CopyCoordinates.jsx
PasteCoordinates.jsx
PasteSameReferencePointCoordinates.jsx
© 2019-2020, Rorohiko Ltd.
A set of scripts for Adobe® InDesign®
v 1.0.2, April, 2020
by Kris Coppieters kris@rorohiko.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiaan/
https://github.com/zwettemaan/InDesignCopyPasteCoordinates/wiki
Rorohiko specialises in making printing, publishing and web workflows more efficient.
This script is a free sample of the custom solutions we create for our customers.
If your workflow is hampered by boring or repetitive tasks, inquire at
The scripts we write for our customers repay for themselves within weeks or months.
Select a single page item, and with the page item still selected, run
the CopyCoordinates.jsx script. It will copy the coordinates of the page
item, ready to be pasted back in.
You can then select another page item, and paste the coordinates 'into' that page item.
This script uses the current reference point settings. This is managed via the little 'square' with 9 dots which will be visible most of the time in the upper-left-hand-corner of the InDesign window.
By selecting one of these 9 dots, you can determine which point's coordinates will be copied or pasted: top-left, top-middle, top-right, middle-left, center, middle-right, etc...
The PasteCoordinates.jsx script can paste these coordinates.
You may change the selected reference point before pasting by selecting another of the 9 points.
Doing so makes it is possible to copy one corner from a page item and paste it into another corner of the same or of another page item.
The PasteSameReferencePointCoordinates.jsx script is similar, but it
will ignore the current reference point settings when pasting.
E.g. if you copy the top-left corner, this variant of the Paste…jsx
script will paste back in the top-left corner, even if a different point
gets selected amongst the 9 reference points.
To make this set of scripts efficient to use, it is highly recommended that you set up some keyboard shortcuts from them (see below).
Start Adobe InDesign
Make the Scripts Panel show up (Window - Utilities - Scripts menu)
Right-click or Option-Click the line that says User
Select Reveal in Finder or Reveal in Explorer from the contextual menu
A folder/directory window Scripts should show up.
Double-click the subfolder Scripts Panel so it opens.
Drag the three icons for the script files
CopyCoordinates.jsx
PasteCoordinates.jsx
PasteSameReferencePointCoordinates.jsx
into this Scripts Panel folder.
Make sure to drag into Scripts Panel and not into Scripts.
Switch back to InDesign. The scripts should now be listed 'inside' the User entry on the Scripts Panel.
Select the Edit - Keyboard Shortcuts… menu item
Click New Set on the right
Name the set as you like (e.g. CopyPasteCoordinatesSet).
Select Product Area Scripts
Scroll until you see the three scripts listed (probably way down at the end)
Click User: CopyCoordinates.jsx
Click in the New Shortcut: field
Hit the three keys Ctrl-Shift-C simultaneously
Click Assign
Click User: PasteCoordinates.jsx
Click in the New Shortcut: field
Hit the three keys Ctrl-Shift-V simultaneously
Click Assign
Click User: PasteSameReferencePointCoordinates.jsx
Click in the New Shortcut: field
Hit the four keys Ctrl-Opt-Shift-V or Ctrl-Alt-Shift-V simultaneously
Click Assign
Click OK