{"id":7247,"date":"2026-11-13T15:18:01","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T22:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rorohiko.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=7247"},"modified":"2026-11-13T15:18:01","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T22:18:01","slug":"calculatedfields","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rorohiko.com\/wordpress\/calculatedfields\/","title":{"rendered":"CalculatedFields for Adobe Illustrator and InDesign"},"content":{"rendered":"

What does CalculatedFields do?<\/h2>\n

\"CalculatedFields<\/p>\n

CalculatedFields PLVD turns named items in Adobe Illustrator and InDesign into spreadsheet-style calculated fields. Use it to update dates, revision numbers, filenames, prices and other repeated information across a document.<\/p>\n

The item’s name holds the formula. Name a text frame =TODAY()<\/code>, run the script, and today’s date is written into the frame. Values update when you run the script, rather than recalculating live.<\/p>\n

Examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Item name<\/th>\nResult<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
=TODAY()<\/code><\/td>\nWrites today’s date.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
=UPPER(FILENAME)<\/code><\/td>\nWrites the document’s filename in uppercase.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
=CONCATENATE(\"Rev \", ROUND(3.14159, 2))<\/code><\/td>\nWrites Rev 3.14<\/code>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
@Customer<\/code><\/td>\nReads the frame’s text as a variable named Customer.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
#Qty<\/code><\/td>\nReads the frame’s contents as a number named Qty.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
#Price=Qty*2.5<\/code><\/td>\nCalculates Price, writes it into the frame and makes it available to other formulas.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
=CONCATENATE(Customer, \" owes \", Price)<\/code><\/td>\nCombines the customer name and calculated price.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Only items whose names start with =<\/code>, @<\/code> or #<\/code> are treated as fields. Ordinary unnamed items and items with other names are left alone.<\/p>\n

Fields that work together<\/h2>\n

Use @Name<\/code> for text variables and #Name<\/code> for numeric variables. Other formulas can refer to these names. The script works out the evaluation order, so fields can depend on one another wherever they appear in the document.<\/p>\n

Fields can also refer to themselves: #Counter=Counter+1<\/code> creates a counter that increases by one on each run, using its previous value.<\/p>\n

Function names and argument order borrow from Excel, including UPPER<\/code>, MID<\/code>, IF<\/code>, ROUND<\/code>, TODAY<\/code> and SUM<\/code>. Formulas use JavaScript expressions; this is not a spreadsheet grid with cell references.<\/p>\n

More than text<\/h2>\n

Formulas can also move or resize named items, change fill or stroke colors, and relink placed images. Functions such as SETBOUNDS<\/code>, SETFILL<\/code> and SETTOP<\/code> act on existing items. You can read text files and delimited data with READFILE<\/code>, LINE<\/code>, LINECOUNT<\/code> and COLUMN<\/code>.<\/p>\n

Requirements<\/h2>\n