Equalizer | Let's Copy/Paste Coordinates in InDesign! [OBSOLETE]
November 18, 2009 | Equalizer | en | fr
This post is now obsolete. Please check out the new version of Equalizer. The old version for CS4 is still here.
Equalizer for InDesign CS4 is an all-in-one tool which allows you to pick up, swap, transfer and propagate size and/or location coordinates between objects. The script fits into the InDesign UI by expanding the contextual menu you get when right-clicking an object. Just install Equalizer.js in the Startup Scripts subfolder and you have the Equalizer features within arm's reach.
Did you ever want to “copy” the X/Y coordinates of a frame belonging to page A, in order to apply the same location to an object belonging to page B? Did you ever dream about propagating the width/height of a shape to all selected objects? Or about swapping in a jiffy a pasteboard component with a page item?
If your answer is NO, you probably don't need to download my script —and as a graphic designer you probably aren't snowed under with work. If your answer is YES, Equalizer may become your friend in a number of everyday tasks.
InDesign provides many handy tools for us when we want to redo something (Paste in Place, Duplicate, Step and Repeat, Transform again, Eyedropper, etc.), but curiously there are no direct means for saving and reassigning only the size and/or the location of an object. Equalizer rounds out this lacking feature by extending the InDesign contextual menu to Copy Coordinates, Swap... and Apply...:
A Preferences dialog is provided too, allowing the user to set and enable selectively which operation the script will perform:
Note: Equalizer requires InDesign CS4. It supports English, French, German and Russian UI.
Equalizer Animation Demo
The animation below illustrates the main functionalities of the script:
Installation
Equalizer is a “startup script”. To make the script available when InDesign launches (recommended), place Equalizer.js in the Startup Scripts subfolder.
If the Startup Scripts folder doesn't exist, just create it in the (user or application) Scripts folder. The application Scripts folder is usually located in:
• Applications:Adobe InDesign CS4:Scripts (Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5)
• Program Files\Adobe\InDesign CS4\Scripts (Windows XP and Vista)
Comments
Chapeau :-)
Très pratique en plus !
A+ Loic
This sounds really great, Marc. I'll give it a try as soon as possible. I'm sure it will truly become my best friend in no time, considering the kind of tasks I have to perform from time to time.
Thank you very much for another great script!
Thanks for the great idea!!!
How can i help you to translate it in Russian?
@ Loic, Eduardo, Vlad
Thanks a lot for your feedback!
@ Vlad
Sorry, your message has been temporarily quarantined. My spam filter is sometimes too sensible!
> How can i help you to translate it in Russian?
I'll email you the L10N strings. Thanks!
@+
Marc
Bravo… Bravo… Bravo…!
AWESOME! I am using your older Equlizer-Script nearly every day since the last two years or so. Thank you so much!
[EN]
• Equalizer supports now Russian UI [thanks to Vlad Ossipov from InDesignGu.Ru http://designgu.ru/]
• If you have several startup scripts AND a weird JS alert when ID is launching, consider to update to eQ 2.05 ;-) [thanks to Kai Rübsamen from the HilfDirSelbst Forum (http://www.hilfdirselbst.ch/foren/A...), to Martin Fischer and to Gerald Singelmann from http://indesign-faq.de/]
[FR]
• Equalizer dispose maintenant d'une interface en russe [merci à Vlad Ossipov de http://designgu.ru/]
• Si plusieurs scripts de démarrage cohabitent ET qu'une drôle d'alerte JavaScript s'affiche au lancement d'InDesign, songez à installer eQ 2.05 ;-) [un grand merci à Kai Rübsamen du forum HilfDirSelbst (http://www.hilfdirselbst.ch/foren/A...), à Martin Fischer et à Gerald Singelmann de http://indesign-faq.de/]
A great little idea, Marc, and with a well-designed, native-look ID dialog box -- thanks! And the slick, easy right-click integration is super-duper!
Enfin, j'ai eu l'occasion de tester la bête, pour une mise à jour d'un gabarit. Après deux-trois (minutes) secondes de tâtonnements, j'ai pu en apprécier toute l'efficacité. Toujours aussi époustouflant. Et pour moi qui n'a (toujours) rien pigé aux coordonnées x et y. A quand le prochain ? ;-)
Wish I'd had this last week. Just had a job where they wanted to expand a whole group of picture boxes to a new size.
Hi Marc!
Can i write a post on my blog about this amazing script?
Thank you!
It's a great job. but:
1- How can I get the CS3 version of the script?
2- Help to translate the script in Arabic?
Thank you so much.
