Examples

Document hierarchy: spreads → pages → frames.

spreads → pages → frames. Page/spread ids are null by design; frames carry real ids.

Pages with selfId + 1-based index + sizePt. selfId is the page id for insertFrame/insertTextFrame/insertPage (and the afterPageId of insertPage) — the only way a script can obtain a usable page id.

paged.pages() is the only way to get a usable page id (for insertFrame / insertPage).

Full property snapshot for one element (or storyRange).

A full property snapshot for the selected frame — the source of valid settable paths.

Read one property value of the addressed element.

paged.get reads one property without the full inspect payload.

Set a property (see settablePaths) on the addressed element. null clears.

Read the selection, address it as kind:id, then write two properties. paged.set re-renders, so the change is immediate.

Create an empty text-pourable frame at page-local point bounds (mints a story) and select it. Returns the new textFrame:<id> address, or null on failure.

Get a page id, create a frame (it returns its new id and is auto-selected), then insert text into its story.

Insert plain text at a story body offset; \n splits paragraphs.

Story body edits by character offset; \n splits paragraphs.

Apply a paragraph/character style to a story range. Scope inferred from the ref prefix (CharacterStyle/… else Paragraph).

Scope is inferred from the ref prefix (CharacterStyle/… else Paragraph).

Place an image into a frame; fit is an optional fitting mode.

Create a graphic frame, then place an image into it with an optional fitting mode.

Undo the last mutation.

Every write lands on the same Operation channel as the UI, so undo/redo work exactly as in the editor.

Delete a page item (kind:id address or bare self id).

Remove any frame, group, or shape from the page by id.

Set a frame's affine placement transform.

A 2×3 affine [a,b,c,d,tx,ty]; here a pure translate of 72pt right and down.

Set a frame's content-box bounds (re-paginating resize).

Set the frame’s [top, left, bottom, right] box directly.

Duplicate a single-page spread after the source; returns the new page selfId.

Returns the new page selfId — reusable as the next afterPageId.

Replace the element selection with the parseable ids.

Selection is app state (not undoable); set it to drive the Properties panel.

Ungroup; members return to the group's paint slot.

createGroup bundles two elements; dissolveGroup returns the members to the page.

Insert an Oval.

A graphic primitive — like insertLine / insertFrame, it returns the new element id.

Insert a two-anchor open GraphicLine.

A graphic line between two page-local points.

Create a paragraph style; returns its selfId.

Style CRUD returns the new style id; pass it straight to applyStyle.

Create a <Table> at the end of a story; spec = { rows, cols, headerRows?, footerRows?, columnWidths?, rowHeights? }. Returns the table id.

Create a rows×cols table; the spec also accepts headerRows/footerRows/colWidths.

Colour palette (selfId/name/kind).

Walk the document palette — the source of the Color/<id> refs you pass to frameFillColor / frameStrokeColor.

Gradients.

Gradient swatches (linear / radial ramps) the document defines. A fresh document ships none until you add them.

Colour groups.

Colour groups organise the palette into named folders (e.g. a brand set). Read them to mirror the Swatches panel grouping.

Document layers.

Organise artwork onto named layers, then read the stack back — each row carries name, visibility, lock, print state and z-order.

Paragraph styles — the source of valid styleRefs for applyStyle.

The paragraph stylesheet — the source of the styleRefs you hand to applyStyle, plus each style BasedOn parent.

Character styles.

Character (inline) styles — the run-level counterpart to paragraph styles, for emphasis, small caps, a coloured lead-in.

Object styles.

Object styles bundle frame appearance (fill, stroke, effects, text-frame options) for one-click consistency across a layout.

Placed-asset links.

Place an image, then read the Links collection — each row reports the host frame, the asset URI and whether it resolved (a preflight check).

Conditional-text conditions.

Conditions tag text for show/hide versioning (e.g. a Draft watermark, EN vs DE copy). Read the ones this document defines.

Condition sets.

