[Editor’s note: This is largely a republish of my post here last September and before but with the added benefit of now being a public alpha (download version 11d) of the script that is good thru summer 2009. Why am I expanding testing? I’d like more feedback as I haven’t heard of any major problems with the script. And I need a little motivation to finish programming 😉 ]
I have been developing a plugin / script for Adobe Illustrator to make it easier to select type in Illustrator by attributes like font family, style, size, and fill color. I hope to release this as a commercial plugin for designers and cartographers first quarter 2009? If you would like to beta test this plugin for me, please send me an email at nathaniel@kelsocartography.com or…
Download version 11d of Find and Replace Fonts Script (1.6m). Good thru summer 2009.
¡¡Warning!! This is not final release-quality product!!! Please save your work before running the script. I have never had it crash my machine but don’t take chances!!! Use at your own risk!!!
To install new scripts you need to:
- Download the ZIP file using “Save asâ€.
- Quit Illustrator
- Copy the script files into the Illustrator application folder’s “Presets†» “Scripts†subfolder
- After restarting Illustrator, you can find the scripts in the menu “File†» “Scriptsâ€;
- TIP: You can create subfolders in the scripts folder to organize your scripts
NOTE: You will need version CS3 or CS4 of Illustrator. If you have CS or CS2, get a trial version of CS4 from Adobe.
Insure you get further updates to the Script by joining this email list:
What is this tool and why would you use it?
- A magic wand for clicking on text and selecting like-styled text
- A non-modal eye dropper tool for copying font attributes and pasting them onto other text objects without directly eye dropping (like Freehand’s copy and past attributes).
- Menu items for Select > Type > Same font, same style, same size, same font color, overprinting, etc
- A pro version of the Find Fonts dialog already in Illustrator that does find / replacing in locked and hidden layers, or only in the active layer, sublayer, or window view.
Usage Tips
The resulting non-contiguous text can only be affected (eg: by the Character panel) by:
- Hitting escape on the keyboard and then making changes
- but the original instance will not be changed
- all others will be, though
- The entire text object was selected
- Initiating the “similar text (described in 2nd New features below) in text object mode, NOT text range or text insertion point mode.
- Using the Full Dialog mode’s replace functions
Looking Forward
Developing the plugin has taken a lot longer than I expected to implement all the basic and advanced features but I am now 90% complete with the script version, which is over 8,000 lines of code or a 300 page book! I need to start working on the plugin version which will entail completely translating the script from JavaScript into C in XCode on the Mac and Visual Studio on the PC.
- Port to XCode and start testing as Illustrator Plugin, first for Mac, second for Windows
- Settle on price and start selling. Perhaps thru a distributor.
- There will be a cheap version and a pro version.
Turning the script into a plugin will bring several benefits:
- Speed: much faster execution
- Work with 1,000s of type objects / characters, not 100s
- Menu items that can be assigned keyboard shortcuts
- Can be recorded with Actions for automating routine tasks
- New tool: magic wand for text and non-modal eyedropper for text font appearances
- Allow me to recoup development costs
Example uses:
- Selection:
- Find all other type objects with same font – View video
- Find all other type objects with same type size – View video
- Find all other type objects with same character fill color
- Applying / creating character styles:
- Cartographer: ArcMap text imported to Illustrator >> have plugin apply matching style or create new styles that match each of the implicate styles
- Designer: Quickly comp out a design and select all matching text with certain font attributes with the new Text magic wand tool and make them styles. Great for deadline projects.
- Find and Replace fonts on hidden and locked layers (better than Illustrator’s default Find Font)
Demonstration videos:
Selecting by Font Color – Basic
Including exactly the same color, pattern, swatch, same color mode, by character and by object.
View video – 7.8 megs
Selecting by Font Color – Advanced
Including selecting type object NOT a color and overprints, replacing with knockout.
View video – 17.2 megs
Changing Alignment and Registration of Type
Includes limiting to just point, area, or line type objects
View video – 11.0 megs
Why Change the Registration for Point Type?
To scale type size when it is registered to a townspot or other graphic element.
View video – 1.1 meg
Finding Scope
Limit your selection to active layer, sublayer, current view, selection, artboard/page, and document.
View video – 20 megs
Finding by Text Content
Find all type that has the “River†or “Road†or “Street†in it and then change those text range’s attributes. Options include Is, Starts, Ends, and more.
View video – 13.5 megs
Replacing by Text Contents
With exact phrase or add to the end or beginning of the matched text.
View video – 9.3 megs
Simplified Interface
This dialog is similar to what’d you see for the planned “magic wand†for type tool settings. Thanks to Tom for this suggestion!
View video – 7.6 megs
FEATURES NEW THIS VERSION (and the Last)
- Significant speed increase
- Will now deal with 100s of text objects (or characters in a single text object)
- But still slow in 1000s of text objects; change seach scope to text frame for best result
- Now selects ranges of text, not just text objects!
- “Just do it” non-dialog scripts
- Select text with same font face and style
- Select text with same font size
- Select text with same font face, style, and size
- Select like text within current selection
- Zoom to next and previous matching objects
- Can initiate “similar” text font styling based on currently selected
- Text object
- Selected text range within text object
- Text insertion point within text object
- Non-contiguous text that matches search criteria will be selected in the same text object
- Character styles can now be found and replaced
- Find options revamped
- Selection (results) scope now functional
- Hidden and locked layers now (mostly?) functional
- Less use of pure math logic in GU
- Fill color now works.
- Registration and Justification now work
- Simple dialog interface
- Search in active layer, active sublayer, and current document view
STILL NOT FIXED
- Character styles has a few bugs relating to color
- Find by text string still hinky
CONCLUSION
Please let me know what you think, what bugs you find, and how it can be made more useful. Send to nathaniel@kelsocartography.com.
If you couldn’t find the download links above, here it is again:
http://kelsocartography.com/beta/frf/files/FindReplaceFonts_a11d.zip
