For a recent client project, page layout pro and InDesign scripting guru Dave Saunders wrote five separate Javascripts to help fit table elements to the text they contain. He generously posted a link to the scripts (I’ll add the link further down) on the Blueworld InDesign Talk mailing list for others to use, and I hope he doesn’t mind me writing about them here!
The bi-platform, InDesign CS2-only scripts are:
tableColWidthSqueezeL.jsx
tableColWidthSqueezeR.jsx
tableFitWidthToColumn.jsx
tableSetWidth.jsx
tableVerticalJustification.jsx
The two “Squeezers” transfer column width from the left-most to the right-most (and vice versa) column in a multi-column selection. “Fit Width” proportionally adjusts column widths so the table’s total width fits the width of the text frame (specifically, the width of the first column of the first text frame that holds the table) [edited]. “Set Width” proportionally adjusts existing column widths to match your desired table width. Finally, “Vertical Justification” adds space vertically to your table so it aligns perfectly with the bottom of the text area in all the text frames it occupies.
Download the .zip file of all five scripts, including an essential ReadMe that explains their usage and constraints, here. (Never installed or ran a script in InDesign? It’s easy – read our how-to.)
I’m sure we’ll be posting about other useful scripts available from Dave in the future. In the meantime you can browse for other ones (free and shareware) at his company website, PDS Associates. Dave also maintains a blog about JavaScripting InDesign at https://jsid.blogspot.com/.
Sidebar: I’ve known Dave for almost twenty years when we both were regulars on Compuserve’s Desktop Publishing Forum (armed with our trusty 300-baud modems). After I closed my Compuserve account in 1995 in favor of Netscape and the World Wide Web … heh … I lost touch with all the pros there. It’s pretty neat to see old friends reappear in the same path you’ve chosen. Actually, most of the regulars at the DTP forum can now be found on the web forum they created to replace it: https://desktoppublishingforum.com/.
This article was last modified on November 27, 2023
This article was first published on May 28, 2006
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