A condition set is a saved visibility snapshot across all conditions — one click to flip a document between, say, a print and a web variant.

Generic typed-collection read by name; unknown name → "[]" + warning.

One generic accessor over every document collection — here the spreads, so you can enumerate the layout sheet by sheet.

Document metadata (name/creator/modified/page count).

The single-shot document snapshot — page count, the new-object fill/stroke defaults, and the active colour-management settings.

Loaded stories with selfId + characterCount + paragraphCount. The source of valid story ids.

Every text flow with its character and paragraph counts plus an overset flag — the source of the story ids text edits address.

Current element selection.

What the user (or your last insert) has selected — the parsed element you address as kind:id for every property write.

Current text caret / range.

The text-side selection (caret or highlighted range). Here we place a range over the first word, then read it back.

Clear the element selection.

Drop the element selection — e.g. to dismiss handles before exporting a clean preview.

Set or clear the text caret/range.

Drive the text caret like the Type tool — select a heading run so a follow-up style or edit lands exactly there.

Append a page after afterPageId (or at the end), inheriting the default master. Returns the new page's selfId (reusable as the next afterPageId), or null.

Append a page after a given one (it inherits the default master). Returns the new page selfId for chaining further inserts.

Delete a page.

Delete a page by id. We add a spare page first (you cannot delete a document down to zero pages), then remove it.

Set a page's GeometricBounds in page-inner points.

Set a page GeometricBounds in points. Here we switch US Letter (612×792) to A4 (595.28×841.89 pt).

Apply a master to a page (omit/null detaches).

Masters carry shared furniture (running heads, folios). Apply the first master to a page; omit the id to detach it instead.

Create an empty graphic (non-text) frame and select it; the usual placeImage target. Returns the new frame's kind:id address, or null.

A non-text frame — the usual target for placeImage. Returns its kind:id address (and auto-selects it).

Group two-or-more elements; <2 valid members returns false.

Bundle two-or-more page items so they move and transform as one unit (e.g. a logo lock-up). Needs ≥2 valid members.

Thread fromId's overflow into the empty frame toId.

When copy overflows one frame, thread it into a second so the text continues — the core of multi-frame article flow.

Break the text thread leaving a frame.

Cut the link leaving a frame so its overflow no longer pours onward — e.g. to re-route a story into a different frame.

Insert an arbitrary path; anchors = [{anchor:[x,y],left:[x,y],right:[x,y]}, …].

Build an arbitrary closed path from anchors — each is { anchor, left, right } (corner points repeat the anchor). Returns the new polygon address.

Insert an anchor into a path's flat PathPointArray at index.

Refine a custom path by inserting an anchor into its flat PathPointArray — turning a triangle into a quad here.

Remove the anchor at flat index.

Delete an anchor from a path by its flat index — simplifying a four-point shape back toward a triangle.

Toggle an anchor between corner and smooth.

Flip one anchor between corner and smooth — rounding a hard vertex into a curved transition.

Write one Bezier handle (role = anchor|left|right).

Write a single Bezier handle (role = anchor | left | right) to reshape a path precisely.

Cut the path at the anchor at flat index.

Open a closed contour at a chosen anchor — turning a filled silhouette into an open stroked path.

Replace the path with its stroke-expansion outline.

Convert a stroked path into the filled outline of that stroke — so an 8pt rule becomes an editable band (cap/join = butt|round|square / miter|round|bevel).

Inset (delta<0) / outset (delta>0) a single closed contour.

Inset (delta < 0) or outset (delta > 0) a closed contour — e.g. to build a registration keyline just inside a shape.

Re-express the path with fewer anchors within tolerance pt.

Re-express a path with fewer anchors within a pt tolerance — lightening a dense traced outline.

Pathfinder boolean (kind = union|intersect|subtract|exclude).

Combine overlapping shapes into one silhouette (kind = union | intersect | subtract | exclude). The kept shape absorbs the others.

