group to .selected = true you can force an update. But that slows down everything when you have a lot of groups.

    Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dd0PyBRDBciNnUgnhGLV7Hf40rrG_vSb/view

    Steps to Reproduce:
    All with script!
    1. Create a group (put something in that group)
    2. Alert the activeDocument.groupItems.length (it's now 1)
    2. Duplicate the group.
    3. Alert the activeDocument.groupItems.length: it stays the same (1 instead of 2)
    Please take a look at the script…

    3 votes

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  2. [Typo] View rotateAngle property in omv.xml

    For several years, the same incorrect information about the document rotation property has been repeated in the omv.xml (Object Model Viewer) file in folder "Scripting Dictionaries CC". Checked in СС 2023, 2024, 2025

    /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Scripting Dictionaries CC/Illustrator [vers.]/omv.xml

    At the same time, the PDF documentation "Adobe Illustrator Scripting Reference: JavaScript", the property name is correct.

    Expected Property Name:
    rotateAngle

    Actual Property Name in omv.xml:
    rotate

    <classdef name="View" dynamic="true">
    ....
    <property name="rotate">
    <shortdesc>The rotation angle of this view.</shortdesc>
    <datatype>
    <type>number</type>
    </datatype>
    </property>
    ...
    </classdef>

    3 votes

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  3. DocumentRasterResolution - How do we set HighResolution? Please give an example of how to set and how to read document resolution. Thanks

    DocumentRasterResolution - How do we set HighResolution? Please give an example of how to set and how to read document resolution. Thanks.
    Example:
    DocumentRasterResolution.HighResolution; //Does nothing So how to do? Why is this not an app.documents.add() function or method to begin with? Why is the app.document.add so limited in parameters? I would think there would be a huge parameter list but there is not.

    3 votes

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  4. When getting ink.name, encoding gets broken for non-Latin languages: Chinese, Japanese, Russian, etc.

    A script cannot support Chinese, Japanese and other languages when getting ink.name, and it displays garbled characters.

    var doc = app.activeDocument;
    var inkList = doc.inkList;
    var inkUsage = [];

    for (var i = 0; i < inkList.length; i++) {
    var ink = inkList[i];
    var inkName = ink.name;
    inkUsage.push(inkName);
    }

    alert(inkUsage.join("\n"));
    $.write(inkUsage.join("\n"));

    This test script above gives a result like in the screenshot attached.

    Problem found by Aprking

    Original discussion:
    https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/how-to-make-the-script-support-chinese-japanese-and-other-languages-when-getting-ink-name/m-p/14247791

    6 votes

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  5. Bug: JavaScript unary operators "+" and "-" do not function as documented for UnitValue objects

    According to the Illustrator ExtendScript documentation, applying the unary operators "+" or "-" to a UnitValue object should respectively produce the numeric value or the negated numeric value of the UnitValue. However, they instead respectively produce the UnitValue unmodified or the UnitValue with its value negated.

    Either the documentation or the behaviour should be updated to reflect the other.

    I observed this behaviour in Illustrator 28.5 on Mac OS Sonoma.

    The behaviour may be quickly tested with the following script:

    var uv = new UnitValue(2, "px");
    alert(
    "Results:" +
    "\nUnitValue unmodified: \"" + uv + "\" (" + (typeof uv)…

    3 votes

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    Nihiltres, UnitValue is an object with properties

    baseUnit - type of UnitValue data type

    type - type of String data type

    value - type of Numeric data type.

    When using unary operator on object, the underlying value property of the object is modified.

    Example:

    var uv = new UnitValue(2, "px");

    "-uv" will result in uv.value modified from "2" to "-2" and stays as Numeric data type.

    Any unary operator on object as whole will return the object itself.

    Alternatively you can achieve the result you expected by directly manipulating the value instead of the object

    var uv = new UnitValue(2, "px");

    "-uv.value" this will return the Numeric data type with negating the value, in this case it will convert the number 2 to -2

    I do see it is working as documented, I would like to hear your view with the above information.

