The new book “InDesign CS5 Automation Using JavaScript” aims to take the readers’ InDesign productivity to a whole new level. Many designers and other users of InDesign are daunted by the idea of automating the program, since it requires the creation of scripts which, in turn, means learning a programming language. In this book, author Grant Gamble shows readers how to use the powerful, concise and user-friendly JavaScript language to create useful and time-saving scripting solutions, even if they have never done any programming before.

As InDesign embraces new technologies and new document formats, Grant invites users to add XML and scripting to their arsenal of InDesign skills: “The creative community has had to take on board challenges like HTML and CSS and, for a lot of people, scripting will be a natural progression. JavaScript is a great choice of language because it is so pervasive: a lot of non-programmers will have had at least some exposure to it as a result of working with web content.”

The style of “InDesign CS5 Automation Using JavaScript” is very much hands-on. “This book grew out of course material I developed for my company’s training workshops on InDesign XML workflows and scripting”, says Grant. “So it incorporates a lot of practical, step-by-step tutorials designed to reinforce the techniques and concepts being discussed.”

Here are some of the skills you will learn from this book.

The core fundamentals of the JavaScript language as well as the extra features offered by ExtendScript, Adobe’s extended version of JavaScript. You will also be shown how to get the most out of the ExtendScript Toolkit, the free JavaScript editor supplied with the Adobe Creative Suite.

How to use ExtendScript to manipulate and control key elements of the InDesign object model such as documents, preferences, master spreads, pages, page items, text frames, text, graphics, fonts, styles and tables.

How to create interactive interfaces for your scripts which allow the user to make choices that control what the script does, making solutions more flexible, powerful and useful. All of the main tutorials in the book involve the creation of interactive user interfaces using ExtendScript’s ScriptUI technology. So, users will become very familiar with the benefits of adding graphic user interfaces to their scripting solutions, especially those being written for colleagues or clients.

How JavaScript can generate documents automatically based on content stored in text files, XML documents and metadata embedded in graphic files.

The use of scripts to create interactive documents containing page transitions and navigation buttons, which are then exported as interactive PDFs.

How to make your scripts more robust by incorporating error-handling features; and how to fix errors by using the debugging features built into the ExtendScript Toolkit.

The core concepts and features of XML: the rules governing the structure and content of XML documents and techniques for generating XML using popular programs. You will also gain a full understanding of key InDesign XML workflows and the two ways of scripting XML import and export: using the JavaScript XML DOM and using InDesign’s built-in XML objects, as displayed in the Structure pane and the Tags panel.

The usage and creation of DTDs for validating XML documents, both the general principles involved and their implementation within InDesign.

The fundamental features of XSLT stylesheets: key elements and techniques which are especially important for InDesign workflows, such as converting attributes to elements, changing the order, name and content of elements, as well as the interactive use of parameter values for filtering XML import.

If you want to start using JavaScript and XML to automate InDesign, and are looking for clear and concise guidance on how it all works, this book is all you will need to get up and running.

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TDCI, Inc., the leading provider of product configuration software, announced today that Everglades Direct, A Taylor Corporation Company, is now using BuyDesign Configurator within their Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP system. Everglades Direct customer service representatives use BuyDesign to help customers specify and order custom B2B print products such as corporate greeting cards, employee awards and branded forms.

BuyDesign Configurator is part of TDCIs BuyDesign solution suite developed to streamline the sales process for customized products. BuyDesign helps companies that manufacture products with a wide range of features, options, and dimensions to increase sales by becoming easy to do business with. Using BuyDesign, companies also reduce order processing time, cost and errors.

As part of the order entry process, BuyDesign Configurator guides sales people through the selection of options such as text, fonts, colors, images and logos while on the phone with the customer. BuyDesign uses those selections to invoke an automated print layout process developed by Taylor using Adobe InDesign. Once the design is verified and approved, the order is finalized and enters production. Everglades Direct will soon be launching an e-commerce site that also uses BuyDesign to allow self-service design and ordering by customers.

The improved personalization flow and on-screen proofing capabilities delivered through BuyDesign significantly reduce training times and the level of technical expertise required, states Susan Drenning, Everglades Direct President. This enables our business to staff more efficiently for seasonal peaks in customer service and order processing. Were also looking forward to enabling customers to order directly on our website with the ease of BuyDesign.

BuyDesign is very user friendly, adds Tina Sanchez, Everglades Director of Sales & Service. Its easy to navigate with clear step-by-step directions and automatically includes any special charges. Most importantly, the agent can see exactly what the piece looks like and make recommendations to the customer while on the phone. Any mistakes can be caught and fixed immediately.

BuyDesign gives us three big advantages in addition to making order specification faster and easier, adds Marty Hawkins, Everglades Director of Information Technologies. First, it was easy to integrate BuyDesign with our automated layout generator, enabling us to quickly and fully leverage that existing technology. Second, it has given us immediate ROI by enabling us to utilize the exact same configuration engine in both our order entry process and our e-commerce site that completely eliminated the need to invest in a separate online solution and allows us to maintain a single set of product models to drive both applications. Third, it enables us to put definition of the rules and constraints in the hands of our Product Management team with little support from IT. All of those points are reducing our cost while making us more agile in terms of introducing new products and product options to drive sales.

Everglades Direct has done a really good job of leveraging one of the most powerful aspects of BuyDesign. They are a great example of how companies can utilize BuyDesign Configurator to drive design automation that opens up new business opportunities, said Dan DeMuth, TDCI President. Everglades Directs print layout generator follows the same basic approach as our standard BuyDesign generators for 2D drawings, 3D CAD models, dynamic images, and documents.

Everglades Direct, Inc., is a privately held company specializing in business-to-business direct marketing, sales, service and fulfillment. The company operates several B2B brands and serves more than 1 million businesses across the United States.

About TDCI and BuyDesign

TDCI specializes in helping manufacturers and their distributors streamline the buying process for customized products. TDCIs BuyDesign