Insert an empty body row at index.

Insert an empty body row at an index — e.g. to add another line item to a price table.

Delete the body row at index.

Remove a body row by index — pruning a discontinued line item.

Insert an empty column at index.

Insert an empty column at an index — e.g. adding a "Unit price" column beside the description.

Delete the column at index.

Remove a column by index — dropping a column the layout no longer needs.

Insert a header-band row.

Promote a header band that repeats at the top of the table wherever it breaks across frames or pages.

Remove the first header row.

Drop the first header row — demoting it back into the body.

Insert a footer-band row.

Add a footer band that repeats at the bottom of the table — the natural home for a totals row.

Remove the last footer row.

Drop the last footer row from the table.

Set a cell's row/column span.

Set a cell row/column span — merge the top-left 2×2 block into one cell for a section title that spans columns.

Set/clear a table row height in pt.

Give a row a fixed height in points — e.g. a roomy 28pt header band. Pass null to clear back to auto.

Set/clear a table column width in pt.

Pin a column to a width in points — e.g. a 140pt label column. Pass null to clear back to auto.

Create a character style; returns its selfId.

Create an inline (run-level) style — here an "Emphasis" style for bolding a phrase consistently. Returns its selfId.

Rename a character style.

Create a style, then give it a clearer display name.

Delete a character style.

Clean up the stylesheet by removing a style you no longer need.

Create an object style; returns its selfId.

Create an object style — a reusable bundle of frame appearance (fill, stroke, effects). Returns its selfId.

Rename an object style.

Create an object style and rename it.

Delete an object style.

Remove an object style from the document.

Create a cell style; returns its selfId.

Create a cell style — reusable cell fill, insets and edge strokes for table cells. Returns its selfId.

Rename a cell style.

Create a cell style and rename it.

Delete a cell style.

Remove a cell style from the document.

Create a table style; returns its selfId.

Create a table style — a reusable look for an entire table (banding, borders). Returns its selfId.

Rename a table style.

Create a table style and rename it.

Delete a table style.

Remove a table style from the document.

Rename a paragraph style.

Create a paragraph style and give it a production-ready name.

Delete a paragraph style.

Remove a paragraph style from the stylesheet.

Set one property on a style definition (collection = paragraph|character|object|cell|table; path = a settablePaths name).

Edit a style definition itself (collection = paragraph|character|object|cell|table) so every paragraph using it updates at once.

Create a <NumberingList>; returns its id.

Create a <NumberingList> — the named counter a paragraph style points at for ordered procedures. Returns its id.

Edit a <NumberingList>.

Edit a numbering list so its counter continues across stories — keeping one sequence over a multi-frame procedure.

Delete a <NumberingList>.

Remove a numbered-list resource from the document.

Anchor a <Section> at a page.

Anchor a <Section> at a page to restart page numbering — here lower-roman with an "i" front-matter scheme.

Edit a <Section>; prefix/start are tri-state (omit ⇒ leave, null ⇒ clear).

Edit a section discovered from the sections collection — give it an "A-" chapter prefix on the folio.

Delete a <Section>.

Remove a section so its page-numbering restart reverts to the previous scheme.

Flip a condition's visibility.

Flip a condition visible/hidden — e.g. hide the Draft watermark for a final export. Acts on the first defined condition.

Activate one <ConditionSet> ("show only this set").

Switch the document to one saved visibility set ("show only this set") — e.g. flip to the German-language variant.

Append a layer at the zero-based stacking index.

Append a layer at a zero-based stacking index — here an "Annotations" layer above the artwork.

Reorder a layer to a new zero-based index.

Move a layer to a new zero-based index — sending the background to the very bottom.

Remove a layer.

Delete a layer by id — tidying up an empty scratch layer.

Insert a ruler guide (orientation = vertical|horizontal).

Add a ruler guide (orientation = vertical | horizontal) at a page-local position — here a vertical guide at 144pt (2 inches).