    Unary operators (~, !,

  6. Live Effect process loses spot color info in single spot color Raster

    In a Live Effect, a kRasterArt element, which is a raster of a single spot color, loses color information between kSelectorAIEditLiveEffectParameters and kSelectorAIGoLiveEffect.
    This especially becomes a problem when removing the Effect from the element.
    Reproducible steps:
    1. Rasterize an element with a spot fill, no stroke
    2. Apply 'Outer Glow' Effect
    3. Save, close, and reopen the document
    4. Remove 'Outer Glow' Effect

    I've copied the TwirlFilter sample code from the 2024 SDK, called it TestFilter and simplified the code. It has only been built and run on macOS.
    It demonstrates the color loss between these 2 selectors through…

    3 votes

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    0 comments  ·  C++ SDK  ·  Admin →
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  7. Control the angle, length of gradients and other

    ExtendScript does not allow you to control the length, angle, or other parameters of gradients. These are all read-only attributes. Script authors can only work with color stops.

    For example, to rotate a gradient, we have to use the rotate() method, which has another problem. The angle of such a gradient is not copied to another object with the Eyedropper Tool: https://medium.com/@aiscripts/gradient-rotation-bug-24d7a6f6038f

    The fillColor assignment commands (selection[1].fillColor = selection[0].fillColor) carry over the base gradient, losing other properties. This reduces the ability to automate gradients via ExtendScript.

    Also ignores other Uservoices:
    1) https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/908050-illustrator-desktop-sdk-scripting-issues/suggestions/44461230-adjusting-one-gradient-causes-changes-to-unrelated
    2) https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/908050-illustrator-desktop-sdk-scripting-issues/suggestions/40296880-erroneous-fillcolor-type-one-shapes-with-freeform
    3) https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/38435974-gradient-swatch-includes-angle-and-position-pleas

    10 votes

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  8. [BUG] exportFile() changes spaces to hyphens in file name

    //how to reproduce:
    app.activeDocument.exportFile(new File("~/desktop/test test"), ExportType.GIF);

    //types affected -  ExportType.PNG24,  .PNG8,  .JPEG, .GIF
    //types exporting with no unwanted hyphen - .TIFF, .SVG
    

    //persists on win and mac

    2 votes

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  9. Accessing Opacity Mask is impossible with scripting

    There is no way to work with the transparency mask in the Script SDK. This is the least of the problems. But when creating scripts to modify objects with masks, developers expect masks to be modified along with the parent object. After all, we see the "Linked to Art" icon in the Transparency panel.

    But what we have all these years as script developers: resize(), position, translate() modify the object, and its mask remains as it was.

    I've counted about 10 of my own scripts that use similar commands. I also have a large collection of other developers' scripts, where…

    22 votes

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  10. AIArtStyleParser->CreateNewStyle not working in Illustrator 28.7 with SDK Build 130 and 709

    AIArtStyleParser->CreateNewStyle return 0 (no error) but also the pointer to the new AIArtStyleHandle is invalid.
    Also AIArtStyleParser->NewPaintFieldStroke doesn't work.

    It worked in previous Illustrator Beta releases with SDK Build 130 (April 2024)

    1 vote

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    0 comments  ·  C++ SDK  ·  Admin →
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  11. Email newsletter for third-party developers

    Could Adobe please offer an email newsletter updating third-party plugin developers of changes that may affect or even break their plugins? It's helpful that there is a "known issues" web page, which may or may not identify problems known only to Adobe, but rather than every small developer checking this page every day, perhaps someone at Adobe could send one message to all subscribed developers. Too often, changes quietly happen and developers must scramble to help each other.

    One recent example is AI 28.1 corrupting some 28.0 preference files, and a major example would be when Mac AI 25.1 required…

    6 votes

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  12. Install new tools in toolbox by default

    When a user adds a new third-party plugin, its tools should be added to the toolbox, where users expect to find it, rather than hidden in the drawer, which many users don't even know about. Hiding new tools creates frustration for users and extra support hassle for developers.

