Adobe Illustrator Scripting Examples

This is a template for developing Adobe Illustrator Scripts in Visual Studio Code ...

Script Folders

• sample-scripts — examples provided by Adobe
• scripts — examples from various sources
• my-scripts — add your scripts here

Using the Debugger

• Install the Extended Script Debugger Plugin for VS-Code
• With the debugger you can walk through your scripts in a step-by-step fashion, or just run them as you would from Illustrator.
• A couple of debug configurations are defined in .vscode/launch.json.
  Feel free to add your own.

Using Intellisense

• This repo uses the typings provided here

Using the Sample Scripts

• To play with the sample scripts folder provided by Adobe, copy the Illustrator example scripts to this project folder.
• On OSX this folder can be found at "/Applications/Adobe Illustrator 2020/Scripting.localized/Sample Scripts.localized/"

Create your own Scripts

• You can use the my-scripts/Javascript folder to add your own .jsx files.
• Use the Current Script run configuration to debug the selected script.
• You can also write and compile Typescript inside the my-scripts/Typescript folder.

Distribute your Script

• To use the scripts from Illustrator just drop them into your Script folder. On OSX the scripts folder can be found at "/Applications/Adobe Illustrator 2020/Presets.localized/en_US/Scripts"
• Once the scripts work just zip and distribute them ...

Resources

Here are some resources to get you started with scripting for Illustrator:

Official

• Adobe Illustrator Scripting Guide (PDF)
• Javascript Scripting Reference (PDF)

Inofficial

• Illustrator Scripting Guide
• ScriptUI Dialog Builder

Scripts on Github

Here are some nice examples of Illustrator scripts hosted on github:

• Illustrator Scripts by Hiroyuki Sato
• Integrating Paper.js into Illustrator
• Draw Outlines and AnchorPoints
• Circle Packing Example

More Resources

• Illustrator Scripting with Python
• Creating Plugins with Adobe CEP