Great site, really useful in my first tentative scripting steps
Am feeling rather good after compiling my first script as below…
tell application “QuarkXPress™ 4.11”
activate
tell document 1
set DocumentPath to (choose file name with prompt ¬
“Please, set destination and base name for output files…” default name "PS•file ") as string
set PS_file_path to coerce (DocumentPath & “.ps”) to string
set RunLenght to text returned of ¬
(display dialog “Run lenght?..” & return default answer “”) as number
print current page copies RunLenght PostScript file PS_file_path
end tell
end tell
Must admit that I had a good bit of help from butchering someone elses!
Cheers Ed in Kiev!
Would like to be able to add a hot key to enable me to run the script. I can currently run it from the OSA Menu but would prefer to run from say “Control+P”
I know that I should really get back into my applescript text books and language guide but… I’d really like this running ASAP. Would save LOADS of time with a project at work.
Thanks for the replies.
(F-key, F-key, F-key, F-key, F-key, F-key, F-key… hee, hee,hee) :rolleyes:
I did consider using F-keys but that takes away some of the shortcut fuctionality of QuarkXpress.
Perhaps one of you ‘senior’ scripters can work out a script (or know of one) that would toggle F-keys on or off so I can quikly switch between the two…??
(Another script I should investigate… but not only am I lazy I’m still in the early days of all this coding stuff!!) :shock:
Nice one Jon, xkeys seems like just the job for OS X. Good to keep in mind.
I initially thought that additional code to my script would produce the desired result. I’m aware of a set of scripting additions called Jon’s Commands that seem to refer to being able to detect keystrokes.
In my ignorance I thought that some sort of loop, or code of some sort, would ‘watch’ for a keystroke and run the script.
Am I asking too much of Applescript? (What!)
Is there any other way of coding something to do what I want?
Using a different language perhaps? (What!! again.)
I know that I could be opening a can of worms and really be getting into some hardcore programming but I guess you’ve got to start somewhere… “gulp!?!”
If you chose to go with Jon’s “Key’s Pressed” it might look something like the script below. I changed the option & “P” to command - shift - option as holding option -“P” produces a system beep, a very annoying system beep. As far as I can tell command-option-shift is not a part of any of Quark’s keyboard shortcuts but then some Quark guru just may prove me wrong. I couldn’t see anything in the menu’s - holding these three down is silent though.
There are a few drawbacks to doing it this way.
The effect is not always immediate. This script starts over after waiting a second so if you press your keys right after it checks you may have to hold them a little longer. But it does work, and without that annoying beep.
You have to have this script running for it to work. If you took Rob’s advice, and invested in QuicKeys you would not. You shouldn’t see a lag in system performance but be aware that this script will check your keys pressed every so often. But - check it out - see how it performs for you.
Compile and save the following as a stay-open application.
on idle
--check which keys are pressed
if (keys pressed) contains "Option" and (keys pressed) contains "Shift" and (keys pressed) contains "Control" then
my printPSFile() --if command-option-shift are pressed, jump down and perform the printPSFile subroutine
else
return 1 --if the keys we are looking for are not pressed check back again in a second
--you can adjust the amt of time to whatever works for you
end if
end idle
on printPSFile()
tell application "QuarkXPress™"
activate
tell document 1
set DocumentPath to (choose file name with prompt ¬
"Please, set destination and base name for output files…" default name "PS•file ") as string
set PS_file_path to coerce (DocumentPath & ".ps") to string
set RunLenght to text returned of ¬
(display dialog "Run length?..." & return default answer "") as number
print current page copies RunLenght PostScript file PS_file_path
end tell
end tell
end printPSFile
On my way home now but I’ll try it in the morning. I think I’ll go down the F-key route and just look into developing a script to toggle between switching F-keys off and on.
Anyone willing to give me a head start on the above?
You don’t have to disable the F-keys to make your solution work. In the keyboard control panel there is a setting to allow usage of F1 thru F15 which forces the user to press option as a modifier to perform the regular Fkey function. I assigned your script to F7 as in Quark it only toggles the guides. If you really want to toggle the guides on or off just hold option when pressing F7. Otherwise F7 triggers your PrintPS script.
Thanks for the tip, however there are other shortcuts in Quark that use the ‘option F-Key’ (eg option F13 that brings up the ‘Picture Usage window’, I’m always using that. Trapping info, baseline grid, next tool, etc) & these would be disabled.
I’ve come across an alternative to Quickeys called KeyQuencer. :idea:
They do a Lite version thats shareware. Anybody come across it? Do you think this could help me?
Thanks to all who helped! This site has been key in overcoming a very tedious, repetative job.
On a monthly basis using a variable data app we (my colleagues and I) have to PS approx 2000 files. The script and macro app above will make our lives soooooooo much more pleasent.
Cheers!
Dave Pead 8)
PS next I’m gonna try any interigate a spreadsheet to automate input of file names and run lenghts :lol:
This seems to be solved but I just wanted to make sure you knew, as well as post for others that may stumble on this thread, that using the F-Key proposal would not affect your option-F13 functions unless you actually assigned something to F13. Nothing is disabled, at least on my computer using Quack 4.1 with a script tied to F7. Actually, now that I really look at it, F1 has nothing assigned to it in Quack 4.1 - I do not have 4.11 so cannot confirm it would be the same for you.