    7 votes

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    2 comments  ·  C++ SDK  ·  Admin →
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  13. 1 vote

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    0 comments  ·  AppleScript  ·  Admin →
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  14. Executing the script throws the Error 1242: Illegal argument

    平素は誠にお世話になっておりますAdobe製品の機能評価をしております
    Adobe製品の機能評価をしておりますが対応策があれば教えていただければ幸いです
    [Windows11 Pro 22H2] Adobe Illustrator27.9で次のJavaScriptを実行するとError 1242:Illegal argument -argument 1のエラーとなりましたのでバグとして報告いたします

    var textValue = null;
    var selectedFont = null;
    // アクティブなドキュメントを取得
    var doc = app.activeDocument;
    // インストールされている書体のリストを取得する関数
    function getInstalledFonts() {
    var fontList = [];
    var fonts = app.textFonts;
    for (var i = 0; i < fonts.length; i++) {
    fontList.push(fonts[i].name);
    }
    return fontList;
    }
    var fontAll = getInstalledFonts();
    // ダイアログボックスの作成
    var dialog = new Window("dialog", "縦組テキストを配置", undefined, {resizeable: true});
    dialog.orientation = "column";
    // ダイアログボックスに「テキスト入力エリア」を追加
    var textArea = dialog.add("edittext", undefined, "", {multiline:true, scrolling:true});
    textArea.preferredSize = [500, 200]; // 幅500、高さ200
    // ダイアログボックスに「書体の選択」の追加
    var fontDropdown = dialog.add("dropdownlist", undefined, fontAll, {scrolling:true}); // インストールされている書体のリストを取得
    fontDropdown.selection =…

    1 vote

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  15. 2 votes

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  16. Vertically alignChildren in ScriptUI does not align properly

    In the ScriptUI documentation, there is an alignChildren attribute: "Tells the layout manager how to align children of this container that are not of the same size in a column or row". The issue of vertical alignment of UI objects in the scripts dialog box persists from version to version of Illustrator.

    As we can see in the image, only the top alignment seems to be correct. The center alignment is shifted up, and the bottom alignment does not reach the bottom. At the same time, native UI dialogs contain the correct alignment. Thus script interfaces always look less professional.

    3 votes

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  17. check a keyboard key state in SDK

    I often need a way to check if a specific keyboard key is currently pressed. For example, while a tool is being dragged, allow users to press the 'W' or 'E' key as they would a modifier like Shift or Alt/Option.

    3 votes

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  18. app.selectTool('Adobe Intertwine Zone Marker Tool') does not work

    When I run the following script, the Adobe Intertwine Zone Marker Tool starts up and I can select the area where I want to change the overlap like the lasso tool. However, nothing happens after the selection.

    app.selectTool('Adobe Intertwine Zone Marker Tool')
    

    Expected Result

    The overlap of the selected area is changed.

    Actual Result

    The line will remain as if it was drawn with the lasso tool. The overlap is not changed.

    Enviroment

    • macOS 11.7
    • Illustrator 27.1.1
    6 votes

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    An intended way of picking up the hidden Zone Marker tool via a script is to enter the Intertwine mode using these commands:

    app.executeMenuCommand('Partial Rearrange Make') — when an intertwine object is not created yet, and

    app.executeMenuCommand('Partial Rearrange Edit') — when the object already exists, as per comments by the OP.

  19. [Typo] Document.rearrangeArtboards() of Illustrator JavaScript Reference.pdf

    There is a typo in rearrangeArtboards in Illustrator JavaScript Scripting Reference.pdf. It cannot execute as per the document. Please correct it.

    I have checked and it was wrong from CS5 to current version (2022 v2 - Feb 2022).

    Expected Name:

    rearrangeArtboards

    Actual Name:

    rearrangeArboards ("t" is missing from Artboards)

    8 votes

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  20. 54 votes

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Illustrator (Desktop) SDK/Scripting Issues

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