Move a guide along its perpendicular axis.

Move a guide along its perpendicular axis. We add one, read its minted id from the spread, then slide it.

Delete a guide.

Remove a guide by its minted id (read from the spread guides list).

Insert a field marker; fieldKind = "pageNumber" | "nextPageNumber" | { placeholder: { plugin, key, value? } }.

Drop a field marker into a story (fieldKind = "pageNumber" | "nextPageNumber" | a plugin placeholder) — the live folio in a running footer.

Update a placeholder field's cached display value (null ⇒ unresolved).

Insert a plugin placeholder field, then set its cached display value — the heart of a data-merge (e.g. a price).

Delete the [start, end) character range of a story.

Remove a [start, end) character range from a story — here the heading word, by character offset.

Redo the last undone mutation.

Every write lands on the same Operation channel as the UI, so redo re-applies exactly what undo reverted.

Set the new-object fill/stroke/weight defaults (whole-triple).

Define the fill/stroke/weight new frames inherit — here no fill, a 1pt black stroke, so drawn boxes start as keylines.

Replace the document colour-management settings.

Replace the document colour-management policy — preserve embedded profiles, relative-colorimetric intent, black-point compensation on.

Soft-proofing configuration (profileName null turns proofing off).

Configure on-screen soft-proofing — simulate a SWOP CMYK press with paper-white simulation. Pass profileName null to turn proofing off.

Replace one ink's output-time settings.

Adjust an ink output setting (Ink Manager) — convert a spot to process at output. This blank document defines no spot inks, so it reports false cleanly.

Prefer spots' Lab primary over their CMYK alternate in previews.

Preview spot colours from their Lab primary rather than the CMYK alternate — closer to the swatch-book appearance.

Import an .ase swatch library (bytes = number[]) as one undoable op.

Import an Adobe Swatch Exchange (.ase) library as one undoable step. Pass the file as a number[] of bytes.

Write one Label key/value pair on a leaf page item (value null deletes).

Write a key/value pair into a frame Label, in the reserved x-paged:<plugin> namespace, with a { v, data } envelope — e.g. a review status.

Commit inline image bytes (number[] of u8) on a graphic frame; null clears.

Commit inline image bytes on a graphic frame (a number[] of u8), or pass null to clear them. Here we clear the selected frame.

Apply an array of { op, args } mutation objects as ONE undoable step.

Apply an array of { op, args } mutations as ONE undoable step — here two text frames for a two-column page, created atomically.

Create an empty text-pourable frame at page-local point bounds (mints a story) and select it. Returns the new textFrame:<id> address, or null on failure.

Create a text frame, pour a heading + body, split it into two columns with a gutter, and style the heading — a complete article block.

Create a <Table> at the end of a story; spec = { rows, cols, headerRows?, footerRows?, columnWidths?, rowHeights? }. Returns the table id.

Mint a table, promote a repeating header band, pin the label column wide and the header row tall — a ready price list.

Place an image into a frame; fit is an optional fitting mode.

Draw a picture frame, place an image fitted proportionally, then add a small caption frame directly beneath it.

Thread fromId's overflow into the empty frame toId.

Pour a long story into a short frame, add a fresh page, and thread the overflow into a frame there — continuing the flow.

Set a property (see settablePaths) on the addressed element. null clears.

Turn the selected frame into a pull-quote: a 10% grey panel, a 2pt rule, generous inset, and enlarged 18pt type.

Anchor a <Section> at a page.

Start the document in lower-roman front matter, add a page, then begin an arabic body section restarting at 1 — classic book folios.

Insert a field marker; fieldKind = "pageNumber" | "nextPageNumber" | { placeholder: { plugin, key, value? } }.

Add a footer text frame, type a running head, and drop a live page-number field after it — the page folio.

Insert a ruler guide (orientation = vertical|horizontal).

Drop evenly-spaced vertical guides across the page to scaffold a multi-column grid before placing frames.