Edraant said:
> Can i write a post on my blog about
> this amazing script?
Oh yes you can ;-) And you did: http://www.incunabulo.com/2009/11/2...
Nice website. Thanks a lot!
Mohammed Taher said:
> 1- How can I get the CS3 version of the script?
> 2- Help to translate the script in Arabic?
1) Unfortunately, eQ 2.0 requires ID CS4. The "undo" features and the internal PageItem.resize() method are not supported by ID CS3 JS DOM. I'm sorry about this.
The "Swap Location" feature is implemented separately in my (very old) SwapItems script which works in CS/CS2/CS3: http://www.indiscripts.com/post/200...
2) It would be cool to add an Arabic translation. Here is the English side of the interface:
// Y Location ::
// X Location ::
// Location ::
// Height ::
// Width ::
// Size ::
// Shear ::
// Rotation ::
// Angles ::
// Swap: ::
// Apply: ::
// Copy Coordinates ::
// Unable to apply the coordinates: ::
// Unable to swap the coordinates: ::
// Equalizer Preferences... ::
// Equalizer 2.0 - Preferences ::
Email me the Arabic corresponding strings and I'll try to extend the code.
Regards.
marc{-at-}indiscripts{-dot-}com
Précise bien quand tu le modifies… Encore des gains de temps épatants hier lors de la préparation de maquettes avec des inversions de blocs. Devrait être fourni en standard dans InDesign par Adobe (qui pourrait d'ailleurs te l'acheter s'ils étaient un peu à l'écoute des besoins de leurs clients).
Et une version Illustrator…?
Merci JC!
> Précise bien quand tu le modifies...
Pour l'instant je procède comme suit:
- les mises à jour "mineures" d'un script sont signalées sur le fil Twitter (ce fut le cas pour eQ 2.06);
- la version courante est également indiquée au niveau du bouton de téléchargement, avec la date de MàJ;
- les MàJ "majeures" font l'objet d'un nouveau billet (donc captées par les abonnés RSS).
Il est vrai par contre que le flux ne rend pas compte des évolutions mineures, mais il me semble que ce serait un peu lourd de pondre un billet à chaque fois, non? Le plus simple, c'est donc de me suivre sur Twitter ;-)
> Et une version Illustrator...?
Ach! Voilà une excellente question et je te remercie de me l'avoir posée. Le hic c'est que je suis un peu vert en scripting Illustrator. Des volontaires?
> Et une version Illustrator...?
Je ne pense pas que le DOM d'Illustrator te ferait partir en courant. Par contre, les possibilités d'interfaçage sont bien inférieures sur Illu et Photoshop.
De plus, tu n'as pas (sauf erreur de ma part) de notion de scripts de démarrage.
La il faudrait carrément viser le plugin :-S
A+ Loic
great script! and a wonderful multilingual blog:) if interested in Ukrainian translation, I can help.
thank you very much!
it's fantastic!
thank sharing!
it's fantastic!
great script! and a wonderful multilingual blog:) if interested in Ukrainian translation, I can help.
nice script its solve lots of time
Est-ce qu'il est possible d'utiliser le script sur le contenu plutôt que sur le bloc ?
A priori non…
Est-ce que vous faites des développements à la demande, ça pourrait m'intéresser ?
Vous pouvez me contacter par mail.
Merci d'avance.
@ Clyde
Merci de votre message. Il me semble qu'il existe déjà un script qui permute les contenus entre des blocs graphiques — ce qui, en effet, n'est pas le propos d'Equalizer. Si je remets la main dessus je vous le communiquerai.
J'ai prévu de développer une activité « script-on-demand » dans les mois à venir. Mais bien entendu je suis déjà ouvert aux commandes dans ce sens ! N'hésitez pas à m'exposer le projet par courriel:
marc [at] indiscripts {dot} com
Cdlt,
Marc
I love this script. One difficulty: I've tried to assign keyboard shortcuts to the "apply" context command with no success. Indesign doesn't remember the shortcuts from session to session. Do you have any insight into this? Thanks again for the script. It should be part of the application.
@rsanders
Thanks for your comment.
> I've tried to assign keyboard shortcuts to the "apply" context command
> with no success.
I KNOW! I tried too;-)
And you're right, ID does not remember the shortcut. When the session start, the shortcut is removed because the contextual action linked to eQ is not available when no document is opened...
I'm looking for a workaround! If you find something, tell me.
@+
Marc
Equalizer for InDesign CS4 is awesome tool. I like it very much!
The last year i am using your older Equlizer-Script. Thank you my friend!=)