It is possible embed one swf for the whole dialog, or embed mulitple swfs into different parts of a dialog. Most developers would create these swf files using Flash Builder, but you could use any application which can create interactive swf movies for this (including but not limited to Flash). For Script UIs, you would usually be more interested in UI elements. Any kind of swf files can be played - including movies. Make sure to look at the included sample scripts.Īnother excellent resource is Peter Kahrel's "ScriptUI for dummies" which is for dummies and non dummies alike!įlash swf files can be embedded in Script UI containers. Each uses a different approach, so it pays to check them both out.įor further information on Script UI, I recommend reading the Javascript Tools Guide available from within the ExtendScript Toolkit. There are two third-party tools available for making the creation of Scipt UI dialogs easier: Rapid Script UI and Script UI Builder. The learning curve for script UI is much steeper than the basic dialogs, and building them requires much more code. Script UI includes basic drawing tools which can be used to customize the look of the UIs.Script UI offers an advanced event architecture which allows to dynamically change the dialog based on user input.Three window types can be used: "Dialog", "Window", and "Palette".Script UI offers many advanced features not available in the native InDesign dialogs. Look at the InDesign DOM documentation for app.dialogs for usable wigets and types. If these limitations are not a problem for your UI, go with the native dialogs. You can not change the dialog once it's created, and it can not react to user input in a dynamic way. Native InDesign dialogs are completely static.Only window type available are dialogs.
These dialogs are by far the easiest to create - and there are some great built-in widgets, but there are a couple of limitations: InDesign is unique among the Creative Suite applications in that it offers its own dialog functionality. Below is an overview of the options available: As a general rule, the more capable the UI must be, the more complex it will be to build it. InDesign offers numerous ways of creating user interfaces for scripts.